PA HB778

Establishes a three-year Pre-K Teacher Salary Supplement Pilot Program within the Department of Education to bring pre-kindergarten teacher salaries in line with elementary school teachers with comparable skills and credentials.

Eligible programs include school district pre-K programs in districts with at least 20% poverty rate, or PA Pre-K Counts providers in census tracts with median poverty at 80% or less of statewide median.

Department must calculate salary supplements by comparing pre-K teacher credentials and experience to K-4 teachers in the corresponding public school district, then provide subsidies to close the gap.

Department required to issue a report to the General Assembly one year after implementation detailing program successes, failures, and recommendations for improvement.

Funds must be used solely for teacher salary increases; misused funds must be recovered by the department. Act takes effect in 60 days.