Bill Text: AZ HB2147 | 2012 | Fiftieth Legislature 2nd Regular | Introduced
Bill Title: School finance; average daily attendance
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-19 - Referred to House ED Committee [HB2147 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2012-HB2147-Introduced.html
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REFERENCE TITLE: school finance; average daily attendance |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fiftieth Legislature Second Regular Session 2012
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HB 2147 |
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Introduced by Representatives Seel: Harper
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AN ACT
amending sections 15‑185, 15‑239, 15‑248.01, 15‑349, 15‑393, 15‑431, 15‑448, 15‑746, 15‑771, 15‑792.03, 15‑808, 15‑824, 15‑901, 15‑901.06, 15‑902.03, 15‑910.01, 15‑913.01, 15‑914, 15‑915, 15‑948, 15‑954, 15‑991, 15‑1042, 15‑1251, 15‑1371, 15‑1372, 15‑2011 and 16‑531, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to school finance.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 15-185, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-185. Charter schools; financing; civil penalty; transportation; definitions
A. Financial provisions for a charter school that is sponsored by a school district governing board are as follows:
1. The charter school shall be included in the district's budget and financial assistance calculations pursuant to paragraph 3 of this subsection and chapter 9 of this title, except for chapter 9, article 4 of this title. The charter of the charter school shall include a description of the methods of funding the charter school by the school district. The school district shall send a copy of the charter and application, including a description of how the school district plans to fund the school, to the state board of education before the start of the first fiscal year of operation of the charter school. The charter or application shall include an estimate of the student count for the charter school for its first fiscal year of operation. This estimate shall be computed pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 3 of this subsection.
2. A school district is not financially responsible for any charter school that is sponsored by the state board of education, the state board for charter schools, a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents, a community college district or a group of community college districts.
3. A school district that sponsors a charter school may:
(a) Increase its student count as provided in subsection B, paragraph 2 of this section during the first year of the charter school's operation to include those charter school pupils who were not previously enrolled in the school district. A charter school sponsored by a school district governing board is eligible for the assistance prescribed in subsection B, paragraph 4 of this section. The soft capital allocation as provided in section 15‑962 for the school district sponsoring the charter school shall be increased by the amount of the additional assistance. The school district shall include the full amount of the additional assistance in the funding provided to the charter school.
(b) Compute separate weighted student counts pursuant to section 15‑943, paragraph 2, subdivision (a) for its noncharter school versus charter school pupils in order to maintain eligibility for small school district support level weights authorized in section 15‑943, paragraph 1 for its noncharter school pupils only. The portion of a district's student count that is attributable to charter school pupils is not eligible for small school district support level weights.
4. If a school district uses the provisions of paragraph 3 of this subsection, the school district is not eligible to include those pupils in its student count for the purposes of computing an increase in its revenue control limit and district support level as provided in section 15‑948.
5. A school district that sponsors a charter school is not eligible to include the charter school pupils in its student count for the purpose of computing an increase in its capital outlay revenue limit as provided in section 15‑961, subsection C, except that if the charter school was previously a school in the district, the district may include in its student count any charter school pupils who were enrolled in the school district in the prior year.
6. A school district that sponsors a charter school is not eligible to include the charter school pupils in its student count for the purpose of computing the revenue control limit which is used to determine the maximum budget increase as provided in chapter 4, article 4 of this title unless the charter school is located within the boundaries of the school district.
7. If a school district converts one or more of its district public schools to a charter school and receives assistance as prescribed in subsection B, paragraph 4 of this section, and subsequently converts the charter school back to a district public school, the school district shall repay the state the total additional assistance received for the charter school for all years that the charter school was in operation. The repayment shall be in one lump sum and shall be reduced from the school district's current year equalization assistance. The school district's general budget limit shall be reduced by the same lump sum amount in the current year.
B. Financial provisions for a charter school that is sponsored by the state board of education, the state board for charter schools, a university, a community college district or a group of community college districts are as follows:
1. The charter school shall calculate a base support level as prescribed in section 15‑943, except that section 15‑941 does not apply to these charter schools.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this subsection, the student count shall be determined initially using an estimated student count based on actual registration of pupils before the beginning of the school year. After the first one hundred days or two hundred days in session, as applicable, the charter school shall revise the student count to be equal to the actual average daily membership attendance, as defined in section 15‑901, of the charter school. Before the one hundredth day or two hundredth day in session, as applicable, the state board of education, the state board for charter schools, the sponsoring university, the sponsoring community college district or the sponsoring group of community college districts may require a charter school to report periodically regarding pupil enrollment and attendance, and the department of education may revise its computation of equalization assistance based on the report. A charter school shall revise its student count, base support level and additional assistance before May 15. A charter school that overestimated its student count shall revise its budget before May 15. A charter school that underestimated its student count may revise its budget before May 15.
3. A charter school may utilize section 15‑855 for the purposes of this section. The charter school and the department of education shall prescribe procedures for determining average daily membership attendance.
4. Equalization assistance for the charter school shall be determined by adding the amount of the base support level and additional assistance. The amount of the additional assistance is one thousand six hundred twenty‑one dollars ninety‑seven cents per student count in kindergarten programs and grades one through eight and one thousand eight hundred ninety dollars thirty‑eight cents per student count in grades nine through twelve.
5. The state board of education shall apportion state aid from the appropriations made for such purposes to the state treasurer for disbursement to the charter schools in each county in an amount as determined by this paragraph. The apportionments shall be made as prescribed in section 15‑973, subsection B.
6. The charter school shall not charge tuition for pupils who reside in this state, levy taxes or issue bonds. A charter school may admit pupils who are not residents of this state and shall charge tuition for those pupils in the same manner prescribed in section 15‑823.
7. Not later than noon on the day preceding each apportionment date established by paragraph 5 of this subsection, the superintendent of public instruction shall furnish to the state treasurer an abstract of the apportionment and shall certify the apportionment to the department of administration, which shall draw its warrant in favor of the charter schools for the amount apportioned.
C. If a pupil is enrolled in both a charter school and a public school that is not a charter school, the sum of the average daily membership attendance, which includes enrollment as prescribed in section 15‑901, subsection A, paragraph 1, subdivisions (a) and (b) and daily attendance as prescribed in section 15‑901, subsection A, paragraph 5, for that pupil in the school district and the charter school shall not exceed 1.0, except that if the pupil is enrolled in both a charter school and a joint technical education district and resides within the boundaries of a school district participating in the joint technical education district, the sum of the average daily membership attendance for that pupil in the charter school and the joint technical education district shall not exceed 1.25. If a pupil is enrolled in both a charter school and a public school that is not a charter school, the department of education shall direct the average daily membership attendance to the school with the most recent enrollment date. Upon validation of actual enrollment in both a charter school and a public school that is not a charter school and if the sum of the daily membership or daily attendance for that pupil is greater than 1.0, the sum shall be reduced to 1.0 and shall be apportioned between the public school and the charter school based on the percentage of total time that the pupil is enrolled or in attendance in the public school and the charter school, except that if the pupil is enrolled in both a charter school and a joint technical education district and resides within the boundaries of a school district participating in the joint technical education district, the sum of the average daily membership attendance for that pupil in the charter school and the joint technical education district shall be reduced to 1.25 and shall be apportioned between the charter school and the joint technical education district based on the percentage of total time that the pupil is enrolled or in attendance in the charter school and the joint technical education district. The uniform system of financial records shall include guidelines for the apportionment of the pupil enrollment and attendance as provided in this section.
D. Charter schools are allowed to accept grants and gifts to supplement their state funding, but it is not the intent of the charter school law to require taxpayers to pay twice to educate the same pupils. The base support level for a charter school or for a school district sponsoring a charter school shall be reduced by an amount equal to the total amount of monies received by a charter school from a federal or state agency if the federal or state monies are intended for the basic maintenance and operations of the school. The superintendent of public instruction shall estimate the amount of the reduction for the budget year and shall revise the reduction to reflect the actual amount before May 15 of the current year. If the reduction results in a negative amount, the negative amount shall be used in computing all budget limits and equalization assistance, except that:
1. Equalization assistance shall not be less than zero.
2. For a charter school sponsored by the state board of education, the state board for charter schools, a university, a community college district or a group of community college districts, the total of the base support level and the additional assistance shall not be less than zero.
3. For a charter school sponsored by a school district, the base support level for the school district shall not be reduced by more than the amount that the charter school increased the district's base support level, capital outlay revenue limit and soft capital allocation.
E. If a charter school was a district public school in the prior year and is now being operated for or by the same school district and sponsored by the state board of education, the state board for charter schools, a university, a community college district, a group of community college districts or a school district governing board, the reduction in subsection D of this section applies. The reduction to the base support level of the charter school or the sponsoring district of the charter school shall equal the sum of the base support level and the additional assistance received in the current year for those pupils who were enrolled in the traditional public school in the prior year and are now enrolled in the charter school in the current year.
F. Equalization assistance for charter schools shall be provided as a single amount based on average daily membership attendance without categorical distinctions between maintenance and operations or capital.
G. At the request of a charter school, the county school superintendent of the county where the charter school is located may provide the same educational services to the charter school as prescribed in section 15‑308, subsection A. The county school superintendent may charge a fee to recover costs for providing educational services to charter schools.
H. If the sponsor of the charter school determines at a public meeting that the charter school is not in compliance with federal law, with the laws of this state or with its charter, the sponsor of a charter school may submit a request to the department of education to withhold up to ten per cent of the monthly apportionment of state aid that would otherwise be due the charter school. The department of education shall adjust the charter school's apportionment accordingly. The sponsor shall provide written notice to the charter school at least seventy‑two hours before the meeting and shall allow the charter school to respond to the allegations of noncompliance at the meeting before the sponsor makes a final determination to notify the department of education of noncompliance. The charter school shall submit a corrective action plan to the sponsor on a date specified by the sponsor at the meeting. The corrective action plan shall be designed to correct deficiencies at the charter school and to ensure that the charter school promptly returns to compliance. When the sponsor determines that the charter school is in compliance, the department of education shall restore the full amount of state aid payments to the charter school.
I. In addition to the withholding of state aid payments pursuant to subsection H of this section, the sponsor of a charter school may impose a civil penalty of one thousand dollars per occurrence if a charter school fails to comply with the fingerprinting requirements prescribed in section 15‑183, subsection C or section 15‑512. The sponsor of a charter school shall not impose a civil penalty if it is the first time that a charter school is out of compliance with the fingerprinting requirements and if the charter school provides proof within forty-eight hours of written notification that an application for the appropriate fingerprint check has been received by the department of public safety. The sponsor of the charter school shall obtain proof that the charter school has been notified, and the notification shall identify the date of the deadline and shall be signed by both parties. The sponsor of a charter school shall automatically impose a civil penalty of one thousand dollars per occurrence if the sponsor determines that the charter school subsequently violates the fingerprinting requirements. Civil penalties pursuant to this subsection shall be assessed by requesting the department of education to reduce the amount of state aid that the charter school would otherwise receive by an amount equal to the civil penalty. The amount of state aid withheld shall revert to the state general fund at the end of the fiscal year.
J. A charter school may receive and spend monies distributed by the department of education pursuant to section 42‑5029, subsection E and section 37‑521, subsection B.
K. If a school district transports or contracts to transport pupils to the Arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind during any fiscal year, the school district may transport or contract with a charter school to transport sensory impaired pupils during that same fiscal year to a charter school if requested by the parent of the pupil and if the distance from the pupil's place of actual residence within the school district to the charter school is less than the distance from the pupil's place of actual residence within the school district to the campus of the Arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind.
L. Notwithstanding any other law, a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents, a community college district or a group of community college districts shall not include any student in the student count of the university, community college district or group of community college districts for state funding purposes if that student is enrolled in and attending a charter school sponsored by the university, community college district or group of community college districts.
M. The governing body of a charter school shall transmit a copy of its proposed budget or the summary of the proposed budget and a notice of the public hearing to the department of education for posting on the department of education's website no later than ten days before the hearing and meeting. If the charter school maintains a website, the charter school governing body shall post on its website a copy of its proposed budget or the summary of the proposed budget and a notice of the public hearing.
N. The governing body of a charter school shall collaborate with the private organization that is approved by the state board of education pursuant to section 15‑792.02 to provide approved board examination systems for the charter school.
O. If permitted by federal law, a charter school may opt out of federal grant opportunities if the charter holder or the appropriate governing body of the charter school determines that the federal requirements impose unduly burdensome reporting requirements.
P. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Monies intended for the basic maintenance and operations of the school" means monies intended to provide support for the educational program of the school, except that it does not include supplemental assistance for a specific purpose or title VIII of the elementary and secondary education act of 1965 monies. The auditor general shall determine which federal or state monies meet the definition in this paragraph.
2. "Operated for or by the same school district" means the charter school is either governed by the same district governing board or operated by the district in the same manner as other traditional schools in the district or is operated by an independent party that has a contract with the school district. The auditor general and the department of education shall determine which charter schools meet the definition in this subsection.
Sec. 2. Section 15-239, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-239. School compliance and recognition; accreditation; audits
A. The department of education may:
1. Monitor school districts to ascertain that laws applying to the school districts are implemented as prescribed by law.
2. Adopt a system of recognition for school districts that meet or exceed the requirements of the law that apply to the school districts.
3. Establish standards and procedures for the accreditation of all schools requesting state accreditation.
B. The department of education may adopt guidelines necessary to implement this section.
C. The department of education may conduct financial, compliance or average daily membership attendance audits of school districts and charter schools. Beginning in fiscal year 2011‑2012 and in each fiscal year thereafter, the department of education shall include at least a ten per cent sample of daily attendance records as part of the average daily membership attendance audits.
D. The auditor general may conduct financial, program, compliance or average daily membership attendance audits of school districts and charter schools. Beginning in fiscal year 2011‑2012 and in each fiscal year thereafter, the auditor general shall include at least a ten per cent sample of daily attendance records as part of the average daily membership attendance audits.
Sec. 3. Section 15-248.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-248.01. Task force on K‑3 accountability and assessments
A. The task force on K-3 accountability and assessments is established in the department of education consisting of the superintendent of public instruction or the superintendent's designee and the following members, each of whom shall be appointed by the superintendent of public instruction:
1. Three persons, each of whom is employed by a different school district in this state that provides instruction in kindergarten programs and grades one through three and that has an average daily membership attendance of at least thirty‑five thousand.
2. Three persons, each of whom is employed by a different school district in this state that provides instruction in kindergarten programs and grades one through three and that has an average daily membership attendance of at least one thousand five hundred but not more than thirty-five thousand.
3. Three persons, each of whom is employed by a different school district in this state that provides instruction in kindergarten programs and grades one through three and that has an average daily membership attendance of not more than one thousand five hundred.
4. Three persons, each of whom is employed by a different charter school in this state that provides instruction in kindergarten programs and grades one through three.
B. The task force shall elect a new chairperson from among its members each calendar year. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the members. The task force shall meet at least once each calendar quarter.
C. The appointed members of the task force serve at the pleasure of the superintendent of public instruction.
D. The department of education shall provide staff support, assistance and resources to the task force.
E. Task force members are eligible to receive compensation pursuant to section 38‑611.
F. The task force shall:
1. Examine and evaluate best practices in accountability and assessment measures and measures of academic gains for schools that provide instruction in kindergarten programs and grades one through three.
2. Conduct trial examinations of pupils in kindergarten programs and grades one through three.
3. Solicit and accept funding from any lawful public and private source to carry out the task force's activities. The superintendent of public instruction shall maintain monies collected pursuant to this paragraph in a separate account on the books of the department of education.
4. Submit an annual report on or before December 1 regarding the task force's findings to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate. Copies of this report shall be provided to the secretary of state.
G. School districts and charter schools may voluntarily participate in the measurement of academic gains developed by the task force pursuant to this section.
H. The department of education shall develop mechanisms to allow a school district or charter school that voluntarily participates in the measurement of academic gains developed by the task force pursuant to this section to improve its school classification designated pursuant to section 15‑241 if the school district's or charter school's academic gains meet the criteria developed by the department of education and approved by the state board of education. The state board of education shall review and approve the mechanisms developed by the department of education.
I. The department of education shall establish procedures to maintain the integrity of the testing process that will be used to measure academic gains developed by the task force pursuant to this section, including procedures for testing and scoring validity and reliability. The state board of education shall review and approve the testing process developed by the task force.
Sec. 4. Section 15-349, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-349. Operation of motor vehicle fleet; options to conventional fuels
A. The governing board of a school district with an average daily membership attendance as defined in section 15‑901 of more than three thousand that is located within or that has bus routes running within area A as defined in section 49‑541 shall develop and implement, subject to the availability of a state air quality funding source, a vehicle fleet plan for vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of at least seventeen thousand five hundred pounds for the purpose of encouraging the use of fuels listed pursuant to this subsection in school district owned vehicles. The plan shall provide for at least fifty per cent of the fleet with a gross vehicle weight rating of at least seventeen thousand five hundred pounds to operate on any of the following by December 31, 2004, and each year thereafter:
1. Alternative fuels or clean burning fuels as defined in section 1‑215.
2. Ultra low sulfur diesel fuel as defined in section 49‑558.01 that is used in an engine with an emission control device.
3. Vehicles powered by an engine that meets or exceeds an emission standard for diesel particulate matter of 0.05 grams per brake horsepower hour.
