Substitute For
HOUSE BILL NO. 5912
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 2019 PA 58.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 101. (1) To be eligible to
receive state aid under this article, 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 shall submit and certify
to the center and the intermediate superintendent, in the form and manner
prescribed by the center, the number of pupils enrolled and in regular daily
attendance, including identification of tuition-paying pupils, 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 shall submit
and certify to the center and the intermediate superintendent, in the form and
manner prescribed by the center, 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 sixth Wednesday after the
pupil membership count day and not later than the sixth Wednesday after the
supplemental count day, the district shall resolve any pupil membership
conflicts with another district, correct any data issues, and recertify the data
in a form and manner prescribed by the center and file the certified data with
the intermediate superintendent. If a district fails to submit and certify the
attendance data, as required under this subsection, the center shall notify the
department and the department shall withhold state aid due to be distributed
under this article 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 a district does not comply with this
subsection by the end of the fiscal year, the district forfeits the amount
withheld. A person who willfully falsifies a figure or statement in the
certified and sworn copy of enrollment is subject to penalty as prescribed by
section 161.
(2) To be eligible to receive state
aid under this article, 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 submit the audited data as required under this subsection,
the department shall withhold state aid due to be distributed under this
article 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) Except as otherwise provided in
subsections (11) and (12), (10), (13), and (14), 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 hours and 180 days of
pupil instruction. If a collective bargaining agreement that provides a
complete school calendar was in effect for employees of a district as of June
24, 2014, and if that school calendar is not in compliance with this
subdivision, then this subdivision does not apply to that district until after
the expiration of that collective bargaining agreement. A district may apply
for a waiver under subsection (9) from the requirements of this subdivision.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in
this article, a district failing to comply with the required minimum hours and
days of pupil instruction under this subsection forfeits from its total state
aid allocation an amount determined by applying a ratio of the number of hours
or days the district was in noncompliance in relation to the required minimum
number of hours and days under this subsection. Not later than August 1, the
board of each district shall either certify to the
department that the district was in full compliance with this section regarding
the number of hours and days of pupil instruction in the previous school year,
or report to the department, in a form and manner prescribed by the center,
each instance of noncompliance. If the district did not provide at least the
required minimum number of hours and days of pupil instruction under this
subsection, the department shall make the deduction of state aid 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).
(c) Hours or days lost because of
strikes or teachers' conferences are not counted as hours or days of pupil
instruction.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision and
subdivisions (e), and (f), and (i), if a
district does not have at least 75% of the district's membership in attendance
on any day of pupil instruction, the department shall pay the district state
aid in that proportion of 1/180 that the actual percent of attendance bears to
75%. This subdivision does not
apply to an e-learning day, as that term is defined in section 1851b of the
revised school code, MCL 380.1851b.
(e) If a district adds 1 or more
days of pupil instruction to the end of its instructional calendar for a school
year to comply with subdivision (a) because the district otherwise would fail
to provide the required minimum number of days of pupil instruction even after
the operation of subsection (4) due to conditions not within the control of
school authorities, then subdivision (d) does not apply for any day of pupil
instruction that is added to the end of the instructional calendar. Instead,
for any of those days, if the district does not have
at least 60% of the district's membership in attendance on that day, the
department shall pay the district state aid in that proportion of 1/180 that
the actual percentage of attendance bears to 60%. For any day of pupil
instruction added to the instructional calendar as described in this
subdivision, the district shall report to the department the percentage of the
district's membership that is in attendance, in the form and manner prescribed
by the department.
(f) 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 from the requirements of subdivision (d). The waiver must
provide that an eligible district is subject to the proration provisions of
subdivision (d) only if the district does not have at least 50% of the
district's membership in attendance on any day of pupil instruction. In order
to be eligible for this waiver, a district must maintain records to
substantiate its compliance with the following requirements:
(i)
The district offers the minimum 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.
(g) All of the following apply to a
waiver granted under subdivision (f):
(i)
If the waiver is for a blended model of delivery, a waiver that is granted for the 2011-2012 fiscal year or a
subsequent fiscal year remains in effect unless it is revoked by the
superintendent.
(ii)
If the waiver is for a 100% online model of delivery and the educational
program for which the waiver is granted makes educational services available to
pupils for a minimum of at least 1,098 hours during a school year and ensures
that each pupil participates in the educational program for at least 1,098
hours during a school year, a waiver that is granted for the 2011-2012 fiscal
year or a subsequent fiscal year remains in effect unless it is revoked by the superintendent.
