NOTICES
INDEPENDENT REGULATORY REVIEW COMMISSION
Notice of Comments Issued
[51 Pa.B. 5324]
[Saturday, August 21, 2021]Section 5(g) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P.S. § 745.5(g)) provides that the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (Commission) may issue comments within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. The Commission comments are based upon the criteria contained in section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P.S. § 745.5b).
The Commission has issued comments on the following proposed regulations. The agency must consider these comments in preparing the final-form regulation. The final-form regulation must be submitted within 2 years of the close of the public comment period or it will be deemed withdrawn.
Reg. No. Agency/Title Close of the Public
Comment PeriodIRRC
Comments
Issued6-347 State Board of Education
Academic Standards and Assessment
51 Pa.B. 3103 (June 5, 2021)
7/6/21 8/5/21 16A-6015 State Board of Vehicle Manufacturers, Dealers and Salespersons
Fee Increase
51 Pa.B. 3230 (June 12, 2021)
7/12/21 8/11/21
State Board of Education Regulation # 6-347
(IRRC # 3303)
Academic Standards and Assessment
August 5, 2021 We submit for your consideration the following comments on the proposed rulemaking published in the June 5, 2021 Pennsylvania Bulletin. Our comments are based on criteria in Section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (RRA) (71 P.S. § 745.5b). Section 5.1(a) of the RRA (71 P.S. § 745.5a(a)) directs the State Board of Education (Board) to respond to all comments received from us or any other source.
1. RRA Section 2—Reaching of consensus.
The Board proposes to amend Chapter 4 (relating to academic standards and assessment) in order to update the Science, Environment, Ecology, Technology and Engineering academic standards, along with related and technical amendments. We acknowledge the effort of the Board in developing these new standards, including stakeholder engagement sessions, surveys, and work by Steering and Content Committees.
A significant number of comments have been received on this regulation from legislators, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Conservation and Natural Resources Advisory Council, members of the Steering and Content Committees, a wide range of educators, county conservation districts, environmental organizations, professional associations and the public. Their comments raise numerous concerns regarding the academic standards, many focusing on the omission of Environment, Ecology and Agriculture, and calling for additional standards to strengthen science instruction.
Legislators urge the Board to provide members of the Steering and Content Committees with additional time to continue their efforts. Members of the Steering and Content Committees comment that they are unclear as to the extent to which research on disciplinary learning was considered, and state that the academic standards were written by a small group outside of scheduled meetings. Further, agriculture science teachers advocate for continued conversations with educators and context experts.
In light of these comments, we draw attention to a key component of the regulatory review process as stated in Section 2(a) of the RRA: ''To the greatest extent possible, this act is intended to encourage the resolution of objections to a regulation and the reaching of a consensus among the commission, the standing committees, interested parties and the agency.'' 71 P.S. § 745.2(a).
We urge the Board to actively seek input from all interested parties, including legislators and educators, as it develops the final-form regulation. Should the Board determine that revisions to the academic standards are necessary, we suggest the Board consider publishing an Advance Notice of Final Rulemaking to provide an opportunity for the regulated community and the public to evaluate the academic standards prior to submission of the final-form regulation.
2. Section 4.12. Academic standards.—Reasonableness.
Under subsection (i), the Board will review academic standards and assessments to determine if they are appropriate, clear, specific and challenging no sooner than every five years and no later than every 10 years. The Board explains in the Preamble that the current provision requiring a three-year review may not provide school entities with enough time to implement and evaluate updated academic standards before beginning the review process for a subsequent set of standards. A commentator supports a five-year review and expresses concern with a 10-year review, noting that ''[s]cience and technology progress so rapidly that many topics are outdated by the time they reach the K—12 curriculum.'' We ask the Board to explain why it believes a 10-year review period is appropriate and reasonable.
3. Section 4.24. High school graduation requirements.—Reasonableness of requirements, implementation procedures and timetables for compliance by the public and private sectors; Clarity and lack of ambiguity.
Subsection (b) sets forth high school requirements through the 2015-2016 school year and subsection (c) sets forth high school graduation requirements that will begin in the 2022-2023 school year. We have two concerns with the implementation of this section.