B. Engine retrofits or conversions meet the requirements of subsection A of this section if they have been approved for use by any one of the following:
1. The United States environmental protection agency voluntary retrofit program.
2. The United States environmental protection agency verification protocol for retrofit catalyst particulate filter and engine modification control technologies for highway and nonroad use diesel engines.
3. The California air resources board diesel emission control strategy verification procedure.
4. Sections 43100 and 43102 of the health and safety code of the state of California.
5. Actual emission testing performed on the vehicle.
C. This section does not preclude a school district from using any local, federal or private funding sources that may be available in order to comply with the requirements of this section.
D. If the requirements of subsection A of this section are met by the use of clean burning fuel as defined in section 1-215, vehicle equivalents under those requirements shall be calculated as follows:
1. One vehicle equivalent for every four hundred fifty gallons of neat biodiesel or two thousand two hundred fifty gallons of a diesel fuel substitute prescribed in section 1-215, paragraph 7, subdivision (b).
2. One vehicle equivalent for every five hundred thirty gallons of the fuel prescribed in section 1-215, paragraph 7, subdivision (d).
Sec. 5. Section 15-393, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-393. Joint technical education district governing board; report; definition
A. The management and control of the joint district are vested in the joint technical education district governing board, including the content and quality of the courses offered by the district, the quality of teachers who provide instruction on behalf of the district, the salaries of teachers who provide instruction on behalf of the district and the reimbursement of other entities for the facilities used by the district. Unless the governing boards of the school districts participating in the formation of the joint district vote to implement an alternative election system as provided in subsection B of this section, the joint board shall consist of five members elected from five single member districts formed within the joint district. The single member district election system shall be submitted as part of the plan for the joint district pursuant to section 15‑392 and shall be established in the plan as follows:
1. The governing boards of the school districts participating in the formation of the joint district shall define the boundaries of the single member districts so that the single member districts are as nearly equal in population as is practicable, except that if the joint district lies in part in each of two or more counties, at least one single member district may be entirely within each of the counties comprising the joint district if this district design is consistent with the obligation to equalize the population among single member districts.
2. The boundaries of each single member district shall follow election precinct boundary lines, as far as practicable, in order to avoid further segmentation of the precincts.
3. A person who is a registered voter of this state and who is a resident of the single member district is eligible for election to the office of joint board member from the single member district. The terms of office of the members of the joint board shall be as prescribed in section 15‑427, subsection B. An employee of a joint technical education district or the spouse of an employee shall not hold membership on a governing board of a joint technical education district by which the employee is employed. A member of one school district governing board or joint technical education district governing board is ineligible to be a candidate for nomination or election to or serve simultaneously as a member of any other governing board, except that a member of a governing board may be a candidate for nomination or election for any other governing board if the member is serving in the last year of a term of office. A member of a governing board shall resign the member's seat on the governing board before becoming a candidate for nomination or election to the governing board of any other school district or joint technical education district, unless the member of the governing board is serving in the last year of a term of office.
4. Nominating petitions shall be signed by the number of qualified electors of the single member district as provided in section 16‑322.
B. The governing boards of the school districts participating in the formation of the joint district may vote to implement any other alternative election system for the election of joint district board members. If an alternative election system is selected, it shall be submitted as part of the plan for the joint district pursuant to section 15‑392, and the implementation of the system shall be as approved by the United States justice department.
C. The joint technical education district shall be subject to the following provisions of this title:
1. Chapter 1, articles 1 through 6.
2. Sections 15‑208, 15‑210, 15‑213 and 15‑234.
3. Articles 2, 3 and 5 of this chapter.
4. Section 15‑361.
5. Chapter 4, articles 1, 2 and 5.
6. Chapter 5, articles 1, 2 and 3.
7. Sections 15‑701.01, 15‑722, 15‑723, 15‑724, 15‑727, 15‑728, 15‑729 and 15‑730.
8. Chapter 7, article 5.
9. Chapter 8, articles 1, 3 and 4.
10. Sections 15‑828 and 15‑829.
11. Chapter 9, article 1, article 6, except for section 15‑995, and article 7.
12. Sections 15‑941, 15‑943.01, 15‑948, 15‑952, 15‑953 and 15‑973.
13. Sections 15‑1101 and 15‑1104.
14. Chapter 10, articles 2, 3, 4 and 8.
D. Notwithstanding subsection C of this section, the following apply to a joint technical education district:
1. A joint district may issue bonds for the purposes specified in section 15‑1021 and in chapter 4, article 5 of this title to an amount in the aggregate, including the existing indebtedness, not exceeding one per cent of the taxable property used for secondary tax purposes, as determined pursuant to title 42, chapter 15, article 1, within the joint technical education district as ascertained by the last property tax assessment previous to issuing the bonds.
2. The number of governing board members for a joint district shall be as prescribed in subsection A of this section.
3. If a career and technical education course or program provided pursuant to this article is provided in a facility owned or operated by a school district in which a pupil is enrolled, including satellite courses, the sum of the average daily membership attendance, as provided in section 15‑901, subsection A, paragraph 1, for that pupil in both the school district and joint technical education district shall not exceed 1.25. The sum of the average daily membership attendance, as provided in section 15‑901, subsection A, paragraph 1, shall not exceed 1.25 for the courses taken in the school district and the facility, including satellite courses. The school district and the joint district shall determine the apportionment of the average daily membership attendance for that pupil between the school district and the joint district.
4. The student count for the first year of operation of a joint technical education district as provided in this article shall be determined as follows:
(a) Determine the estimated student count for joint district classes that will operate in the first year of operation. This estimate shall be based on actual registration of pupils as of March 30 scheduled to attend classes that will be operated by the joint district. The student count for the district of residence of the pupils registered at the joint district shall be adjusted. The adjustment shall cause the district of residence to reduce the student count for the pupil to reflect the courses to be taken at the joint district. The district of residence shall review and approve the adjustment of its own student count as provided in this subdivision before the pupils from the school district can be added to the student count of the joint district.
(b) The student count for the new joint district shall be the student count as determined in subdivision (a) of this paragraph.
(c) For the first year of operation, the joint district shall revise the student count to the actual average daily membership attendance as prescribed in section 15‑901, subsection A, paragraph 1 for students attending classes in the joint district. A joint district shall revise its student count, the base support level as provided in section 15‑943.02, the revenue control limit as provided in section 15‑944.01, the capital outlay revenue limit and the soft capital allocation as provided in section 15‑962.01 prior to May 15. A joint district that overestimated its student count shall revise its budget prior to May 15. A joint district that underestimated its student count may revise its budget prior to May 15.
(d) After March 15 of the first year of operation, the district of residence shall adjust its student count by reducing it to reflect the courses actually taken at the joint district. The district of residence shall revise its student count, the base support level as provided in section 15‑943, the revenue control limit as provided in section 15‑944, the capital outlay revenue limit as provided in section 15‑961 and the soft capital allocation as provided in section 15‑962 prior to May 15. A district that underestimated the student count for students attending the joint district shall revise its budget prior to May 15. A district that overestimated the student count for students attending the joint district may revise its budget prior to May 15.
(e) A joint district for the first year of operation shall not be eligible for adjustment pursuant to section 15-948.
(f) The procedures for implementing this paragraph shall be as prescribed in the uniform system of financial records.
(g) Pupils in an approved joint technical education district centralized program may generate an average daily membership attendance of 1.0 during any day of the week and at any time between July 1 and June 30 of each fiscal year.
For the purposes of this paragraph, "district of residence" means the district that included the pupil in its average daily membership attendance for the year before the first year of operation of the joint district and that would have included the pupil in its student count for the purposes of computing its base support level for the fiscal year of the first year of operation of the joint district if the pupil had not enrolled in the joint district.
5. A student includes any person enrolled in the joint district without regard to the person's age or high school graduation status, except that:
(a) A student in a kindergarten program or in grades one through nine who enrolls in courses offered by the joint technical education district shall not be included in the joint district's student count or average daily membership attendance.
(b) A student in a kindergarten program or in grades one through nine who is enrolled in career and technical education courses shall not be funded in whole or in part with monies provided by a joint technical education district, except that a pupil in grade nine may be funded with monies generated by the five cent qualifying tax rate authorized in subsection F of this section.
(c) A student who is over twenty-two years of age shall not be included in the student count of the joint district for the purposes of chapter 9, articles 3, 4 and 5 of this title.
6. A joint district may operate for more than one hundred seventy-five days per year, with expanded hours of service.
7. A joint district may use the excess utility costs provisions of section 15-910 in the same manner as a school district for fiscal years 1999‑2000 and 2000‑2001, except that the base year shall be the first full fiscal year of operations.
8. A joint district may use the carryforward provisions of section 15‑943.01 retroactively to July 1, 1993.
9. A school district that is part of a joint district shall use any monies received pursuant to this article to supplement and not supplant base year career and technical education courses, and directly related equipment and facilities, except that a school district that is part of a joint technical education district and that has used monies received pursuant to this article to supplant career and technical education courses that were offered before the first year that the school district participated in the joint district or the first year that the school district used monies received pursuant to this article or that used the monies for purposes other than for career and technical education courses shall use one hundred per cent of the monies received pursuant to this article to supplement and not supplant base year career and technical education courses.
10. A joint technical education district shall use any monies received pursuant to this article to enhance and not supplant career and technical education courses and directly related equipment and facilities.
11. A joint technical education district or a school district that is part of a joint district shall only include pupils in grades ten through twelve in the calculation of student count or average daily membership attendance if the pupils are enrolled in courses that are approved jointly by the governing board of the joint technical education district and each participating school district for satellite courses taught within the participating school district, or approved solely by the joint technical education district for centrally located courses. Student count and average daily membership attendance from courses that are not part of an approved program for career and technical education shall not be included in student count and average daily membership attendance of a joint technical education district.
E. The joint board shall appoint a superintendent as the executive officer of the joint district.
F. Taxes may be levied for the support of the joint district as prescribed in chapter 9, article 6 of this title, except that a joint technical education district shall not levy a property tax pursuant to law that exceeds five cents per one hundred dollars assessed valuation except for bond monies pursuant to subsection D, paragraph 1 of this section. Except for the taxes levied pursuant to section 15‑994, such taxes shall be obtained from a levy of taxes on the taxable property used for secondary tax purposes.
G. The schools in the joint district are available to all persons who reside in the joint district and to pupils whose district of residence is paying tuition on behalf of the pupils to a district of attendance that is a member of the joint technical education district, subject to the rules for admission prescribed by the joint board.
H. The joint board may collect tuition for adult students and the attendance of pupils who are residents of school districts that are not participating in the joint district pursuant to arrangements made between the governing board of the district and the joint board.
I. The joint board may accept gifts, grants, federal monies, tuition and other allocations of monies to erect, repair and equip buildings and for the cost of operation of the schools of the joint district.
J. One member of the joint board shall be selected chairman. The chairman shall be selected annually on a rotation basis from among the participating school districts. The chairman of the joint board shall be a voting member.
K. A joint board and a community college district may enter into agreements for the provision of administrative, operational and educational services and facilities.
L. Any agreement between the governing board of a joint technical education district and another joint technical education district, a school district, a charter school or a community college district shall be in the form of an intergovernmental agreement or other written contract. The auditor general shall modify the uniform system of financial records and budget forms in accordance with this subsection. The intergovernmental agreement or other written contract shall completely and accurately specify each of the following:
1. The financial provisions of the intergovernmental agreement or other written contract and the format for the billing of all services.
2. The accountability provisions of the intergovernmental agreement or other written contract.
3. The responsibilities of each joint technical education district, each school district, each charter school and each community college district that is a party to the intergovernmental agreement or other written contract.
4. The type of instruction that will be provided under the intergovernmental agreement or other written contract, including individualized education programs pursuant to section 15‑763.
5. The quality of the instruction that will be provided under the intergovernmental agreement or other written contract.
6. The transportation services that will be provided under the intergovernmental agreement or other written contract and the manner in which transportation costs will be paid.
7. The amount that the joint technical education district will contribute to a course and the amount of support required by the school district or the community college.
8. That the services provided by the joint technical education district, the school district, the charter school or the community college district be proportionally calculated in the cost of delivering the service.
9. That the payment for services shall not exceed the cost of the services provided.
M. On or before December 31 of each year, each joint technical education district shall submit a detailed report to the career and technical education division of the department of education. The career and technical education division of the department of education shall collect, summarize and analyze the data submitted by the joint districts, shall submit an annual report that summarizes the data submitted by the joint districts to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate and the state board of education and shall submit a copy of this report to the secretary of state. The data submitted by each joint technical education district shall include the following:
1. The average daily membership attendance of the joint district.
2. The program listings and program descriptions of programs offered by the joint district, including the course sequences for each program.
3. The costs associated with each program offered by the joint district.
4. The completion rate for each program offered by the joint district. For the purposes of this paragraph, "completion rate" means the completion rate for students who are designated as concentrators in that program by the department of education under the career and technology approved plan.
5. The graduation rate from the school district of residence of students who have completed a program in the joint district.
6. A detailed description of the career opportunities available to students after completion of the program offered by the joint district.
7. A detailed description of the career placement of students who have completed the program offered by the joint district.
8. Any other data deemed necessary by the department of education to carry out its duties under this subsection.
N. If the career and technical education division of the department of education determines that a course does not meet the criteria for approval as a joint technical education course, the governing board of the joint technical education district may appeal this decision to the state board of education acting as the state board of vocational education.
O. Notwithstanding any other law, the average daily membership attendance of a pupil in grade ten, eleven or twelve who is enrolled in a course that meets for at least one hundred fifty minutes per class period at a centralized campus owned and operated by a joint technical education district shall be 0.75. The sum of the average daily membership attendance, as provided in section 15‑901, subsection A, paragraph 1, of a pupil who is enrolled in both the member school district and joint technical education district courses provided at a community college pursuant to subsection K of this section or at a facility owned and operated by a joint technical education district that is not located on a site of a member district shall not exceed 1.75. The member school district and the joint district shall determine the apportionment of the average daily membership attendance and student enrollment for that pupil between the member school district and the joint district, except the amount apportioned shall not exceed 1.0 for either entity.
P. Notwithstanding any other law, the average daily membership attendance for a pupil who is enrolled in a joint technical education course approved pursuant to defined in section 15‑391 and who does not meet the criteria specified in subsection O of this section shall be 0.25 for each course, except the sum of the average daily membership attendance shall not exceed the limits prescribed by subsection D or O of this section, as applicable.
Q. Notwithstanding any other law, beginning in fiscal year 2011-2012, the student count for a joint technical education district shall be equivalent to the joint technical education district's average daily membership attendance.
R. For the purposes of this section, "base year" means the complete school year in which voters of a school district elected to join a joint technical education district. END_STATUTE
Sec. 6. Section 15-431, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-431. Alternative election procedure of governing board members
A. If, for the prior school year, a school district had an average daily membership attendance of at least one thousand and the total minority enrollment in the district, as reported to the department of education, was at least twenty‑five per cent of the total enrollment of the district, the governing board may vote to implement an alternative election system for the election of governing board members. The alternative election system implemented by the board may include a vote by the board to divide the school district into as many single member districts as there are governing board members or a vote by the board to implement any other election method that is consistent with section 2 of the voting rights act of 1965 (42 United States Code section 1973), as amended. A school district that has implemented an alternative election system for the election of governing board members as provided by this subsection may continue to elect governing board members using the alternative election system even if the average daily membership attendance of the school district or percentage of minority pupils enrolled in the district falls below the levels prescribed in this subsection. If the average daily membership attendance of the school district or percentage of minority pupils enrolled in the district falls below the levels prescribed in this subsection, the governing board may vote to elect governing board members using the at large election method as prescribed in section 15‑429.
B. If the governing board of a school district has implemented a single member district election system as provided in subsection A of this section, the system shall be implemented as follows:
1. The governing board shall define the boundaries of the single member district so that the single member districts are as nearly equal in population as is practicable, except that if the school district lies in part in each of two or more counties, at least one single member district may be entirely within each of the counties comprising the school district if this district design is consistent with the obligation to equalize the population among single member districts.
2. The boundaries of the single member district shall follow election precinct boundary lines, as far as practicable, in order to avoid further segmentation of the precincts.
3. A number shall be assigned to each of the new single member districts in ascending order according to the percentage of the district's minority population in each single member district.
4. As the terms of the governing board members who were elected at large expire, the members shall be replaced by members who are elected from the single member districts in ascending order of single member district number.
5. A person who is a registered voter of this state and who is a resident of the single member district is eligible for election to the office of school board member from the single member district.
6. Nominating petitions shall be signed by the number of qualified electors of the single member district as provided in section 16‑322.
C. If the governing board has voted to implement any other alternative election system for the election of governing board members, as provided in subsection A of this section, the implementation of the system shall be as approved by the United States justice department.
Sec. 7. Section 15-448, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-448. Formation of unified school district; board membership; budget
A. One or more common school districts and a high school district with coterminous or overlapping boundaries may establish a unified school district pursuant to this section. Unification of a common school district and a high school district is not authorized by this section if any of the high school facilities owned by the new unified school district would not be located within its boundaries.
