Bill Text: AZ HB2012 | 2012 | Fiftieth Legislature 2nd Regular | Introduced
Bill Title: County school superintendents; powers; duties
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-11 - Referred to House ED Committee [HB2012 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2012-HB2012-Introduced.html
PREFILED NOV 21 2011
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REFERENCE TITLE: county school superintendents; powers; duties |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fiftieth Legislature Second Regular Session 2012
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HB 2012 |
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Introduced by Representative Fillmore
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AN ACT
amending sections 15‑353, 15‑502, 15-721, 15-722, 15-726 and 15-977, Arizona Revised Statutes; amending title 15, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding chapter 9.1; relating to county school superintendents.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 15-353, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-353. Responsibilities of principals
A. The principal of every school offering instruction in preschool programs, kindergarten programs or any combination of grades one through twelve is responsible for:
1. Providing leadership for the school.
2. Implementing the goals and the strategic plan of the school.
3. Serving as the administrator of the school.
4. Distributing a parental satisfaction survey to the parent of every child enrolled at the school. The parental satisfaction survey shall be distributed at least once each year and shall be distributed as part of the regular parent communication correspondence.
B. The principal of every school offering instruction in preschool programs, kindergarten programs or any combination of grades one through twelve may terminate the employment of any classroom teacher who is employed at that school at any time, subject to review and approval by the county school superintendent. A school district governing board shall not enter into a collective bargaining agreement that prohibits a principal from terminating the employment of classroom teachers pursuant to this subsection. This subsection shall not be construed to prevent or interfere with a school district governing board's independent authority to terminate the employment of classroom teachers pursuant to chapter 5 of this title.
Sec. 2. Section 15-502, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-502. Employment of school district personnel; payment of wages of discharged employee
A. The governing board at any time may employ and fix the salaries and benefits of employees necessary for the succeeding year. The contracts of all certificated employees shall be in writing, and all employees shall be employed subject to section 38‑481. The governing board may obtain the services of any employee, including teachers, substitute teachers and administrators, by contracting with a private entity that employs personnel required by the school district.
B. A teacher shall not be employed if the teacher has not received a certificate for teaching granted by the proper authorities. If a teacher has filed an application and completed all of the requirements for a certificate but time does not allow a teacher to receive a certificate before the commencement of employment, the conditional certificate shall serve as a certificate for the payment of wages, provided that the teacher files the conditional certificate with the county school superintendent and the certificate is issued within three months of the date of commencing employment. In order to be paid wages beyond the three month period prescribed in this subsection, the teacher shall file the certificate with the county school superintendent. Any contract issued to a teacher who has completed certificate requirements but has not received a certificate shall be specifically contingent upon on receipt of such a certificate. The governing board of a school district that is subject to section 15‑914.01 shall adhere to the duties described in section 15‑302, subsection A, paragraph 9 for purposes of this subsection.
C. No dependent, as defined in section 43‑1001, of a governing board member may be employed in the school district in which the person to whom such dependent is so related is a governing board member, except by consent of the board.
D. The governing board may employ certificated teachers under contract as part‑time classroom teachers. Notwithstanding any other statute, a certificated teacher who has been employed by the school district for more than the major portion of three consecutive school years does not lose the entitlement to the procedures prescribed in sections 15‑538.01, 15‑539 through 15‑544 and 15‑547 if the teacher is employed under contract on a part‑time basis for at least forty per cent time. For the purposes of this subsection, "forty per cent time" means employed for at least forty per cent of the school day required of full‑time teachers of the same grade level or for at least forty per cent of the class load assigned to full‑time teachers of the same grade level, as determined by the governing board.
E. The governing board may employ a business manager who has expertise in finance. For the purposes of this subsection, "expertise in finance" means one or more of the following:
1. A baccalaureate degree in accounting, finance, school finance or public finance.
2. A graduate degree in accounting, finance, school finance or public finance.
3. Other finance training or finance experience that the governing board determines is sufficient to qualify the person to administer the business operations of the school district.
F. Notwithstanding sections 23‑351 and 23‑353, if an employee is discharged from the service of a school district, the school district shall pay the wages due to the employee within ten calendar days from the date of discharge.
