SENATE BILL NO. 899
February 19, 1998, Introduced by Senator EMMONS 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 6 (MCL 388.1606), as amended by 1997 PA 142. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 6. (1) "Center program" means a program operated by a 2 district or intermediate district for special education pupils 3 from several districts in programs for the autistically impaired, 4 trainable mentally impaired, severely mentally impaired, severely 5 multiply impaired, hearing impaired, physically and otherwise 6 health impaired, and visually impaired. Programs for emotionally 7 impaired pupils housed in buildings that do not serve regular 8 education pupils also qualify. Unless otherwise approved by the 9 department, a center program either shall serve all constituent 10 districts within an intermediate district or shall serve several 11 districts with less than 50% of the pupils residing in the 04040'97 a TAV 2 1 operating district. In addition, special education center 2 program pupils placed part-time in noncenter programs to comply 3 with the least restrictive environment provisions of section 612 4 of part B of the individuals with disabilities education act, 5 title VI of Public Law 91-230, 20 U.S.C. 1412, may be considered 6 center program pupils for pupil accounting purposes for the time 7 scheduled in either a center program or a noncenter program. 8 (2) "District pupil retention rate" means the proportion of 9 pupils who have not dropped out of school in the immediately pre- 10 ceding school year and is equal to 1 minus the quotient of the 11 number of pupils unaccounted for in the immediately preceding 12 school year, as determined pursuant to subsection (3), divided by 13 the pupils of the immediately preceding school year. 14 (3) "District pupil retention report" means a report of the 15 number of pupils, excluding migrant and adult, in the district 16 for the immediately preceding school year, adjusted for those 17 pupils who have transferred into the district, transferred out of 18 the district, transferred to alternative programs, and have grad- 19 uated, to determine the number of pupils who are unaccounted 20 for. The number of pupils unaccounted for shall be calculated as 21 determined by the department. 22 (4) "Membership", except as otherwise provided in this act, 23 means for a district, public school academy, university school, 24 or intermediate district the sum of the product of .6 times the 25 number of full-time equated pupils in grades K to 12 actually 26 enrolled and in regular daily attendance on the pupil membership 27 count day for the current school year, plus the product of .4 04040'97 a 3 1 times the final audited count from the supplemental count day for 2 the immediately preceding school year, as determined by the 3 department and calculated by adding the number of pupils regis- 4 tered for attendance plus pupils received by transfer and minus 5 pupils lost as defined by rules promulgated by the state board, 6 and as corrected by a subsequent department audit. The amount of 7 the foundation allowance for a pupil in membership is determined 8 under section 20. In making the calculation of membership, all 9 of the following, as applicable, apply to determining the member- 10 ship of a district, public school academy, university school, or 11 intermediate district: 12 (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a pupil 13 shall be counted in membership in the pupil's educating district 14 or districts. An individual pupil shall not be counted for more 15 than a total of 1.0 full-time equated membership. 16 (b) If a pupil is educated in a district other than the 17 pupil's district of residence and the educating district is not 18 in the same intermediate district as the pupil's district of res- 19 idence, if the pupil is not being educated as part of a coopera- 20 tive education program, if the pupil's district of residence does 21 not give the educating district its approval to count the pupil 22 in membership in the educating district, and if the pupil is not 23 covered by an exception specified in subsection (6) to the 24 requirement that the educating district must have the approval of 25 the pupil's district of residence to count the pupil in member- 26 ship, the pupil shall not be counted in membership in any 27 district. 04040'97 a 4 1 (c) A special education pupil educated by the intermediate 2 district shall be counted in membership in the intermediate 3 district. 4 (d) A pupil placed by a court or state agency in an 5 on-grounds program of a juvenile detention facility, a child 6 caring institution, or a mental health institution, or a pupil 7 funded under section 53a, shall be counted in membership in the 8 district or intermediate district approved by the department to 9 operate the program. 10 (e) A pupil enrolled in the Michigan schools for the deaf 11 and blind shall be counted in membership in the pupil's interme- 12 diate district of residence. 13 (f) A pupil enrolled in a vocational education program sup- 14 ported by a millage levied over an area larger than a single dis- 15 trict or in an area vocational-technical education program estab- 16 lished pursuant to section 690 of the revised school code, MCL 17 380.690, shall be counted only in the pupil's district of 18 residence. 