B. Formation of a unified school district shall be by resolutions approved by the governing boards of the unifying school districts and certification of approval by such governing boards to the county school superintendent of the county or counties in which such individual school districts are located. A common school district and high school district that unify pursuant to this section shall not exclude from the same unification a common school district that has overlapping boundaries with the high school district and that wishes to unify. The formation of a unified school district shall become effective on July 1 of the next fiscal year following the certification of the county school superintendent. An election shall not be required to form a unified school district pursuant to this section. At least ninety days before the governing boards vote on the resolutions prescribed in this subsection, the governing boards shall mail a pamphlet to each household with one or more qualified electors that shall list the full cash value, the assessed valuation and the estimated amount of the primary property taxes and the estimated amount of the secondary property taxes under the proposed unification for each of the following:
1. An owner occupied residence whose assessed valuation is the average assessed valuation of property classified as class three, as prescribed by section 42‑12003 for the current year in the school district.
2. An owner occupied residence whose assessed valuation is one-half of the assessed valuation of the residence in paragraph 1 of this subsection.
3. An owner occupied residence whose assessed valuation is twice the assessed valuation of the residence in paragraph 1 of this subsection.
4. A business whose assessed valuation is the average of the assessed valuation of property classified as class one, as prescribed by section 42‑12001, paragraphs 12 and 13 for the current year in the school district.
C. The boundaries of the unified school district shall be the boundaries of the former common school district or districts that unify. The boundaries of the common school district or districts that are not unifying remain unchanged. The county school superintendent, immediately upon on receipt of the approved resolutions prescribed by subsection B of this section, shall file with the board of supervisors, the county assessor and the superintendent of public instruction a transcript of the boundaries of the unified school district. The boundaries shown in the transcript shall become the legal boundaries of the school districts on July 1 of the next fiscal year.
D. On formation of the unified school district, the governing board consists of the members of the former school district governing boards and the members shall hold office until January 1 following the first general election after formation of the district.
E. Beginning on January 1 following the first general election after formation of the unified school district, the governing board shall have five members. At the first general election after the formation of the district, members shall be elected in the following manner:
1. The three candidates receiving the highest, the second highest and the third highest number of votes shall be elected to four year terms.
2. The two candidates receiving the fourth and fifth highest number of votes shall be elected to two year terms. Thereafter all offices shall have four year terms.
F. The new unified school district may appoint a resident of the remaining common school district to serve as a nonvoting member of the governing board to represent the interests of the high school pupils who reside in the remaining common school district and who attend school in the unified school district.
G. For the first year of operation, the unified school district governing board shall prepare a consolidated budget based on the student counts from the school districts comprising the unified school district, except that for purposes of determining budget amounts and equalization assistance, the student count for the former high school district shall not include the prior year average daily membership attendance attributable to high school pupils from a common school district that was part of the former high school district but is not part of the unified school district. The unified school district shall charge the remaining common school district tuition for these pupils as provided in subsection J of this section. The unified school district may budget for unification assistance pursuant to section 15‑912.01.
H. The governing board of the unified school district shall prepare policies, curricula and budgets for the district. These policies shall require that:
1. The base compensation of each certificated teacher for the first year of operation of the new unified school district shall not be lower than the certificated teacher's base compensation for the prior year in the previously existing school districts.
2. The certificated teacher's years of employment in the previously existing school districts shall be included in determining the teacher's certificated years of employment in the new unified school district.
I. Upon On formation of a unified school district, any existing override authorization of the former high school district and the former common school district or districts shall continue until expiration based on the revenue control limit of the school district or districts that had override authorization prior to unification. The unified school district may request new override authorization for the budget year as provided in section 15‑481 based on the combined revenue control limit of the new district after unification. If the unified school district's request for override authorization is approved, it will replace any existing override for the budget year.
J. The unified school district shall admit high school pupils who reside in a common school district that was located within the boundaries of the former high school district. Tuition shall be paid to the unified school district by the common school district in which such pupils reside. Such tuition amount shall be calculated in accordance with section 15‑824, subject to the following modifications:
1. If the former high school district had outstanding bonded indebtedness at the time of unification, the combined tuition for the group of high school pupils who reside in each common school district shall include a debt service amount for the former high school district's outstanding bonded indebtedness that is determined as follows:
(a) Divide the total secondary assessed valuation of the common school district in which the group of pupils resides by the total secondary assessed valuation of the former high school district. For the purposes of this subdivision, "secondary assessed valuation" means secondary assessed valuation for the tax year prior to the year when the unification occurs and includes the values used to determine voluntary contributions collected pursuant to title 9, chapter 4, article 3 and title 48, chapter 1, article 8.
(b) Multiply the quotient obtained in subdivision (a) by the unified school district's annual debt service expenditure.
2. The debt service portion of such tuition payments calculated pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection shall be used exclusively for debt service of the outstanding bonded indebtedness of the former high school district. When such indebtedness is fully extinguished, the debt service portion of a pupil's tuition shall be determined in accordance with paragraph 3 of this subsection.
3. If the former high school district had no outstanding bonded indebtedness at the time of unification, the tuition calculation shall include the actual school district expenditures for the portion of any debt service of the unified school district that pertains to any construction or renovation of high school facilities divided by the school district's student count for the high school portion of the school district.
4. The unified school district shall not include in the tuition calculation any debt service that pertains to any construction or renovation of school facilities for preschool through grade eight.
5. Notwithstanding section 15‑951, subsection G, the revenue control limit of the common school district shall include the full amount of the debt service portion of the tuition calculated pursuant to this subsection.
K. All assets and liabilities of the unifying school districts shall be transferred and assumed by the new unified school district. Any existing bonded indebtedness of a common school district or a high school district unifying pursuant to this section shall be assumed by the new unified school district and shall be regarded as an indebtedness of the new unified school district for the purpose of determining the debt incurring authority of the district. Taxes for the payment of such bonded indebtedness shall be levied on all taxable property in the new unified school district, but nothing in this subsection shall not be construed to relieve from liability to taxation for the payment of all taxable property of the former high school district if necessary to prevent a default in the payment of any bonded indebtedness of the former high school district. The residents of a common school district that does not unify shall not vote in bond or override elections of the unified school district and shall not be assessed taxes as a result of a bond or override election of the unified school district.
L. If the remaining common school district had authorization for an override as provided in section 15‑481 or 15‑482, the override authorization continues for the remaining common school district or districts in the same manner as before the formation of the unified school district.
M. The bonding authorization and bonding limitations continue for the remaining common school district or districts in the same manner as before the formation of the unified school district.
N. Nothing in this section shall be construed to relieve a school district formed pursuant to section 15‑457 or 15‑458 of its liability for any outstanding bonded indebtedness.
0. For school districts that become unified after July 1, 2004 and where all of the common schools were eligible for the small school district weight pursuant to section 15‑943, paragraph 1, subdivision (a) when computing their base support level and base revenue control limit before unification, the unified school district may continue to use the small school district weight as follows:
1. Annually determine the common school student count and the weighted student count pursuant to section 15‑943, paragraph 1, subdivision (a) for each common school district before unification.
2. Calculate the sum of the common school districts' student counts and weighted student counts determined in paragraph 1 of this subsection.
3. Divide the sum of the weighted student counts by the sum of the student counts determined in paragraph 2 of this subsection.
4. The amount determined in paragraph 3 of this subsection shall be the weight for the common schools in the unified school district.
P. A unified school district may calculate its revenue control limit and district support level by using subsection O of this section as follows:
1. Determine the number of individual school districts that existed before unification into a single school district.
2. Multiply the amount determined in paragraph 1 of this subsection by six hundred.
3. Multiply the amount determined in paragraph 2 of this subsection by 0.80.
4. If the amount determined in paragraph 3 of this subsection exceeds the student count of the unified school district, the unified school district is eligible to use subsection O of this section.
Q. Subsections O and P of this section shall remain in effect until the aggregate student count of the common school districts before unification exceeds the aggregate number of students of the common school districts before unification authorized to utilize section 15‑943, paragraph 1, subdivision (a).
Sec. 8. Section 15-746, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-746. School report cards
A. Each school shall distribute an annual report card that contains at least the following information:
1. A description of the school's regular, magnet and special instructional programs.
2. A description of the current academic goals of the school.
3. A summary of the results achieved by pupils enrolled at the school during the prior three school years as measured by the Arizona instrument to measure standards test and the nationally standardized norm‑referenced achievement test as designated by the state board and as reported in the annual report prescribed by section 15‑743, a summary of the pupil progress on an ongoing and annual basis, showing the trends in gain or loss in pupil achievement over time in reading, language arts and mathematics for all years in which pupils are enrolled in the school district for an entire school year and for which this information is available and a summary of the pupil progress for pupils not enrolled in a district for an entire school year.
4. The school's current expenditures per pupil for classroom supplies, classroom instruction excluding classroom supplies, administration, support services‑students, and all other support services and operations. The current expenditures per pupil by school shall include allocation of the district‑wide expenditures to each school, as provided by the district. The report shall include a comparison of the school to the state amount for a similar type of district as calculated in section 15‑255. The method of calculating these per pupil amounts and the allocation of expenditures shall be as prescribed in the uniform system of financial records.
5. The attendance rate of pupils enrolled at the school as reflected in the school's average daily membership attendance as defined in section 15‑901.
6. The total number of incidents that occurred on the school grounds, at school bus stops, on school buses and at school sponsored events and that required the contact of a local, county, tribal, state or federal law enforcement officer pursuant to section 13‑3411, subsection F, section 13‑3620, section 15‑341, subsection A, paragraph 31 or section 15‑515. The total number of incidents reported shall only include reports that law enforcement officers report to the school are supported by probable cause. For the purposes of this paragraph, a certified peace officer who serves as a school resource officer is a law enforcement officer. A school may provide clarifying information if the school has a school resource officer on campus.
7. The percentage of pupils who have either graduated to the next grade level or graduated from high school.
8. A description of the social services available at the school site.
9. The school calendar, including the length of the school day and hours of operations.
10. The total number of pupils enrolled at the school during the previous school year.
11. The transportation services available.
12. Beginning in the 2000‑2001 school year and until July 1, 2006, the reading instruction programs used by the school for kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three, pursuant to section 15‑704. The report card shall include a district comparison of test scores among the different programs of reading instruction and shall identify the program of reading instruction used in each classroom.
13. 12. A description of the responsibilities of parents of children enrolled at the school.
14. 13. A description of the responsibilities of the school to the parents of the children enrolled at the school, including dates the report cards are delivered to the home.
15. 14. A description of the composition and duties of the school council as prescribed in section 15‑351 if such a school council exists.
16. 15. For the most recent year available, the average current expenditure per pupil for administrative functions compared to the predicted average current expenditure per pupil for administrative functions according to an analysis of administrative cost data by the joint legislative budget committee staff.
17. 16. If the school provides instruction to pupils in kindergarten programs and grades one through three, the ratio of pupils to teachers in each classroom where instruction is provided in kindergarten programs and grades one through three.
18. 17. The average class size per grade level for all grade levels, kindergarten programs and grades one through eight. For the purposes of this paragraph, "average class size" means the weighted average of each class.
B. The department of education shall develop a standardized report card format that meets the requirements of subsection A of this section. The department shall modify the standardized report card as necessary on an annual basis. The department shall distribute to each school in this state a copy of the standardized report card that includes the required test scores for each school. Additional copies of the standardized report card shall be available on request.
C. After each school has completed the report card distributed to it by the department of education, the school, in addition to distributing the report card as prescribed in subsection A of this section, shall send a copy of the report card to the department. The department shall prepare an annual report that contains the report card from each school in this state.
D. The school shall distribute report cards to parents of pupils enrolled at the school, no later than the last day of school of each fiscal year, and shall present a summary of the contents of the report cards at an annual public meeting held at the school. The school shall give notice at least two weeks before the public meeting that clearly states the purposes, time and place of the meeting.
Sec. 9. Section 15-771, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-771. Preschool programs for children with disabilities; definition
A. Each school district shall make available an educational program for preschool children with disabilities who reside in the school district and who are not already receiving services that have been provided through the department of education. The state board of education shall prescribe rules for use by school districts in the provision of educational programs for preschool children with disabilities. School districts are required to make available educational programs for and, for the purposes of calculating average daily membership attendance, may count only those preschool children who meet the definition of one of the following conditions:
1. Hearing impairment.
2. Visual impairment.
3. Developmental delay.
4. Preschool severe delay.
5. Speech/language impairment.
B. The state board of education shall annually distribute to school districts at least ten per cent of the monies it receives under 20 United States Code section 1411(c)(2) for preschool programs for children with disabilities. The state board shall prescribe rules for the distribution of the monies to school districts.
C. The governing board of a school district may submit a proposal to the state board of education as prescribed by the state board to receive monies for preschool programs for children with disabilities as provided in this section. A school district which that receives monies as provided in this section shall include the monies in the special projects section of the budget as provided in section 15‑903, subsection F.
D. All school districts shall cooperate, if appropriate, with community organizations that provide services to preschool children with disabilities in the provision of the district's preschool program for children with disabilities.
E. A school district may not admit a child to a preschool program for children with disabilities unless the child is evaluated and recommended for placement as provided in sections 15‑766 and 15‑767.
F. For the purpose of allocating monies pursuant to 20 United States Code section 1419(g)(1)(B)(i), "jurisdiction" includes high school pupils whose parents reside within the boundaries of a common school district. The common school district shall ensure such high school pupils are not counted by any other school district.
G. For the purposes of this section, "preschool child" means a child who is at least three years of age but who has not reached the age required for kindergarten. A preschool child is three years of age as of the date of the child's third birthday. The governing board of a school district may admit otherwise eligible children who are within ninety days of their third birthday, if it is determined to be in the best interest of the individual child. Children who are admitted to programs for preschool children prior to before their third birthday are entitled to the same provision of services as if they were three years of age.
Sec. 10. Section 15-792.03, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-792.03. Grand Canyon diploma
A. The private organization selected pursuant to section 15‑792.02 shall develop the Grand Canyon diploma to be approved and adopted by the state board of education. School districts and charter schools in this state may choose to offer a Grand Canyon diploma beginning in the 2012‑2013 school year. A high school student who is enrolled in a school district or charter school that offers a Grand Canyon diploma may choose to pursue a Grand Canyon diploma.
B. Students are eligible for the Grand Canyon diploma and may be awarded the Grand Canyon diploma at the end of grade ten or during or at the end of grade eleven or twelve if the students meet the criteria. Students who elect to pursue a Grand Canyon diploma shall participate in a board examination system that consists of internationally benchmarked instructional programs of study chosen by an interstate compact on board examination systems.
C. Students who are eligible for a Grand Canyon diploma shall have multiple pathways available to them and may:
1. Enroll the following fall semester in a community college under the jurisdiction of a community college district in this state. Community colleges under the jurisdiction of a community college district in this state shall admit students who obtain a Grand Canyon diploma and who otherwise meet the qualifications for admission. The school district or charter school from which the student earned the Grand Canyon diploma shall include that student in the school district's or charter school's student count and shall continue to receive per pupil funding for a student who earns a Grand Canyon diploma until that student would otherwise have graduated at the end of grade twelve, as long as that student is enrolled as a full‑time student in a community college under the jurisdiction of a community college district in this state. The school district or charter school shall subtract twenty per cent of its average daily membership attendance amount and reimburse the community college if the student has earned a Grand Canyon diploma and is attending a community college as a full‑time student. If the student attends community college on a community college campus, the school district or charter school shall reimburse the community college district for the amount of operating and capital outlay full-time student equivalency monies. For the purposes of this paragraph, the amount of operating full‑time student equivalency monies shall be equivalent to the average appropriation per full‑time student equivalent for all community college districts as calculated pursuant to section 15‑1466, subsection C, paragraph 2. Fifty per cent of the remaining balance of the per pupil funding shall be used for teacher and pupil incentives, including scholarship programs, to offset the costs of board examinations and to provide customized programs of assistance for students who do not pass the board examinations. The other fifty per cent shall be used for maintenance and operations, including capital. Under this paragraph, a student who earns a Grand Canyon diploma is responsible for tuition. A student who earns a Grand Canyon diploma may enroll in community college courses offered on a community college campus or a high school campus, or both. Notwithstanding any other law, community college districts shall not classify a student who remains in high school pursuant to this paragraph as a full‑time equivalent student. Students who take courses on high school campuses pursuant to this paragraph shall be eligible to participate in extracurricular activities, including interscholastic sports, through the end of grade twelve. The expenditure by community college districts of payments from the school district or charter school to the community colleges under this section shall not be included under the district expenditure limitation prescribed pursuant to article IX, section 21, Constitution of Arizona. If the instruction provided under this paragraph is offered on a community college campus, the funding and implementation mechanics between the school district or charter school and the community college shall be determined by agreement between the school district or charter school and the community college.
2. Remain in high school and enroll in additional advanced preparation board examination programs that are designed to prepare those students for admission to selective postsecondary institutions that offer baccalaureate degree programs. These board examination programs shall be selected from a list approved by an interstate compact for board examination systems. The school district or charter school from which the student became eligible for the Grand Canyon diploma shall include that student in the school district's or charter school's student count and shall continue to receive per pupil funding for a student who is eligible for a Grand Canyon diploma until that student would otherwise have graduated at the end of grade twelve, as long as that student is enrolled in approved advanced preparation board examination programs at that school district or charter school. Students who elect to remain in high school pursuant to this paragraph shall not be prevented from enrolling at a high school after the pupil becomes eligible for a Grand Canyon diploma and shall be eligible to participate in extracurricular activities, including interscholastic sports, through the end of grade twelve.
