January 25, 2005, Introduced by Senators VAN WOERKOM, GILBERT, ALLEN, KUIPERS, GARCIA, GOSCHKA, STAMAS and TOY 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 2004 PA 351.
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 through the
secretary of the district's board shall file with the intermediate
superintendent a certified and sworn copy of 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 file
with the intermediate superintendent a certified and sworn copy of
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
intermediate district shall transmit to the center revised data, as
applicable, for each of its constituent districts. If a district
fails to file the sworn and certified copy with the intermediate
superintendent in a timely manner, as required under this
subsection, the intermediate district 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 an
intermediate district fails to transmit the data in its possession
in a timely and accurate manner to the center, 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 a district or intermediate
district does not comply with this subsection by the end of the
fiscal year, the district or intermediate 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 transmit 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) Except as otherwise provided in this section, each
district shall provide at least 1,098 hours of pupil instruction.
Except as otherwise provided in this act, a district failing to
comply with the required minimum hours 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 the
district was in noncompliance in relation to the required minimum
number of hours under this subsection. Not later than August 1, the
board of each district shall certify to the department the number
of hours of pupil instruction in the previous school year. If the
district did not provide at least the required minimum number of
hours 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
lost because of strikes or teachers' conferences shall not be
counted as days or hours of pupil instruction. 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. The superintendent shall promulgate rules
for the implementation of this subsection.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the first
30 hours 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
of pupil instruction. In addition, for 2003-2004 only, the
department
shall count as hours of pupil instruction not more than
20
additional hours for which pupil instruction was not provided in
a
school in a district due to structural roof and truss damage that
required
the school to be closed. Beginning in 2003-2004, with the
approval of the superintendent of public instruction, the
department shall count as hours of pupil instruction for a fiscal
year not more than 30 additional hours 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 shall not be counted as hours 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 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
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 of pupil instruction under
subsection (3) in a school year, including hours 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 of pupil instruction under subsection (3) in a school year,
including hours counted under subsection (4).
(7) In providing the minimum number of hours 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 reserve officer training corps (ROTC) program shall be considered
to be pupil instruction time regardless of whether the instructor
is a certificated 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 of pupil instruction requirement of subsection (3)
for a department-approved alternative education program. 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.
(10) A district may count up to 51 hours of qualifying
professional development for teachers, including the 5 hours of
online professional development provided by the Michigan virtual
university under section 98, 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.