Bill Text: MI HB5605 | 2009-2010 | 95th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Education; calendar; number of pupil instruction days required to avoid penalty; provide exception for school shutdown due to flu epidemic. Amends sec. 101 of 1979 PA 94 (MCL 388.1701).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 10-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-12-01 - Printed Bill Filed 11/19/2009 [HB5605 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2009-HB5605-Introduced.html

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HOUSE BILL No. 5605

 

November 18, 2009, Introduced by Reps. Wayne Schmidt, Walsh, Rick Jones, Denby, Bolger, Daley, Crawford, Stamas, Tyler and Kowall and referred to the Committee on Education.

 

     A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled

 

"The state school aid act of 1979,"

 

by amending section 101 (MCL 388.1701), as amended by 2009 PA 121.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 101. (1) To be eligible to receive state aid under this

 

act, not later than the fifth Wednesday after the pupil membership

 

count day and not later than the fifth Wednesday after the

 

supplemental count day, each district superintendent shall submit

 

to the center, in the form and manner prescribed by the center, the

 

number of pupils enrolled and in regular daily attendance in the

 

district as of the pupil membership count day and as of the

 

supplemental count day, as applicable, for the current school year.

 

In addition, a district maintaining school during the entire year,

 

as provided under section 1561 of the revised school code, MCL

 

380.1561, shall submit to the center, in the form and manner

 

prescribed by the center, the number of pupils enrolled and in

 

regular daily attendance in the district for the current school

 

year pursuant to rules promulgated by the superintendent. Not later

 

than the seventh Wednesday after the pupil membership count day and

 

not later than the seventh Wednesday after the supplemental count

 

day, the district shall certify the data in a form and manner

 

prescribed by the center. If a district fails to submit and certify

 

the attendance data, as required under this subsection, the center

 

shall notify the department and state aid due to be distributed

 

under this act shall be withheld from the defaulting district

 

immediately, beginning with the next payment after the failure and

 

continuing with each payment until the district complies with this

 

subsection. If a district does not comply with this subsection by

 

the end of the fiscal year, the district forfeits the amount

 

withheld. A person who willfully falsifies a figure or statement in

 

the certified and sworn copy of enrollment shall be punished in the

 

manner prescribed by section 161.

 

     (2) To be eligible to receive state aid under this act, not

 

later than the twenty-fourth Wednesday after the pupil membership

 

count day and not later than the twenty-fourth Wednesday after the

 

supplemental count day, an intermediate district shall submit to

 

the center, in a form and manner prescribed by the center, the

 

audited enrollment and attendance data for the pupils of its

 

constituent districts and of the intermediate district. If an

 

intermediate district fails to submit the audited data as required

 

under this subsection, state aid due to be distributed under this

 

act shall be withheld from the defaulting intermediate district

 

immediately, beginning with the next payment after the failure and

 

continuing with each payment until the intermediate district

 

complies with this subsection. If an intermediate district does not

 

comply with this subsection by the end of the fiscal year, the

 

intermediate district forfeits the amount withheld.

 

     (3) All of the following apply to the provision of pupil

 

instruction:

 

     (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, each

 

district shall provide at least 1,098 hours and, beginning in 2010-

 

2011, the required minimum number of days of pupil instruction. For

 

2010-2011 and for 2011-2012, the required minimum number of days of

 

pupil instruction is 165. Beginning in 2012-2013, the required

 

minimum number of days of pupil instruction is 170. However,

 

beginning in 2010-2011, a district shall not provide fewer days of

 

pupil instruction than the district provided for 2009-2010. Except

 

as otherwise provided in this act, a district failing to comply

 

with the required minimum hours and days of pupil instruction under

 

this subsection shall forfeit from its total state aid allocation

 

an amount determined by applying a ratio of the number of hours or

 

days the district was in noncompliance in relation to the required

 

minimum number of hours and days under this subsection. Not later

 

than August 1, the board of each district shall certify to the

 

department the number of hours and, beginning in 2010-2011, days of

 

pupil instruction in the previous school year. If the district did

 

not provide at least the required minimum number of hours and days

 

of pupil instruction under this subsection, the deduction of state

 

aid shall be made in the following fiscal year from the first

 

payment of state school aid. A district is not subject to

 

forfeiture of funds under this subsection for a fiscal year in

 

which a forfeiture was already imposed under subsection (6). Hours

 

or days lost because of strikes or teachers' conferences shall not

 

be counted as hours or days of pupil instruction. If a collective

 

bargaining agreement that provides a complete school calendar is in

 

effect for employees of a district as of the effective date of the

 

2009 amendatory act that amended this subsection, and if that

 

school calendar is not in compliance with this subsection, then

 

this subsection does not apply to that district until after the

 

expiration of that collective bargaining agreement.