G. Each school district shall establish policies and procedures to provide teachers with personal liability insurance.
H. Notwithstanding any other law, a school district shall not adopt policies that provide employment retention priority for teachers based on tenure or seniority.
I. This article shall not be construed to prevent or interfere with a principal's independent authority to terminate the employment of classroom teachers pursuant to section 15‑353.
Sec. 3. Section 15-721, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-721. Common schools; course of study; textbooks and teaching aids; definition
A. Beginning in the 2012‑2013 school year, the county school superintendent shall select one basic textbook for each grade level for each academic subject or course that is provided to pupils who are enrolled in school districts within that county. If the boundaries of a school district are within two or more counties, the county school superintendent of the county where the majority of that school district's pupils are enrolled shall select the textbooks for that entire school district. The governing board shall approve for common schools the course of study, the basic textbook for each course and all units recommended for credit under each general subject title prior to implementation of the course.
B. If any course does not include a basic textbook, the governing board county school superintendent shall approve all supplemental books used in the course prior to approval of the course.
C. If any course includes a basic textbook and uses supplemental books, the governing board county school superintendent may approve all supplemental books and teaching aids, including instructional computer software, that are used in the course prior to approval of the course.
D. If the course includes a basic textbook and uses supplemental books that have not been approved by the governing board at the time of approval of the course county school superintendent, a teacher may use the supplemental books at any time during the school year. Use of the supplemental books shall be brought to the attention of the governing board county school superintendent during the school year in which they are added for ratification.
E. Notwithstanding any other law, subsections B and C of this section do not apply to supplemental books used in courses or programs instituted pursuant to article 4 of this chapter.
F. The governing board shall:
1. Enforce the course of study and select all textbooks used in the common schools and purchase the textbooks selected by the county school superintendent from the publishers. District school funds may be budgeted and expended by the governing board for teaching aids, including instructional computer software. For courses that do not require that each student have a textbook other than for classroom instruction, the school district need only purchase one textbook for each student in the largest group that would be receiving classroom instruction at any one time.
2. Require that all meetings of committees authorized for the purposes of textbook review and selection of teaching aids be open to the public as prescribed in title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1.
3. Make available at the school district office for review by the public, for a period of sixty days prior to formal selection of textbooks a teaching aid, a copy of each textbook teaching aid that is being considered for selection.
G. For the purposes of this section, "textbook" means printed instructional materials or digital content, or both, and related printed or nonprinted instructional materials, that are written and published primarily for use in school instruction and that are required by a state educational agency or a local educational agency for use by pupils in the classroom, including materials that require the availability of electronic equipment in order to be used as a learning resource.
Sec. 4. Section 15-722, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-722. High schools; course of study; textbooks; definition
A. Beginning in the 2012‑2013 school year, the county school superintendent shall select one basic textbook for each grade level for each academic subject or course that is provided to pupils who are enrolled in school districts within that county. If the boundaries of a school district are within two or more counties, the county school superintendent of the county where the majority of that school district's pupils are enrolled shall select the textbooks for that entire school district. The governing board shall approve for high schools the course of study, the basic textbook for each course and all units that are recommended for credit under each general subject title prior to implementation of such course.
B. If any course does not include a basic textbook, the governing board county school superintendent shall approve all supplemental books that are used in such course prior to usage.
C. If any course includes a basic textbook and uses supplemental books or instructional computer software, the governing board county school superintendent may approve all supplemental books and instructional computer software that are used in such course prior to usage.
D. If the course includes a basic text and uses supplemental books that have not been approved by the governing board at the time of approval of the course county school superintendent, a teacher may use such supplemental books at any time during the school year. Use of such supplemental books shall be brought to the attention of the governing board county school superintendent during the school year in which they are added for ratification.
E. The governing board county school superintendent shall prescribe up to five textbooks for each course, and the teacher, with the consent of the governing board county school superintendent, may use any one of the prescribed textbooks for the purposes of the teacher's course.
F. For the purposes of this section, "textbook" means printed instructional materials or digital content, or both, and related printed or nonprinted instructional materials, that are written and published primarily for use in school instruction and that are required by a state educational agency or a local educational agency for use by pupils in the classroom, including materials that require the availability of electronic equipment in order to be used as a learning resource.
