May 2, 2006, Introduced by Rep. Caswell and referred to the Committee on Education.
A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled
"The state school aid act of 1979,"
by amending section 101 (MCL 388.1701), as amended by 2005 PA 155.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 101. (1) To be eligible to receive state aid under this
act, not later than the fifth Wednesday after the pupil membership
count day and not later than the fifth Wednesday after the
supplemental count day, each district superintendent through the
secretary of the district's board shall file with the intermediate
superintendent a certified and sworn copy of the number of pupils
enrolled and in regular daily attendance in the district as of the
pupil membership count day and as of the supplemental count day, as
applicable, for the current school year. In addition, a district
maintaining school during the entire year, as provided under
section 1561 of the revised school code, MCL 380.1561, shall file
with the intermediate superintendent a certified and sworn copy of
the number of pupils enrolled and in regular daily attendance in
the district for the current school year pursuant to rules
promulgated by the superintendent. Not later than the seventh
Wednesday after the pupil membership count day and not later than
the seventh Wednesday after the supplemental count day, the
intermediate district shall transmit to the center revised data, as
applicable, for each of its constituent districts. If a district
fails to file the sworn and certified copy with the intermediate
superintendent in a timely manner, as required under this
subsection, the intermediate district shall notify the department
and state aid due to be distributed under this act shall be
withheld from the defaulting district immediately, beginning with
the next payment after the failure and continuing with each payment
until the district complies with this subsection. If an
intermediate district fails to transmit the data in its possession
in a timely and accurate manner to the center, as required under
this subsection, state aid due to be distributed under this act
shall be withheld from the defaulting intermediate district
immediately, beginning with the next payment after the failure and
continuing with each payment until the intermediate district
complies with this subsection. If a district or intermediate
district does not comply with this subsection by the end of the
fiscal year, the district or intermediate district forfeits the
amount withheld. A person who willfully falsifies a figure or
statement in the certified and sworn copy of enrollment shall be
punished in the manner prescribed by section 161.
(2) To be eligible to receive state aid under this act, not
later than the twenty-fourth Wednesday after the pupil membership
count day and not later than the twenty-fourth Wednesday after the
supplemental count day, an intermediate district shall submit to
the center, in a form and manner prescribed by the center, the
audited enrollment and attendance data for the pupils of its
constituent districts and of the intermediate district. If an
intermediate district fails to transmit the audited data as
required under this subsection, state aid due to be distributed
under this act shall be withheld from the defaulting intermediate
district immediately, beginning with the next payment after the
failure and continuing with each payment until the intermediate
district complies with this subsection. If an intermediate district
does not comply with this subsection by the end of the fiscal year,
the intermediate district forfeits the amount withheld.
(3) All of the following apply to the provision of pupil
instruction:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, each
district
shall provide at least 1,098 the
minimum number of days
and hours of pupil instruction required to be provided under
section 1284 of the revised school code, MCL 380.1284. Except as
otherwise provided in this act, a district failing to comply with
the required minimum days and hours of pupil instruction under this
subsection shall forfeit from its total state aid allocation an
amount determined by applying a ratio of the number of days and
hours the district was in noncompliance in relation to the required
minimum number of days and hours under this subsection. Not later
than August 1, the board of each district shall certify to the
department the number of days and hours of pupil instruction in the
previous school year. If the district did not provide at least the
required minimum number of days and hours of pupil instruction
under this subsection, the deduction of state aid shall be made in
the following fiscal year from the first payment of state school
aid. A district is not subject to forfeiture of funds under this
subsection for a fiscal year in which a forfeiture was already
imposed
under subsection (6). Hours Days
or hours lost because of
strikes or teachers' conferences shall not be counted as days or
hours of pupil instruction.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c), a
district not having at least 75% of the district's membership in
attendance on any day of pupil instruction shall receive state aid
in that proportion of 1/180 that the actual percent of attendance
bears to the specified percentage.
(c) Beginning in 2005-2006, at the request of a district that
operates a department-approved alternative education program and
that does not provide instruction for pupils in all of grades K to
12, the superintendent shall grant a waiver for a period of 3
school years from the requirements of subdivision (b) in order to
conduct a pilot study. The waiver shall indicate that an eligible
district is subject to the proration provisions of subdivision (b)
only if the district does not have at least 50% of the district’s
membership in attendance on any day of pupil instruction. Not later
than 2008-2009, the department shall report on the impact of this
waiver on the academic achievement of pupils in these districts to
the state budget director and the senate and house appropriations
subcommittees on state school aid. In order to be eligible for this
waiver, a district must maintain records to substantiate its
compliance with the following requirements during the pilot study:
(i) The district offers the minimum days and hours of pupil
instruction as required under this section.
(ii) For each enrolled pupil, the district uses appropriate
academic assessments to develop an individual education plan that
leads to a high school diploma.
(iii) The district tests each pupil to determine academic
progress at regular intervals and records the results of those
tests in that pupil’s individual education plan.
(d) The superintendent shall promulgate rules for the
implementation of this subsection.
