ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 4306
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Kiss, and Delegate Ashley)
[By Request of the Executive]
(Originating in the Committee on Education)
[February 24, 1998]
A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article one, chapter
eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend and reenact section
five, article two-e of said chapter; and to amend and
reenact sections seven and ten, article nine-a of said
chapter, all relating to improving the quality and equity of
education; defining low density and high density counties;
providing legislative intent for establishing a process for
standards, assessment, accountability and capacity building
to provide assurances that a thorough and efficient system
of schools is being provided; requiring the state board to
periodically review and update high quality standards for
student, school and school system performance and processes;
requiring a standard for effective school system
participation with their assigned regional education service
agency; requiring the state board to establish a system of
education performance audits for determining school
accreditation and school system approval; holding schools
and school systems accountable for efficient use of existing resources to meet or exceed standards, and targeting
additional resources when necessary; requiring early
detection and intervention programs to help underachieving
schools and school systems to improve performance; providing
for creation and operation of an office of education
performance audits under the direction of the state board
independently of the department of education and the state
superintendent; providing certain duties; allowing the state
board discretion in determining the size of standards
compliance review teams for conducting on-site reviews;
providing for establishment of a trained cadre for selection
of review team members; providing for reimbursement of
county boards for substitute costs to replace employees
while serving on review teams; reporting of findings to
state board; providing for school accreditation and school
system approval status; eliminating probationary
accreditation and approval status; requiring school and
school system improvement plans; providing for temporary
accreditation status for below standard schools and school
systems and requiring that improvement plans be modified and
approved by state board; providing conditional accreditation
and conditional approval status for schools and school
systems with an approved improvement plan if they are
meeting plan objectives and time lines; requiring
improvement to full accreditation within a date certain to
be specified in the plan; specifying failure to obtain plan
approval and failure to meet plan objectives as circumstances for seriously impaired or nonapproval status;
providing for state board to appoint a team of improvement
consultants to recommend correction of serious impairments
and nonapproval; requiring temporary approval status for
school systems if progress to correct a seriously impaired
school is not made within six months of receipt of
recommendations from the state board and requiring
consultation and assistance to the county board to make
improvements; requiring correction of a serious impairment
by a date certain as set by the state board; providing for
nonapproval of a school system for failure to correct a
serious impairment by the date certain as set by the state
board; permitting full approval of school systems with
schools on conditional accreditation status; requiring the
state board to declare a state of emergency when school
systems are given nonapproval and to intervene in the school
system if progress to correct the emergency is not made
within six months of receipt of recommendations from the
state board; describing processes for strategically
targeting resources; requiring the state board to make
certain recommendations to the Legislature, county boards,
schools and communities on methods for strategically
targeting resources; authorizing the state board to
designate allocations of funds from the general school fund
to address specific improvement needs subject to certain
legislative committee review; increasing the percentage of
transportation cost for maintenance, operation, and related costs for high density and low density counties; increasing
the percentage of transportation cost for maintenance,
operation, and related costs in the event a county uses an
alternative fuel; eliminating the requirement of the state
board to distribute an additional allowance to qualifying
counties as it relates to alternative fuels; eliminating the
application process by large, sparsely populated counties to
the state superintendent for additional mini buses;
increasing the percentage for cost of contracted
transportation services and public utility transportation
for high density and low density counties; increasing the
percentage for transporting students to and from multicounty
vocational center and including maintenance in the
calculation; eliminating obsolete language relating to rules
promulgated by the state board; requiring five-tenths of one
percent of the transportation allowance be used only for
academic classroom curriculum trips; other requirements
related to academic classroom curriculum trips; requiring
the state department of education to conduct a comprehensive
study of student transportation and submit the report to the
legislative oversight commission on education accountability
by the fifteenth day of January, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-nine; and removing balances in the general school
fund from allocation through the allowance to improve
instructional programs.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article one, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; that section five, article
two-e of said chapter be amended and reenacted; and that sections
seven and ten, article nine-a of said chapter be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 18. EDUCATION.
ARTICLE 1. DEFINITIONS; LIMITATIONS OF CHAPTER; GOALS FOR
EDUCATION.
§18-1-1. Definitions.
