Bill Text: OR SB666 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relating to public charter schools; appropriating money; declaring an emergency.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Failed) 2013-07-08 - In committee upon adjournment. [SB666 Detail]

Download: Oregon-2013-SB666-Introduced.html

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     77th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2013 Regular Session

NOTE:  Matter within  { +  braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within  { -  braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
 { +  braces and plus signs + } .

LC 3344

                         Senate Bill 666

Sponsored by Senator DEVLIN; Senator ROBLAN

                             SUMMARY

The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.

  Allows virtual public charter school to receive funding for
providing supplemental online courses.
  Allows Department of Education to expend moneys from State
School Fund to fund supplemental online courses.
  Declares emergency, effective July 1, 2013.

                        A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to public charter schools; creating new provisions;
  amending ORS 327.008; and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
  SECTION 1.  { + Section 2 of this 2013 Act is added to and made
a part of ORS chapter 338. + }
  SECTION 2.  { + (1) As used in this section, 'supplemental
online courses' means online courses provided:
  (a) By a virtual public charter school to a student who is
enrolled in a public school in this state; and
  (b) As less than half of a student's average course load, as
determined by the State Board of Education by rule.
  (2) Notwithstanding ORS 338.155, a virtual public charter
school may receive funding for supplemental online courses only
as provided by this section.
  (3) Supplemental online courses may be made available to
students only through:
  (a) A school district that purchases a course from a virtual
public charter school and makes the supplemental online course
available to a student of the school district; or
  (b) A virtual public charter school that provides the
supplemental online course to a student enrolled in the virtual
public charter school.
  (4) If a student successfully completes a supplemental online
course, the Department of Education shall make a distribution
from moneys available under ORS 327.008 (13) to:
  (a) The school district that purchased the course; or
  (b) The virtual public charter school that provided the course
to a student enrolled in the school.
  (5)(a) If a student does not successfully complete a
supplemental online course, the Department of Education may not
make any distributions from moneys available under ORS 327.008
(13).
  (b) A virtual public charter school that provided a
supplemental online course to a student of a school district who
did not successfully complete the supplemental online course
shall provide a refund to the school district based on the number
of weeks of the course that the student completed, up to half of
the cost of the course as calculated under subsection (6)(a) of
this section.
  (6)(a) The Department of Education shall calculate the amount
to be distributed for a supplemental online course. The amount
may not exceed 0.0834 of the weighted average daily membership
(ADMw) of the sponsoring school district.
  (b) The school district that is the sponsor of the virtual
public charter school may receive up to five percent of the
amount distributed from the Department of Education under
paragraph (a) of this subsection to pay for the administrative
costs of the sponsor.
  (c) The State Board of Education shall adopt by rule any
requirements related to the distribution of funds under this
subsection, including:
  (A) Timelines for submission of requests for distributions; and
  (B) Provisions for prorating amounts distributed if amounts
requested for distribution exceed amounts available for
distribution.
  (7) A supplemental online course that is funded as provided by
this section:
  (a) Must be taught by a teacher who is licensed by the Teacher
Standards and Practices Commission; and
  (b) May not be provided through a third-party entity.
  (8) Prior to distributing funds for a supplemental online
course, the Department of Education must approve the course. When
approving the course, the department shall ensure that the course
meets the requirements described in subsection (7) of this
section.
  (9) For the purpose of determining whether online courses are
provided as less than half of a student's average course load, a
student shall be considered to be taking online courses as less
than half of the student's average course load, even if all
courses taken by the student are online courses, as long as the
student's total course load is less than half of an average
course load. + }
  SECTION 3. ORS 327.008, as amended by section 3, chapter 91,
Oregon Laws 2012, is amended to read:
  327.008. (1) There is established a State School Fund in the
General Fund. The fund shall consist of moneys appropriated by
the Legislative Assembly and moneys transferred from the
Education Stability Fund. The State School Fund is continuously
appropriated to the Department of Education for the purposes of
ORS 327.006 to 327.077, 327.095, 327.099, 327.101, 327.125,
327.137, 327.348, 336.575, 336.580, 336.635, 342.173, 343.243,
343.533 and 343.961.
  (2) There shall be apportioned from the State School Fund to
each school district a State School Fund grant, consisting of the
positive amount equal to a general purpose grant and a facility
grant and a transportation grant and a high cost disabilities
grant minus local revenue, computed as provided in ORS 327.011
and 327.013.
  (3) There shall be apportioned from the State School Fund to
each education service district a State School Fund grant as
calculated under ORS 327.019.
  (4) There shall be apportioned from the State School Fund the