3. Enroll in a full‑time career and technical education program offered on a high school campus or a joint technical education district campus, or any combination of these campuses. Students who elect to remain in high school pursuant to this paragraph shall not be prevented from enrolling at a high school after the pupil becomes eligible for a Grand Canyon diploma and shall be eligible to participate in extracurricular activities, including interscholastic sports, through the end of grade twelve. The school district or charter school from which the student became eligible for the Grand Canyon diploma shall include that student in the school district's or charter school's student count and shall continue to receive per pupil funding for a student who is eligible for a Grand Canyon diploma until that student would otherwise have graduated at the end of grade twelve, as long as that student is enrolled in an approved full‑time career and technical education program. Notwithstanding any other law, if the instruction provided under this paragraph is provided by a joint technical education district in a full‑time career and technical education program that is designed to lead to a certificate that is awarded by an industry or recognized as meeting industry standards, the sum of the average daily membership attendance for that pupil shall not exceed 1.25, and the average daily membership attendance shall be apportioned at 1.0 for the joint technical education district and 0.25 for the school district.
4. Remain in high school without completing the next level of board examination systems and participate in programs of study available to the students through the school district or charter school. The school district or charter school will continue to include the students in the school district's or charter school's count and shall continue to receive per pupil funding for the students until those students would have otherwise graduated at the end of grade twelve, as long as those students are enrolled in approved programs of study at that school district or charter school. Students who elect to remain in high school pursuant to this paragraph shall be eligible to participate in extracurricular activities, including interscholastic sports.
D. Students who pursue but do not meet the eligibility requirements for a Grand Canyon diploma at the end of grade ten or eleven shall receive a customized program of assistance during the next school year that addresses areas in which the student demonstrated deficiencies in the approved board examinations. These students may retake the board examinations at the next available examination administration. Students may choose to return to a traditional academic program without completing the board examination system curriculum.
E. The private organization selected pursuant to section 15‑792.02 shall develop detailed requirements for students to become eligible for the Grand Canyon diploma, as approved and adopted by the state board of education, that include at least the following:
1. Demonstrated skills and knowledge in English and mathematical literacy to be successful in college level courses offered by the community colleges in this state that count toward a degree or certificate without taking remedial or developmental coursework as determined by an interstate compact on board examination systems.
2. Satisfactory grades on approved board examinations in subjects determined to be necessary to prepare a student to enter community college without remedial or developmental coursework and that do not include coursework required exclusively for entry into an institution that awards baccalaureate degrees.
F. A student who obtains a Grand Canyon diploma pursuant to this section is not eligible to participate in the early graduation scholarship program established by section 15‑105 if the student elects to pursue one of the pathways prescribed in subsection C, paragraph 1, 2 or 3 of this section. The department of education shall not transmit any monies to the commission for postsecondary education pursuant to section 15‑105, subsection F on behalf of any student who obtains a Grand Canyon diploma pursuant to this section if the student elects to pursue one of the pathways prescribed in subsection C, paragraph 1, 2 or 3 of this section.
Sec. 11. Section 15-808, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-808. Arizona online instruction; reports; definitions
A. Arizona online instruction shall be instituted to meet the needs of pupils in the information age. The state board of education shall select traditional public schools and the state board for charter schools shall sponsor charter schools to be online course providers or online schools. The state board of education and the state board for charter schools shall jointly develop standards for the approval of online course providers and online schools based on the following criteria:
1. The depth and breadth of curriculum choices.
2. The variety of educational methodologies employed by the school and the means of addressing the unique needs and learning styles of targeted pupil populations, including computer assisted learning systems, virtual classrooms, virtual laboratories, electronic field trips, electronic mail, virtual tutoring, online help desk, group chat sessions and noncomputer based activities performed under the direction of a certificated teacher.
3. The availability of an intranet or private network to safeguard pupils against predatory and pornographic elements of the internet.
4. The availability of filtered research access to the internet.
5. The availability of private individual electronic mail between pupils, teachers, administrators and parents in order to protect the confidentiality of pupil records and information.
6. The availability of faculty members who are experienced with computer networks, the internet and computer animation.
7. The extent to which the school intends to develop partnerships with universities, community colleges and private businesses.
8. The services offered to developmentally disabled populations.
9. The grade levels that will be served.
B. Each new school that provides online instruction shall provide online instruction on a probationary status. After a new school that provides online instruction has clearly demonstrated the academic integrity of its instruction through the actual improvement of the academic performance of its students, the school may apply to be removed from probationary status. The state board of education or the state board for charter schools shall remove from Arizona online instruction any probationary school that fails to clearly demonstrate improvement in academic performance within three years measured against goals in the approved application and the state's accountability system. The state board of education and the state board for charter schools shall review the effectiveness of each participating school and other information that is contained in the annual report prescribed in subsection D of this section. All pupils who participate in Arizona online instruction shall reside in this state. Pupils who participate in Arizona online instruction are subject to the testing requirements prescribed in chapter 7, article 3 of this title. Upon On enrollment, the school shall notify the parents or guardians of the pupil of the state testing requirements. If a pupil fails to comply with the testing requirements and the school administers the tests pursuant to this subsection to less than ninety‑five per cent of the pupils in Arizona online instruction, the pupil shall not be allowed to participate in Arizona online instruction.
C. Beginning July 1, 2010, The state board of education and the state board for charter schools shall develop annual reporting mechanisms for schools that participate in Arizona online instruction.
D. The department of education shall compile the information submitted in the annual reports by schools participating in Arizona online instruction. The department of education shall submit the compiled report to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate by November 15 of each year.
E. Each school selected for Arizona online instruction shall ensure that a daily log is maintained for each pupil who participates in Arizona online instruction. The daily log shall describe the amount of time spent by each pupil participating in Arizona online instruction pursuant to this section on academic tasks. The daily log shall be used by the school district or charter school to qualify the pupils who participate in Arizona online instruction in the school's average daily attendance calculations pursuant to subsection F of this section.
F. If a pupil is enrolled in a school district or charter school and also participates in Arizona online instruction, the sum of the average daily membership attendance, which includes enrollment as prescribed in section 15‑901, subsection A, paragraph 1, subdivisions (a) and (b) and daily attendance as prescribed in section 15‑901, subsection A, paragraph 5, for that pupil in the school district or charter school and in Arizona online instruction shall not exceed 1.0. If the pupil is enrolled in a school district or a charter school and also participates in Arizona online instruction and the sum of the daily membership or daily attendance for that pupil is greater than 1.0, the sum shall be reduced to 1.0 and shall be apportioned between the school district, unless the school district is a joint technical education district subject to the apportionment requirements of section 15‑393, or charter school and Arizona online instruction based on the percentage of total time that the pupil is enrolled or in attendance in the school district or charter school and Arizona online instruction. The uniform system of financial records shall include guidelines for the apportionment of the pupil enrollment and attendance as provided in this subsection. Pupils in Arizona online instruction do not incur absences for purposes of this subsection and may generate an average daily attendance of 1.0 for attendance hours during any hour of the day, during any day of the week and at any time between July 1 and June 30 of each fiscal year. For kindergarten programs and grades one through eight, average daily membership attendance shall be calculated by dividing the instructional hours as reported in the daily log required in subsection E of this section by the applicable hourly requirements prescribed in section 15‑901. For grades nine through twelve, average daily membership attendance shall be calculated by dividing the instructional hours as reported in the daily log required in subsection E of this section by nine hundred. The average daily membership attendance of a pupil who participates in online instruction shall not exceed 1.0. Average daily membership attendance shall not be calculated on the one hundredth day of instruction for the purposes of this section. Funding shall be determined as follows:
1. A pupil who is enrolled full-time in Arizona online instruction shall be funded for online instruction at ninety‑five per cent of the base support level that would be calculated for that pupil if that pupil were enrolled as a full‑time student in a school district or charter school that does not participate in Arizona online instruction. Additional assistance, capital outlay revenue limit and soft capital allocation limit shall be calculated in the same manner they would be calculated if the student were enrolled in a district or charter school that does not participate in Arizona online instruction.
2. A pupil who is enrolled part-time in Arizona online instruction shall be funded for online instruction at eighty‑five per cent of the base support level that would be calculated for that pupil if that pupil were enrolled as a part‑time student in a school district or charter school that does not participate in Arizona online instruction. Additional assistance, capital outlay revenue limit and soft capital allocation limit shall be calculated in the same manner they would be calculated if the student were enrolled in a district or charter school that does not participate in Arizona online instruction.
G. If the academic achievement of a pupil declines while the pupil is participating in Arizona online instruction, the pupil's parents, the pupil's teachers and the principal or head teacher of the school shall confer to evaluate whether the pupil should be allowed to continue to participate in Arizona online instruction.
H. To ensure the academic integrity of pupils who participate in online instruction, Arizona online instruction shall include multiple diverse assessment measures and the proctored administration of required state standardized tests.
I. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Full-time student" means:
(a) A student who is at least five years of age before September 1 of a school year and who is enrolled in a school kindergarten program that meets at least three hundred forty-six hours during the school year.
(b) A student who is at least six years of age before September 1 of a school year, who has not graduated from the highest grade taught in the school and who is regularly enrolled in a course of study required by the state board of education. For first, second and third grade students, the instructional program shall meet at least seven hundred twelve hours. For fourth, fifth and sixth grade students, the instructional program shall meet at least eight hundred ninety hours during the school year.
(c) Seventh and eighth grade students or ungraded students who are at least twelve, but under fourteen, years of age on or before September 1 and who are enrolled in an instructional program of courses that meets at least one thousand sixty‑eight hours during the school year.
(d) For high schools, except as provided in section 15-105, a student not graduated from the highest grade taught in the school district, or an ungraded student at least fourteen years of age on or before September 1, and who is enrolled in at least four courses throughout the year that meet at least nine hundred hours during the school year. A full-time student shall not be counted more than once for computation of average daily membership attendance.
2. "Online course provider" means a school other than an online school that is selected by the state board of education or the state board for charter schools to participate in Arizona online instruction pursuant to this section and that provides at least one online academic course that is approved by the state board of education.
3. "Online school" means a school that provides at least four online academic courses or one or more online courses for the equivalent of at least five hours each day for one hundred eighty school days and that is a charter school that is sponsored by the state board for charter schools or a traditional public school that is selected by the state board of education to participate in Arizona online instruction.
4. "Part-time student" means:
(a) Any student who is enrolled in a program that does not meet the definition in paragraph 1 of this subsection shall be funded at eighty-five per cent of the base support level that would be calculated for that pupil if that pupil were enrolled as a part-time student in a school district or charter school that does not participate in Arizona online instruction.
(b) A part-time student of seventy‑five per cent average daily membership attendance shall be enrolled in at least three subjects throughout the year that offer for first, second and third grade students at least five hundred thirty-four instructional hours in a school year and for fourth, fifth and sixth grade students at least six hundred sixty‑eight instructional hours in a school year. A part-time student of fifty per cent average daily membership attendance shall be enrolled in at least two subjects throughout the year that offer for first, second and third grade students at least three hundred fifty-six instructional hours in a school year and for fourth, fifth and sixth grade students at least four hundred forty-five instructional hours in a school year. A part-time student of twenty‑five per cent average daily membership attendance shall be enrolled in at least one subject throughout the year that offers for first, second and third grade students at least one hundred seventy-eight instructional hours in a school year and for fourth, fifth and sixth grade students at least two hundred twenty-three instructional hours in a school year.
(c) For seventh and eighth grade students, a part-time student of seventy‑five per cent average daily membership attendance shall be enrolled in at least three subjects throughout the year that offer at least eight hundred one instructional hours in a school year. A part-time student of fifty per cent average daily membership attendance shall be enrolled in at least two subjects throughout the year that offer at least five hundred thirty-four instructional hours in a school year. A part-time student of twenty‑five per cent average daily membership attendance shall be enrolled in at least one subject throughout the year that offers at least two hundred sixty-seven instructional hours in a school year.
(d) For high school students, a part-time student of seventy‑five per cent average daily membership attendance shall be enrolled in at least three subjects throughout the year that offer at least six hundred seventy-five instructional hours in a school year. A part-time student of fifty per cent average daily membership attendance shall be enrolled in at least two subjects throughout the year that offer at least four hundred fifty instructional hours in a school year. A part-time student of twenty‑five per cent average daily membership attendance shall be enrolled in at least one subject throughout the year that offers at least two hundred twenty-five instructional hours in a school year.
Sec. 12. Section 15-824, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-824. Admission of pupils of other school districts; homeless children; tuition charges; definitions
A. The governing board of a school district shall admit pupils from another school district or area as follows:
1. Upon On the presentation of a certificate of educational convenience issued by the county school superintendent pursuant to section 15‑825.
2. For three hundred fifty or fewer pupils, to a high school without the presentation of such certificate, if the pupil is a resident of a common school district within this state that is not within a high school district and that does not offer instruction in the pupil's grade. The three hundred fifty or fewer pupil limitation prescribed in this paragraph does not apply to a small isolated school district as defined in section 15‑901. Tuition shall be charged as prescribed in subsection E of this section for each pupil admitted pursuant to this paragraph, each pupil from a school district that provides only financing for pupils who are instructed by another school district and each pupil from a unified district that does not offer instruction in the pupil's grade. The school membership attendance of such pupils is deemed, for the purpose of determining student count and for apportionment of state aid, to be enrollment in the school district of the pupil's residence.
B. The residence of the person having legal custody of the pupil is considered the residence of the pupil, except as provided in subsection C of this section and in section 15‑825, subsection B.
C. The current residence of a homeless pupil who does not reside with the person having legal custody of the pupil is considered to be the residence of the homeless pupil if the person having legal custody of the pupil is a resident of the United States. For the purposes of this subsection, "homeless pupil" means a pupil who has a primary residence that is:
1. A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations.
2. An institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized.
3. A public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
D. The school enrollment of a pupil who is a resident of this state or who is admitted to a school district under section 15‑823, subsection B, C or E is deemed, for the purpose of determining student count and for apportionment of state aid, to be enrollment in the school district of actual attendance, except as provided in section 15‑825, subsection A, paragraph 1 and subsection A, paragraph 2 of this section and except for pupils for whom the superintendent of public instruction is charged tuition pursuant to section 15‑825, subsections B and D and section 15‑976 or for whom another school district is charged tuition as provided in subsections E and G of this section.
E. If tuition is required to be charged for pupils attending school in a school district other than that of their residence, the tuition shall be determined and paid in the following manner:
1. The number of high school pupils for which tuition may be charged to a common school district that is not within a high school district is equal to the average daily membership attendance in the district of attendance from the common school district for the prior fiscal year, except that for the first year in which a common school district not within a high school district stops teaching high school subjects, the district of attendance may charge tuition for the number of pupils which that is equal to the average daily membership attendance for high school pupils in the common school district for the prior fiscal year. This number may be adjusted if the common school district increases its revenue control limit and district support level or recomputes its revenue control limit as provided in section 15‑948.
2. The tuition for pupils attending school in a school district other than that of their residence, except pupils provided for by section 15‑825, subsections B and D and any pupils included in the definition of child with a disability in section 15‑761, shall not exceed the cost per student count of the school district attended, as determined for the current school year. Tuition for pupils included in the definition of child with a disability in section 15‑761 shall not exceed the actual cost of the school attended for each pupil as determined for the current year. The school district of attendance shall not include in the cost per student count a charge for transportation if no transportation is provided, and the charge for transportation shall not exceed the actual costs of providing transportation for the pupils served, as prescribed in the uniform system of financial records. The school district of attendance shall provide the school district of residence with the final tuition charge for the current year and with an estimate of the budget year's tuition charge by May 1 of the current year. The school district of residence shall pay at least one‑fourth of the total amount of the estimated tuition by September 30, December 31 and March 31, and it shall pay the remaining amount it owes after adjustments are made by June 30.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2 of this subsection and subsection G of this section, if two school districts enter into a voluntary agreement for the payment of tuition, the agreement shall specify the method for computing the tuition amount and the timing of the payments. The agreement shall not be longer than five consecutive years. If two school districts enter into an agreement and choose to renew the agreement, each renewal shall not be longer than five consecutive years. The agreement shall specify that a parent or legal guardian of a pupil affected by a tuition agreement entered pursuant to this section or section 15‑816.01 may choose not to send the pupil or pupils to a school district or school that is a party to the agreement.
4. Tuition of pupils as provided in section 15‑825, subsection D shall not exceed the excess costs for group B children with disabilities minus the amount generated by the equalization base as determined in section 15‑971, subsection A for these pupils. A school district may submit to the superintendent of public instruction a record of actual excess costs to educate a group B child with a disability if the costs are higher than the calculated excess costs or if a pupil has been placed in a private school for special education services. The superintendent shall determine if the additional costs will be paid, and if the costs are paid, whether the additional costs will be paid by the state or the resident district.
5. The amount received representing contributions to capital outlay as provided in subsection G, paragraph 1, subdivision (b) of this section shall be applied to the capital outlay fund or the debt service fund of the school district.
6. The amount received representing contributions to debt service as provided in subsection G, paragraph 1, subdivisions (c) and (d) of this section shall be applied to the debt service fund of the school district if there is one. Otherwise such amount shall be credited to the capital outlay fund of the school district.
