HARRISBURG — Legislation to change a system of seniority-based layoffs for public school teachers is headed to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who says he’ll veto it.

The Senate Monday voted 28 to 22 in favor of a bill that would require school districts making layoffs to first eliminate the jobs of educators deemed to be failing or in need of improvement, rather than those most recently hired.

Districts would have to use the state’s 4-year-old teacher performance rating system to guide decisions about layoffs and reinstatements.

The measure, dubbed the “Protecting Excellent Teachers Act,” would eliminate seniority-based furloughs and instead base those decisions on teacher performance ratings. It would also allow layoffs for economic reasons. Currently, school districts can furlough employees only because of a decrease in enrollment, a change in educational programs or if schools are consolidated.

In a layoff situation, teachers who have received failing grades would be the first to go, regardless of their length of tenure. Next in line would be teachers who received a “needs improvement” rating. Seniority would determine suspensions among employees with the same overall performance rating, according to the bill.

At the same time, the legislation would bar a school district from using a teacher’s pay and benefits in determining layoffs.

A Wolf spokesman says the issue should be settled by districts during negotiations with labor unions.