(iii)
A waiver that is not a waiver described in subparagraph (i)
or (ii)
is valid for 1 fiscal year and must be renewed annually to remain in effect.
(h) The superintendent shall
promulgate rules for the implementation of this subsection.
(4) All of the following apply to
the provision of pupil instruction:
(a) Except
as otherwise provided in this subsection, the first 6 2 days or the
equivalent number of hours for which pupil instruction is not provided because
of conditions not within the control of school authorities, such as severe
storms, fires, epidemics, pandemics,
utility power unavailability, water or sewer failure, or health
conditions as defined by the city, county, or state health authorities, are
counted as hours and days of pupil instruction. For 2018-2019 only, in addition to these 6 days, if pupil
instruction is not provided on 1 or more days that are included in a period for
which the governor has issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency
across this state, upon request by a district to the superintendent of public
instruction, in a form and manner prescribed by the department, that 1 or more
of those days and the equivalent number of hours count as days and hours of
pupil instruction, the department shall count those requested days and the
equivalent number of hours as days and hours of pupil instruction for the
purposes of this section. For 2018-2019, the days included in the executive
order are January 29, 2019 to February 2, 2019. With the approval of the
superintendent of public instruction, the department shall count as hours and
days of pupil instruction for a fiscal year not more than 3 additional days or
the equivalent number of additional hours for which pupil instruction is not
provided in a district 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 hours or days are not
counted as hours or days of pupil instruction.
(b) Days or the equivalent number of
hours, not to exceed a total of 7 days or the
equivalent number of hours for those days each school year, for which pupil
instruction is provided as an e-learning day as described in section
1851b(9)(a) of the revised school code, MCL 380.1851b, are counted as hours and
days of pupil instruction. The hours and days counted under this subdivision
are in addition to the hours and days counted under subdivisions (a), (c), and
(d).
(c) Days or the equivalent number of
hours, not to exceed a total of 20 days or the equivalent number of hours for
those days each school year, for which pupil instruction is provided as an
e-learning day as described in section 1851b(9)(b) of the revised school code,
MCL 380.1851b, are counted as hours and days of pupil instruction. The hours
and days counted under this subdivision are in addition to the hours and days
counted under subdivisions (a), (b), and (d).
(d) Days or the equivalent number of
hours for which pupil instruction is provided as an e-learning day as described
in section 1851b(9)(c) of the revised school code, MCL 380.1851b, are counted
as hours and days of pupil instruction. The hours and days counted under this
subdivision are in addition to the hours and days counted under subdivisions
(a), (b), and (c).
(e) Except as otherwise provided in
this section, the department shall not count any hours and days other than the
hours and days described in subdivisions (a) to (d) as hours and days of pupil
instruction for the purposes of this section if pupil instruction was not
provided on those days or for those hours due to conditions or for reasons
described in this subsection.
(5) A district does 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) 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 have occurred in a district, the district forfeits
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 article
that is equal to the proportion below the required minimum number of hours and
days 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 hours and days of pupil
instruction under subsection (3) in a school year, including hours and days
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 hours and days of pupil instruction under subsection (3) in a school
year, including hours and days counted under subsection (4).
(7) In providing the minimum number
of hours and days 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 hours equal to at least 80% of the required minimum
number of 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 hours equal to at least 75% of the required minimum number of 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, is 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 is 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) Except as otherwise provided in
subsections (11) and (12), (10), (13), and (14), 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 shall waive for a district the
minimum number of hours and days of pupil instruction requirement of subsection
(3) for a department-approved alternative education program or another
innovative program approved by the department, including a 4-day school week.
If a district applies for and receives a waiver under this subsection and
complies with the terms of the waiver, the district is not subject to
forfeiture under this section for the specific program covered by the waiver.
If the district does not comply with the terms of the waiver, the amount of the
forfeiture is calculated based upon a comparison of the number of hours and
days of pupil instruction actually provided to the
minimum number of hours and days of pupil instruction required under subsection
(3). A district shall report pupils enrolled in a department-approved
alternative education program under this subsection to the center in a form and
manner determined by the center. All of the following apply to a waiver granted
under this subsection:
(a) If the waiver is for a blended
model of delivery, a waiver that is granted for the 2011-2012 fiscal year or a
subsequent fiscal year remains in effect unless it is revoked by the
superintendent.