F. A school district may submit to the superintendent of public instruction a record of actual costs paid by the school district to educate a pupil who qualifies for a certificate of educational convenience under section 15‑825, subsection B. If the actual costs for that pupil exceed the costs per student count computed pursuant to subsection G of this section, the superintendent of public instruction shall reimburse the school district for these additional costs subject to legislative appropriation.
G. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Costs per student count" means the sum of the following for the common or high school portion of the school district attended, whichever is applicable to the pupil involved, as prescribed in the uniform system of financial records:
(a) The actual school district expenditures for the regular education program subsection of the maintenance and operation section of the budget divided by the school district's student count for the common or high school portion of the school district, whichever is applicable.
(b) The actual school district expenditures for the capital outlay section of the budget as provided in sections 15‑903 and 15‑905 excluding expenditures for transportation equipment and buildings if no transportation is provided and expenditures for the acquisition of building sites, divided by the school district's student count for the common or high school portion of the school district, whichever is applicable.
(c) The actual school district expenditures for debt service divided by the school district's student count for the common or high school portion of the school district, whichever is applicable.
(d) The result obtained in subdivision (c) of this paragraph shall not exceed:
(i) Seven hundred fifty dollars if the pupil's school district of residence pays tuition for seven hundred fifty or fewer pupils to other school districts or one hundred fifty dollars if the state pays tuition for seven hundred fifty or fewer pupils to a school district pursuant to section 15‑825, subsection D or section 15‑976.
(ii) Eight hundred dollars if the pupil's school district of residence pays tuition for one thousand or fewer, but more than seven hundred fifty, pupils to other school districts or two hundred dollars if the state pays tuition for one thousand or fewer, but more than seven hundred fifty, pupils to a school district pursuant to section 15‑825, subsection D or section 15‑976.
(iii) The actual cost per student count if either the pupil's school district of residence or the state pays tuition for more than one thousand pupils to other school districts.
2. "Legal custody" means:
(a) Custody exercised by the natural or adoptive parents with whom a pupil resides.
(b) Custody granted by order of a court of competent jurisdiction to a person or persons with whom a pupil resides unless the primary purpose for which custody was requested was to circumvent the payment of tuition as provided in this section.
Sec. 13. Section 15-901, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-901. Definitions
A. In this title, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Average daily membership" means the total enrollment of fractional students and full‑time students, minus withdrawals, who are enrolled on September 15, November 15, January 15 and March 15, divided by four. Withdrawals include students formally withdrawn from schools and students absent for ten consecutive school days, except for excused absences identified by the department of education. For the purposes of this section, school districts and charter schools shall report student absence data to the department of education at least once every sixty days in session. For computation purposes, the effective date of withdrawal shall be retroactive to the last day of actual attendance of the student or excused absence.
1. "Average daily attendance" means actual average daily attendance of fractional students and full‑time students through the first one hundred eighty‑five days in session. For high school pupils, daily attendance is calculated for a full‑time student by dividing the number of hours attended by the number of hours scheduled for a full‑time instructional program. This amount shall be reduced by one‑fourth, one‑half or three‑fourths for part‑time students, as applicable.
(a) "Fractional student" means:
(i) For common schools, a preschool child who is enrolled in a program for preschool children with disabilities of at least three hundred sixty minutes each week or a kindergarten student at least five years of age before January 1 of the school year and enrolled in a school kindergarten program that meets at least three hundred fifty‑six hours for a one hundred eighty day school year, or the instructional hours prescribed in this section. Lunch periods and recess periods may not be included as part of the instructional hours unless the child's individualized education program requires instruction during those periods and the specific reasons for such instruction are fully documented. In computing the average daily membership attendance, preschool children with disabilities and kindergarten students shall be counted as one‑half of a full‑time student. For common schools, a part‑time student is a student enrolled for less than the total time for a full‑time student as defined in this section. A part‑time common school student shall be counted as one‑fourth, one‑half or three‑fourths of a full‑time student if the student is enrolled in an instructional program that is at least one‑fourth, one‑half or three‑fourths of the time a full‑time student is enrolled as defined in subdivision (b) of this paragraph.
(ii) For high schools, a part‑time student who is enrolled in less than four subjects that count toward graduation as defined by the state board of education in a recognized high school. The average daily membership attendance of a part‑time high school student shall be 0.75 if the student is enrolled in an instructional program of three subjects that meet at least five hundred forty hours for a one hundred eighty day school year, or the instructional hours prescribed in this section. The average daily membership attendance of a part‑time high school student shall be 0.5 if the student is enrolled in an instructional program of two subjects that meet at least three hundred sixty hours for a one hundred eighty day school year, or the instructional hours prescribed in this section. The average daily membership attendance of a part‑time high school student shall be 0.25 if the student is enrolled in an instructional program of one subject that meets at least one hundred eighty hours for a one hundred eighty day school year, or the instructional hours prescribed in this section.
(b) "Full‑time student" means:
(i) For common schools, a student who is at least six years of age before January 1 of a school year, who has not graduated from the highest grade taught in the school district and who is regularly enrolled in a course of study required by the state board of education. First, second and third grade students, ungraded students at least six, but under nine, years of age by September 1 or ungraded group B children with disabilities who are at least five, but under six, years of age by September 1 must be enrolled in an instructional program that meets for a total of at least seven hundred twelve hours for a one hundred eighty day school year, or the instructional hours prescribed in this section. Fourth, fifth and sixth grade students or ungraded students at least nine, but under twelve, years of age by September 1 must be enrolled in an instructional program that meets for a total of at least eight hundred ninety hours for a one hundred eighty day school year, or the instructional hours prescribed in this section. Seventh and eighth grade students or ungraded students at least twelve, but under fourteen, years of age by September 1 must be enrolled in an instructional program that meets for at least one thousand hours. Lunch periods and recess periods may not be included as part of the instructional hours unless the student is a child with a disability and the child's individualized education program requires instruction during those periods and the specific reasons for such instruction are fully documented.
(ii) For high schools, except as provided in section 15‑105, a student not graduated from the highest grade taught in the school district, or an ungraded student at least fourteen years of age by September 1, and enrolled in at least an instructional program of four or more subjects that count toward graduation as defined by the state board of education, that meets for a total of at least seven hundred twenty hours for a one hundred eighty day school year, or the instructional hours prescribed in this section in a recognized high school. A full‑time student shall not be counted more than once for computation of average daily membership attendance. The average daily membership attendance of a full-time high school student shall be 1.0 if the student is enrolled in at least four subjects that meet at least seven hundred twenty hours for a one hundred eighty day school year, or the equivalent instructional hours prescribed in this section.
(iii) Except as otherwise provided by law, for a full‑time high school student who is concurrently enrolled in two school districts or two charter schools, the average daily membership attendance shall not exceed 1.0.
(iv) Except as otherwise provided by law, for any student who is concurrently enrolled in a school district and a charter school, the average daily membership attendance shall be apportioned between the school district and the charter school and shall not exceed 1.0. The apportionment shall be based on the percentage of total time that the student is enrolled in or in attendance at the school district and the charter school.
(v) Except as otherwise provided by law, for any student who is concurrently enrolled, pursuant to section 15-808, in a school district and Arizona online instruction or a charter school and Arizona online instruction, the average daily membership attendance shall be apportioned between the school district and Arizona online instruction or the charter school and Arizona online instruction and shall not exceed 1.0. The apportionment shall be based on the percentage of total time that the student is enrolled in or in attendance at the school district and Arizona online instruction or the charter school and Arizona online instruction.
(vi) For homebound or hospitalized, a student receiving at least four hours of instruction per week.
2. "Budget year" means the fiscal year for which the school district is budgeting and that immediately follows the current year.
3. "Common school district" means a political subdivision of this state offering instruction to students in programs for preschool children with disabilities and kindergarten programs and either:
(a) Grades one through eight.
(b) Grades one through nine pursuant to section 15‑447.01.
4. "Current year" means the fiscal year in which a school district is operating.
5. "Daily attendance" means:
(a) For common schools, days in which a pupil:
(i) Of a kindergarten program or ungraded, but not group B children with disabilities, and at least five, but under six, years of age by September 1 attends at least three‑quarters of the instructional time scheduled for the day. If the total instruction time scheduled for the year is at least three hundred forty‑six hours but is less than six hundred ninety‑two hours, such attendance shall be counted as one‑half day of attendance. If the instructional time scheduled for the year is at least six hundred ninety‑two hours, "daily attendance" means days in which a pupil attends at least one‑half of the instructional time scheduled for the day. Such attendance shall be counted as one‑half day of attendance.
(ii) Of the first, second or third grades, ungraded and at least six, but under nine, years of age by September 1 or ungraded group B children with disabilities and at least five, but under six, years of age by September 1 attends more than three‑quarters of the instructional time scheduled for the day.
(iii) Of the fourth, fifth or sixth grades or ungraded and at least nine, but under twelve, years of age by September 1 attends more than three‑quarters of the instructional time scheduled for the day, except as provided in section 15‑797.
(iv) Of the seventh or eighth grades or ungraded and at least twelve, but under fourteen, years of age by September 1 attends more than three‑quarters of the instructional time scheduled for the day, except as provided in section 15‑797.
(b) For common schools, the attendance of a pupil at three‑quarters or less of the instructional time scheduled for the day shall be counted as follows, except as provided in section 15‑797 and except that attendance for a fractional student shall not exceed the pupil's fractional membership attendance:
(i) If attendance for all pupils in the school is based on quarter days, the attendance of a pupil shall be counted as one‑fourth of a day's attendance for each one‑fourth of full‑time instructional time attended.
(ii) If attendance for all pupils in the school is based on half days, the attendance of at least three‑quarters of the instructional time scheduled for the day shall be counted as a full day's attendance and attendance at a minimum of one‑half but less than three‑quarters of the instructional time scheduled for the day equals one‑half day of attendance.
(c) For common schools, the attendance of a preschool child with disabilities shall be counted as one‑fourth day's attendance for each thirty‑six minutes of attendance not including lunch periods and recess periods, except as provided in paragraph 1, subdivision (a), item (i) of this subsection for children with disabilities up to a maximum of three hundred sixty minutes each week.
(d) For high schools or ungraded schools in which the pupil is at least fourteen years of age by September 1, the attendance of a pupil shall not be counted as a full day unless the pupil is actually and physically in attendance and enrolled in and carrying four subjects, each of which, if taught each school day for the minimum number of days required in a school year, would meet a minimum of one hundred twenty hours a year, or the equivalent, that count toward graduation in a recognized high school except as provided in section 15‑797 and subdivision (e) of this paragraph. Attendance of a pupil carrying less than the load prescribed shall be prorated.
(e) For high schools or ungraded schools in which the pupil is at least fourteen years of age by September 1, the attendance of a pupil may be counted as one‑fourth of a day's attendance for each sixty minutes of instructional time in a subject that counts toward graduation, except that attendance for a pupil shall not exceed the pupil's full or fractional membership attendance.
(f) For homebound or hospitalized, a full day of attendance may be counted for each day during a week in which the student receives at least four hours of instruction.
(g) For school districts that maintain school for an approved year‑round school year operation, attendance shall be based on a computation, as prescribed by the superintendent of public instruction, of the one hundred eighty days' equivalency or two hundred days' equivalency, as applicable, of instructional time as approved by the superintendent of public instruction during which each pupil is enrolled.
6. "Daily route mileage" means the sum of:
(a) The total number of miles driven daily by all buses of a school district while transporting eligible students from their residence to the school of attendance and from the school of attendance to their residence on scheduled routes approved by the superintendent of public instruction.
(b) The total number of miles driven daily on routes approved by the superintendent of public instruction for which a private party, a political subdivision or a common or a contract carrier is reimbursed for bringing an eligible student from the place of his residence to a school transportation pickup point or to the school of attendance and from the school transportation scheduled return point or from the school of attendance to his residence. Daily route mileage includes the total number of miles necessary to drive to transport eligible students from and to their residence as provided in this paragraph.
7. "District support level" means the base support level plus the transportation support level.
8. "Eligible students" means:
(a) Students who are transported by or for a school district and who qualify as full‑time students or fractional students, except students for whom transportation is paid by another school district or a county school superintendent, and:
(i) For common school students, whose place of actual residence within the school district is more than one mile from the school facility of attendance or students who are admitted pursuant to section 15‑816.01 and who meet the economic eligibility requirements established under the national school lunch and child nutrition acts (42 United States Code sections 1751 through 1785) for free or reduced price lunches and whose actual place of residence outside the school district boundaries is more than one mile from the school facility of attendance.
(ii) For high school students, whose place of actual residence within the school district is more than one and one‑half miles from the school facility of attendance or students who are admitted pursuant to section 15‑816.01 and who meet the economic eligibility requirements established under the national school lunch and child nutrition acts (42 United States Code sections 1751 through 1785) for free or reduced price lunches and whose actual place of residence outside the school district boundaries is more than one and one‑half miles from the school facility of attendance.
(b) Kindergarten students, for purposes of computing the number of eligible students under subdivision (a), item (i) of this paragraph, shall be counted as full‑time students, notwithstanding any other provision of law.
(c) Children with disabilities, as defined by section 15‑761, who are transported by or for the school district or who are admitted pursuant to chapter 8, article 1.1 of this title and who qualify as full‑time students or fractional students regardless of location or residence within the school district or children with disabilities whose transportation is required by the pupil's individualized education program.
(d) Students whose residence is outside the school district and who are transported within the school district on the same basis as students who reside in the school district.
9. "Enrolled" or "enrollment" means when a pupil is currently registered in the school district.
10. "GDP price deflator" means the average of the four implicit price deflators for the gross domestic product reported by the United States department of commerce for the four quarters of the calendar year.
11. "High school district" means a political subdivision of this state offering instruction to students for grades nine through twelve or that portion of the budget of a common school district that is allocated to teaching high school subjects with permission of the state board of education.
12. "Revenue control limit" means the base revenue control limit plus the transportation revenue control limit.
13. "Student count" means average daily membership attendance as prescribed in this subsection for the fiscal year before the current year, except that for the purpose of budget preparation student count means average daily membership attendance as prescribed in this subsection for the current year.
14. "Submit electronically" means submitted in a format and in a manner prescribed by the department of education.
15. "Total bus mileage" means the total number of miles driven by all buses of a school district during the school year.
16. "Total students transported" means all eligible students transported from their place of residence to a school transportation pickup point or to the school of attendance and from the school of attendance or from the school transportation scheduled return point to their place of residence.
17. "Unified school district" means a political subdivision of the state offering instruction to students in programs for preschool children with disabilities and kindergarten programs and grades one through twelve.
B. In this title, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Base" means the revenue level per student count specified by the legislature.
2. "Base level" means the following amounts plus the percentage increases to the base level as provided in sections 15‑902.02, 15‑918.04, 15‑919.04 and 15-952, except that if a school district or charter school is eligible for an increase in the base level as provided in two or more of these sections, the base level amount shall be calculated by compounding rather than adding the sum of one plus the percentage of the increase from those different sections:
(a) For fiscal year 2007‑2008, three thousand two hundred twenty‑six dollars eighty-eight cents.
(b) For fiscal year 2008-2009, three thousand two hundred ninety-one dollars forty-two cents.
(c) For fiscal years 2009‑2010, 2010‑2011 and 2011‑2012, three thousand two hundred sixty‑seven dollars seventy‑two cents.
3. "Base revenue control limit" means the base revenue control limit computed as provided in section 15‑944.
4. "Base support level" means the base support level as provided in section 15‑943.
5. "Certified teacher" means a person who is certified as a teacher pursuant to the rules adopted by the state board of education, who renders direct and personal services to school children in the form of instruction related to the school district's educational course of study and who is paid from the maintenance and operation section of the budget.
6. "DD" means programs for children with developmental delays who are at least three years of age but under ten years of age. A preschool child who is categorized under this paragraph is not eligible to receive funding pursuant to section 15‑943, paragraph 2, subdivision (b).
7. "ED, MIID, SLD, SLI and OHI" means programs for children with emotional disabilities, mild intellectual disabilities, a specific learning disability, a speech/language impairment and other health impairments. A preschool child who is categorized as SLI under this paragraph is not eligible to receive funding pursuant to section 15‑943, paragraph 2, subdivision (b).
8. "ED‑P" means programs for children with emotional disabilities who are enrolled in private special education programs as prescribed in section 15‑765, subsection D, paragraph 1 or in an intensive school district program as provided in section 15‑765, subsection D, paragraph 2.
9. "ELL" means English learners who do not speak English or whose native language is not English, who are not currently able to perform ordinary classroom work in English and who are enrolled in an English language education program pursuant to sections 15‑751, 15‑752 and 15‑753.
10. "Full‑time equivalent certified teacher" or "FTE certified teacher" means for a certified teacher the following:
(a) If employed full time as defined in section 15‑501, 1.00.
(b) If employed less than full time, multiply 1.00 by the percentage of a full school day, or its equivalent, or a full class load, or its equivalent, for which the teacher is employed as determined by the governing board.
11. "Group A" means educational programs for career exploration, a specific learning disability, an emotional disability, a mild intellectual disability, remedial education, a speech/language impairment, developmental delay, homebound, bilingual, other health impairments and gifted pupils.
12. "Group B" means educational improvements for pupils in kindergarten programs and grades one through three, educational programs for autism, a hearing impairment, a moderate intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, multiple disabilities with severe sensory impairment, orthopedic impairments, preschool severe delay, a severe intellectual disability and emotional disabilities for school age pupils enrolled in private special education programs or in school district programs for children with severe disabilities or visual impairment and English learners enrolled in a program to promote English language proficiency pursuant to section 15‑752.