 

     (b) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c), a

 

district not having at least 75% of the district's membership in

 

attendance on any day of pupil instruction shall receive state aid

 

in that proportion of 1/180 that the actual percent of attendance

 

bears to the specified percentage.

 

     (c) Beginning in 2005-2006, at the request of a district that

 

operates a department-approved alternative education program and

 

that does not provide instruction for pupils in all of grades K to

 

12, the superintendent shall grant a waiver for a period of 3

 

school years from the requirements of subdivision (b) in order to

 

conduct a pilot study. The waiver shall indicate that an eligible

 

district is subject to the proration provisions of subdivision (b)

 

only if the district does not have at least 50% of the district’s

 

membership in attendance on any day of pupil instruction. In order

 

to be eligible for this waiver, a district must maintain records to

 

substantiate its compliance with the following requirements during

 

the pilot study:

 

     (i) The district offers the minimum hours of pupil instruction

 

as required under this section.

 

     (ii) For each enrolled pupil, the district uses appropriate

 

academic assessments to develop an individual education plan that

 

leads to a high school diploma.

 

     (iii) The district tests each pupil to determine academic

 

progress at regular intervals and records the results of those

 

tests in that pupil’s individual education plan.

 

     (d) The superintendent shall promulgate rules for the

 

implementation of this subsection.

 

     (4) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the first

 

30 hours or 6 days for which pupil instruction is not provided

 

because of conditions not within the control of school authorities,

 

such as severe storms, fires, epidemics, utility power

 

unavailability, water or sewer failure, or health conditions as

 

defined by the city, county, or state health authorities, shall be

 

counted as hours and days of pupil instruction. With the approval

 

of the superintendent of public instruction, the department shall

 

count as hours and days of pupil instruction for a fiscal year not

 

more than 30 additional hours or 6 additional days for which pupil

 

instruction is not provided in a district after April 1 of the

 

applicable school year due to unusual and extenuating occurrences

 

resulting from conditions not within the control of school

 

authorities such as those conditions described in this subsection.

 

Subsequent such hours or days shall not be counted as hours or days

 

of pupil instruction. For 2009-2010 only, in addition to any other

 

hours or days counted as hours and days of pupil instruction under

 

this subsection, a district may count an unlimited number of days

 

or hours for which pupil instruction is not provided due to

 

influenza epidemic as hours and days of pupil instruction.

 

     (5) A district shall not forfeit part of its state aid

 

appropriation because it adopts or has in existence an alternative

 

scheduling program for pupils in kindergarten if the program

 

provides at least the number of hours required under subsection (3)

 

for a full-time equated membership for a pupil in kindergarten as

 

provided under section 6(4).

 

     (6) Not later than April 15 of each fiscal year, the board of

 

each district shall certify to the department the planned number of

 

hours and days of pupil instruction in the district for the school

 

year ending in the fiscal year. In addition to any other penalty or

 

forfeiture under this section, if at any time the department

 

determines that 1 or more of the following has occurred in a

 

district, the district shall forfeit in the current fiscal year

 

beginning in the next payment to be calculated by the department a

 

proportion of the funds due to the district under this act that is

 

equal to the proportion below the required minimum number of hours

 

and days of pupil instruction under subsection (3), as specified in

 

the following:

 

     (a) The district fails to operate its schools for at least the

 

required minimum number of hours and days of pupil instruction

 

under subsection (3) in a school year, including hours and days

 

counted under subsection (4).

 

     (b) The board of the district takes formal action not to

 

operate its schools for at least the required minimum number of

 

hours and days of pupil instruction under subsection (3) in a

 

school year, including hours and days counted under subsection (4).

 

     (7) In providing the minimum number of hours and days of pupil

 

instruction required under subsection (3), a district shall use the

 

following guidelines, and a district shall maintain records to

 

substantiate its compliance with the following guidelines:

 

     (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a pupil

 

must be scheduled for at least the required minimum number of hours

 

of instruction, excluding study halls, or at least the sum of 90

 

hours plus the required minimum number of hours of instruction,

 

including up to 2 study halls.