(b) If the waiver is for a 100%
online model of delivery and the educational program for which the waiver is
granted makes educational services available to pupils for a minimum of at
least 1,098 hours during a school year and ensures that each pupil is on track
for course completion at proficiency level, a waiver that is granted for the
2011-2012 fiscal year or a subsequent fiscal year remains in effect unless it
is revoked by the superintendent.
(c) A waiver that is not a waiver
described in subdivision (a) or (b) is valid for 1 fiscal year and must be
renewed annually to remain in effect.
(10) For the 2020-2021 school year,
the department shall waive the required minimum number of hours and days of
pupil instruction under subsection (3) for each district that is providing
instruction under an extended continuity of learning plan that has been
approved by an intermediate district or authorizing body, as applicable, under
subsection (11). It is the intent of the legislature that extended continuity
of learning plans described in this subsection provide districts with maximum
flexibility to adapt their educational programs for some or all pupils at some
or all of the schools operated by the district to
respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. An extended continuity of learning plan
described in this subsection must contain all of the elements required for
inclusion in a continuity of learning and COVID-19 response plan under
Executive Order No. 2020-65 and must include all of the following additional
elements:
(a) A statement indicating why an
extended continuity of learning plan is necessary to increase pupil engagement
and achievement for the 2020-2021 school year.
(b) The educational goals expected to
be achieved. An extended continuity of learning plan described in this
subsection must specify which educational goals described in this subdivision
are expected to be achieved by the middle of the school year and which goals
are expected to be achieved by the end of the school year. All of the following
apply to the educational goals described in this subdivision:
(i) The goals must include increased
pupil achievement or growth on a benchmark assessment described in subparagraph
(ii) in the aggregate and for all subgroups of pupils.
(ii) The goals must include an assurance
that the district shall select a benchmark assessment that is aligned to state
standards and an assurance that the district shall administer the benchmark
assessment to all pupils in the fall, winter, and spring of the school year to
determine whether pupils are making meaningful progress toward mastery of these
standards.
(iii) The goals must be measurable
through a benchmark assessment described in subparagraph (ii).
(c) A description of how instruction
will be delivered. Instruction, as described in this subdivision, may be
delivered at school or at a different location, in
person, online, digitally, by other remote means, in a synchronous or
asynchronous format, or any combination thereof.
(d) A description of how instruction
for core academic areas provided under the extended continuity of learning plan
will expose each pupil to the academic standards that apply for each pupil's
grade level or courses in the same scope and sequence as the district had
planned for that exposure to occur for in-person instruction and a description
of how pupil progress toward mastery of the standards described in this
subdivision will be graded or otherwise reported to the pupil and the pupil's
parent or legal guardian.
(e) An assurance and description of
how pupils will be provided with equitable access to technology and the
internet necessary to participate in instruction.
(f) A description of how the district
will ensure that students with disabilities will be provided with equitable
access to instruction accommodation in accordance with applicable state and
federal laws, rules, and regulations.
(g) A requirement that, if the
district provides in-person instruction for the 2020-2021 school year, the
district consults with the local health department regarding any applicable
guidelines issued by the department or department of health and human services
concerning providing in-person instruction at school for the 2020-2021 school
year, including, but not limited to, guidelines for school building cleaning
and school building occupancy and a requirement that the district, except as
otherwise provided in this subdivision, implement the guidelines, if any,
described in this subdivision. If the guidelines described in this subdivision include a recommendation that a district
close 1 or more of its school buildings, the ultimate decision concerning
whether or not to close those school buildings remains with the district.
(h) A requirement that the district
offer in-person pupil instruction to all pupils enrolled in grades K to 5 for
the 2020-2021 school year.
(i) A requirement that, if the
district provides in-person pupil instruction to pupils in any of grades K to 5
for the 2020-2021 school year and if a pupil enrolled in the district, a teacher, or the parent
or legal guardian of a pupil enrolled in the district requests some reasonable
form of protective barriers, masks, or gloves, the district shall make its best
effort to obtain and provide all requested protective barriers, masks, or
gloves to the pupil or teacher. If a pupil or the parent or legal guardian of a
pupil makes a request under this subdivision, the district is not required to
make its best effort to obtain and provide requested protective barriers,
masks, or gloves to pupils other than the pupil making the request or the pupil
whose parent or legal guardian is making the request.