The following words used in this chapter and in any
proceedings pursuant thereto shall, unless the context clearly
indicates a different meaning, be construed as follows:
(a) "School" means the pupils and teacher or teachers
assembled in one or more buildings, organized as a unit;
(b) "District" means county school district;
(c) "State board" means the West Virginia board of
education;
(d) "Board" means the county board of education;
(e) "State superintendent" means the state superintendent of
free schools;
(f) "Superintendent" means the county superintendent of
schools;
(g) "Teacher" means teacher, supervisor, principal,
superintendent, public school librarian; registered professional
nurse, licensed by the West Virginia board of examiners for
registered professional nurses and employed by a county board of
education, who has a baccalaureate degree; or any other person regularly employed for instructional purposes in a public school
in this state;
(h) "Service personnel" means all nonteaching school
employees not included in the above definition of "teacher";
(i) "Regular full-time employee" means any person employed
by a county board of education who has a regular position or job
throughout his employment term, without regard to hours or method
of pay;
(j) "Career clusters" means broad groupings of related
occupations;
(k) "Work-based learning" means a structured activity that
correlates with and is mutually supportive of the school-based
learning of the student and includes specific objectives to be
learned by the student as a result of the activity;
(l) "School-age juveniles" means any individual who is
entitled to attend or who, if not placed in a residential
facility, would be entitled to attend public schools, in
accordance with: (1) Section five, article two of this chapter;
(2) sections fifteen and eighteen, article five of this chapter;
or (3) section one, article twenty of this chapter;
and
(m) "Student with a disability" means an exceptional child,
other than gifted, pursuant to section one, article twenty of
this chapter;
(n) "Low density county" means a county whose ratio of
student population to square miles is less than or equal to the
state average ratio as computed by the state department of
education; and
(o) "High density county" means a county whose ratio of
student population to square miles is greater than the state
average ratio as computed by the state department of education.
ARTICLE 2E. HIGH QUALITY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.
§18-2E-5. Process for improving education; office of education
performance audits; education standards; school
accreditation and school system approval;
intervention to correct impairments.
(a)
Legislative intent. -- The purpose of this section is to
establish a process for improving education that includes
standards, assessment, accountability and capacity building to
provide assurances that a thorough and efficient system of
education schools is being provided for all West Virginia public
school students on an equal education opportunity basis and that
the high quality standards are,
at a minimum, being met.
A
system for the review of school district education plans,
performance-based accreditation and periodic, random, unannounced
on-site effectiveness reviews of district education systems,
including individual schools within the districts, shall provide
assurances that the high quality standards established in this
section are being met.
(b)
High Quality Education Standards. --
On or before the
first day of November, one thousand nine hundred ninety- six,
The state board shall, in accordance with the provisions of
article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
establish
and adopt
and periodically review and update high quality
education standards
for student, school and school system performance and processes in the following areas:
(1) Curriculum;
(2) Workplace readiness skills;
(3) Finance;
(4) Transportation;
(5) Special Education;
(6) Facilities;
(7) Administrative practices;
(8) Training of county board members and administrators;
(9) Personnel qualifications;
(10) Professional development and evaluation;
(11) Student and school performance;
(12) A code of conduct for students and employees; and
(13) Any other such areas as determined by the state board.
(c) Performance Measures. -- The standards shall assure that
all graduates are prepared for gainful employment or for
continuing post-secondary education and training and that schools
and school districts are making progress in achieving the
education goals of the state.
Each school district shall submit
an annual improvement plan designed around locally identified
needs showing how the education program of each school in the
district will meet or exceed the high quality standards. A
performance-based accreditation system shall be the only
statewide system used for accrediting or classifying the public
schools in West Virginia. The state board shall establish a
schedule and shall review each school within a district and each
county board for accreditation based on information submitted to the board under the performance-based accreditation system as set
forth in subsection (c) of this section.
