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PRINTER'S NO. 3670
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2659
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY CURRY, WAXMAN, KAZEEM, RIVERA, SANCHEZ, MAYES,
D. WILLIAMS AND ISAACSON, JUNE 22, 2026
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, JUNE 22, 2026
AN ACT
Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
act relating to the public school system, including certain
provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
laws relating thereto," establishing the Advanced Teaching
Roles and Evidence-based Strategic Staffing Program; and
imposing powers and duties on the Department of Education.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding an
article to read:
ARTICLE XII-D
ADVANCED TEACHING ROLES AND EVIDENCE-BASED
STRATEGIC STAFFING PROGRAM
Section 1201-D. Scope of article.
This article relates to the Advanced Teaching Roles and
Evidence-based Strategic Staffing Program.
Section 1202-D. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this article
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shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Classroom teacher." A teacher who works in a classroom
providing instruction for at least 30% of the instructional day
and is not classified as instructional support personnel.
"Department." The Department of Education of the
Commonwealth.
"Empirical evidence." The term includes experimental or
quasi-experimental studies or rigorous internal data analyses
comparing participating classrooms or schools to comparable
nonparticipating classrooms or schools.
"Employee organization." As the term "employe organization"
is defined in section 301(3) of the act of July 23, 1970
(P.L.563, No.195), known as the Public Employe Relations Act.
"Evidence-based strategic staffing." A school staffing model
that:
(1) Is supported by empirical evidence demonstrating
improved student learning, growth and educator outcomes.
(2) Includes the following criteria:
(i) Teams of educators, including teachers, support
staff such as paraprofessionals and tutors, student
teachers, teacher apprentices or residents, that are
collectively responsible for supporting groups of
students, for planning and instruction and for the
outcomes of their students.
(ii) Differentiated roles and compensation,
including team leader positions for teachers.
(iii) Structure and time for educator collaboration
and support.
(iv) Flexibility in school staffing and scheduling
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that provides teacher participation in the design of
scheduling.
(v) Integrated preparation pathways into the
teaching profession.
"Program." The Advanced Teaching Roles and Evidence-based
Strategic Staffing Program established under this article.
"Strategic scheduling." Protected time during the school day
aligned with each role's instructional and leadership
responsibilities, including time for collaboration, planning,
data analysis and instructional coaching.
"Teacher-led team." A team of educators led by a teacher who
is selected based on demonstrated prior high student growth and
responsible for student outcomes across all students served by
the team.
Section 1203-D. Establishment of program.
The Advanced Teaching Roles and Evidence-based Strategic
Staffing Program is established within the department. The
program shall award grants to participating school districts for
the following purposes:
(1) Expand the reach of highly effective classroom
teachers by enabling them to:
(i) serve additional students in an advanced
teaching role;
(ii) become a lead classroom teacher accountable for
the student performance of all students taught by
teachers on the lead classroom teacher's team; or
(iii) lead a larger effort in the school to
implement new instructional models to improve schoolwide
performance.
(2) Enable school districts to design and implement
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innovative compensation models that:
(i) support classroom teacher professional growth;
(ii) are tied to measurable improvements in student
outcomes; and
(iii) provide additional compensation for advanced
teaching roles, provided that teachers selected for
advanced teaching roles and any associated salary
supplements are based on demonstrated effectiveness and
the assumption of additional responsibilities.
(3) Establish organizational changes related to
compensation in order to support educators in implementing
evidence-based teaching practices and to enable the practices
to be replicated across this Commonwealth.
(4) Permit school districts to align strategic staffing
efforts with other Statewide education priorities, including
structured literacy initiatives, curriculum implementation,
instructional improvement efforts and career-connected
learning.
(5) Achieve savings through collective bargaining
agreements under the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563, No.195),
known as the Public Employe Relations Act.
Section 1204-D. Request for proposals.
(a) Duty of department to issue.--Beginning in the 2026-2027
school year and each school year thereafter, the department
shall issue a request for proposals no later than September 15
for the program. A school district may submit a proposal by
December 1 of each year. The request for proposals shall require
that a proposal include, at a minimum, the following:
(1) A description of the proposed program structure. The
description must demonstrate alignment, as applicable, with
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evidence-based strategic staffing elements identified in this
section, including teacher-led teams, advanced instructional
roles, differentiated role-based compensation and strategic
scheduling structures. The description shall include all of
the following:
(i) A plan for how the school district will utilize
and train classroom teachers serving in advanced teaching
roles and an explanation of the connection between the
proposed responsibilities, professional learning supports
and expected improvements in student outcomes.
