EXCEPTIONS TO INSTRUCTION DAY MINIMUM

House Bill 4471

Sponsor:  Rep. Phil Potvin

Committee:  Education

Complete to 4-16-13

A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 4471 AS INTRODUCED 3-19-13

Currently to be eligible to receive state school aid, a school district must offer at least 170 days and 1,098 hours of student instruction.

House Bill 4471 would amend the State School Aid Act (MCL 388.1701) to provide exceptions, for the 2012-2013 school year only, to the requirement that a school district offer at least 170 days of instruction; but in such cases the hours requirement must still be met.

Specifically, the bill specifies that, for the 2012-2013 school year only, if a district is unable to provide the required minimum number of days of student instruction because of school closures occurring before April 15, 2013, due to conditions beyond the control of school authorities but the district does provide at least the required minimum number of hours of student instruction, then the district is not subject to the minimum number of days of student instruction. The bill cites the following as examples of conditions beyond the control of school authorities: severe storms; fires; epidemics, utility power unavailability; water or sewer failure; or health conditions, as defined by the city, county, or state health authorities.

 

The bill also would eliminate an outdated provision of the act that required at least 165 days of instruction during the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The bill would have no fiscal impact on the state and would likely have minimal impact for certain school districts.   It could create some savings for districts by waiving the additional days of instruction that would have to be added on to the end of the school year thus eliminating the additional utility, food service and transportation costs.  Districts also have expressed concern about meeting the minimum attendance requirements (75% of enrollment) necessary to avoid having their state aid reduced for days scheduled after the original school calendar was set to end.

                                                                                           Legislative Analyst:   J. Hunault

                                                                                                  Fiscal Analyst:   Bethany Wicksall

■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.