Bill Text: MI SB1012 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Education; other; certain requirements concerning required hours and days of pupil instruction; modify. Amends sec. 101 of 1979 PA 94 (MCL 388.1701). TIE BAR WITH: SB 1013'20, SB 1011'20
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-22 - Referred To Committee On Education And Career Readiness [SB1012 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2019-SB1012-Introduced.html
SENATE BILL NO. 1012
July 22, 2020, Introduced by Senator THEIS and
referred to the Committee on Education and Career Readiness.
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
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, provided through a program or programs adopted
or renewed by a district under 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) (4) 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) Except as otherwise provided in
this subsection, 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, through a
program or programs adopted or renewed by a district under section 1851b 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), (d), and (e).
(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, through a program or programs adopted or renewed by a district
under section 1851b 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), (d), and (e).
(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, through a
program or programs adopted or renewed by a district under section 1851b 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), (c), and (e).
(e) With the approval of the
superintendent of public instruction, if a district closes its schools on 1 or
more days and does not provide in-person instruction on those days but, instead,
on those days provides remote instruction to pupils that exposes the pupils to
the academic standards that apply for the pupil's grade level or courses in the
same scope and sequence as the district provides for in-person instruction
because the district determines the school closure and remote instruction are
necessary due to health, safety, and welfare concerns related to the COVID-19
pandemic, those days or the equivalent number of hours for those days count 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), (c), and (d).
(f) 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 (e) 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. All of the following apply to the goals described in this
subdivision:
(i) The goals must include increased
pupil achievement on the Michigan student test for educational progress
(M-STEP) or the Michigan merit examination, as applicable, 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 the Michigan student test of educational progress (M-STEP), the
Michigan merit examination, or 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 implement the
guidelines, if any, described in this subdivision.
(11) Except as otherwise provided in
this subsection, a district that is not a public school academy shall submit an
extended continuity of learning plan described in subsection (10) to the
intermediate district in which the district is located by not later than August
1, 2020, and a district that is a public school academy shall submit an
extended continuity of learning plan described in subsection (10) to its
authorizing body by not later than August 1, 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
all 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.
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) Senate Bill No. 1011.
(b) Senate Bill No. 1013.
