INSTRUCTION REQUIREMENT EXEMPTION H.B. 4471 (S-1):
FLOOR SUMMARY
House Bill 4471 (Substitute S-1 as reported)
Sponsor: Representative Phil Potvin
Senate Committee: Education
CONTENT
The bill would amend the State School Aid Act to allow an exception to the required number of days of pupil instruction for school closures in the 2012-2013 school year that were beyond the control of school authorities.
The Act requires at least 1,098 hours of pupil instruction per school year, as well as a minimum number of days of instruction. Beginning in the 2012-2013 school year, the minimum number of days is 170, but not less than the number of days that a district provided in the 2009-2010 school year. A school district that fails to provide either the minimum hours or days of pupil instruction will incur a reduction in State aid.
The bill would provide an exception for school districts that failed to provide the minimum required number of days for the 2012-2013 school year, if all of the following applied: 1) the failure was due to school closings that occurred before April 20, 2013; 2) the school closings were due to conditions outside the control of school authorities, such as severe storms, fires, epidemics, utility power unavailability, water or sewer failure, or health conditions; and 3) the school district provided at least the minimum number of hours of pupil instruction.
A district that used this exception would have to report the following information to the Department of Education by July 1, 2013: the amount of instructional time lost due to closures, the amount of instructional time added to compensate, activities and subject areas addressed during the added time, and other information the Department needed to assess whether the additional instruction was appropriate. The Department would have to combine these reports and provide them to the Senate and House Committees on Education.
MCL 388.1701 Legislative Analyst: Glenn Steffens
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill could have a minimal fiscal impact on the State if the exemption resulted in the payment of full State aid to districts that might otherwise receive reduced payments by failing to meet the minimum number of school days requirement or failing to maintain attendance levels of at least 75% of enrollment (when pupil instruction days were extended into the summer). The bill also could have a slight positive fiscal impact on the local school districts that employed the exemption for the number of instruction days, if a district saved on various overhead costs due to providing at least 1,098 hours of instruction in school year 2012-2013, but fewer than the required minimum number of school days. The report required of districts that employed the exemption also could result in minimal increased administrative costs for these districts.
Date Completed: 5-2-13 Fiscal Analyst: Cameron Mock
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.