13. "HI" means programs for pupils with hearing impairment.
14. "Homebound" or "hospitalized" means a pupil who is capable of profiting from academic instruction but is unable to attend school due to illness, disease, accident or other health conditions, who has been examined by a competent medical doctor and who is certified by that doctor as being unable to attend regular classes for a period of not less than three school months or a pupil who is capable of profiting from academic instruction but is unable to attend school regularly due to chronic or acute health problems, who has been examined by a competent medical doctor and who is certified by that doctor as being unable to attend regular classes for intermittent periods of time totaling three school months during a school year. The medical certification shall state the general medical condition, such as illness, disease or chronic health condition, that is the reason that the pupil is unable to attend school. Homebound or hospitalized includes a student who is unable to attend school for a period of less than three months due to a pregnancy if a competent medical doctor, after an examination, certifies that the student is unable to attend regular classes due to risk to the pregnancy or to the student's health.
15. "K‑3" means kindergarten programs and grades one through three.
16. "MD‑R, A‑R and SID‑R" means resource programs for pupils with multiple disabilities, autism and severe intellectual disability.
17. "MD‑SC, A‑SC and SID-SC" means self‑contained programs for pupils with multiple disabilities, autism and severe intellectual disability.
18. "MD‑SSI" means a program for pupils with multiple disabilities with severe sensory impairment.
19. "MOID" means programs for pupils with moderate intellectual disability.
20. "OI‑R" means a resource program for pupils with orthopedic impairments.
21. "OI‑SC" means a self‑contained program for pupils with orthopedic impairments.
22. "PSD" means preschool programs for children with disabilities as provided in section 15‑771.
23. "P‑SD" means programs for children who meet the definition of preschool severe delay as provided in section 15‑771.
24. "Qualifying tax rate" means the qualifying tax rate specified in section 15‑971 applied to the assessed valuation used for primary property taxes.
25. "Small isolated school district" means a school district that meets all of the following:
(a) Has a student count of fewer than six hundred in kindergarten programs and grades one through eight or grades nine through twelve.
(b) Contains no school that is fewer than thirty miles by the most reasonable route from another school, or, if road conditions and terrain make the driving slow or hazardous, fifteen miles from another school that teaches one or more of the same grades and is operated by another school district in this state.
(c) Is designated as a small isolated school district by the superintendent of public instruction.
26. "Small school district" means a school district that meets all of the following:
(a) Has a student count of fewer than six hundred in kindergarten programs and grades one through eight or grades nine through twelve.
(b) Contains at least one school that is fewer than thirty miles by the most reasonable route from another school that teaches one or more of the same grades and is operated by another school district in this state.
(c) Is designated as a small school district by the superintendent of public instruction.
27. "Transportation revenue control limit" means the transportation revenue control limit computed as prescribed in section 15‑946.
28. "Transportation support level" means the support level for pupil transportation operating expenses as provided in section 15‑945.
29. "VI" means programs for pupils with visual impairments.
30. "Voc. Ed." means career and technical education and vocational education programs, as defined in section 15‑781.
Sec. 14. Section 15-901.06, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-901.06. Dropout recovery programs; written learning plan; requirements; definition
A. Each school district and charter school that provides instruction to high school pupils, including schools that provide Arizona online instruction, may offer a dropout recovery program for eligible pupils.
B. The state board of education shall prescribe standards and achievement testing requirements for dropout recovery programs that attempt to ensure that the programs are compatible with public school education goals and requirements. The standards shall require dropout recovery programs to do all of the following:
1. Provide curriculum aligned to the academic standards adopted by the state board of education. The curriculum may be delivered online.
2. Provide standardized tests required by federal and state law.
3. Make available appropriate and sufficient supports for pupils, including tutoring, career counseling and college counseling.
4. Comply with federal and state laws governing pupils with disabilities.
5. Meet state requirements for high school graduation.
C. Each eligible pupil enrolled in a dropout recovery program shall have a written learning plan developed by the pupil's assigned mentor. The written learning plan shall include the following elements:
1. The start date and anticipated end date of the plan.
2. Courses to be completed by the pupil during the academic year.
3. Whether courses will be taken sequentially or concurrently.
4. State competency exams to be taken, as necessary.
5. Expectations for satisfactory monthly progress.
6. Expectations for contact with the pupil's assigned mentor.
D. The monthly participation in a dropout recovery program shall be reported on or before the tenth school day of each month. Monthly participation calculations shall include:
1. Newly enrolled pupils who have a written learning plan on file on or before the first school day of the previous month.
2. Pupils who met the expectations for satisfactory monthly progress in the previous month.
3. Pupils who did not meet the expectations for satisfactory monthly progress in the previous month but did meet the expectations in the month before the previous month.
4. Pupils who met expectations for program reentry in the revised written learning plan in the previous month.
E. Because dropout recovery pupils are not expected to regularly attend classes at the district facilities, standard procedures for recording pupil attendance cannot be effectively applied to those students. For pupils participating in a dropout recovery program, an eligible pupil shall be counted as being in attendance in the school's average daily attendance calculations pursuant to subsection F of this section if the pupil meets one of the following conditions:
1. A pupil Is in their the first month of enrollment in the program and completes the program orientation during that month.
2. A pupil Is enrolled in teacher-facilitated courses and meets the expectations for satisfactory monthly progress for the current or previous month. A pupil who does not meet expectations for monthly progress for two or more consecutive months shall not be reported as being in attendance until the pupil meets the expectations for program reentry.
3. A pupil Meets the expectations for program reentry in the revised written learning plan.
F. If a pupil is enrolled in a school district or charter school and also participates in a dropout recovery program in the same fiscal year, the sum of the average daily membership attendance as prescribed in section 15‑901, subsection A, paragraph 1, subdivisions (a) and (b), and average daily attendance as prescribed in section 15‑901, subsection A, paragraph 5, for that pupil in the school district or charter school and in a dropout recovery program shall not exceed 1.0. If the pupil is enrolled in both a school district or charter school and a dropout recovery program in the same fiscal year and the sum of the average daily membership attendance and average daily attendance for that pupil is greater than 1.0, the sum shall be reduced to 1.0 and shall be apportioned between the school district or charter school and the dropout recovery program based on the proportionate shares of average daily membership attendance in the school district or charter school and the average daily attendance in the dropout recovery program. The uniform system of financial records shall include guidelines for the apportionment of pupil enrollment and attendance as provided in this subsection. Pupils in a dropout recovery program do not incur absences for purposes of this subsection and may generate average daily attendance for attendance during any hour of the day, during any day of the week and at any time between July 1 and June 30 of each fiscal year. The average daily attendance of a pupil who participates in a dropout recovery program shall not exceed 1.0 and shall be calculated by fulfilling the requirements of subsection E of this section. Average daily membership attendance shall not be calculated on the one hundredth day of instruction for the purposes of this section.
G. Notwithstanding section 15-901, subsection A, paragraph 1, the average daily membership attendance for pupils enrolled in a dropout recovery program shall equal the average daily attendance of the pupils.
H. School districts and charter schools shall be responsible for tuition charges and fees related to pupil participation in a dropout recovery program, including course materials and access to technology for use with online courses.
I. School districts and charter schools may contract with an educational management organization to provide a dropout recovery program. If contracting with an educational management organization, the school district or charter school shall ensure that all of the following requirements are met:
1. The educational management organization is accredited by a regional accrediting body.
2. Teachers provided by the educational management organization hold a current teaching license from any state and a valid Arizona fingerprint clearance card pursuant to section 15-534, and teachers of core subjects are highly qualified in the subjects to which they are assigned.
J. Attendance, graduation and test scores from pupils in a dropout recovery program shall be exempt from the requirements related to annual achievement profiles pursuant to section 15‑241 and school report cards pursuant to section 15‑746.
K. For the purposes of this section, "eligible pupil" means a pupil who is not currently enrolled in a school district or charter school and who has been withdrawn from a school district or charter school for at least thirty days.
Sec. 15. Section 15-902.03, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-902.03. Procedures for determining average daily attendance
A. The department of education shall compute and aggregate average daily membership attendance for the current year no later than April 15, and shall not further aggregate student data after April 15 for the current year. The department shall inform school districts and charter schools of their final average daily membership attendance counts no later than April 22 of the current year. School districts shall use these student counts to determine the average daily membership attendance for the budget year. Any future adjustments in student counts, if discovered by the school district or charter school after April 15, shall be made pursuant to section 15‑915. This subsection does not apply to Arizona online instruction.
B. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, school districts may continue to make budget adjustments pursuant to section 15‑905, make corrections pursuant to section 15‑915 and use the adjustment for growth in student count pursuant to section 15-948.
Sec. 16. Section 15-910.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-910.01. School district budgets; career and technical education and vocational education center expenses
A. The governing board of a school district which that has entered into an intergovernmental agreement or other written contract to establish a jointly owned and operated career and technical education and vocational education center as provided in section 15‑789 may budget for vocational maintenance and operation expenses which that are specifically exempt in whole or part from the revenue control limit for a period of not to exceed three years beginning the first year that the career and technical education and vocational education center is operating and serving students. The governing board shall notify the state board of education before adopting a budget as provided in this section for the first year of operation of the career and technical education and vocational education center to demonstrate that the center is ready to begin operations.
B. For each year that a school district is authorized to budget for a joint career and technical education and vocational education center as provided in this section, the district shall determine the budget amount as follows:
1. Estimate the average daily membership attendance or adjusted average daily membership attendance for the budget year of students to be enrolled in courses held at the joint career and technical education and vocational education center pursuant to section 15‑901.
2. Multiply 0.142 by the base level and multiply this product by the average daily membership attendance or adjusted average daily membership attendance as determined in paragraph 1 of this subsection.
C. Before May 15, school districts which that overestimate the average daily membership attendance as provided in subsection B, paragraph 1 of this section shall adjust the general budget limit and expenditures based on the actual average daily membership attendance during the current fiscal year. School districts which that underestimate the average daily membership attendance may adjust their budgets before May 15 based on the actual average daily membership attendance during the current fiscal year. Procedures for completing adjustments shall be prescribed in the uniform system of financial records. Not later than May 18, the budget as revised shall be submitted electronically to the superintendent of public instruction.
D. A governing board which that budgets for career and technical education and vocational education center expenses pursuant to this section shall:
1. Prepare and employ a separate maintenance and operation budget for the career and technical education and vocational education center on a form prescribed by the superintendent of public instruction in conjunction with the auditor general. The budget format shall be designed to allow a school district to plan and provide in detail for expenditures to be incurred solely for the maintenance and operation of the career and technical education and vocational education center.
2. Prepare as a part of the annual financial report a detailed report of expenditures incurred solely for the maintenance and operation of the career and technical education and vocational education center.
E. The part of the primary tax rate set to fund the vocational maintenance and operations expenses as provided in this section shall not be included in the computation of additional state aid for education as prescribed in section 15‑972.
Sec. 17. Section 15-913.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-913.01. Education program; county jails
A. Each county that operates a county jail shall offer an education program to serve all prisoners who are under eighteen years of age and prisoners with disabilities who are age twenty‑one or younger and who are confined in the county jail. The county school superintendent and the sheriff in each county shall agree on the method of delivery of the education program.
B. The county school superintendent shall develop policies and procedures for the transfer of educational records of any prisoner confined in a county jail who has been transferred from a juvenile detention center or from any other public agency that has provided educational services to that prisoner.
C. A county may operate its county jail education program through an accommodation school that provides alternative education services pursuant to section 15‑308, except that each pupil enrolled in the accommodation school county jail education program shall be funded at an amount equal to seventy‑two per cent of the amount for that pupil if that pupil were enrolled in another accommodation school program.
D. If a county chooses not to operate its county jail education program through an accommodation school, the county school superintendent may establish a county jail education fund to provide financial support to the program. The county jail education fund for each program shall consist of a base amount plus a variable amount. For fiscal year 1999‑2000 the base amount is fourteen thousand four hundred dollars and the variable amount shall be determined pursuant to subsection E of this section. The base amount and variable amount for each county or counties served shall be funded with state general fund monies, subject to appropriation. The county school superintendent must submit claims for payments to the state superintendent of public instruction. The county school superintendent shall deposit the payments into the county jail education fund.
E. The variable amount shall be determined as follows:
1. Determine the number of days in the prior fiscal year that each pupil who is a prisoner and who had been in the county jail for more than forty‑eight hours received an instructional program of at least two hundred forty minutes. No school district may count a pupil as being in attendance in that school district on a day that the pupil is counted as a prisoner for the purposes of this paragraph.
2. Multiply the number of days determined under paragraph 1 of this subsection by the following amount:
(a) For fiscal year 1999‑2000, ten dollars eighty cents.
(b) For fiscal year 2000‑2001 and each year thereafter, the amount for the prior year adjusted by any growth rate prescribed by law, subject to legislative appropriation.
3. For each pupil who is a child with a disability as defined in section 15‑761, who is a prisoner and who had been in the county jail for more than forty‑eight hours:
(a) Determine the amount prescribed in section 15‑1204, subsection E, paragraph 1 or 2, multiply the amount by .72 and add seventy‑two dollars for capital outlay costs.
(b) Divide the sum determined under subdivision (a) of this paragraph by one hundred seventy‑five.
(c) Subtract the amount prescribed in paragraph 2 of this subsection from the quotient determined in subdivision (b) of this paragraph.
(d) Determine the number of days in the prior fiscal year that the pupil received an instructional program of at least two hundred forty minutes.
(e) Multiply the amount determined in subdivision (d) of this paragraph by the difference determined in subdivision (c) of this paragraph.
4. Add the amounts determined in paragraph 3 of this subsection for all pupils with disabilities who are prisoners.
5. Add the sum determined in paragraph 4 of this subsection to the product determined in paragraph 2 of this subsection. This sum is the variable amount.
F. If a county jail education program serves more than one county, the county school superintendents and the sheriffs of the counties being served shall agree on a county of jurisdiction. The county school superintendent shall deposit into the county jail education fund of the county of jurisdiction monies that are received from the superintendent of public instruction pursuant to this section for all counties served by the county of jurisdiction.
G. If a county operated a county jail education program through an accommodation school in the year before it begins to operate its county jail education program as provided in subsection D of this section, for the first year of operation as provided in subsection D of this section, the student count of the accommodation school shall be reduced by the average daily membership attendance attributable to the accommodation school's county jail program in its last fiscal year of operation.
Sec. 18. Section 15-914, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-914. Financial and compliance audits
A. The governing board of a school district that is required to comply with the single audit act amendments of 1996 (P.L. 104‑156; 110 Stat. 1396; 31 United States Code sections 7501 through 7507) shall contract for at least annual financial and compliance audits of financial transactions and accounts subject to the single audit act amendments of 1996 and kept by or for the school district. The governing board of a school district that is not required to comply with the single audit act and that has adopted an expenditure budget of two million dollars or more for the maintenance and operation fund pursuant to section 15‑905 shall contract for an annual financial statement audit. The governing board of a school district that is not required to comply with the single audit act and that has adopted an expenditure budget of less than two million dollars but more than seven hundred thousand dollars for the maintenance and operation fund pursuant to section 15‑905 shall contract for a biennial financial statement audit. An independent certified public accountant shall conduct the audit in accordance with generally accepted governmental auditing standards. To the extent permitted by federal law, a school district that is required to participate in an annual audit pursuant to this subsection may convert to a biennial audit schedule if the previous annual audit did not contain any significant negative findings. If a biennial audit of a school district conducted pursuant to this subsection contains any significant negative findings, the school district shall convert back to an annual audit schedule. If a school district is required to convert back to an annual audit schedule pursuant to this subsection because of significant negative findings, the school district may subsequently convert to a biennial audit schedule if the previous two annual audits did not contain any significant negative findings. For the purposes of this subsection, "significant negative finding" means a finding that results in the issuance of a letter of noncompliance from the auditor general.
B. The governing board of a charter school that is required to comply with the single audit act amendments of 1996 shall contract for an annual financial and compliance audit of financial transactions and accounts subject to the single audit act amendments of 1996 and kept by or for the charter school. A charter school shall contract with a different auditor at least once every six years.
C. A charter school that is not subject to the single audit act amendments of 1996 shall contract for at least an annual financial statement audit conducted in accordance with generally accepted governmental auditing standards. An independent certified public accountant shall conduct the audit. A charter school shall contract with a different auditor at least once every six years.
D. For all audits referred to in subsections A, B and C of this section, the independent certified public accountant shall submit a uniform system of financial records compliance questionnaire to the auditor general with the applicable audit reports.
E. Contracts for all financial and compliance audits and financial statement audits and the completed audits shall be approved by the auditor general as provided in section 41‑1279.21. Contracts for all financial and compliance audits and financial statement audits shall comply with the rules for competitive sealed proposals as prescribed by the state board of education in section 15‑213.
F. If the school district or charter school will incur costs of financial and compliance audits for the budget year, the governing board of a school district or the governing body of the charter school may increase its base support level for the budget year by an amount equal to the amount expended for the district's or charter school's financial and compliance audits in the year before the current year, increased by the growth rate as prescribed by law, subject to appropriation. In determining the amount expended for the district's or charter school's financial and compliance audits, the school district or charter school shall include only the portion of the audit that must be paid from monies other than federal monies. The department of education and the auditor general shall prescribe a method for determining the increase in the base support level and shall include in the maintenance and operation section of the budget format, as provided in section 15‑903, a separate line for financial and compliance audits expenditures.