(4)
Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the first
30
2 days or 12 hours for which pupil instruction is not provided
because of conditions not within the control of school authorities,
such as severe storms, fires, epidemics, utility power
unavailability, water or sewer failure, or health conditions as
defined by the city, county, or state health authorities, shall be
counted
as days and hours of pupil instruction. Beginning
in 2003-
2004,
with With the approval of the superintendent of public
instruction, the department shall count as days and hours of pupil
instruction for a fiscal year not more than 5 additional days or 30
additional hours for which pupil instruction is not provided in a
district after April 1 of the applicable school year due to unusual
and extenuating occurrences resulting from conditions not within
the control of school authorities such as those conditions
described in this subsection. Subsequent such days or hours shall
not be counted as days or hours of pupil instruction.
(5) A district shall not forfeit part of its state aid
appropriation because it adopts or has in existence an alternative
scheduling program for pupils in kindergarten if the program
provides at least the number of hours required under subsection (3)
for a full-time equated membership for a pupil in kindergarten as
provided under section 6(4).
(6) Not later than April 15 of each fiscal year, the board of
each district shall certify to the department the planned number of
days and hours of pupil instruction in the district for the school
year ending in the fiscal year. In addition to any other penalty or
forfeiture under this section, if at any time the department
determines that 1 or more of the following has occurred in a
district, the district shall forfeit in the current fiscal year
beginning in the next payment to be calculated by the department a
proportion of the funds due to the district under this act that is
equal to the proportion below the required minimum number of days
and hours of pupil instruction under subsection (3), as specified
in the following:
(a) The district fails to operate its schools for at least the
required minimum number of days and hours of pupil instruction
under subsection (3) in a school year, including days and hours
counted under subsection (4).
(b) The board of the district takes formal action not to
operate its schools for at least the required minimum number of
days and hours of pupil instruction under subsection (3) in a
school year, including days and hours counted under subsection (4).
(7) In providing the minimum number of days and hours of pupil
instruction required under subsection (3), a district shall use the
following guidelines, and a district shall maintain records to
substantiate its compliance with the following guidelines:
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a pupil
must be scheduled for at least the required minimum number of hours
of instruction, excluding study halls, or at least the sum of 90
hours plus the required minimum number of hours of instruction,
including up to 2 study halls.
(b) The time a pupil is assigned to any tutorial activity in a
block schedule may be considered instructional time, unless that
time is determined in an audit to be a study hall period.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, a pupil
in grades 9 to 12 for whom a reduced schedule is determined to be
in the individual pupil's best educational interest must be
scheduled for a number of days and hours equal to at least 80% of
the required minimum number of days and hours of pupil instruction
to be considered a full-time equivalent pupil. A pupil in grades 9
to 12 who is scheduled in a 4-block schedule may receive a reduced
schedule under this subsection if the pupil is scheduled for a
number of days and hours equal to at least 75% of the required
minimum number of days and hours of pupil instruction to be
considered a full-time equivalent pupil.
(d) If a pupil in grades 9 to 12 who is enrolled in a
cooperative education program or a special education pupil cannot
receive the required minimum number of hours of pupil instruction
solely because of travel time between instructional sites during
the school day, that travel time, up to a maximum of 3 hours per
school week, shall be considered to be pupil instruction time for
the purpose of determining whether the pupil is receiving the
required minimum number of hours of pupil instruction. However, if
a district demonstrates to the satisfaction of the department that
the travel time limitation under this subdivision would create
undue costs or hardship to the district, the department may
consider more travel time to be pupil instruction time for this
purpose.
(e) In grades 7 through 12, instructional time that is part of
a junior reserve officer training corps (JROTC) program shall be
considered to be pupil instruction time regardless of whether the
instructor is a certificated teacher if all of the following are
met:
(i) The instructor has met all of the requirements established
by the United States department of defense and the applicable
branch of the armed services for serving as an instructor in the
junior reserve officer training corps program.
(ii) The board of the district or intermediate district
employing or assigning the instructor complies with the
requirements of sections 1230 and 1230a of the revised school code,
MCL 380.1230 and 380.1230a, with respect to the instructor to the
same extent as if employing the instructor as a regular classroom
teacher.
(8) The department shall apply the guidelines under subsection
(7) in calculating the full-time equivalency of pupils.
(9) Upon application by the district for a particular fiscal
year, the superintendent may waive for a district the minimum
number of days and hours of pupil instruction requirement of
subsection (3) for a department-approved alternative education
program. If a district applies for and receives a waiver under this
subsection and complies with the terms of the waiver, for the
fiscal year covered by the waiver the district is not subject to
forfeiture under this section for the specific program covered by
the waiver.
(10) A district may count up to 8-1/2 days or 51 hours of
qualifying professional development for teachers, including the 5
hours of online professional development provided by the Michigan
virtual university under section 98, as days and hours of pupil
instruction. A district that elects to use this exception shall
notify the department of its election. As used in this subsection,
"qualifying professional development" means professional
development that is focused on 1 or more of the following:
(a) Achieving or improving adequate yearly progress as defined
under the no child left behind act of 2001, Public Law 107-110.
(b) Achieving accreditation or improving a school's
accreditation status under section 1280 of the revised school code,
MCL 380.1280.
(c) Achieving highly qualified teacher status as defined under
the no child left behind act of 2001, Public Law 107-110.
(d) Maintaining teacher certification.