 

     (b) The time a pupil is assigned to any tutorial activity in a

 

block schedule may be considered instructional time, unless that

 

time is determined in an audit to be a study hall period.

 

     (c) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, a pupil

 

in grades 9 to 12 for whom a reduced schedule is determined to be

 

in the individual pupil's best educational interest must be

 

scheduled for a number of hours equal to at least 80% of the

 

required minimum number of hours of pupil instruction to be

 

considered a full-time equivalent pupil. A pupil in grades 9 to 12

 

who is scheduled in a 4-block schedule may receive a reduced

 

schedule under this subsection if the pupil is scheduled for a

 

number of hours equal to at least 75% of the required minimum

 

number of hours of pupil instruction to be considered a full-time

 

equivalent pupil.

 

     (d) If a pupil in grades 9 to 12 who is enrolled in a

 

cooperative education program or a special education pupil cannot

 

receive the required minimum number of hours of pupil instruction

 

solely because of travel time between instructional sites during

 

the school day, that travel time, up to a maximum of 3 hours per

 

school week, shall be considered to be pupil instruction time for

 

the purpose of determining whether the pupil is receiving the

 

required minimum number of hours of pupil instruction. However, if

 

a district demonstrates to the satisfaction of the department that

 

the travel time limitation under this subdivision would create

 

undue costs or hardship to the district, the department may

 

consider more travel time to be pupil instruction time for this

 

purpose.

 

     (e) In grades 7 through 12, instructional time that is part of

 

a junior reserve officer training corps (JROTC) program shall be

 

considered to be pupil instruction time regardless of whether the

 

instructor is a certificated teacher if all of the following are

 

met:

 

     (i) The instructor has met all of the requirements established

 

by the United States department of defense and the applicable

 

branch of the armed services for serving as an instructor in the

 

junior reserve officer training corps program.

 

     (ii) The board of the district or intermediate district

 

employing or assigning the instructor complies with the

 

requirements of sections 1230 and 1230a of the revised school code,

 

MCL 380.1230 and 380.1230a, with respect to the instructor to the

 

same extent as if employing the instructor as a regular classroom

 

teacher.

 

     (8) The department shall apply the guidelines under subsection

 

(7) in calculating the full-time equivalency of pupils.

 

     (9) Upon application by the district for a particular fiscal

 

year, the superintendent may waive for a district the minimum

 

number of hours and days of pupil instruction requirement of

 

subsection (3) for a department-approved alternative education

 

program or another innovative program approved by the department.

 

If a district applies for and receives a waiver under this

 

subsection and complies with the terms of the waiver, for the

 

fiscal year covered by the waiver the district is not subject to

 

forfeiture under this section for the specific program covered by

 

the waiver. If the district does not comply with the terms of the

 

waiver, the amount of the forfeiture shall be calculated based upon

 

a comparison of the number of hours and days of pupil instruction

 

actually provided to the minimum number of hours and days of pupil

 

instruction required under subsection (3).

 

     (10) If at least 5 of the hours of professional development

 

are provided online by the Michigan virtual university under

 

section 98 or by another department-approved intermediate district

 

provider of online professional development, a district may count

 

up to 38 hours of qualifying professional development for teachers

 

as hours of pupil instruction. However, if a collective bargaining

 

agreement that provides more than 38 but not more than 51 hours of

 

professional development for teachers is in effect for employees of

 

a district as of October 1, 2006, then until the fiscal year that

 

begins after the expiration of that collective bargaining agreement

 

a district may count up to 51 hours of qualifying professional

 

development for teachers, including the 5 hours of online

 

professional development, as hours of pupil instruction. A district

 

that elects to use this exception shall notify the department of

 

its election. As used in this subsection, "qualifying professional

 

development" means professional development that is focused on 1 or

 

more of the following:

 

     (a) Achieving or improving adequate yearly progress as defined

 

under the no child left behind act of 2001, Public Law 107-110.

 

     (b) Achieving accreditation or improving a school's

 

accreditation status under section 1280 of the revised school code,

 

MCL 380.1280.

 

     (c) Achieving highly qualified teacher status as defined under

 

the no child left behind act of 2001, Public Law 107-110.

 

     (d) Maintaining teacher certification.