Sec. 5. Section 15-726, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-726. Purchase of textbooks and instructional computer software by schools having four or fewer teachers; welfare institutions
A. In all schools having four or fewer teachers, the county school superintendent may have advisory authority to assist advise the governing board in the selection and ordering of textbooks and instructional computer software pursuant to this title.
B. State welfare institutions maintaining educational facilities and the various accommodation schools shall purchase textbooks and instructional computer software by the same procedures as provided for the common schools.
C. Welfare institutions shall purchase textbooks and instructional computer software with their own institutional funds, and the textbooks and instructional computer software required for the accommodation schools shall be purchased by the county school superintendents from the county school reserve funds of the various counties.
Sec. 6. Section 15-977, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-977. Classroom site fund; definitions
A. The classroom site fund is established consisting of monies transferred to the fund pursuant to section 37‑521, subsection B and section 42‑5029, subsection E, paragraph 10. The department of education shall administer the fund. School districts and charter schools may not supplant existing school site funding with revenues from the fund. All monies distributed from the fund are intended for use at the school site. Each school district or charter school shall allocate forty per cent of the monies for teacher compensation increases based on performance and employment related expenses, twenty per cent of the monies for teacher base salary increases and employment related expenses and forty per cent of the monies for maintenance and operation purposes as prescribed in subsection H of this section. Teacher compensation increases based on performance or teacher base salary increases distributed pursuant to this subsection shall supplement, and not supplant, teacher compensation monies from any other sources. The school district or charter school shall notify each school principal of the amount available to the school by April 15 of each year. The district or charter school shall request from the school's principal each school's priority for the allocation of the funds available to the school for each program listed under subsection H of this section. The amount budgeted by the school district or charter school pursuant to this section shall not be included in the allowable budget balance carryforward calculated pursuant to section 15‑943.01.
B. A school district governing board must adopt a performance based compensation system at a public hearing to allocate funding from the classroom site fund pursuant to subsection A of this section.
C. A school district governing board shall vote on a performance based compensation system that includes the following elements:
1. School district performance and school performance.
2. Measures of academic progress toward the academic standards adopted by the state board of education.
3. Other measures of academic progress.
4. Dropout or graduation rates.
5. Attendance rates.
6. Ratings of school quality by parents.
7. Ratings of school quality by students.
8. The input of teachers and administrators.
9. Approval of the performance based compensation system based on an affirmative vote of at least seventy per cent of the teachers eligible to participate in the performance based compensation system.
10. An appeals process for teachers who have been denied performance based compensation. The basis for an appeal under this paragraph is limited to a review of whether or not the teacher met the criteria established by the county school superintendent for inclusion in the highest performing twenty per cent of the teachers in the school district or charter school.
11. Regular evaluation for effectiveness.
D. A performance based compensation system shall include teacher professional development programs that are aligned with the elements of the performance based compensation system.
E. A school district governing board may modify the elements contained in subsection C of this section and consider additional elements when adopting a performance based compensation system. A school district governing board shall adopt any modifications or additional elements and specify the criteria used at a public hearing.
F. Until December 31, 2009, each school district shall develop an assessment plan for its performance based compensation system and submit the plan to the department of education by December 31 of each year. A copy of the performance based compensation system and assessment plan adopted by the school district governing board shall be included in the report submitted to the department of education.
G. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated, are exempt from the provisions of section 35‑190 relating to lapsing of appropriations and shall be distributed as follows:
1. By March 30 of each year, the staff of the joint legislative budget committee shall determine a per pupil amount from the fund for the budget year using the estimated statewide weighted count for the current year pursuant to section 15‑943, paragraph 2, subdivision (a) and based on estimated available resources in the classroom site fund for the budget year adjusted for any prior year carryforward or shortfall.
2. The allocation to each charter school and school district for a fiscal year shall equal the per pupil amount established in paragraph 1 of this subsection for the fiscal year multiplied by the weighted student count for the school district or charter school for the fiscal year pursuant to section 15‑943, paragraph 2, subdivision (a). For the purposes of this paragraph, the weighted student count for a school district that serves as the district of attendance for nonresident pupils shall be increased to include nonresident pupils who attend school in the school district.