(c) On or before the first day of September, one thousand
nine hundred ninety-six, the state board shall, in accordance
with the provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of
this code, establish by rule a system which measures the quality
of education and preparation of students at each school based on
measures of student and school performance, including, but not
limited to, the following:
The standards shall include measures of student performance
when a thorough and efficient system of schools is being provided
and of school and school system performance and processes that
enable student performance. The measures of student performance
and school and school system performance and processes shall
include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) The acquisition of student proficiencies as indicated by
student performance by grade level measured, where possible, by
a uniform statewide assessment program;
(2) School attendance rates;
(3) Student dropout rate;
(4) Percent of students promoted to next grade;
(5) Graduation rate;
(6) Average class size;
(7) Pupil-teacher ratio and number of exceptions to ratio
requested by county boards and number granted;
(8) Number of split-grade classrooms;
(9) Percentage of graduates who enrolled in college; the percentage of graduates who enrolled in other post-secondary
education; and the percentage of graduates who become fully
employed within one year of high school graduation all as
reported by the graduates on the assessment form attached to
their individualized student transition plan, pursuant to section
eight of this article and the percentage of graduates reporting;
(10) Pupil-administrator ratio;
(11) Parent involvement;
(12) Parent, teacher and student satisfaction;
(13) Operating expenditures per pupil;
(14) Percentage of graduates who attain the minimum level of
performance in the basic skills recognized by the state board as
laying the foundation for further learning and skill development
for success in college, other post-secondary education and
gainful employment and the grade level distribution in which the
minimum level of performance was met;
and
(15) Percentage of graduates who received additional
certification of their skills, competence and readiness for
college, other post-secondary education or employment above the
minimum foundation level of basic skills;
and
(16) Effective school system participation with their
assigned regional education service agency.
(d) Assessment and accountability of school and school
system performance and processes. -- The state board of education
shall establish by rule in accordance with the provisions of
article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, a system of
education performance audits which measures the quality of education and the preparation of students based on the standards
and measures of student, school and school system performance and
processes, including, but not limited to, the standards and
measures set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of this section.
The system of education performance audits shall assist the state
board in ensuring that the standards and measures established
pursuant to this section are, at a minimum, being met and that a
thorough and efficient system of schools is being provided. The
system of education performance audits shall include: (1) The
assessment of student, school and school system performance and
the processes in place in schools and school systems which enable
student performance; (2) the review of school and school system
education improvement plans; and (3) the periodic, random
unannounced on-site review of school and school system
performance and compliance with the standards.
(e) Uses of school and school system assessment information.
-- The state board shall use information from the system of
education performance audits to assist it in ensuring that a
thorough and efficient system of schools is being provided and to
improve student, school and school system performance, including,
but not limited to, the following: (1) Determining school
accreditation and school system approval status; (2) holding
schools and school systems accountable for the efficient use of
existing resources to meet or exceed the standards; and (3)
targeting additional resources when necessary to improve
performance. Primary emphasis in determining school accreditation
and school system approval status will be based on student, school and school system performance on annual measures selected
by the state board. The state board shall make accreditation
information available to the Legislature, the governor, and,
subject to the provisions of the freedom of information act, to
the general public and any individuals who request such
information. Based on the assessment of student, school and
school system performance, the state board shall establish early
detection and intervention programs to assist underachieving
schools and school systems to improve performance before
conditions become so grave as to warrant more substantive state
intervention, including, but not limited to, making additional
technical assistance, programmatic, monetary and staffing
resources available where appropriate.
(f) Office of Education Performance Audits. -- To assist the
state board in the operation of the system of education
performance audits and in making determinations of the
accreditation status of schools and the approval status of school
systems, the state board shall establish an office of education
performance audits which shall be operated under the direction of
the state board independently of the functions and supervision of
the state department of education and state superintendent. The
office of education performance audits shall report directly to
and be responsible to the state board in carrying out its duties
under the provisions of this section. The office shall be headed
by a director who shall be appointed by the state board and shall
serve at the will and pleasure of the state board. The salary of
the director shall not exceed the salary of the state superintendent of schools. The state board shall organize and
sufficiently staff the office to fulfill the duties assigned to
it by this section and the state board. Employees of the state
department of education who are transferred to the office of
education performance audits shall retain their benefit and
seniority status with the department of education. Under the
direction of the state board, the office of education performance
audits shall receive from the West Virginia education information
system, staff research and analysis data on the performance of
students, schools and school systems, and shall receive
assistance from the state department of education and the state
school building authority staff to carry out the duties assigned