First, graduation requirements for the 2016-2017 through the 2021-2022 school years are not stated in this section. For purposes of the regulatory record, the Board should clarify this section to include the high school graduation requirements for the omitted years.
Second, subsection (c)(1)(iii) requires school districts, charter schools, cyber charter schools, and area career and technical schools to adopt and implement requirements for high school graduation that demonstrate proficiency with the Science, Environment and Ecology academic standards in Appendix B-1 beginning in the 2022-2023 school year. However, Appendix B-1 will not be effective until July 1, 2024. Appendix B will be in effect until it sunsets on June 30, 2024. To ensure that the timetables for compliance are accurately stated, we ask the Board to revise subsection (c)(1)(iii) to reference Appendices B and B-1, along with their respective effective dates.
4. Section 4.51. State assessment system.—Reasonableness of requirements, implementation procedures and timetables for compliance by the public and private sectors; Clarity and lack of ambiguity.
Under subsection (a)(6), the State assessment system shall be designed to assess student proficiency in Science, Environment, Ecology, Technology and Engineering as set forth in Appendix B-1. As explained in Comment # 3, Appendix B-1 will become effective on July 1, 2024. To ensure that the timetables for compliance by schools are accurately stated, we ask the Board to revise subsection (a)(6) to reference Appendices B and B-1, along with their respective effective dates, or explain why it is unnecessary to do so.
This comment also applies to Sections 4.51a(b) and 4.51b(a)(3) (relating to Pennsylvania System of School Assessment; and Keystone Exams).
5. Appendix B.—Implementation procedures; Clarity and lack of ambiguity.
Appendix B will sunset on June 30, 2024. Will the Board reserve this appendix at that time? We ask the Board to explain how it will ensure that the regulated community is using the appropriate academic standards in the Pennsylvania Code when the final-form regulation is codified.
6. Appendix B-1.—Consistency with statute; Clarity, feasibility and reasonableness of the regulation.
Appendix B-1 contains the following academic standards: Pennsylvania Integrated Standards for Science, Environment, Ecology, Technology and Engineering (Grades K—5); Pennsylvania Integrated Standards for Science, Environment and Ecology (Grades 6—12); and Technology and Engineering Standards (Grades 6—12). The Board explains that these academic standards provide integration of Environment, Ecology, Science, Engineering and Technology education in one document for kindergarten through grade 5, and grade bands for grades 6—8 and 9—12 so that there is greater flexibility in course design and progression. This represents ''a shift to the integration of Science with Environment and Ecology for grades 6—12, encouraging integration across the Science disciplines while promoting equity by ensuring the Environment and Ecology content is included in Science instruction for all students across all grades.'' The Board goes on to state that this appendix ''considers the Pennsylvania context with clear connections to agriculture, career readiness and sustainability.''
Commentators have numerous concerns, questions and recommendations relating to these academic standards, including the following:
• The policies in Section 2 of the Environmental Education Act stating the duties of the Board for environment and ecology curriculum and the Department of Education for formal environmental education are not met in the proposed standards; 35 P.S. § 7522;
• The following performance expectations, disciplinary core ideas and appropriate learning progressions from the current standards and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are omitted or not connected: watersheds and wetlands; renewable and nonrenewable resources; environmental health; agriculture and society; integrated pest management; ecosystems and their interactions; threatened, endangered and extinct species; humans and the environment; and environmental laws and regulations;
• The standards are adapted from the performance expectations in the NGSS, but do not include disciplinary core ideas, cross-cutting concepts, and science and engineering practices. As such, the performance expectations are not specific enough to show teachers and assessors the level of knowledge and achievement necessary to attain the standard, and students cannot attain the performance expectations if the disciplinary core ideas, cross-cutting concepts, and science and engineering practices are not part of the standards;
• The following topics from North America Association for Environmental Education Guidelines are not included: human systems; decision-making and action skills; and personal and civic responsibility;
• The standards for grades 6—12 should be revised to include Environment, Ecology and Agriculture as a separate, fifth domain with associated performance expectations to provide a level of specificity and application that makes the standards meaningful and effective;
• There was not an attempt to crosswalk the standards for Science, Environment and Ecology for grades 6—12 to the National Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources standards to provide clarity and guidance to agriculture science teachers;
• The following Environment and Ecology standards should be added to reinforce the connections between humans and the natural world: systems thinking; human health; diversity, equity and inclusion; direct experience; expanding environmental science and ecology principles across disciplines; critical and creative thinking; and sustainability;
• Suggestions for additional standards addressing climate change, alternative energy sources, Pennsylvania-specific standards focused on the environment and ecosystems, environmental literacy and applied science; and
• Environment and Ecology standards overlap heavily with the performance expectations by grade, including those that relate to human activity, impact and decision making about the environment and its protection.
