Staff Analysis of the Legislation
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SUMMARY: This bill includes recommendations from the Education Finance Study Commission on funding, "clean up" of Title 20 provisions, and other changes.
PROVISIONS:
- Deletes requirement that consolidated schools be located near center of a district
- Deletes requirement that each county provide the school superintendent an office in the courthouse
- Changes the term "vocational" to career, technical, and agricultural education in state code
- Deletes all references to middle grades program
- Adjusts program weights of QBE programs to reflect changes in State Health Benefit Plan calculations and recommended changes in personnel funding
- Provides for inclusion of ESOL, special education, gifted, and remedial ed programs in the calculations for school counselor funding (FY 2015 and or Y 2016)
- Changes supplemental funding for charter systems to a one-time implementation grant for all charter system approved on or after January 1, 2012
- Amends the QBE formula so that school psychologists, special education leadership personnel, and school social workers are indirect costs in a student services category
- For certain funding, defines 'contiguous' as grade levels in sequence rather than on adjoining campuses
- Deletes the requirement that available certified positions be sent to the appropriate colleges and universities in the state and to the Department of Education and instead requires submission of these openings to a statewide online job database maintained by the state
- Changes the term "commission charter schools" to "state charter schools"
- Deleted references to AYP and Needs Improvement School
- Amended board training requirement so it is not applicable to RESA boards
- Authorizes the State Board to establish a grant program, subject to appropriations, to incentivize adoption of digital learning using high speed internet connections. Grants could be used for the purchase of technology capital including desktop computers, network equipment, wireless equipment, and tablet computers. Grant criteria may include financial need, lack of existing bandwidth, and any previous grants received by the local board
- Amends the online clearinghouse of distance learning courses to state that the Department of Education shall set fees for one-credit and half-credit courses offered by a local school system or charter school to another local school system or charter school
- Amends home school reporting to allow written or electronic confirmation of attendance
- Amends definition of charter petitioner so that as of July 1, 2013, a charter for a local charter school shall be a three-party agreement between a charter petitioner, a local board of education, and the State Board
- Allows local boards to take 90 days to consider a charter petition for a conversion or start up charter rather than the current 60 day limit
- Clarifies that a separate audit of a charter school is not required if the charter was included in the school system audit
- Allows preK students attending a program associated with a charter school to be eligible for enrollment in the charter school
- Amends the list of items to be reported by charter systems to include degree of school level governance, training received by governing councils and administrators, steps being taken to increase school level governance, initiatives being supported by additional funding received, performance goals achievement, and contact information of an employee who can facilitate communication with state agencies
- Authorizes the Office of Student Achievement to incorporate a nonprofit corporation that could qualify as a foundation. No regulatory powers or governmental functions could be conducted by the nonprofit.
- for local acts submitted for preclearance to the US Department of Justice, a local board member who votes against such submission or does not comply with such submission, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; no local funds shall be expended for attorney's fees for litigation related to defense of such violation; if a local board refuse to submit a local act to USDOJ for preclearance or attempts to withdraw such a submission, the Attorney General is authorized to cause submission to be made.
- changes the calendar for IE2 districts to allow performance goals to be met by the end of the fifth year of the contract.
- amends private school scholarship language to require students to attend a public school for at least six weeks unless the student is enrolled in a low performing school or has been the subject of verbal or physical abuse or enrolled in a home study program for one year
- student scholarship organizations must obligate defined percentages of revenues to scholarships according to the amount of annual revenue received by the organization
- in awarding scholarships schools shall consider financial needs of students
- contributions to scholarship organizations may not be designated to specific students
- the cap on tax credits is raised to $65 million annually
EFFECTIVE DATE:
July 1, 2013 unless specified otherwise within bill
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