HARRISBURG -- Stay in school.

That's state Rep. Todd Rock's message to Pennsylvania teachers.

Yesterday Mr. Rock, R-Franklin, unveiled legislation that would ban teacher strikes, mandate a contract negotiation schedule and require public disclosure of negotiating positions throughout the process.

The bill is similar to one that Sen. Robert Mellow, D-Lackawanna, has been pushing for years. Mr. Mellow's bill would force labor disputes into binding arbitration if school boards and unions reach an impasse.

Not surprisingly, the Pennsylvania State Education Association opposes both bills.

Mr. Mellow's, though, is preferable, said Wythe Keever, spokesman for PSEA, the state's largest union for teachers.

Mr. Rock said a no-strike bill in one form or another is more likely to pass this legislative term than in the past because there are 55 new members.

Mr. Rock, himself a freshman lawmaker, said newcomers' campaigns promised reform and tax relief. His bill offers both, he said, by reforming the way labor contracts are negotiated and helping school districts control spending.

In a news release yesterday, Mr. Mellow said he is happy the issue is gaining momentum.

"I look forward to working to forge an approach that solves Pennsylvania's school strike issue once and for all," he said.

The teachers union says striking is a vital negotiating tool that is used only as a last resort.

"If you take away the strike ability and have no provisions for binding arbitration, what leverage do teachers have? Zero. There's nothing that would give a recalcitrant or unwilling school board any incentive to bargain in good faith," Mr. Keever said. "If you're going to take the right to strike away from essential public employees then some degree of fairness logically would at least give the employees some leverage."

It isn't about leverage; it's about doing what's right for schools, students and taxpayers, said the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, which opposes binding arbitration.

Labor contracts, which have the single greatest budgetary impact, should be negotiated by elected school board members, not third parties, said association spokesman Scott K. Shewell.

That's why the association favors Mr. Rock's bill over Mr. Mellow's.

Mr. Rock's bill would make both strikes and lockouts illegal. Teachers who violate the no-strike clause would be docked two days pay for each day of an illegal strike.

That's an important provision, said Mr. Rock and supporters of his bill. Currently, teachers don't lose pay when they strike because school days must be made up later.

That doesn't mean teachers take strike votes lightly.

"Strikes are difficult and unpleasant, but your membership has consistently reaffirmed their belief that it's a fundamental and necessary tool when a school board won't budge in negotiations," he said.

Another key part of Mr. Rock's legislation would make the negotiating process more transparent. Contract proposals made by both sides would be made public and negotiators would be forced to answer residents' questions about negotiations during public meetings every six weeks.

That way, any unreasonable negotiating position would be inevitably exposed to taxpayers, Mr. Rock said.

"The legislative solution we are introducing today has nothing to do with punishing or taking away any legal rights from teachers in Pennsylvania's 501 school districts," he said. It "has everything to do with ... restoring to every Pennsylvania child the legal right to a strike-free, uninterrupted public education."

Thirty-seven other states have laws prohibiting teacher strikes.

Last school year, there were 13 teacher strikes in Pennsylvania school districts, including Hempfield Area, Rochester, Bethlehem Center, Baldwin and Ambridge. Those strikes affected at least 33,000 students.