to the office. In addition to other duties which may be assigned
to it by the state board or by statute, the office of education
performance audits shall also:
(1) Review assessment tools, including tests of student
performance and measures of school and school system performance,
and recommend any improvements or additions deemed necessary;
(2) Consider multiple assessments and make recommendations
to the state board as it deems appropriate, including, but not
limited to, a state testing program developed in conjunction with
the state's professional educators with assistance from such
knowledgeable consultants as may be necessary, which may include
criterion referenced tests;
(3) Assure that all statewide assessments of student
performance are secure;
(4) Review all accountability measures, such as the accreditation and personnel evaluation systems, and recommend to
the state board any improvements or additions deemed necessary;
(5) Administer processes for the accreditation of schools
and the approval of school systems, and recommend appropriate
accreditation and approval action to the state board;
(6) In conjunction with the assessment and accountability
processes, determine what capacity may be needed by schools and
school systems to meet the standards established by the
Legislature and the state board, and recommend to the school,
school system and state board, plans to establish those needed
capacities;
(7) In conjunction with the assessment and accountability
processes, determine whether statewide system deficiencies exist
in the capacity to establish and maintain a thorough and
efficient system of schools, including the identification of
trends and the need for continuing improvements in education, and
report those deficiencies and trends to the state board;
(8) In conjunction with the assessment and accountability
processes, determine staff development needs of schools and
school systems to meet the standards established by the
Legislature and the state board, and make recommendations to the
state board, the center for professional development, regional
education service agencies, higher education governing boards and
county boards of education; and
(9) In conjunction with the assessment and accountability
processes, identify exemplary schools and school systems and best
practices that improve student, school and school system performance, and make recommendations to the state board for
recognizing and rewarding exemplary schools and school systems
and promoting the use of best practices. The state board shall
provide information on best practices to county school systems
and shall use information identified through the assessment and
accountability processes to select schools of excellence.
(g) On-site reviews. -- At the direction of the state board
or by random selection by the office of education performance
audits, an unannounced on-site review shall be conducted by the
office of education performance audits of any school or school
system for purposes, including, but not limited to, the
following: (1) Verifying data reported by the school or county
board; (2) documenting compliance with policies and laws; (3)
evaluating the effectiveness and implementation status of school
and school system education improvement plans; (4) investigating
official complaints submitted to the state board that allege
serious impairments in the quality of education of schools or
school systems; and (5) investigating official complaints
submitted to the state board that allege that a school or county
board is in violation of policies or laws under which schools and
county boards operate. The random selection of schools and
school systems for an on-site review shall use a weighted random
sample so that those with lower performance indicators and those
that have not had a recent on-site review have a greater
likelihood of being selected. Under the direction of the state
board, the office of education performance audits shall appoint
an education standards compliance review team to assist it in conducting on-site reviews. The teams shall be composed of an
adequate number of persons who possess the necessary knowledge,
skills and experience to make an accurate assessment of education
programs and who are drawn from a trained cadre established by
the office of education performance audits. The state board
shall have discretion in determining the number of persons to
serve on a standards compliance review team based on the size of
the school or school system as applicable. The teams shall be
led by a member of the office of education performance audits.
County boards of education shall be reimbursed for the costs of
substitutes required to replace county board employees while
serving on an education standards compliance review team. The
office of education performance audits shall report the findings
of the on-site reviews to the state board for inclusion in the
evaluation and determination of a school's or county board's
accreditation or approval status as applicable.
(h) School accreditation. -- The state board annually shall
review the information
from the system of education performance
audits submitted for each school and shall issue to every school:
(i) Full accreditation status,
or (ii) probationary temporary
accreditation status,
conditional accreditation status, or shall
declare the education programs at the school to be seriously
impaired.
(1) Full accreditation status shall be given to a school
when the school's performance on the
standards adopted by the
state board pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) of this section
above indicators is at a level which would be expected when all of the high quality education standards are being met.
Probationary (2) Temporary accreditation status shall be
given to a school when the measure of the school's performance is
below
such level the level required for full accreditation
status. Whenever a school is given
probationary temporary
accreditation status, the county board shall
implement an
improvement plan which is designed ensure that the school's
education improvement plan is revised to increase the performance
of the school to a full accreditation status level.
within one
year The revised plan shall include objectives, a time line, a
plan for evaluation of the success of the improvements, cost
estimates, and a date certain for achieving full accreditation.
The revised plan shall be submitted to the state board for
approval.
(3) Conditional accreditation status shall be given to a
school when the school's performance on the standards adopted by
the state board is below the level required for full
accreditation, but the school's education improvement plan has
been revised to achieve full accreditation status by a date
certain, the plan has been approved by the state board and the
school is meeting the objectives and time line specified in the
revised plan.