G. Every audit contract shall include a systematic review of average daily membership attendance, as defined in section 15‑901, using methodology that is consistent with guidelines established by the auditor general. The auditor general shall consider cost when establishing guidelines pursuant to this subsection and, to the extent possible, shall attempt to minimize the cost of the review. The purpose of the review is to determine whether the average daily membership attendance reported by the charter school or school district is in compliance with the laws of this state and the uniform systems of financial records for charter schools and school districts.
Sec. 19. Section 15-915, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-915. Correction of state aid or budget limit errors; definition
A. If the superintendent of public instruction determines that the calculation of state aid for a school district or charter school or the calculation of the school district's or charter school's budget limits within the previous year did not conform with statutory requirements, the superintendent shall require correction of the errors as follows:
1. Corrections may be made in the current year or in the budget year, except that in case of hardship to the school district, the superintendent may approve corrections partly in one year and partly in the year after that year.
2. Errors in the calculation of state aid shall be corrected by increasing or decreasing the state aid to the school district or charter school in the year or years in which the correction is made.
3. Errors in the calculation of the school district's or charter school's budget limits shall be corrected at a public hearing by requiring the governing board to reduce or by allowing it to increase its budget by the amount of the correction to be made that year. Overbudgeting errors corrected as provided in this paragraph are exempt from section 15‑905, subsections L and M. Not later than three days after the hearing and correction, the budget as revised shall be submitted electronically to the superintendent of public instruction. Nothing in This paragraph shall not be construed to require a decrease in state aid not otherwise required by paragraph 2 of this subsection.
B. Subject to the review by the joint legislative budget committee, the superintendent of public instruction shall adjust state aid for a school district in the current year if the governing board of a school district requests the recalculation of state aid for a prior year due to a change in assessed valuation that occurred as the result of a judgment in accordance with section 42‑16213.
C. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, a school district or charter school may not make upward revisions to its average daily membership attendance counts for a particular school year after June 30 of the subsequent school year.
D. For the purposes of this section, "state aid":
1. For school districts means state aid as determined in section 15‑971 and additional state aid as determined in section 15‑972.
2. For charter schools means state aid as determined in section 15‑185.
Sec. 20. Section 15-948, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-948. Adjustment for growth in student count
A. Any school district, after the first one hundred days or two hundred days in session, as applicable, of the current year, may determine if it is eligible to increase its revenue control limit and district support level for the current year due to growth in the student population as follows:
1. Determine the student count used for calculating the base support level for the current year.
2. Determine the average daily membership attendance or adjusted average daily membership, whichever is applicable, through the first one hundred days or two hundred days in session, as applicable, of the current year.
3. Subtract the amount determined in paragraph 1 of this subsection from the amount determined in paragraph 2 of this subsection.
4. If the amount determined in paragraph 2 of this subsection is greater than the amount determined in paragraph 1 of this subsection, the governing board of the school district may compute an increase to its revenue control limit and district support level for the current year.
B. A school district, after the first one hundred days or two hundred days in session, as applicable, of the current year, may determine if it is eligible to compute an increase to its revenue control limit for the current year due to growth in the number of pupils in the group B categories of moderate or severe intellectual disability, visual impairment, hearing impairment, multiple disabilities, multiple disabilities with severe sensory impairment, orthopedic impairment, preschool severe delay and emotionally disabled pupils enrolled in private special education programs or in school district programs for pupils with severe disabilities as follows:
1. Determine the weighted student count for all group B children with disabilities used for calculating the base support level for the current year.
2. Determine the weighted average daily membership attendance for all group B children with disabilities through the first one hundred days or two hundred days in session, as applicable, of the current year.
3. Subtract the amount determined in paragraph 1 of this subsection from the amount determined in paragraph 2 of this subsection.
4. If the amount determined in paragraph 2 of this subsection is greater than the amount determined in paragraph 1 of this subsection, the governing board of the school district may compute an increase to its revenue control limit and district support level for the current year by using the amount determined in paragraph 3 of this subsection for the weighted student count and the base level for the district for the current year.
C. If a school district meets the criteria specified in subsection A or B of this section, or both, the governing board of the school district, after notice is given and a public hearing held as provided in section 15‑905, subsection D, at any time before May 15 may revise its budget to include the increase in its revenue control limit and district support level for the current year utilizing the procedure prescribed in subsection A or B of this section, or both. Not later than May 18, the budget as revised shall be submitted electronically to the superintendent of public instruction.
D. If the revised budget is adopted by the governing board at the public hearing and submitted electronically as provided in subsection C of this section, the school district shall receive state aid based on the adjusted revenue control limit or the adjusted district support level in the manner specified in section 15‑971, except that in no event shall the school district receive less state aid than it would have received if it had not used this section.
E. If the adjusted revenue control limit results in an expenditure of funds in excess of school district revenues for the current year, the county school superintendent shall include within the revenue estimate for the budget year funds necessary to meet the liabilities incurred by the school district in the current year in excess of revenues received for the current year.
Sec. 21. Section 15-954, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-954. Adjustment for tuition loss
A. The district may increase its base support level for tuition loss as prescribed in subsection B of this section if all of the following apply:
1. A school district receives tuition for high school pupils from a school district which that is inside or outside of this state and which that does not offer instruction in one or more high school grade levels.
2. The school district which that had received the tuition loses the tuition because the other school district begins to offer instruction in one or more high school grade levels not previously offered.
3. The number of pupils for whom the district loses the tuition is equal to at least five per cent of the average daily membership attendance of pupils educated by the district in grades nine through twelve for the year prior to the year in which the other school district begins to offer the instruction.
B. The maximum amount by which a district may increase its base support level for tuition loss is determined as follows:
1. Determine the amount of tuition lost between the year before the other school district begins to offer instruction, which is the base year, and the year after the base year.
2. For the year after the base year, the maximum amount is seventy‑five per cent of the amount determined in paragraph 1 of this subsection.
3. For the second year after the base year, the maximum amount is fifty per cent of the amount determined in paragraph 1 of this subsection.
4. For the third year after the base year, the maximum amount is twenty‑five per cent of the amount determined in paragraph 1 of this subsection.
C. If the resident school district is a joint unified district and phases in the instruction over more than one year:
1. The computation prescribed by subsection A, paragraph 3 of this section shall be made separately for each phase by dividing the number of pupils in the phase by the average daily membership attendance of pupils in grades nine through twelve who are educated by the district of attendance in the year prior to the year in which the resident district begins to offer instruction for this phase.
2. The base year and the maximum amounts determined pursuant to subsection B of this section shall be computed separately for each phase.
3. The total increase in the base support level for a given fiscal year shall be the sum of the computations for each phase calculated pursuant to paragraph 2 of this subsection.
D. If the school district does not qualify for equalization assistance as provided in section 15‑971, the part of the primary property tax rate set to fund the tuition loss as provided in this section shall not be included in the computation of additional state aid revenues as prescribed in section 15‑972.
Sec. 22. Section 15-991, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-991. Annual estimate by county school superintendent of monies for ensuing year
A. The county school superintendent, not later than August 1 each year, shall file in writing with the governing board of each school district in the county and the board of supervisors the superintendent's estimate of the amount of school monies required by each school district for the ensuing year, based on the budgets adopted by the governing boards of the school districts. The county school superintendent, concurrent with the board of supervisors adopting tax rates each year, shall file in writing with the property tax oversight commission the finalized estimate of the amount of school monies required by each school district for the ensuing year, based on the budgets adopted by the school district governing boards. The estimate shall contain:
1. A statement of the student count of each school district.
2. The total amount to be received for the year by each school district from the county school fund and the special county school reserve fund.
3. The projected ending cash balance from the previous year adjusted for encumbrances and payables for each school district as provided by the school district and as certified by the president of the school district governing board. A governing board may delegate to a superintendent, head teacher or business manager the authority to certify the projected cash balance.
4. The anticipated interest earnings for each school district.
5. Revenues equal to the amount included in the adopted budget for the maintenance and operation section of the budget permitted by section 15‑947, subsection C, paragraph 2, subdivision (a), items (ii), (iii), (iv), (v) and (vi) and subdivision (d). The county school superintendent shall subtract from each school district's budgeted expenditures the total amount of estimated revenues including the projected ending cash balance from the previous year adjusted for encumbrances and payables in order to estimate the additional amounts needed for each school district from the primary property tax and the secondary property tax. The county school superintendent shall certify such amounts to the board of supervisors and the property tax oversight commission in writing at the time of filing the estimate. When estimating the additional amount needed from the primary property tax for a school district that is not eligible for any equalization assistance as provided in section 15‑971, the county school superintendent shall include the school district governing board's estimate of the increase in the revenue control limit as prescribed by section 15‑948 for the applicable year, except that the percentage increase in average daily membership attendance used to compute the estimated increase in the revenue control limit may not exceed the average of the percentage increase in average daily membership attendance in the three years before the year for which the estimate is made.
B. The county school superintendent shall recompute equalization assistance for education for each school district as provided in section 15‑971, subsection A using the property values provided by the county assessor as provided in section 42‑17052. The county school superintendent shall certify in writing the amount of equalization assistance for education and the amount needed for each school district from the primary property tax to the board of supervisors and the property tax oversight commission on or before the third day before the day the board of supervisors is required to levy school district taxes as provided in section 15‑992.
C. The county school superintendent shall compute the additional amount to be levied as provided in section 15‑992, subsection B, using the property values provided in section 42‑17052. The county school superintendent shall certify in writing the additional amount to be levied to the county board of supervisors and the property tax oversight commission on or before the third day before the day the board of supervisors is required to levy school district taxes as provided in section 15‑992.
D. On or before September 1, the governing board of a school district shall file with the county school superintendent an estimate of the amount of title VIII of the elementary and secondary education act of 1965 monies it is eligible to receive during the current year. On or before June 1, the governing board shall file with the county school superintendent and the superintendent of public instruction a statement of the actual amount of title VIII of the elementary and secondary education act of 1965 monies it received during the current year. This subsection does not apply to accommodation schools.
E. The department may collect any other similar or related information from school districts that the department may determine is necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
Sec. 23. Section 15-1042, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-1042. Timeline; student level data; definition
A. The department of education shall notify school districts and charter schools of electronic data submission procedures and shall distribute a list of the specific student level data elements that school districts and charter schools are required to submit. The department of education shall not make any changes to the student level data elements to be collected except for the following:
1. Student attendance data for a joint technical education district, including entry date and exit date, for classes that count towards the student's graduation requirements as provided for in section 15‑701.01.
2. Student attendance data for a community college, unless the college is owned, operated or chartered by an Indian tribe, including entry date and exit date, for classes that count towards the student's graduation requirements as provided for in section 15‑701.01.
B. Each school district and charter school shall submit electronic data on a school by school basis, including student level data, to the department of education in order for the school district or charter school to receive monies for the cost of educating students pursuant to this title.
C. The department of education shall grant a school district or charter school an extension to the deadline for the submission of student level data or may provide for an alternative method for the submission of student level data if the school district or charter school proves that good cause exists for the extension, and the school district or charter school shall continue to receive monies for the cost of educating students pursuant to this title. The request by a school district or charter school for an extension of the deadline for the submission of student level data shall include a justification for the extension and the status of current efforts towards complying with the submission of student level data.
D. A pupil or the parent or guardian of a pupil shall not be required to submit data that does not relate to the provision of educational services or assistance to the pupil.
E. Each student level data element shall include a statutory reference to the law that necessitates its collection.
F. Unless otherwise prescribed, school districts and charter schools shall begin to report new data elements on July 1 of the year that follows the effective date of the law that requires the collection of the data.
G. Student level data items submitted to the department of education by school districts pursuant to this section shall not be used to adjust funding levels or calculate the average daily membership attendance for the purpose of funding school districts at any time other than the fortieth, one hundredth and two hundredth days of the school year.
H. A school district or charter school is not required to submit student level data to the department of education more often than once every twenty school days.
I. Notwithstanding subsection L of this section, the student level data shall include reasons for the withdrawal if reasons are provided by the withdrawing pupil or the pupil's parent or guardian. For the purposes of this subsection, the department of education shall include in the specific student level data elements that school districts and charter schools are required to submit data relating to students who withdraw from school because the student is pregnant or because the student is the biological parent of a child.
J. The department of education shall adopt guidelines to remove outdated student level data collected by school districts and charter schools from the student accountability information system.
K. All student level data collected pursuant to this section is confidential and is not a public record. The data collected may be used for aggregate research and reporting.
L. For the purposes of this section, "student level data" means all data elements that are compiled and submitted for each student in this state and that are necessary for the completion of the statutory requirements of the department of education and the state board of education relating to the calculation of funding for public education, the determination of student academic progress as measured by student testing programs in this state, state and federal reporting requirements and other duties prescribed to the department of education or the state board of education by law. Student level data does not include data elements related to student behavior, discipline, criminal history, medical history, religious affiliation, personal physical descriptors or family information not authorized by the parent or guardian of the pupil.
Sec. 24. Section 15-1251, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-1251. State block grant for early childhood education; evaluation
A. The state block grant for early childhood education program is established in the state board of education. The purpose of the program is to promote improved pupil achievement by providing flexible supplemental funding for early childhood programs, including preschool programs for economically disadvantaged children, and programs that serve all public school pupils statewide who are in kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three.
B. Funding for the program for each fiscal year shall be allocated based on the number of pupils in kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three in each charter school or school district who were eligible for free lunches during the prior fiscal year under the national school lunch and child nutrition acts (42 United States Code sections 1751 through 1785). Any charter school or school district that did not determine for the prior fiscal year if its pupils in kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three were eligible for free lunches under the national school lunch and child nutrition acts shall receive funding for the program in the current fiscal year based on the number of its pupils in kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three who would have been eligible for free lunches in the prior fiscal year according to the statewide kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three eligibility average for all school districts and charter schools collectively for the prior fiscal year. Notwithstanding this section, a school district or charter school with an average daily membership attendance of more than six hundred pupils in kindergarten programs and grades one, two and three in the prior fiscal year shall have participated in the national school lunch and child nutrition acts free lunches program in the prior fiscal year to be eligible for program funding in the current fiscal year.
C. A school district or charter school that devotes part or all of its program funding to preschool programs shall comply with all of the following requirements:
1. Restrict the preschool program only to preschool children eligible for free or reduced price lunches under the national school lunch and child nutrition acts.
2. Allow participating pupils to receive preschool services only from a public, federally funded or private child care provider, each of which shall be licensed by the department of health services and each of which, beginning in fiscal year 1999‑2000, also shall be accredited by a state board of education approved organization that provides accreditation for preschool programs.
3. Provide all federally funded or private child care providers located within the school district or within ten miles of the charter school with information necessary for them to participate in the program, including names and addresses of children selected for participation and of their parents or guardians.
4. Provide all parents or guardians of children selected for the program with a list of licensed federally funded or private child care providers located within the school district or within ten miles of the charter school and explain to parents or guardians that they may choose to have their child receive services under the program from any provider on the list if that provider agrees to participate.
5. Allow at least fifty per cent of pupils selected for the program to receive preschool services from a federally funded or private child care provider of their parent's or guardian's own choosing.
6. Allow any eligible child care provider located within the school district or within ten miles of the charter school to participate in the program if it is willing to provide services at a unit cost similar to that paid to other providers in the area under the program.
7. Limit the use of contracts with federally funded and private child care providers to financial agreements pertaining to numbers of children to be served, hours of service to be provided per child, payment rates and other financial aspects of the program.
8. Limit to five per cent the amount of block grant monies that may be used locally for program administration.
9. Pay participating federally funded and private child care providers in a timely manner.
D. The legislative council shall conduct a programmatic evaluation of the state block grant for early childhood education program every three years. For this evaluation, the staff of legislative council shall develop outcome measures to indicate the effectiveness of the early childhood education program. The department of education shall assist the staff of legislative council in collecting any information necessary to complete the evaluation.
Sec. 25. Section 15-1371, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-1371. Equalization assistance for state educational system for committed youth; state education fund for committed youth
A. The superintendent of the state educational system for committed youth shall calculate a base support level as prescribed in section 15‑943 and a capital outlay revenue limit as prescribed in section 15‑961 for the educational system established pursuant to section 41‑2831, except that:
1. Notwithstanding section 15‑901:
(a) The student count shall be determined using the following definitions:
(i) "Daily attendance" means days in which a pupil attends an educational program for a minimum of two hundred forty minutes not including meal and recess periods. Attendance for one hundred twenty or more minutes but fewer than two hundred forty minutes shall be counted as one‑half day's attendance.
(ii) "Fractional student" means a pupil enrolled in an educational program of one hundred twenty or more minutes but fewer than two hundred forty minutes a day not including meal and recess periods. A fractional student shall be counted as one‑half of a full‑time student.
(iii) "Full‑time student" means a pupil enrolled in an educational program for a minimum of two hundred forty minutes a day not including meal and recess periods.
(b) "Seriously emotionally disabled pupils enrolled in a school district program as provided in section 15‑765" includes seriously emotionally disabled pupils enrolled in the department of juvenile corrections school system.