19 (g) A pupil enrolled in a university school shall be counted 20 in membership in the university school. 21 (h) A pupil enrolled in a public school academy shall be 22 counted in membership in the public school academy. 23 (i) For a new district, university school, or public school 24 academy beginning its operation after December 31, 1994, member- 25 ship for the first 2 full or partial fiscal years of operation 26 shall be determined as follows: 04040'97 a 5 1 (i) If operations begin before the pupil membership count 2 day for the fiscal year, membership is the average number of 3 full-time equated pupils in grades K to 12 actually enrolled and 4 in regular daily attendance on the pupil membership count day for 5 the current school year and on the supplemental count day for the 6 current school year, as determined by the department and calcu- 7 lated by adding the number of pupils registered for attendance on 8 the pupil membership count day plus pupils received by transfer 9 and minus pupils lost as defined by rules promulgated by the 10 state board, and as corrected by a subsequent department audit, 11 plus the final audited count from the supplemental count day for 12 the current school year, and dividing that sum by 2. 13 (ii) If operations begin after the pupil membership count 14 day for the fiscal year and not later than the supplemental count 15 day for the fiscal year, membership is the final audited count of 16 the number of full-time equated pupils in grades K to 12 actually 17 enrolled and in regular daily attendance on the supplemental 18 count day for the current school year. 19 (j) If a district is the authorizing body for a public 20 school academy, then, in the first school year in which pupils 21 are counted in membership on the pupil membership count day in 22 the public school academy, the determination of the district's 23 membership shall exclude from the district's pupil count for the 24 immediately preceding supplemental count day any pupils who are 25 counted in the public school academy on that first pupil member- 26 ship count day who were also counted in the district on the 27 immediately preceding supplemental count day. 04040'97 a 6 1 (k) In a district, public school academy, university school, 2 or intermediate district operating an extended school year pro- 3 gram approved by the state board, a pupil enrolled, but not 4 scheduled to be in regular daily attendance on a pupil membership 5 count day, shall be counted. 6 (l) Pupils to be counted in membership shall be not less 7 than 5 years of age on December 1 and less than 20 years of age 8 on September 1 of the school year, except a special education 9 pupil who is enrolled and receiving instruction in a special edu- 10 cation program approved by the department and not having a high 11 school diploma who is less than 26 years of age as of September 1 12 of the current school year shall be counted in membership. 13 (m) An individual who has obtained a high school diploma 14 shall not be counted in membership. An individual who has 15 obtained a general education development (G.E.D.) certificate 16 shall not be counted in membership. An individual participating 17 in a job training program funded under former section 107a or a 18 jobs program funded under former section 107b, both administered 19 by the Michigan jobs commission, or participating in any succes- 20 sor of either of those 2 programs, shall not be counted in 21 membership. 22 (n) If a pupil counted in membership in a public school 23 academy is also educated by a district or intermediate district 24 as part of a cooperative education program, the pupil shall be 25 counted in membership only in the public school academy, and the 26 instructional time scheduled for the pupil in the district or 27 intermediate district shall be included in the full-time equated 04040'97 a 7 1 membership determination under subdivision (q). However, for 2 pupils receiving instruction in both a public school academy and 3 in a district or intermediate district but not as a part of a 4 cooperative education program, the following apply: 5 (i) If the public school academy provides instruction for at 6 least 1/2 of the class hours specified in subdivision (q), the 7 public school academy shall receive as its prorated share of the 8 full-time equated membership for each of those pupils an amount 9 equal to 1 times the product of the hours of instruction the 10 public school academy provides divided by the number of hours 11 specified in subdivision (q) for full-time equivalency, and the 12 remainder of the full-time membership for each of those pupils 13 shall be allocated to the district or intermediate district pro- 14 viding the remainder of the hours of instruction. 15 (ii) If the public school academy provides instruction for 16 less than 1/2 of the class hours specified in subdivision (q), 17 the district or intermediate district providing the remainder of 18 the hours of instruction shall receive as its prorated share of 19 the full-time equated membership for each of those pupils an 20 amount equal to 1 times the product of the hours of instruction 21 the district or intermediate district provides divided by the 22 number of hours specified in subdivision (q) for full-time equiv- 23 alency, and the remainder of the full-time membership for each of 24 those pupils shall be allocated to the public school academy. 