(d) (4) The state board shall establish and adopt standards
of performance to identify seriously impaired schools and the
state board may declare a school seriously impaired whenever
extraordinary circumstances exist as defined by the state board.
These circumstances shall include the failure of a school on temporary accreditation status to obtain approval of its revised
education improvement plan within a reasonable time period as
defined by the state board and the failure of a school on
conditional accreditation status to meet the objectives and time
lines of its revised education improvement plan or to achieve
full accreditation by the date specified in the revised plan.
Whenever the state board determines that the quality of education
in a school is seriously impaired,
the state superintendent, with
approval of the state board, shall appoint a team of
three
improvement consultants to make recommendations within sixty days
of appointment for correction of the impairment. Upon approval
of the recommendations by the state board, the recommendations
shall be made to the county board. If progress in correcting the
impairment
as determined by the state board is not made within
six months of receipt of the recommendations
by the county board,
the
state superintendent shall state board shall place the county
board on temporary approval status and provide consultation and
assistance to the county board to:
(1) (i) Improve personnel
management;
(2) (ii) establish more efficient financial
management practices;
(3) (iii) improve instructional programs
and rules; or
(4) (iv) make such other improvements as may be
necessary to correct the impairment,
which may include
improvements at the school and school system levels, including,
but not limited to, the transfer or dismissal of personnel
subject to due process, the reallocation of funds, or other
measures necessary to improve student performance. If the
impairment is not corrected
within one year of receipt of the recommendations by a date certain set by the state board, the
district county board shall be given
probationary approval status
or nonapproval nonapproved status.
(e) (i) Transfers from seriously impaired schools. --
Whenever a school is
given probationary status or is determined
to be seriously impaired and fails to improve its status within
one year, any student attending such school may transfer once to
the nearest fully accredited school, subject to approval of the
fully accredited school and at the expense of the school from
which the student transferred.
(f) (j) School system approval. -- The state board shall
annually review the information submitted for each school system
from the system of education performance audits and issue one of
the following
accreditation approval levels to each county board:
(1) Full approval,
(2) conditional temporary approval,
(3)
probationary conditional approval,
or (4) nonapproval or
nonapproved.
(1) Full approval shall be given to a county board whose
education system meets or exceeds all of the high quality
standards
for student, school and school system performance and
processes adopted by the state board and whose schools have all
been given full
, temporary or conditional accreditation status.
Full approval shall be for a period not to exceed four years.
Conditional approval shall be given to a county board whose
education system meets at least ninety-five percent of the high
quality standards adopted by the state board and in which at
least ninety percent of the schools have been given full accreditation status provided no school is seriously impaired.
Conditional approval shall be for a period not to exceed one
year: Provided, That for counties that have fewer than ten
schools, the state board may grant conditional approval without
regard to the ninety percent based on the total quality of the
county education program.
(2) Temporary approval shall be given to a county board
whose education system is below the level required for full
approval. Whenever a county board is given temporary approval
status, the county board shall revise its school system education
improvement plan to increase the performance of the school system
to a full approval status level. The revised plan shall include
objectives, a time line, a plan for evaluation of the success of
the improvements, a cost estimate, and a date certain for
achieving full approval. The revised plan shall be submitted to
the state board for approval.
Probationary approval shall be given to a county board whose
education system has met less than ninety-five percent of the
high quality standards, or which has eleven percent or more
schools in the district given probationary status or serious
impairment. Probationary approval is a warning that the county
board must make specified improvements. If the number of schools
in the district given probationary status is not reduced to a
number that would allow full accreditation to be granted in the
following year, the county board shall be automatically given
nonapproval. In addition,
(3) Conditional approval shall be given to a county board whose education system is below the level required for full
approval, but the school system's education improvement plan has
been revised to achieve full approval status by a date certain,
the plan has been approved by the state board and the county
board is meeting the objectives and time line specified in the
revised plan.
(4) Nonapproval Nonapproved status shall be given to a
county board which fails to submit
an annual program plan or
fails to demonstrate a reasonable effort to meet the high quality
standards and gain approval of the school system's education
improvement plan or revised school system education improvement
plan within a reasonable time period as defined by the state
board or fails to meet the objectives and time lines of its
revised school system education improvement plan or to achieve
full approval by the date specified in the revised plan. The
state board shall establish and adopt
additional standards to
identify school
districts systems in which the program may be
nonapproved or nonapproved and the state board may issue
nonapproval nonapproved status whenever extraordinary
circumstances exist as defined by the state board.
