Parents in Pennsylvania may soon be allowed to determine whether their child should repeat their grade because of learning loss associated with the coronavirus pandemic.

Senate Bill 664 passed both the Senate Education Committee and the Senate May 12 and will now head to the House Education Committee.

If passed, school districts must provide an online form for parents to request their child repeat their 2020-21 grade.

Parents would have until July 15 to make the request of their district.

Brian White, Butler Area School District superintendent, said repeating a grade is a big decision.

“It's not simply an academic issue, it's an emotional issue,” he said. “Families don't take this kind of decision lightly.”

White said administrators and faculty will help families with the decision in any way they can.

“A decision like that is a partnership with the family,” he said.

White said the district has historically seen a number of students repeat a grade, and the disruption during the school year caused by the pandemic was tough on students.

“We're seeing more of a potential need for (repeating) this year than in prior years,” he said.

White said parents have reached out to administrators about the possibility of their child repeating a grade, but earlier in the year.

“A lot of these conversations for some of these families started in January,” he said.

White said he could not predict the impact on the district of multiple students repeating grades, but he knows his administrators, faculty and staff could handle the situation.

“I don't anticipate a great rush of people, but if there is, we'll adjust our staffing accordingly,” he said.

Collaborating with parents at this time is the most important way to deal with the situation, White said.

“We have lots of students with lots of needs, and we will continue to work with families on an individual basis to try to decide what's best for the child.

The Butler School District educated about 6,400 students this school year.

David Foley, South Butler County School District superintendent, said he does not oppose the potential new mandate, but also doesn't expect a large number of families to use it.

“We've tried to make our best effort to address the unique learning needs of our students while doing it in a variety of platforms,” he said.

Foley said the district is planning to offer summer school, and reported at the Wednesday school board meeting that 60 to 70 elementary students and several secondary students are interested in the summer program.

South Butler sees about 2,300 students in the district each year.

Thomas Samosky, Moniteau School District superintendent, said his district's goal was to provide as much in-person learning as possible, but families could choose virtual learning too.

He said about 20% of families opted for virtual learning during the pandemic.

Samosky pointed out that the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) grant received by the district came with the requirement that 20% of the funding be spent on recouping learning lost during the pandemic.

Moniteau will satisfy that requirement by using the funds to offer summer school in August.

He said no parents have requested that their students be held back, which he attributes to the attention students received during the pandemic.

“I feel our faculty and our administration have done a tremendous job meeting the needs of our students and providing additional supports,” Samosky said.

He said next year, the district will offer academic help to students during the school day and after school to keep them up to speed in their classes.

Also, the school board is considering adding mental health services for students in the 2021-22 school year.

Moniteau educated 1,085 students this year.

Linda Andreassi, communications director at Seneca Valley School District, said district administrators are supportive of any effort that assists students in meeting their long-term academic goals.

“If we have learned anything this past year, it's the importance of being open to and flexible with the educational needs of our students,” Andreassi said.

Senate Bill 664 also would allow students with an individualized education program who are 21 years old to repeat the 2020-21 school year. Normally, special education students can only be educated in a public school system until age 21.

The bill is expected to be considered by the House Education Committee May 24.

The bill passed the Senate Education Committee unanimously.