amount to be transferred to the Regional Educational Services
Account as calculated under ORS 327.009.
  (5) All figures used in the determination of the distribution
of the State School Fund shall be estimates for the same year as
the distribution occurs, unless otherwise specified.
  (6) Numbers of students in average daily membership used in the
distribution formula shall be the numbers as of June of the year
of distribution.
  (7) A school district may not use the portion of the State
School Fund grant that is attributable to the facility grant for
capital construction costs.
  (8) The total amount of the State School Fund that is
distributed as facility grants may not exceed $25 million in any
biennium. If the total amount to be distributed as facility
grants exceeds this limitation, the Department of Education shall
prorate the amount of funds available for facility grants among
those school districts that qualified for a facility grant.
  (9) Each fiscal year, the Department of Education shall
transfer the amount of $18 million from the State School Fund to
the High Cost Disabilities Account established in ORS 327.348.
  (10) Each fiscal year, the Department of Education may expend
up to $550,000 from the State School Fund for the contract
described in ORS 329.488. The amount distributed to education
service districts from the State School Fund under this section
and ORS 327.019 shall be reduced by the amount expended by the
department under this subsection.
  (11) Each biennium, the Department of Education may expend up
to $350,000 from the State School Fund to provide administration
of and support for the development of talented and gifted
education under ORS 343.404.
  (12) Each biennium, the Department of Education may expend up
to $150,000 from the State School Fund for the administration of
a program to increase the number of speech-language pathologists
and speech-language pathology assistants under ORS 348.394 to
348.406.
   { +  (13) Each fiscal year, the Department of Education may
expend up to $1.5 million from the State School Fund to fund
supplemental online courses as provided by section 2 of this 2013
Act. + }
  SECTION 4.  { + The amendments to ORS 327.008 by section 3 of
this 2013 Act apply to State School Fund distributions commencing
with the 2013-2014 distributions. + }
  SECTION 5. ORS 327.008, as amended by section 3, chapter 91,
Oregon Laws 2012, and section 3 of this 2013 Act, is amended to
read:
  327.008. (1) There is established a State School Fund in the
General Fund. The fund shall consist of moneys appropriated by
the Legislative Assembly and moneys transferred from the
Education Stability Fund. The State School Fund is continuously
appropriated to the Department of Education for the purposes of
ORS 327.006 to 327.077, 327.095, 327.099, 327.101, 327.125,
327.137, 327.348, 336.575, 336.580, 336.635, 342.173, 343.243,
343.533 and 343.961.
  (2) There shall be apportioned from the State School Fund to
each school district a State School Fund grant, consisting of the
positive amount equal to a general purpose grant and a facility
grant and a transportation grant and a high cost disabilities
grant minus local revenue, computed as provided in ORS 327.011
and 327.013.
  (3) There shall be apportioned from the State School Fund to
each education service district a State School Fund grant as
calculated under ORS 327.019.
  (4) There shall be apportioned from the State School Fund the
amount to be transferred to the Regional Educational Services
Account as calculated under ORS 327.009.
  (5) All figures used in the determination of the distribution
of the State School Fund shall be estimates for the same year as
the distribution occurs, unless otherwise specified.
  (6) Numbers of students in average daily membership used in the
distribution formula shall be the numbers as of June of the year
of distribution.
  (7) A school district may not use the portion of the State
School Fund grant that is attributable to the facility grant for
capital construction costs.
  (8) The total amount of the State School Fund that is
distributed as facility grants may not exceed $25 million in any
biennium. If the total amount to be distributed as facility
grants exceeds this limitation, the Department of Education shall
prorate the amount of funds available for facility grants among
those school districts that qualified for a facility grant.
  (9) Each fiscal year, the Department of Education shall
transfer the amount of $18 million from the State School Fund to
the High Cost Disabilities Account established in ORS 327.348.
  (10) Each fiscal year, the Department of Education may expend
up to $550,000 from the State School Fund for the contract
described in ORS 329.488. The amount distributed to education
service districts from the State School Fund under this section
and ORS 327.019 shall be reduced by the amount expended by the
department under this subsection.
  (11) Each biennium, the Department of Education may expend up
to $350,000 from the State School Fund to provide administration
of and support for the development of talented and gifted
education under ORS 343.404.
  (12) Each biennium, the Department of Education may expend up
to $150,000 from the State School Fund for the administration of
a program to increase the number of speech-language pathologists
and speech-language pathology assistants under ORS 348.394 to
348.406.
  (13) Each fiscal year, the Department of Education may expend
up to   { - $1.5 million - }   { + $3.75 million + } from the
State School Fund to fund supplemental online courses as provided
by section 2 of this 2013 Act.
  SECTION 6.  { + The amendments to ORS 327.008 by section 5 of
this 2013 Act apply to State School Fund distributions commencing
with the 2014-2015 distributions. + }
  SECTION 7.  { + This 2013 Act being necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency
is declared to exist, and this 2013 Act takes effect July 1,
2013. + }
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