2. All pupils shall be counted as if they were enrolled in grades nine through twelve.
3. The teacher experience index is 1.00.
4. The base support level shall be calculated using the base level multiplied by 1.0, except that the state educational system for committed youth is also eligible beginning with fiscal year 1992‑1993 for additional teacher compensation monies as specified in section 15‑952.
5. Section 15‑943, paragraph 1 does not apply.
B. The superintendent may use sections 15‑855 and 15‑948 in making the calculations prescribed in subsection A of this section, except that for the 1992‑1993 fiscal year rapid decline shall not be used. The superintendent of the system and the department of education shall prescribe procedures for determining average daily membership attendance.
C. Equalization assistance for the state educational system for committed youth for the budget year is determined by adding the amount of the base support level and the capital outlay revenue limit for the budget year calculated as prescribed in subsection A of this section.
D. The state educational system for committed youth shall not receive twenty‑five per cent of the equalization assistance unless it is accredited by the north central association of colleges and secondary schools.
E. The state education fund for committed youth is established. Fund monies shall be used for the purposes of the state educational system for committed youth, and notwithstanding section 35‑173, monies appropriated to the fund shall not be transferred to or used for any program not within the state educational system for committed youth. State equalization assistance for the state educational system for committed youth as determined in subsection A of this section, other state and federal monies received from the department of education for the state educational system for committed youth and monies appropriated for the state educational system for committed youth, except monies appropriated pursuant to subsection F of this section, shall be deposited in the fund. The state treasurer shall maintain separate accounts for fund monies if the separate accounts are required by statute or federal law.
F. The department of juvenile corrections may seek appropriations for capital needs for land, buildings and improvements, including repairs and maintenance, required to maintain the state educational system for committed youth.
G. The state board of education shall apportion state aid and deposit it, pursuant to sections 35‑146 and 35‑147, in the state education fund for committed youth in an amount as determined by subsection A of this section. The apportionments shall be as follows:
1. On July 1, one‑third of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
2. On October 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
3. On December 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
4. On January 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
5. On February 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
6. On March 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
7. On April 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
8. On May 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
9. On June 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
H. In conjunction with the department of administration, the superintendent of the state educational system for committed youth shall establish procedures to account for the receipt and expenditure of state education fund for committed youth monies by modifying the current accounting system used for state agencies as necessary.
Sec. 26. Section 15-1372, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-1372. Equalization assistance for state educational system for persons in the state department of corrections; fund
A. The state department of corrections shall provide educational services for pupils who are under the age of eighteen years and pupils with disabilities who are age twenty‑one or younger who are committed to the state department of corrections. The department of education shall provide technical assistance to the state department of corrections on request and shall assist the state department of corrections in establishing program and personnel standards.
B. The state education fund for correctional education is established. Subject to legislative appropriation, fund monies shall be used for the purposes of providing education to pupils as specified in subsection A of this section. Notwithstanding section 35‑173, monies appropriated to the fund shall not be transferred to or used for any program not directly related to the educational services required by this section. State equalization assistance, other state and federal monies received from the department of education for which the pupils in correctional education programs qualify and monies appropriated for correctional education except monies appropriated pursuant to subsection C of this section shall be deposited in the fund. The state treasurer shall maintain separate accounts for fund monies if the separate accounts are required by statute or federal law.
C. The state department of corrections may seek appropriations for capital needs for land, buildings and improvements, including repairs and maintenance, required to maintain the educational services required by this section.
D. The state board of education shall apportion state aid and deposit it, pursuant to sections 35‑146 and 35‑147, in the state education fund for correctional education in an amount as determined by subsection E of this section. The apportionments are as follows:
1. On July 1, one‑third of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
2. On October 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
3. On December 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
4. On January 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
5. On February 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
6. On March 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
7. On April 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
8. On May 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
9. On June 15, one‑twelfth of the total amount to be apportioned during the fiscal year.
E. The director of the state department of corrections shall calculate a base support level as prescribed in section 15‑943 and a capital outlay revenue limit as prescribed in section 15‑961 for the educational services required by this section, except that:
1. Notwithstanding section 15‑901, the student count shall be determined using the following definitions:
(a) "Daily attendance" means days in which a pupil attends an educational program for a minimum of one hundred eighty minutes not including meal and recess periods. Attendance for ninety or more minutes but fewer than one hundred eighty minutes shall be counted as one‑half day's attendance.
(b) "Fractional student" means a pupil enrolled in an educational program of ninety or more minutes but fewer than one hundred eighty minutes per day not including meal and recess periods. A fractional student shall be counted as one‑half of a full‑time student.
(c) "Full‑time student" means a pupil enrolled in an educational program for a minimum of one hundred eighty minutes per day not including meal and recess periods.
(d) "Pupil with a disability" has the same meaning as child with a disability prescribed in section 15‑761.
2. All pupils shall be counted as if they were enrolled in grades nine through twelve.
3. The teacher experience index is 1.00.
4. The calculation for additional teacher compensation monies as prescribed in section 15‑952 is available.
5. Section 15‑943, paragraph 1 does not apply.
6. The base support level and capital outlay amounts calculated pursuant to this section shall be multiplied by 0.67.
7. The school year shall consist of a period of not less than two hundred eight days.
F. The director of the state department of corrections may use sections 15‑855 and 15‑948 in making the calculations prescribed in subsection E of this section. The director of the state department of corrections and the department of education shall prescribe procedures for calculating average daily membership attendance.
G. Equalization assistance for correctional education programs provided for those pupils specified in subsection A of this section is determined by adding the amount of the base support level and the capital outlay revenue limit for the budget year calculated as prescribed in subsection E of this section.
H. The director of the state department of corrections shall keep records and provide information as the department of education requires to determine the appropriate amount of equalization assistance. Equalization assistance shall be used to provide educational services in this section.
I. The department of education and the state department of corrections shall enter into an intergovernmental agreement that establishes the necessary accountability between the two departments regarding the administrative and funding requirements contained in subsections A and B of this section. The agreement shall:
1. Provide for appropriate education to all committed youths as required by state and federal law.
2. Provide financial information to meet requirements for equalization assistance.
3. Provide for appropriate pupil intake and assessment procedures.
4. Require pupil performance assessment and the reporting of results.
Sec. 27. Section 15-2011, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-2011. Minimum school facility adequacy requirements; definition
A. The school facilities board, as determined and prescribed in this chapter, shall provide funding to school districts for new construction as the projected number of pupils in the district will fill the existing school facilities and require more pupil space.
B. School buildings in a school district are adequate if all of the following requirements are met:
1. The buildings contain sufficient and appropriate space and equipment that comply with the minimum school facility adequacy guidelines established pursuant to subsection F of this section. The state shall not fund facilities for elective courses that require the school district facilities to exceed minimum school facility adequacy requirements. The school facilities board shall determine whether a school building meets the requirements of this paragraph by analyzing the total square footage that is available for each pupil in conjunction with the need for specialized spaces and equipment.
2. The buildings are in compliance with federal, state and local building and fire codes and laws that are applicable to the particular building. An existing school building is not required to comply with current requirements for new buildings unless this compliance is specifically mandated by law or by the building or fire code of the jurisdiction where the building is located.
3. The building systems, including roofs, plumbing, telephone systems, electrical systems, heating systems and cooling systems, are in working order and are capable of being properly maintained.
4. The buildings are structurally sound.
C. The standards that shall be used by the school facilities board to determine whether a school building meets the minimum adequate gross square footage requirements are as follows:
1. For a school district that provides instruction to pupils in programs for preschool children with disabilities, kindergarten programs and grades one through six, eighty square feet per pupil in programs for preschool children with disabilities, kindergarten programs and grades one through six.
2. For a school district that provides instruction to up to eight hundred pupils in grades seven and eight, eighty‑four square feet per pupil in grades seven and eight.
3. For a school district that provides instruction to more than eight hundred pupils in grades seven and eight, eighty square feet per pupil in grades seven and eight or sixty‑seven thousand two hundred square feet, whichever is more.
4. For a school district that provides instruction to up to four hundred pupils in grades nine through twelve, one hundred twenty‑five square feet per pupil in grades nine through twelve.
5. For a school district that provides instruction to more than four hundred and up to one thousand pupils in grades nine through twelve, one hundred twenty square feet per pupil in grades nine through twelve or fifty thousand square feet, whichever is more.
6. For a school district that provides instruction to more than one thousand and up to one thousand eight hundred pupils in grades nine through twelve, one hundred twelve square feet per pupil in grades nine through twelve or one hundred twenty thousand square feet, whichever is more.
7. For a school district that provides instruction to more than one thousand eight hundred pupils in grades nine through twelve, ninety‑four square feet per pupil in grades nine through twelve or two hundred one thousand six hundred square feet, whichever is more.
D. The school facilities board may modify the square footage requirements prescribed in subsection C of this section or modify the amount of monies awarded to cure the square footage deficiency pursuant to this section for particular school districts based on extraordinary circumstances for any of the following considerations:
1. The number of pupils served by the school district.
2. Geographic factors.
3. Grade configurations other than those prescribed in subsection C of this section.
E. In measuring the square footage per pupil requirements of subsection C of this section, the school facilities board shall:
1. Use the most recent one hundredth day average daily membership attendance.
2. For each school, use the lesser of either:
(a) Total gross square footage.
(b) Student capacity multiplied by the appropriate square footage per pupil prescribed by subsection C of this section.
3. Consider the total space available in all schools in use in the school district, except that the school facilities board shall allow an exclusion of the square footage for certain schools and the pupils within the schools' boundaries if the school district demonstrates to the board's satisfaction unusual or excessive busing of pupils or unusual attendance boundary changes between schools.
4. Compute the gross square footage of all buildings by measuring from exterior wall to exterior wall. Square footage used solely for district administration, storage of vehicles and other nonacademic purposes shall be excluded from the gross square footage.
5. Include all portable and modular buildings.
6. Include in the gross square footage new construction funded wholly or partially by the school facilities board based on the square footage funded by the school facilities board. If the new construction is to exceed the square footage funded by the school facilities board, the excess square footage shall not be included in the gross square footage if any of the following applies:
(a) The excess square footage was constructed before July 1, 2002 or funded by a class B bond, impact aid revenue bond or capital outlay override approved by the voters after August 1, 1998 and before June 30, 2002 or funded from unrestricted capital outlay expended before June 30, 2002.
(b) The excess square footage of new school facilities does not exceed twenty‑five per cent of the minimum square footage requirements pursuant to subsection C of this section.
(c) The excess square footage of expansions to school facilities does not exceed twenty‑five per cent of the minimum square footage requirements pursuant to subsection C of this section.
7. Require that excess square footage that is constructed after July 1, 2002 and that is not excluded pursuant to paragraph 6 of this subsection meets the minimum school facility adequacy guidelines in order to be eligible for building renewal monies as computed in section 15‑2031.
8. Exclude square footage built under a developer agreement according to section 15-342, paragraph 33 until the school facilities board provides funding for the square footage under section 15-2041, subsection O.
F. The school facilities board shall adopt rules establishing minimum school facility adequacy guidelines. The executive director of the school facilities board shall report monthly to the joint committee on capital review on the progress of the development of the proposed rules establishing the guidelines. The joint committee on capital review shall review the proposed guidelines before the school facilities board adopts the rules to establish the minimum school facility adequacy guidelines. The guidelines shall provide the minimum quality and quantity of school buildings and facilities and equipment necessary and appropriate to enable pupils to achieve the academic standards pursuant to section 15‑203, subsection A, paragraphs 12 and 13 and sections 15‑701 and 15‑701.01. At a minimum, the school facilities board shall address all of the following in developing these guidelines:
1. School sites.
2. Classrooms.
3. Libraries and media centers, or both.
4. Cafeterias.
5. Auditoriums, multipurpose rooms or other multiuse space.
6. Technology.
7. Transportation.
8. Facilities for science, arts and physical education.
9. Other facilities and equipment that are necessary and appropriate to achieve the academic standards prescribed pursuant to section 15‑203, subsection A, paragraphs 12 and 13 and sections 15‑701 and 15‑701.01.
10. Appropriate combinations of facilities or uses listed in this section.
G. The board shall consider the facilities and equipment of the schools with the highest academic productivity scores, as prescribed in section 15‑2002, subsection A, paragraph 9, subdivision (d), and the highest parent quality ratings in the establishment of the guidelines.
H. The school facilities board may consider appropriate combinations of facilities or uses in making assessments of and curing existing deficiencies pursuant to section 15‑2002, subsection A, paragraph 1 and in certifying plans for new school facilities pursuant to section 15‑2002, subsection A, paragraph 5.
I. For the purposes of this section, "student capacity" means the capacity adjusted to include any additions to or deletions of space, including modular or portable buildings at the school. The school facilities board shall determine the student capacity for each school in conjunction with each school district, recognizing each school's allocation of space as of July 1, 1998, to achieve the academic standards prescribed pursuant to section 15‑203, subsection A, paragraphs 12 and 13 and sections 15‑701 and 15‑701.01.
Sec. 28. Section 16-531, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
16-531. Appointment of election boards and tally boards; qualifications
A. When an election is ordered, and not less than twenty days before a general or primary election, the board of supervisors shall appoint for each election precinct one inspector, one marshal, two judges and as many clerks of election as deemed necessary. The inspector, marshal, judges and clerks shall be qualified voters of the precinct for which appointed, unless there is not a sufficient number of persons available to provide the number of appointments required. The inspector, marshal and judges shall not have changed their political party affiliation or their no party preference affiliation since the last preceding general election, and if they are members of the two political parties that cast the highest number of votes in the state at the last preceding general election, they shall be divided equally between these two parties. There shall be an equal number of inspectors in the various precincts in the county who are members of the two largest political parties. In each precinct where the inspector is a member of one of the two largest political parties, the marshal in that precinct shall be a member of the other of the two largest political parties. Whenever possible, any person appointed as an inspector shall have had previous experience as an inspector, judge, marshal or clerk of elections. If there is no qualified person in a given precinct, the appointment of an inspector may be made from names provided by the county party chairman. If not less than ninety days before the election the chairman of the county committee of either of the parties designates qualified voters of the precinct, or of another precinct if there are not sufficient members of his party available in the precinct to provide the necessary representation on the election board as judge, such designated qualified voters shall be appointed. The judges, together with the inspector, shall constitute the board of elections. Any registered voter in the election precinct, or in another election precinct if there are not sufficient persons available in the election precinct for which the clerks are being appointed, may be appointed as clerk.
B. If the election precinct consists of fewer than three hundred qualified electors, the board of supervisors may appoint not fewer than one inspector and two judges. The board of supervisors shall give notice of election precincts consisting of fewer than three hundred qualified electors to the county chairmen of the two largest political parties not later than thirty days before the election. The inspector and judges shall be appointed in the same manner by party as provided in subsection A of this section.
C. If a nonpartisan election is ordered, not less than twenty days before the election the governing board holding the election shall appoint, without consideration for political party, a minimum of three election workers for each polling place. The election workers shall consist of at least one inspector and two judges. Whenever possible, they shall be qualified electors of the precinct located within the district, without consideration for political party.
D. Where the election precinct consists of three hundred fifty or more qualified electors, the board of supervisors may in addition to the board of elections appoint a similar board to be known as the tally board. The tally board shall take custody of the ballots from the closing of the polls until the tally of the ballots is completed. The tally board shall consist of the inspector of the board of elections, two judges and not less than two clerks. The inspector and two judges shall be appointed to provide as equal as practicable representation of members of the two largest political parties on the board in the same manner as provided for the election boards. Any registered voter in the election precinct, or in another election precinct if there are not sufficient persons available in the election precinct for which the clerks are being appointed, may be appointed as clerk. A member appointed to serve on the tally board, with the exception of the inspector of the board of elections, shall not be appointed to serve on the board of elections. The inspector of the board of elections shall be a member of the tally board and during such time shall act as the supervisor of the tally board. No United States, state, county or precinct officer, nor a candidate for office at the election, other than a precinct committeeman or a candidate for the office of precinct committeeman, is qualified to act as judge, inspector, marshal or clerk.
E. If an electronic voting system is in use the write‑in ballots shall be tallied by a board of elections consisting of one inspector and two judges who are appointed in the same manner by party as provided in subsection A of this section.
F. At least ten days before a special election, the governing body conducting the election may in like manner appoint a special tally board or boards for the specific purpose of tallying the ballots on the closing of the polls. The tally boards shall consist of at least one inspector and two judges. The inspector of the board of elections shall act as the supervisor of the tally board.
G. Notwithstanding any other law, the board of supervisors may appoint to an election board to serve as a clerk of election a person who is not eligible to vote if all of the following conditions are met:
1. The person is a minor who will be at least sixteen years of age at the time of the election for which the person is named to the election board.
2. The person is a citizen of the United States at the time of the election for which the person is named to the election board.
3. The person is supervised by an adult who has been trained as an elections officer.
4. The person has received training provided by the officer in charge of elections.
5. The parent or guardian of the person has provided written permission for the person to serve.
H. A school district or charter school shall not be required to reduce its average daily membership attendance, as defined in section 15-901, for any pupil who is absent from one or more instructional programs as a result of the pupil's service on an election board pursuant to subsection G of this section.
I. A school district or charter school shall not count any pupil's absence from one or more instructional programs as a result of the pupil's service on an election board pursuant to subsection G of this section against any mandatory attendance requirements for the pupil.
J. Nothing in This section shall not prevent the board of supervisors or governing body from refusing for cause to reappoint, or from removing for cause, an election or tally board member.