We ask the Board to explain how the academic standards in Appendix B-1 adequately integrate standards for Science, Environment, Ecology, Technology, Engineering and Agriculture. We also ask the Board to explain how students will achieve competency under these standards in order to be properly prepared for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics economy and the 21st century workforce. We will review the Board's explanations and responses to the commentators' concerns when determining if the regulation is in the public interest.
7. Miscellaneous clarity.
• The response to Regulatory Analysis Form Question # 29 regarding the effective date of the final-form regulation should be updated.
• Sections 4.24(c)(1)(iii)(B)(I) and 4.51(a)(6) include ''Civics and Government,'' which are no longer included in the Keystone Exams. Should references to these academic standards be deleted?
• The U.S.C.A. citation should be added following cross-reference to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 in Section 4.24(j).
• The Board should review cross-references to Section 4.51b to ensure citations reflect renumbering.
• The Board should consider clarifying Section 4.51b(j) by specifically citing the Every Student Succeeds Act (Pub.L. No. 114-95) as the successor federal statute to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Pub.L. No. 107-110).
• Section 4.51c should be corrected by deleting the subsection ''(a)'' designation in accordance with Section 2.1(e) of the Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin Style Manual.
• The Purdon's citations to sections 121 and 121.1 of the Public School Code of 1949 (24 P.S. §§ 1-121 and 1-121.1) should be corrected in Sections 4.24, 4.51b, 4.51c and 4.51d.
State Board of Vehicle Manufacturers, Dealers and Salespersons Regulation # 16A-6015 (IRRC # 3305)
Fee Increase
August 11, 2021 We submit for your consideration the following comments on the proposed rulemaking published in the June 12, 2021 Pennsylvania Bulletin. Our comments are based on criteria in Section 5.2 of the Regulatory Review Act (RRA) (71 P.S. § 745.5b). Section 5.1(a) of the RRA (71 P.S. § 745.5a(a)) directs the State Board of Vehicle Manufacturers, Dealers and Salespersons (Board) to respond to all comments received from us or any other source.
1. Determining whether the regulation is in the public interest; Economic or fiscal impacts; Reasonableness; Compliance with the RRA
Section 5.2 of the RRA (71 P.S. § 745.5b) directs this Commission to determine whether a regulation is in the public interest. When making this determination, the Commission considers criteria such as economic or fiscal impact and the reasonableness. To make that determination, the Commission must analyze the text of the proposed regulation and the reasons for the new or amended language. The Commission also considers the information a promulgating agency is required to provide under Section 5 of the RRA in the Regulatory Analysis Form (RAF) (71 P.S. § 745.5(a)).
The Board's Preamble and responses to several questions on the RAF are not sufficient to allow this Commission to determine if the regulation is in the public interest. The Board is proposing to increase the application and biennial renewal fees for vehicle salespersons, manufacturer or distributor representatives, manufacturers, manufacturer or distributor branches, distributors, dealers, auctions and dealer branch lots on a graduated basis. In total, the Board is increasing sixteen fees (eight application fees and eight biennial renewal fees).
The Department of State's Bureau of Finance and Operations (BFO) annual financial report estimates the Board will experience a shortfall of approximately $817,347.00 by the end of Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-2022. The Board proposes to increase fees, across the eight categories of licenses, for existing licensees by 25 percent and for first-time applicants by 160—200 percent over the existing fees. While we recognize the Board is statutorily required by Section 330(a) of the Board of Vehicles Act (Act) to increase fees when the revenues generated by fees, fines and civil penalties are insufficient to match expenditures over a two-year period (63 P.S. § 818.330), these increases are significant, particularly for initial applicants. Under this proposal, existing licensees will have the benefit of an implementation schedule that spans two bienniums to plan for the increases. We ask the Board to explain how the percentage increases of fees are reasonable for existing licensees and new applicants. In addition, the Board does not explain what steps it has taken to control expenses. The Board should include this narrative in the Preamble and RAF when it submits the final-form regulation.