(g) Whenever
nonapproval nonapproved status is given to a
county school
system, the state board shall declare a state of emergency in the
district and may intervene in the operation of the district to
school system and shall appoint a team of improvement consultants
to make recommendations within sixty days of appointment for
correcting the emergency. Upon approval of the recommendations
by the state board, the recommendations shall be made to the county board. If progress in correcting the emergency as
determined by the state board is not made within six months of
receipt of the recommendations by the county board, the state
board shall intervene in the operation of the school system to
cause improvements to be made that will provide assurances that
a thorough and efficient system of schools will be provided.
This intervention may include, but is not limited to: (1) Limit
(i) Limiting the authority of the county superintendent and
county board as to the expenditure of funds, the employment and
dismissal of personnel, the establishment and operation of the
school calendar, the establishment of instructional programs and
rules and such other areas as may be designated by the state
board by rule;
(2) take (ii) taking such direct action as may be
necessary to correct the
impairment emergency; and
(3) declare
(iii) declaring that the office of the county superintendent is
vacant.
(h) To assist the state board in determinations of the
accreditation status of schools and the approval status of school
districts under this section, the state board shall from time to
time appoint an education standards compliance review team to
make unannounced on-site reviews of the education programs in any
school or school district in the state to assess compliance of
the school or district with the high quality standards adopted by
the state board, including, but not limited to, facilities,
administrative procedures, transportation, food services and the
audit of all matters relating to school finance, budgeting and
administration.
The teams shall be composed of not more than ten persons,
not more than half of whom may be members of or currently
employed by the state board, who possess the necessary knowledge,
skills and experience to make an accurate assessment of such
education programs. The education standards compliance team
shall report the findings of its on-site reviews to the state
board for inclusion in the determination of a school's or
district's accreditation or approval status as applicable. The
state board shall encourage the sharing of information to improve
school effectiveness among the districts.
The state board shall make accreditation information
available to the Legislature, the governor, the general public
and to any individuals who request such information.
(i) The state board shall fully implement the accreditation
system under this article for all schools on the first day of
July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, and may pilot test
the system prior to that date. The state board shall adopt rules
in accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code necessary to implement the provisions
of this article.
(k) Capacity. -- The process for improving education is a
process for strategically targeting resources to improve the
teaching and learning process. The school and school system
education improvement planning processes are intended as school
and school system mechanisms to strategically target resources to
the teaching and learning process to improve student, school and
school system performance, and shall be required by rules adopted by the state board. When deficiencies are detected through the
assessment and accountability processes, the revision and
approval of school and school system education improvement plans
shall ensure that schools and school systems are efficiently
using existing resources to correct the deficiencies. When the
state board determines that schools and school systems do not
have the capacity to correct deficiencies, the state board shall
work with the county board to obtain the resources necessary to
increase the capacity of schools and school systems to meet the
standards and, when necessary, seek additional resources in
consultation with the Legislature and the governor. The school
and school system education improvement plan rules adopted by the
state board shall provide avenues for schools and county boards
to request and receive technical assistance in developing their
education improvement plans.
The state board shall recommend to the Legislature, county
boards, schools and communities methods for strategically
targeting resources to eliminate deficiencies identified in the
assessment and accountability processes by:
(1) Developing and implementing mechanisms linking
performance, fiscal responsibility and fiscal accountability;
(2) Examining reports and improvement plans regarding the
performance of students, schools and school systems relative to
the standards and identifying the areas in which improvement is
needed;
(3) Determining the areas of weakness that appear to have
contributed to the substandard performance of students and/or the deficiencies of the school or school system;
(4) Determining the areas of strength that appear to have
contributed to exceptional student, school and school system
performance and promoting their emulation throughout the system;
(5) Requesting technical assistance from the school building
authority in assessing or designing comprehensive educational
facilities plans;
(6) Recommending priority funding from the school building
authority based on identified needs;
(7) Requesting special staff development programs from the
center for professional development, higher education, regional
education service agencies and county boards of education based
on identified needs;
(8) Submitting requests to the Legislature for
appropriations to meet the identified needs for improving
education;
(9) Directing county boards of education to strategically
target their funds toward alleviating deficiencies;
(10) Ensuring that the need for facilities in counties with
increased enrollment are appropriately reflected and recommended
for funding;
(11) Ensuring that the appropriate person or entity is held
accountable for eliminating deficiencies; and
(12) Ensuring that the needed capacity is available from the
state and local level to assist the school or school system in
achieving the standards and alleviating the deficiencies.
