HB 1040 — An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, providing for Diversity Inclusive Curriculum Pilot Program.

PRINTER'S NO.   1129

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 1040
                                                  Session of
                                                    2025

     INTRODUCED BY HOHENSTEIN, GUENST, SMITH-WADE-EL, TAKAC, CARROLL,
        KHAN, MADDEN, SANCHEZ, HILL-EVANS, WAXMAN, KENYATTA, PIELLI,
        CERRATO, RIVERA, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, ISAACSON, MAYES, BOROWSKI,
        O'MARA, FIEDLER, GIRAL, RABB, T. DAVIS AND HOWARD,
        MARCH 25, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, MARCH 25, 2025


                                       AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
 2      act relating to the public school system, including certain
 3      provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
 4      schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
 5      laws relating thereto," providing for Diversity Inclusive
 6      Curriculum Pilot Program.
 7      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 8   hereby enacts as follows:
 9      Section 1.     The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
10   as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding an
11   article to read:
12                               ARTICLE XVII-E
13             DIVERSITY INCLUSIVE CURRICULUM PILOT PROGRAM
14   Section 1701-E.    Scope of article.
15      This article relates to the Diversity Inclusive Curriculum
16   Pilot Program.
17   Section 1702-E.    Definitions.
18      The following words and phrases when used in this article
 1   shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
 2   context clearly indicates otherwise:
 3      "Department."    The Department of Education of the
 4   Commonwealth.
 5      "LGBTQ+."    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer,
 6   asexual, intersex or other similar characteristic of an
 7   individual.
 8      "Pilot program."    The Diversity Inclusive Curriculum Pilot
 9   Program established under this article.
10      "School entity."    A school district, charter school, regional
11   charter school, cyber charter school, intermediate unit or area
12   career and technical school.
13   Section 1703-E.    Diversity Inclusive Curriculum Pilot Program.
14      (a)   Establishment.--The Diversity Inclusive Curriculum Pilot
15   Program is established in the department to provide instruction
16   to students on the political, economic and social contributions
17   of individuals of the LGBTQ+ community.
18      (b)   Operation.--The pilot program shall operate for three
19   full school years, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year.
20      (c)   Selection of school entities.--
21            (1)   By July 15, 2026, the department may select school
22      entities and nonpublic schools to participate in the pilot
23      program.
24            (2)   To be eligible for the pilot program, a school
25      entity or nonpublic school must submit a proposal to the
26      department by May 15, 2026, that identifies how the school
27      entity or nonpublic school will meet the guidelines
28      established by the department for the pilot program.
29   Section 1704-E.    Department responsibilities.
30      (a)   Funding.--The department may use Federal, State and

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 1   other money to the extent that it is made available for the
 2   pilot program.
 3      (b)   Consultation.--No later than six months after the
 4   effective date of this subsection, the department shall consult
 5   with professional organizations operating in this Commonwealth
 6   that serve diverse populations, including LGBTQ+ individuals in
 7   establishing, operating and evaluating the pilot program.
 8      (c)   Guidelines.--By March 15, 2026, the department shall
 9   establish guidelines and procedures for the pilot program in
10   consultation with professional organizations that serve diverse
11   populations, including LGBTQ+ individuals. The department shall
12   consider curriculum offered by organizations with 50% or greater
13   LGBTQ+ leadership that specialize in and have expertise with
14   LGBTQ+ individuals before selecting the curriculum to be used
15   for the pilot program.
16   Section 1705-E.   Pilot program evaluation.
17      (a)   Report by school entities.--A participating school
18   entity or nonpublic school shall annually report to the
19   department data and information about the operation of the pilot
20   program, in the manner prescribed by the department. At a
21   minimum, a participating school entity or nonpublic school shall
22   annually report to the department about how the participating
23   school entity or nonpublic school met the objectives of the
24   pilot program and any difficulty encountered in seeking to meet
25   the objectives of the pilot program.
26      (b)   Evaluation.--The department shall contract with a
27   nationally recognized educational evaluation institution or
28   organization to provide an evaluation of the pilot program to
29   review the effectiveness of the implementation of a curriculum
30   inclusive to diverse individuals. The evaluation shall be

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 1   published on the department's publicly accessible Internet
 2   website.
 3      (c)     Report by department.--The department shall compile an
 4   annual report based on the data and information received about
 5   the operation of the pilot program. The department shall
 6   annually submit the report under this subsection by August 1 to
 7   all of the following:
 8            (1)   The chair and minority chair of the Education
 9      Committee of the Senate.
10            (2)   The chair and minority chair of the Education
11      Committee of the House of Representatives.
12      Section 2.    This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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