Bill Text: MI SB0776 | 2021-2022 | 101st Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Education: school districts; policy and procedures regarding closure of a school building; require. Amends 1976 PA 451 (MCL 380.1 - 380.1852) by adding sec. 1258.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-12-07 - Referred To Committee On Education And Career Readiness [SB0776 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2021-SB0776-Introduced.html
SENATE BILL NO. 776
A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled
"The revised school code,"
(MCL 380.1 to 380.1852) by adding section 1258.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 1258. (1) Not later than March 1, 2023, the board of a school district or intermediate school district or board of directors of a public school academy shall adopt and implement a policy that prescribes procedures that the school district, intermediate school district, or public school academy must follow before closing a school building. These procedures must address at least all of the following:
(a) Reporting of data to the department as required by law.
(b) Transition of pupils and their records, including academic and medical records, to new schools.
(c) The selection of a records repository for the purposes of subsection (3) and the submission of pupil records to that repository.
(d) Timely notification to the parents and legal guardians of pupils enrolled in the school and employees working at the school. These procedures must include at least a 1-month notice before a school is closed and at least 1 public meeting. For a public school academy that receives notification from its authorizing body of an intent to revoke or not renew the public school academy's contract, these procedures also must include notice within 1 month after that notification. For a school district or intermediate school district, the notification to parents also must include information regarding the reassignment of pupils to other schools operated by the school district or intermediate school district. For a public school academy, the notification to parents also must include information about options for placement of their children in other public schools along with contact information and important timelines for enrollment in other public schools. The policy must provide for notices described in this subdivision to be made by first-class mail unless that method of notice is not financially feasible, in which case an alternative method may be used such as electronic notice, sending notice home with pupils, or contracting with a third party to provide notice.
(e) Distribution of assets and proper securing of the closed school building within 60 days after it is closed, if it is not anticipated to be leased or sold in a timely manner. The procedure for distribution of assets must include at least an accounting of the assets of the school building and a report to the board of the school district or intermediate school district or to the authorizing body of the public school academy, as applicable, that inventories those assets. However, except as otherwise provided under this act, for a public school that has been incorporated under the nonprofit corporation act, 1982 PA 162, MCL 450.2101 to 450.3192, the procedure must comply with that act with respect to distribution of assets.
(f) A provision that, if a decision to close a school building is based on financial projections made during the normal budget development process for the school fiscal year beginning on the next July 1, the closure decision must be made and the notification procedures under subdivision (d) must be started not later than that next July 1.
(g) A provision that, if a decision to close a school building is made for a reason other than finances, the closure decision must be made and the notification procedures under subdivision (d) must be started not later than the end of the school fiscal year. This provision must prohibit a closure during the next school year for a reason other than finances unless this deadline is met.
(h) A provision allowing for the closure of a school building during the school year only if there is an extenuating circumstance that would endanger the health or safety of the pupils in attendance at the school building. For a closure allowed under this subdivision, the notification procedures under subdivision (d) must be started as soon as possible after the discovery of the extenuating circumstance.
(2) Not later than January 1, 2023, the department shall develop and make available a model policy for the purposes of this section that complies with subsection (1).
(3) A policy adopted under subsection (1) must include the selection of a records repository to provide long-term storage and maintenance of the records of pupils of the closed school building that are not delivered to new schools under subsection (1)(b). The board of the school district or intermediate school district or board of directors of the public school academy may select any of the following as its records repository under this subsection:
(a) The intermediate school district in which the closed school building is located, if the intermediate school district agrees to act as the records repository for those records.
(b) If the closed school building is a public school academy, the school district or intermediate school district in which the closed school building is located, if the school district or intermediate school district agrees to act as the records repository for those records.
(c) Another person that agrees to act as the records repository for those records, if the person demonstrates to the satisfaction of the board or board of directors that it has the expertise to provide long-term storage and maintenance of those records.
(d) The department. The department shall act as a central records repository and provide long-term storage and maintenance of those pupil records from school buildings that have been closed that have not been submitted to another records repository selected under this subsection.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days after the date it is enacted into law.