(11) A district that is not a public
school academy that intends to provide instruction under an extended continuity
of learning plan shall submit its extended continuity of learning plan
described in subsection (10) to the intermediate district in which the district
is located by not later than August 15, 2020, and a district that is a public
school academy that intends to provide instruction under an extended continuity
of learning plan shall submit its extended continuity of learning plan
described in subsection (10) to its authorizing body by not later than August
15, 2020, for approval. The intermediate district or authorizing body shall
apply the same approval procedure used for the approval of a continuity of learning and COVID-19 response plan
under Executive Order No. 2020-65. If a district's extended continuity of
learning plan is approved under this subsection, the district shall transmit
copies of its plan to the superintendent of public instruction and the state
treasurer in the same manner that copies of a continuity of learning and
COVID-19 response plan are required to be transmitted to the superintendent of
public instruction and state treasurer under Executive Order No. 2020-65. To
assess progress toward educational goals, an intermediate district or
authorizing body may require a district to provide the intermediate district or
authorizing body with access to benchmark assessment data as a condition to
approval of an extended continuity of learning plan under this subsection. An
intermediate district or authorizing body that approves an extended continuity
of learning plan under this subsection is responsible for both of the
following:
(a) Monitoring the district's
implementation of the extended continuity of learning plan.
(b) Assessment and public reporting
regarding the district's progress toward the educational goals established in
the extended continuity of learning plan.
(12) (10) A district may count up to 38 hours
of qualifying professional development for teachers as hours of pupil
instruction. All of the following apply to the counting of qualifying
professional development as pupil instruction under this subsection:
(a) If qualifying professional
development exceeds 5 hours in a single day, that day may be counted as a day
of pupil instruction.
(b)
At least 8 hours of the qualifying professional development counted as hours of
pupil instruction under this subsection must be recommended by a districtwide
professional development advisory committee appointed by the district board.
The advisory committee must be composed of teachers employed by the district
who represent a variety of grades and subject matter specializations, including
special education; nonteaching staff; parents; and administrators. The majority
membership of the committee shall
must be
composed of teaching staff.
(c) Professional development
provided online is allowable and encouraged, as long as the instruction has
been approved by the district. The department shall issue a list of approved
online professional development providers, which must include the Michigan Virtual
School.
(d) Qualifying professional
development may only be counted as hours of pupil instruction for the pupils of
those teachers scheduled to participate in the qualifying professional
development.
(e) For professional development to
be considered qualifying professional development under this subsection, the
professional development must meet all of the following:
(i)
Is aligned to the school or district improvement plan for the school or
district in which the professional development is being provided.
(ii)
Is linked to 1 or more criteria in the evaluation tool developed or adopted by
the district or intermediate district under section 1249 of the revised school
code, MCL 380.1249.
(iii)
Has been approved by the department as counting for state continuing education
clock hours. The number of hours of professional
development counted as hours of pupil instruction may not exceed the number of
state continuing education clock hours for which the qualifying professional
development was approved.
(iv)
Not more than a combined total of 10 hours of the professional development
takes place before the first scheduled day of school for the school year ending
in the fiscal year and after the last scheduled day of school for that school
year.
(v)
No more than 10 hours of qualifying professional development takes place in a
single month.
(vi)
At least 75% of teachers scheduled to participate in the professional
development are in attendance.
(13) (11) Subsections (3) and (8) do not apply
to a school of excellence that is a cyber school, as that term is defined in section 551 of the
revised school code, MCL 380.551, and is in compliance with section 553a of the
revised school code, MCL 380.553a.
(14) (12) Subsections (3) and (8) do not apply
to eligible pupils enrolled in a dropout recovery program that meets the
requirements of section 23a. As used in this subsection, "eligible
pupil" means that term as defined in section 23a.
(15) (13) At least every 2 years the
superintendent shall review the waiver standards set forth in the pupil
accounting and auditing manuals to ensure that the waiver standards and waiver
process continue to be appropriate and responsive to changing trends in online
learning. The superintendent shall solicit and consider input from stakeholders
as part of this review.
(16) An extended continuity of
learning plan described in subsection (10) and approved under subsection (11)
must be made accessible through the transparency reporting link located on the district's website.
(17) The amendatory act that added subsection (16) must not be
construed as imposing mandates on nonpublic schools.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect unless all of the following bills of the 100th Legislature are enacted into law:
(a) House Bill No. 5910.
(b) House Bill No. 5913.