H. Monies distributed from the classroom site fund shall be spent for the following maintenance and operation purposes:
1. Class size reduction.
2. Teacher compensation increases.
3. AIMS intervention programs.
4. Teacher development.
5. Dropout prevention programs.
6. Teacher liability insurance premiums.
I. The district governing board or charter school shall allocate the classroom site fund monies to include, wherever possible, the priorities identified by the principals of the schools while assuring that the funds maximize classroom opportunities and conform to the authorized expenditures identified in subsection A of this section.
J. School districts and charter schools that receive monies from the classroom site fund shall submit a report by November 15 of each year to the superintendent of public instruction that provides an accounting of the expenditures of monies distributed from the fund during the previous fiscal year and a summary of the results of district and school programs funded with monies distributed from the fund. The department of education in conjunction with the auditor general shall prescribe the format of the report under this subsection.
K. School districts and charter schools that receive monies from the classroom site fund shall receive these monies monthly in an amount not to exceed one‑twelfth of the monies estimated pursuant to subsection G of this section, except that if there are insufficient monies in the fund that month to make payments, the distribution for that month shall be prorated for each school district or charter school. The department of education may make an additional payment in the current month for any prior month or months in which school districts or charter schools received a prorated payment if there are sufficient monies in the fund that month for the additional payments. The state is not required to make payments to a school district or charter school classroom site fund if the state classroom site fund revenue collections are insufficient to meet the estimated allocations to school districts and charter schools pursuant to subsection G of this section.
L. The state education system for committed youth shall receive monies from the classroom site fund in the same manner as school districts and charter schools. The Arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind shall receive monies from the classroom site fund in an amount that corresponds to the weighted student count for the current year pursuant to section 15‑943, paragraph 2, subdivision (b) for each pupil enrolled in the Arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the Arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind and the state education system for committed youth are subject to this section in the same manner as school districts and charter schools.
M. Each school district and charter school, including school districts that unify pursuant to section 15‑448 or consolidate pursuant to section 15‑459, shall establish a local level classroom site fund to receive allocations from the state level classroom site fund. The local level classroom site fund shall be a budgetary controlled account. Interest charges for any registered warrants for the local level classroom site fund shall be a charge against the local level classroom site fund. Interest earned on monies in the local level classroom site fund shall be added to the local level classroom site fund as provided in section 15‑978. This state shall not be required to make payments to a school district or charter school local level classroom site fund that are in addition to monies transferred to the state level classroom site fund pursuant to section 37‑521, subsection B and section 42‑5029, subsection E, paragraph 10.
N. Monies distributed from the classroom site fund for class size reduction, AIMS intervention and dropout prevention programs shall only be used for instructional purposes in the instruction function as defined in the uniform system of financial records, except that monies shall not be used for school sponsored athletics.
O. Monies distributed from the classroom site fund for teacher compensation increases that are based on performance shall be distributed to only the highest performing twenty per cent of the teachers in the school district or charter school based on the criteria established by the county school superintendent. In determining these criteria, the county school superintendent shall take into consideration the elements prescribed in the performance based compensation system adopted pursuant to subsection C of this section, but the county school superintendent may establish additional or different criteria.
O. P. For the purposes of this section:
1. "AIMS intervention" means summer programs, after school programs, before school programs or tutoring programs that are specifically designed to ensure that pupils meet the Arizona academic standards as measured by the Arizona instrument to measure standards test prescribed by section 15‑741.
2. "Class size reduction" means any maintenance and operations expenditure that is designed to reduce the ratio of pupils to classroom teachers, including the use of persons who serve as aides to classroom teachers.
Sec. 7. Title 15, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding chapter 9.1, to read:
CHAPTER 9.1
SCHOOL FINANCE
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
15-1051. School finance; role of county school superintendent; pupil testing
A. Notwithstanding any other law, funding shall be provided pursuant to this title on a per pupil basis to each county school SUPERINTENDENT.
B. Each county school superintendent shall disburse the funding provided PURSUANT to this title to the school districts and charter schools in that county in a manner and in an amount necessary for the county, the school district and the charter school to comply with the laws of this state.
C. In order to receive funding disbursed pursuant to this title, the county school superintendent shall verify that each school district and charter school in that county annually administers the following tests to pupils in that school district or charter school:
1. A nationally recognized standardized placement test to pupils in grades three and eight.
2. A nationally recognized standardized test for college admissions for pupils in grades ten, eleven and twelve.
