Act No. 127

Public Acts of 2004

Approved by the Governor

June 3, 2004

Filed with the Secretary of State

June 3, 2004

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 3, 2004

STATE OF MICHIGAN

92ND LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2004

Introduced by Reps. Walker, Moolenaar, Ward, Emmons, Richardville, Palmer, Vagnozzi, Stakoe, Gleason, Milosch and Palsrok

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 5666

AN ACT to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled "An act to make appropriations to aid in the support of the public schools and the intermediate school districts of the state; to make appropriations for certain other purposes relating to education; to provide for the disbursement of the appropriations; to supplement the school aid fund by the levy and collection of certain taxes; to authorize the issuance of certain bonds and provide for the security of those bonds; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state departments, the state board of education, and certain other boards and officials; to create certain funds and provide for their expenditure; to prescribe penalties; and to repeal acts and parts of acts," by amending section 101 (MCL 388.1701), as amended by 2003 PA 158.

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 the data filed by 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 department, 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, 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 2004-2005, 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) 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.

(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.

(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 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.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Secretary of the Senate

Approved

Governor