(ii) Evidence that the proposed strategic staffing
model is supported by empirical research or internal data
analysis demonstrating improved student learning growth
and educator outcomes, including, where feasible,
comparison to similar schools not implementing the model.
(iii) An explanation of how the program will
incorporate evidence-based school design features,
including:
(A) Advanced roles for teachers, including
innovative roles within teams that extend the reach
of excellent educators through advanced
responsibilities and team-based instruction.
(B) Teams led by educators supporting students
across core academic subjects, including English
language arts, mathematics, social studies, science
and career-connected learning opportunities.
(C) Scheduling structures that provide educators
with significant protected time during the school day
for collaboration, planning, data analysis and
instructional leadership.
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(2) A description of each proposed advanced teaching
role, including minimum qualifications for the position,
which shall include locally determined, competency-based
measurements of highly effective teachers.
(3) Job responsibilities that include at least one of
the following:
(i) Teaching an increased number of students and
serving as the teacher of record, with accountability for
those students' academic performance.
(ii) Serving as a lead classroom teacher for a group
of teachers and participating in Pennsylvania Value-Added
Assessment System in accordance with a model developed by
the department. The department shall publish and clearly
describe the model on the department's publicly
accessible Internet website.
(iii) Providing in-house professional development or
coaching. The training must ensure that the professional
development or coaching the teacher provides is
faithfully implemented in the classroom. A teacher
serving in the role may not conduct formal or informal
evaluations of other teachers, contribute to performance
ratings or participate in disciplinary actions related to
teacher evaluation.
(4) A description of how the school district will
communicate to all employees and the public the criteria and
selection process for the advanced teaching roles, the
ongoing eligibility requirements for the advanced teaching
roles and the evaluation process for individuals selected to
serve in the advanced teaching roles.
(5) An implementation plan, including:
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(i) The number of schools within the school district
that will implement advanced teaching roles and any new
proposed compensation model.
(ii) The number of advanced teaching roles at each
participating school.
(iii) The number of students whose teacher of record
will serve in an advanced teaching role.
(iv) The number of teachers overall eligible to
participate in the proposed new compensation model.
(v) A description of how the advanced teaching roles
model will be implemented across all grade spans served
by participating schools. Initial implementation may be
phased, but the plan must include a timeline for
availability across elementary, middle and high school
levels, as applicable.
(6) A plan for long-term financial sustainability
following the expiration of any grant awarded to the school
district. The plan must include a description of how the
applicant intends to continue to provide supplemental
compensation for teachers serving in advanced teaching roles
without reliance on grant funding.
(7) A description of how the school district or
consortium of school districts will partner with local
educator preparation programs, institutions of higher
education or community colleges to strengthen teacher
effectiveness and improve student outcomes.
(8) A memorandum of understanding executed by the school
district superintendent or chief executive, the president of
the local board of education and the employee organization,
where applicable, affirming:
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(i) Agreement to implement the proposed advanced
teaching roles model.
(ii) Commitment to work together on any necessary
adjustments to current contracts or agreements.
(iii) Commitment to financial sustainability beyond
the grant term.
(9) A commitment that, prior to the plan under paragraph
(5) being finalized and submitted, a notice will be shared
with local union leaders.
(b) Selection of proposals.--
(1) By March 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, the
department shall review proposals and select school districts
to participate in the program, beginning in the subsequent
school year, in accordance with minimum criteria established
by the department consistent with this section. The
department shall develop the guidelines, the application and
criteria for final selection of applicants by considering the
guidance and consultation with stakeholders.
(2) The department shall review and approve proposals in
accordance with criteria established by regulation.
(3) The department shall give priority to school systems
serving high percentages of students from low-income
backgrounds, rural communities or systems with high teacher
vacancy rates.
(c) Material revisions of plans.--
(1) Material revisions of a plan submitted to the
department shall require approval by the department.