25 (o) An individual less than 16 years of age as of September 26 1 of the current school year who is being educated in an 27 alternative education program shall not be counted in membership 04040'97 a 8 1 if there are also adult education participants being educated in 2 the same program or classroom. 3 (p) The department shall give a uniform interpretation of 4 full-time and part-time memberships. 5 (q) The number of class hours used to calculate full-time 6 equated memberships shall be consistent with section 1284 of the 7 revised school code, MCL 380.1284. In determining full-time 8 equated memberships for pupils who are enrolled in a postsecond- 9 ary institution under the postsecondary enrollment options act, 10 1996 PA 160, MCL 388.511 to 388.524, a pupil shall not be consid- 11 ered to be less than a full-time equated pupil solely because of 12 the effect of his or her postsecondary enrollment, including nec- 13 essary travel time, on the number of class hours provided by the 14 district to the pupil. 15 (r) Full-time equated memberships for pupils in kindergarten 16 shall be determined by dividing the number of class hours sched- 17 uled and provided per year per kindergarten pupil by a number 18 equal to 1/2 the number used for determining full-time equated 19 memberships for pupils in grades 1 to 12. 20 (s) For a district that has qualified currently migrant 21 pupils enrolled in the district as of the pupil membership count 22 day who were not counted in membership in the district on the 23 supplemental count day for the immediately preceding school year, 24 as determined by the department using the criteria used for eli- 25 gibility for the migrant education program under the improving 26 America's schools act of 1994, Public Law 103-382, 108 27 Stat. 3518, the number of those pupils counted in the district's 04040'97 a 9 1 membership is 3/4 of the number of those pupils counted on the 2 pupil membership count day only. 3 (t) For a district, university school, or public school 4 academy that has pupils enrolled in a grade level that was not 5 offered by the district, university school, or public school 6 academy in the immediately preceding school year, the number of 7 pupils enrolled in that grade level to be counted in membership 8 is the average of the number of those pupils enrolled and in reg- 9 ular daily attendance on the pupil membership count day and the 10 supplemental count day of the current school year, as determined 11 by the department. Membership shall be calculated by adding the 12 number of pupils registered for attendance in that grade level on 13 the pupil membership count day plus pupils received by transfer 14 and minus pupils lost as defined by rules promulgated by the 15 state board, and as corrected by subsequent department audit, 16 plus the final audited count from the supplemental count day for 17 the current school year, and dividing that sum by 2. 18 (u) A pupil enrolled in a cooperative education program may 19 be counted in membership in the pupil's district of residence 20 with the written approval of all parties to the cooperative 21 agreement. 22 (v) If, as a result of a disciplinary action, a district 23 determines through the district's alternative education program 24 that the best instructional placement for a pupil is in the 25 pupil's home, if that placement is authorized in writing by the 26 district superintendent and district alternative education 27 supervisor, and if the district provides appropriate instruction 04040'97 a 10 1 as described in this subdivision to the pupil at the pupil's 2 home, the district may count the pupil in membership on a pro 3 rata basis, with the proration based on the number of hours of 4 instruction the district actually provides to the pupil divided 5 by the number of hours specified in subdivision (q) for full-time 6 equivalency. For the purposes of this subdivision, a district 7 shall be considered to be providing appropriate instruction if 8 all of the following are met: 9 (i) The district provides at least 2 nonconsecutive hours of 10 instruction per week to the pupil at the pupil's home under the 11 supervision of a certificated teacher. 12 (ii) The district provides instructional materials, 13 resources, and supplies, except computers, that are comparable to 14 those otherwise provided in the district's alternative education 15 program. 16 (iii) Course content is comparable to that in the district's 17 alternative education program. 18 (iv) Credit earned is awarded to the pupil and placed on the 19 pupil's transcript. 20 (w) A pupil enrolled in an alternative education program 21 described in section 25 shall be counted in membership in the 22 district or public school academy that expelled the pupil. 