The state board may designate the allocation of balances which accrue in the general school fund, in addition to any
appropriation made for such purpose, to schools or school
systems, or both, to address specific improvement needs subject
to review of the legislative oversight commission on education
accountability. A designated allocation may include funds for
the payment of stipends or substitute coverage, or both, for
identified best practice schools to enable the staff of the
school to share expertise with another school or school system in
an identified area of need.
The provisions of this section are effective on the first
day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-eight.
ARTICLE 9A. PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPPORT.
§18-9A-7. Foundation allowance for transportation cost.
The allowance in the foundation school program for each
county for transportation shall be the sum of the following
computations:
(1)
Eighty Eighty-five percent of the transportation cost
within each
high density county
and ninety percent of the
transportation cost within each low density county for
maintenance, operation and related costs, exclusive of all
salaries:
Provided, That for the school year beginning the first
day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-four ninety-eight,
and thereafter, in the event a county uses an alternative fuel
such as compressed natural gas or other acceptable alternative
fuel for the operation of all or any portion of its school bus
system, then the allowance in the foundation school program for
each such county for that portion of its school bus system shall be
ninety ninety-five percent of the transportation cost for
maintenance, operation and related costs, exclusive of all
salaries, incurred by the use of the alternatively fueled school
buses:
Provided, however, That any county using an alternative
fuel and qualifying for the additional allowance shall submit a
plan regarding the intended future use of alternatively fueled
school buses;
Provided further, That the state board shall
distribute the additional allowance to qualifying counties only
until such time as the state board has distributed in the then
current fiscal year one hundred thousand dollars of
transportation allowance, in the statewide aggregate, above the
eighty percent to qualifying counties, after which the additional
ten percent shall no longer be available to any county
(2) The total cost, within each county, of insurance
premiums on buses, buildings and equipment used in
transportation:
Provided, That such premiums were procured
through competitive bidding;
(3) For the school year beginning the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred eighty-nine, and thereafter, an amount
equal to ten percent of the current replacement value of the bus
fleet within each county as determined by the state board, such
amount to be used only for the replacement of buses. In
addition, in any school year in which its net enrollment
increases when compared to the net enrollment the year
immediately preceding, a school district may apply to the state
superintendent for funding for an additional bus.
Furthermore,
large, sparsely populated counties may also apply to the state superintendent for funding for additional mini-buses. The state
superintendent shall make a decision regarding each application
based upon an analysis of the individual school district's net
enrollment history and transportation needs:
or, in the case of
a large, sparsely populated county, the population of the county
Provided, That the superintendent shall not consider any
application which fails to document that the county has applied
for federal funding for additional buses. If the state
superintendent finds that a need exists, a request for funding
shall be included in the budget request submitted by the state
board for the upcoming fiscal year;
(4)
Eighty-five percent of the cost of contracted
transportation services and public utility transportation within
each high density county and ninety percent of the cost of
contracted transportation services and public utility
transportation within each low density county Eighty percent of
the cost of contracted transportation services and public utility
transportation with each county;
(5) Aid in lieu of transportation equal to the state average
amount per pupil for each pupil receiving such aid within each
county; and
(6)
Ninety Ninety-five percent of the
transportation cost
for maintenance, operation and related costs, exclusive of all
salaries,
total cost of transportation operations and related
expenses, excluding salaries and maintenance for transporting
students to and from classes at a multicounty vocational center.
The total state share for this purpose shall be the sum of the county shares
and shall be distributed in accordance with
rules to be promulgated by the state board:
Provided, That no
county shall receive an allowance which is greater than one third
above the computed state average allowance per
transportation
mile multiplied by the total
transportation mileage in the
county
: Provided, however, That five-tenths of one percent of the
transportation allowance distributed to each county shall be for
the purpose of trips related to academic classroom curriculum and
not related to any extracurricular activity: Provided further,
That no student may be charged a fee nor required to solicit
funds through participation in any fund raising activity for
trips related to academic classroom curriculum until after the
aforementioned funds are depleted: And provided further, That any
remaining funds credited to a county for the purpose of trips
related to academic classroom curriculum during the fiscal year
shall be carried over for use in the same manner the next fiscal
year and shall be separate and apart from, and in addition to,
the appropriation for the next fiscal year: And provided further,
That the state board of education may request a county to
document the use of funds for trips related to academic classroom
curriculum if the board deems it necessary: And provided further,
That no county board may prohibit any fund raising activity that
is approved by the county board for the purpose of trips related
to academic classroom curriculum.
