Rep. Anthony DeLuca, D-Allegheny, is continuing his effort to have school personnel separation and settlement agreements be made public.

DeLuca reintroduced legislation this year to change state law to require public disclosure of separation agreements. House Bill 309 would amend Section 213.1 of the state’s Public School Code to make it a violation of state law for school districts to enter into any agreement or settlement that prohibits public disclosure of the terms of a school employee’s separation from a school district unless non-disclosure is court-ordered.

“Just as elected officials should be held accountable and remain transparent with their finances and other benefits, so should school districts,” DeLuca wrote in his legislative memorandum. “Too often school personnel settlements and separations are agreed to only under the condition of being sealed off from the public. This should not be. Since school personnel are paid with public dollars, taxpayers have every right to know the terms of any separation including cash, benefits or other considerations. Many times these settlement packages are quite generous.’

Co-Sponsors include Rep. Seth Grove, R-York and chair of the State Government Committee; Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Montgomery, and Rep. Daniel Deasy, D-Allegheny.