23 (x) For 1997-98 only, if a pupil was enrolled in a public 24 school academy on the pupil membership count day, if the public 25 school academy's contract with its authorizing body is revoked, 26 and if the pupil enrolls in a district within 45 days after the 27 pupil membership count day, the department shall adjust the 04040'97 a 11 1 district's pupil count for the pupil membership count day to 2 include the pupil in the count. 3 (5) "Public school academy" means a public school academy 4 operating under the revised school code. 5 (6) "Pupil" means a person in membership in a public 6 school. A district must have the approval of the pupil's dis- 7 trict of residence to count the pupil in membership, except 8 approval by the pupil's district of residence shall not be 9 required for nonpublic part-time pupils, for pupils receiving 1/2 10 or less of their instruction in a district other than their dis- 11 trict of residence, for pupils enrolled in a public school acad- 12 emy or university school, for pupils enrolled in a district other 13 than their district of residence under an intermediate district 14 schools of choice pilot program as described in section 91a or 15 former section 91 if the intermediate district and its constitu- 16 ent districts have been exempted from section 105, for pupils 17 enrolled in a district other than their district of residence but 18 within the same intermediate district if the educating district 19 enrolls nonresident pupils in accordance with section 105, or for 20 pupils enrolled in a district other than their district of resi- 21 dence if the pupils have been continuously enrolled in the edu- 22 cating district since a school year in which the pupils enrolled 23 in the educating district under section 105 and in which the edu- 24 cating district enrolled nonresident pupils in accordance with 25 section 105. However, if a district that is not a first class 26 district educates pupils who reside in a first class district and 27 if the primary instructional site for those pupils is located 04040'97 a 12 1 within the boundaries of the first class district, the educating 2 district must have the approval of the first class district to 3 count those pupils in membership. As used in this subsection, 4 "first class district" means a district organized as a school 5 district of the first class under the revised school code. 6 (7) "Pupil membership count day" of a district or intermedi- 7 ate district means: 8 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the fourth 9 Wednesday in September each school year. 10 (b) For a district or intermediate district maintaining 11 school during the entire school year, the following days: 12 (i) Fourth Wednesday in July. 13 (ii) Fourth Wednesday in September. 14 (iii) Second Wednesday in February. 15 (iv) Fourth Wednesday in April. 16 (8) "Rule" means a rule promulgated pursuant to the adminis- 17 trative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 18 24.328. 19 (9) "The revised school code" means 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1 20 to 380.1852. 21 (10) "School fiscal year" means a fiscal year that commences 22 July 1 and continues through June 30. 23 (11) "State board" means the state board of education. 24 (12) "Supplemental count day" means the day on which the 25 supplemental pupil count is conducted under section 6a. 26 (13) "Tuition pupil" means a pupil of school age attending 27 school in a district other than the pupil's district of residence 04040'97 a 13 1 for whom tuition may be charged. Tuition pupil does not include 2 a pupil who is a special education pupil; a pupil enrolled in a 3 district other than the pupil's district of residence but within 4 the same intermediate district if the educating district enrolls 5 nonresident pupils in accordance with section 105; a pupil 6 enrolled in a district other than the pupil's district of resi- 7 dence if the pupil has been continuously enrolled in the educat- 8 ing district since a school year in which the pupil enrolled in 9 the educating district under section 105 and in which the educat- 10 ing district enrolled nonresident pupils in accordance with sec- 11 tion 105; or a pupil served by an intermediate district schools 12 of choice pilot program as described in section 91a or former 13 section 91 if the intermediate district and its constituent dis- 14 tricts have been exempted from section 105. A pupil's district 15 of residence shall not require a high school tuition pupil, as 16 provided under section 111, to attend another school district 17 after the pupil has been assigned to a school district. 18 (14) "State school aid fund" means the state school aid fund 19 established in section 11 of article IX of the state constitution 20 of 1963. 21 (15) "Taxable value" means the taxable value of property as 22 determined under section 27a of the general property tax act, 23 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.27a. 24 (16) "Total state aid" or "total state school aid" means the 25 total combined amount of all funds due to a district, intermedi- 26 ate district, or other entity under all of the provisions of this 27 act. 04040'97 a 14 1 (17) "University school" means an instructional program 2 operated by a public university under section 23 that meets the 3 requirements of section 23. 04040'97 a Final page. TAV