The state department of education shall cause a
comprehensive study to be made relating to student
transportation. The study shall examine, but is not limited to, the issues of funding, timeliness of data used for formula
distribution, service personnel needed, inter-county service,
regionalization of services, bus routes, amount of time students
spend on buses, maintenance, safety training, and alternative
transportation systems. The state department of education shall
submit a report of the study to the legislative oversight
commission on education accountability by the fifteenth day of
January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine.
§18-9A-10. Foundation allowance to improve instructional
programs.
(a) For the school year beginning on the first day of July,
one thousand nine hundred
ninety-four ninety-eight, and
thereafter, the sum of the allocations shall be
in an amount at
least equal to the amount appropriated by the Legislature
, in
addition to funds which accrue from balances in the general
school fund, or from appropriations for such purposes:
(1) One hundred fifty thousand dollars shall be allocated to
to each county;
(2) Distribution to the counties of the remainder of these
funds shall be made proportional to the average of each county's
average daily attendance for the preceding year and the county's
second month net enrollment. Moneys allocated by provision of
this section shall be used to improve instructional programs
according to a plan for instructional improvement which the
affected county board shall file with the state board by the
first day of August of each year, to be approved by the state
board by the first day of September of that year if such plan substantially complies with standards to be adopted by the state
board:
Provided, That notwithstanding any other provision of
this code to the contrary, moneys allocated by provision of this
section may also be used in the implementation and maintenance of
the uniform integrated regional computer information system; and
(3) Up to twenty-five percent of this allocation may be used
to employ professional educators and/or service personnel in
counties after all applicable provisions of sections four and
five of this article have been fully utilized:
Provided, That
for the school year beginning on the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-six, only, up to an additional
twenty-five percent of this allocation may be used to employ
classroom teachers, as defined in section one, article one,
chapter eighteen-a of this code, and/or service personnel in
counties after all applicable provisions of sections four and
five of this article have been fully utilized:
Provided,
however, That service personnel employed with the additional
twenty-five percent for the school year beginning on the first
day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-six, only, may not
include directors, coordinators or supervisors.
Prior to the use of any funds from this section for
personnel costs, the county board must receive authorization from
the state superintendent of schools. The state superintendent
shall require the district board to demonstrate: (1) The need
for the allocation; (2) efficiency and fiscal responsibility in
staffing; and (3) sharing of services with adjoining counties and
the regional educational service agency for that county in the use of the total local district board budget. District boards
shall make application for available funds for the next fiscal
year by the first day of May of each year. On or before the
first day of June, the state superintendent shall review all
applications and notify applying district boards of the
distribution of the allocation:
Provided, That for the school
year beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-three, only, the state superintendent shall review
all applications and notify applying district boards of the
distribution of the allocation on or before the first day of
July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three. Such funds shall
be distributed during the fiscal year as appropriate. The state
superintendent shall require the county board to demonstrate the
need for an allocation for personnel based upon the county's
inability to meet the requirements of state law or state board
policy:
Provided, however, That the funds available for
personnel under this section may not be used to increase the
total number of professional noninstructional personnel in the
central office beyond four. Such instructional improvement plan
shall be made available for distribution to the public at the
office of each affected county board.
(b) Commencing with the school year beginning on the first
day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three, an amount
not less than the amount required to meet debt service
requirements on any revenue bonds issued prior to the first day
of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, and the debt
service requirements on any revenue bonds issued for the purpose of refunding revenue bonds issued prior to the first day of
January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, shall be paid
into the school building capital improvements fund created by
section six, article nine-d of this chapter, and shall be used
solely for the purposes of said article. The school building
capital improvements fund shall not be utilized to meet the debt
services requirement on any revenue bonds or revenue refunding
bonds for which moneys contained within the school building debt
service fund have been pledged for repayment pursuant to said
section.
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