(2) Prior to submission of any material revision, the
school district shall consult with and, where required by
law, bargain in good faith with the exclusive representative
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of their employees regarding any proposed changes affecting
compensation, evaluation, working conditions, class size or
scheduling. Documentation of such consultation or bargaining
shall be submitted with the revision request.
(d) Reporting requirements for grantees.--A school district
or consortium of school districts selected by the department for
participation in the program shall begin implementation of its
approved plan starting with the 2027-2028 school year or the
first full school year following approval for any subsequent
cohort. Beginning in the second year of implementation and
annually thereafter, each participating school district shall
submit to the department a report demonstrating compliance with
the participating school district's approved plan. The report
shall include, at a minimum:
(1) The number of teachers serving in advanced teaching
roles in the school district and the number of students
receiving instruction from those teachers.
(2) Student growth measures, including outcomes on State
assessments and locally adopted measures.
(3) Educator retention trends across participating
schools, disaggregated to compare teachers serving on teams
established under this legislation with those not
participating on such teams.
(4) Evidence of implementation fidelity to the approved
staffing model.
(5) Qualitative and quantitative indicators of
instructional improvement, using multiple measures.
(e) Prohibition.--
(1) An individual teacher's selection for an advanced
teaching role, continued participation in an advanced
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teaching role or compensation may not be determined solely on
the basis of a single performance measure.
(2) Participation in the program does not constitute a
merit pay system.
(3) Compensation provided under this section shall
recognize additional professional responsibilities,
leadership duties and expanded instructional roles and may
not be based solely on individual student standardized
testing outcomes.
(f) Grant term and eligibility for renewal.--
(1) A program grant may not exceed three years. A school
district is not eligible to receive a grant beyond the
initial term, except that a school district with more than 20
schools may apply for a one-time renewal to continue scaling
the advanced teaching roles model within the school district.
(2) A renewal shall be subject to review and approval by
the department based on the school district's progress in
implementing the model and adherence to reporting
requirements.
(g) Amount of grant and use of State funds.--
(1) A participating school district shall receive:
(i) a base planning and implementation grant of not
less than $150,000 and not more than $200,000, determined
by the department, based on the school district's total
student enrollment and proposed scope of implementation;
and
(ii) an additional per-school implementation amount
determined by formula, based on the number of
participating schools approved in the implementation
plan.
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(2) The grant money shall be used for any of the
following purposes:
(i) Development of advanced teaching roles plans.
(ii) Development of professional development courses
for teachers in advanced teaching roles that lead to
improved student outcomes.
(iii) Transition costs associated with designing and
implementing advanced teaching models. Transition costs
may include employing staff members or contractors to
assist with design and implementation of the plan.
(iv) Development of the design and implementation of
compensation plans that focus on teacher professional
growth and student outcomes and the transition costs
associated with designing and implementing new
compensation plans, including employing staff members or
contractors to assist with design and implementation of
the plan.
(v) Support implementation of approved advanced
teaching roles plans. Planning activities may be funded
only as part of a comprehensive implementation plan that
includes launch of advanced teaching roles no later than
the beginning of the second school year following award.
(h) Program evaluation.--
(1) The department shall evaluate how the advanced
teaching roles and new compensation plans have accomplished,
at a minimum, the following:
(i) Improvement in the quality of classroom
instruction and increases in schoolwide growth or the
growth of teachers who are mentored or impacted by a
teacher in an advanced teaching role.
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(ii) An increase in the attractiveness of teaching.
(iii) Recognition, impact and retention of high-
quality classroom teachers.
(iv) Assistance to and retention of beginning
classroom teachers on teaching teams.
(v) Improvement in school culture based on school
climate survey results.
(2) The department shall commission a comprehensive
third-party evaluation every three years assessing
longitudinal student outcomes, educator career progression
and retention, fiscal sustainability and fidelity of
implementation. For each evaluation cycle, the sum of
$100,000 shall be allocated for the purpose of conducting the
evaluation required under this subsection.
(3) The department shall provide any report required in
accordance with this subsection to the offices of the
President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, the Appropriations Committee of the
Senate, the Appropriations Committee of the House of
Representatives, the Education Committee of the Senate and
the Education Committee of the House of Representatives.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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