RAF # 26 requires the promulgating agency to include a description of any alternative regulatory provisions which have been considered and rejected and a statement that the least burdensome acceptable alternative has been selected. The Board's response to RAF # 26 states that it ''considered a one-time 20% increase in application and renewal fees and determined that a graduated fee increase offered the best protection for the Board against the loss of licensees resulting from the natural fluctuations in the industry.''
The Board's response to RAF # 26 does not discuss how the Board's proposal represents the least burdensome acceptable alternative for existing licensees and first-time applicants. When the Board submits the final version of this rulemaking, it should explain how the Board's proposal represents the least burdensome approach for the regulated community. A statement indicating that the Board selected the least burdensome alternative should be included.
In the Preamble and response to RAF # 10, the Board explains it has incurred significant increases in legal, hearing examiner, enforcement and investigation expenses. In the Preamble, paragraph 2 under Background and Purpose the Board states that expenses for FY 2019-2020 were $2.88 million. Expenses for FY 2021-2022 and FY 2022-2023 are estimated to be $6.29 million. This significant increase in Board expenses is attributed to the rapid rise in the number of investigations, open cases and disciplinary matters arising from the criminal information that the Board receives from the Pennsylvania Justice Network. The Board reports that the BFO expects these increases to continue proportionately based on the data collected by the Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation. Have these investigations, open cases and sanctions resulted in a substantial increase in the fines and civil penalties the Board collects? If not, why not?
Additionally, the Board anticipates that increased revenue will be needed to fulfill its obligations under recently adopted amendments to the act. To better understand the basis and the need for the regulation, we ask the Board to address the following questions when it submits the final rulemaking:
• What factors have contributed to the rapid rise in the number of investigations, open cases and disciplinary matters?
• What is the time period over which the increase in the number of investigations, open cases and disciplinary matters has occurred?
• Why does the BFO expect these numbers to continue to increase?
• Which newly enacted amendments require increased revenue necessary for the Board to carry out its obligations?
As part of the response to RAF # 28, the Board provides Fee Report Forms in support of the initial licensure fees for the eight categories of licenses. However, the Fee Report Forms, including the ''Fee-Related Activities and Costs'' calculation, for the eight biennial renewal fees were not included. We ask the Board to provide its costs for biennial renewal of the eight license categories, including the ''Fee Related Activities and Costs,'' in support of the amount of the fees in the final regulation.
The numbers shown in RAF # 16 and 17 do not match the numbers shown under the Fiscal Impact and Paperwork Requirements section of the Preamble. In RAF # 16 and 17, the Board states that there are 41,828 license renewals and 13,252 new applications. In the referenced section of the Preamble, it reports 39,840 license renewals. The Board should review the information provided in the Preamble and RAF for consistency and make the necessary revisions when it submits the final version of this rulemaking.
The Board utilizes information from the BFO's annual financial report that was presented November 27, 2019, which includes actual expenses and revenue from FY 2011-2012 through FY 2018-2019, as the basis for this regulatory proposal. (RAF # 10, # 28) In RAF # 23a, the Board provides an estimated expenditure figure, rather than an actual figure, for FY 2019-2020. We ask the Board, when it submits the final rulemaking package, to provide an updated RAF and Attachments that includes the most recent fiscal data available.
2. Miscellaneous
• The Board should make certain that the titles of the fees are used consistently in the Preamble, RAF and Attachments to the final-form regulation.
• In RAF # 14, the Board should verify and revise, if necessary, the dates of the Board's meetings.
• In RAF # 30, the Board meeting dates should be revised to remove any dates that are no longer remaining.
GEORGE D. BEDWICK,
Chairperson
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 21-1331. Filed for public inspection August 20, 2021, 9:00 a.m.]
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