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SB-0328, As Passed Senate, March 30, 2006

HOUSE SUBSTITUTE FOR

SENATE BILL NO. 328

A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled

"The state school aid act of 1979,"

by amending section 11f (MCL 388.1611f), as amended by 2005 PA 155.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

Sec. 11f. (1) From the appropriations under section 11, there

is allocated for the purposes of this section an amount not to

exceed $32,000,000.00 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006

and for each succeeding fiscal year through the fiscal year ending

September 30, 2008. Payments under this section will cease after

September 30, 2008. These allocations are for paying the amounts

described in subsection (4) to districts and intermediate

districts, other than those receiving a lump sum payment under

subsection (2), that were not plaintiffs in the consolidated cases

known as Durant v State of Michigan, Michigan supreme court docket

no. 104458-104492 and that, on or before March 2, 1998, submitted

to the state treasurer a board resolution waiving any right or

interest the district or intermediate district has or may have in

any claim or litigation based on or arising out of any claim or

potential claim through September 30, 1997 that is or was similar

to the claims asserted by the plaintiffs in the consolidated cases

known as Durant v State of Michigan. The waiver resolution shall be

in form and substance as required under subsection (7). The state

treasurer is authorized to accept such a waiver resolution on

behalf of this state. The amounts described in this subsection

represent offers of settlement and compromise of any claim or

claims that were or could have been asserted by these districts and

intermediate districts, as described in this subsection.

(2) In addition to any other money appropriated under this

act, there was appropriated from the state school aid fund an

amount not to exceed $1,700,000.00 for the fiscal year ending

September 30, 1999. This appropriation was for paying the amounts

described in this subsection to districts and intermediate

districts that were not plaintiffs in the consolidated cases known

as Durant v State of Michigan; that, on or before March 2, 1998,

submitted to the state treasurer a board resolution waiving any

right or interest the district or intermediate district had or may

have had in any claim or litigation based on or arising out of any

claim or potential claim through September 30, 1997 that is or was

similar to the claims asserted by the plaintiffs in the

consolidated cases known as Durant v State of Michigan; and for

which the total amount listed in section 11h and paid under this

section was less than $75,000.00. For a district or intermediate

district qualifying for a payment under this subsection, the entire

amount listed for the district or intermediate district in section

11h was paid in a lump sum on November 15, 1998 or on the next

business day following that date. The amounts paid under this

subsection represent offers of settlement and compromise of any

claim or claims that were or could have been asserted by these

districts and intermediate districts, as described in this

subsection.

(3) This section does not create any obligation or liability

of this state to any district or intermediate district that does

not submit a waiver resolution described in this section. This

section, any other provision of this act, and section 353e of the

management and budget act, 1984 PA 431, MCL 18.1353e, are not

intended to admit liability or waive any defense that is or would

be available to this state or its agencies, employees, or agents in

any litigation or future litigation with a district or intermediate

district.

(4) The amount paid each fiscal year to each district or

intermediate district under subsection (1) shall be 1/20 of the

total amount listed in section 11h for each listed district or

intermediate district that qualifies for a payment under subsection

(1). The amounts listed in section 11h and paid in part under this

subsection and in a lump sum under subsection (2) are offers of

settlement and compromise to each of these districts or

intermediate districts to resolve, in their entirety, any claim or

claims that these districts or intermediate districts may have

asserted for violations of section 29 of article IX of the state

constitution of 1963 through September 30, 1997, which claims are

or were similar to the claims asserted by the plaintiffs in the

consolidated cases known as Durant v State of Michigan. This

section, any other provision of this act, and section 353e of the

management and budget act, 1984 PA 431, MCL 18.1353e, shall not be

construed to constitute an admission of liability to the districts

or intermediate districts listed in section 11h or a waiver of any

defense that is or would have been available to the state or its

agencies, employees, or agents in any litigation or future

litigation with a district or intermediate district.

(5) The entire amount of each payment under subsection (1)

each fiscal year shall be paid on November 15 of the applicable

fiscal year or on the next business day following that date.

(6) Funds paid to a district or intermediate district under

this section shall be used only for textbooks, electronic

instructional material, software, technology, infrastructure or

infrastructure improvements, school buses, school security,

training for technology, an early intervening program described in

subsection (8), or to pay debt service on voter-approved bonds

issued by the district or intermediate district before the

effective date of this section. For intermediate districts only,

funds paid under this section may also be used for other

nonrecurring instructional expenditures including, but not limited

to, nonrecurring instructional expenditures for vocational

education, or for debt service for acquisition of technology for

academic support services. Funds received by an intermediate

district under this section may be used for projects conducted for

the benefit of its constituent districts at the discretion of the

intermediate board. To the extent payments under this section are

used by a district or intermediate district to pay debt service on

debt payable from millage revenues, and to the extent permitted by

law, the district or intermediate district may make a corresponding

reduction in the number of mills levied for that debt service.

(7) The resolution to be adopted and submitted by a district

or intermediate district under this section and section 11g shall

read as follows:

"Whereas, the board of ____________________ (name of district

or intermediate district) desires to settle and compromise, in

their entirety, any claim or claims that the district (or

intermediate district) has or had for violations of section 29 of

article IX of the state constitution of 1963, which claim or claims

are or were similar to the claims asserted by the plaintiffs in the

consolidated cases known as Durant v State of Michigan, Michigan

supreme court docket no. 104458-104492.

Whereas, the district (or intermediate district) agrees to

settle and compromise these claims for the consideration described

in sections 11f and 11g of the state school aid act of 1979, 1979

PA 94, MCL 388.1611f and 388.1611g, and in the amount specified for

the district (or intermediate district) in section 11h of the state

school aid act of 1979, 1979 PA 94, MCL 388.1611h.

Whereas, the board of _______________ (name of district or

intermediate district) is authorized to adopt this resolution.

Now, therefore, be it resolved as follows:

1. The board of ____________________ (name of district or

intermediate district) waives any right or interest it may have in

any claim or potential claim through September 30, 1997 relating to

the amount of funding the district or intermediate district is, or

may have been, entitled to receive under the state school aid act

of 1979, 1979 PA 94, MCL 388.1601 to 388.1772, or any other source

of state funding, by reason of the application of section 29 of

article IX of the state constitution of 1963, which claims or

potential claims are or were similar to the claims asserted by the

plaintiffs in the consolidated cases known as Durant v State of

Michigan, Michigan supreme court docket no. 104458-104492.

2. The board of ____________________ (name of district or

intermediate district) directs its secretary to submit a certified

copy of this resolution to the state treasurer no later than 5 p.m.

eastern standard time on March 2, 1998, and agrees that it will not

take any action to amend or rescind this resolution.

3. The board of ____________________ (name of district or

intermediate district) expressly agrees and understands that, if it

takes any action to amend or rescind this resolution, the state,

its agencies, employees, and agents shall have available to them

any privilege, immunity, and/or defense that would otherwise have

been available had the claims or potential claims been actually

litigated in any forum.

4. This resolution is contingent on continued payments by the

state each fiscal year as determined under sections 11f and 11g of

the state school aid act of 1979, 1979 PA 94, MCL 388.1611f and

388.1611g. However, this resolution shall be an irrevocable waiver

of any claim to amounts actually received by the school district or

intermediate school district under sections 11f and 11g of the

state school aid act of 1979.".

(8) An early intervening program that uses funds received

under this section shall meet either or both of the following:

(a) Shall monitor individual pupil learning for pupils in

grades K to 3 and provide specific support or learning strategies

to pupils in grades K to 3 as early as possible in order to reduce

the need for special education placement. The program shall include

literacy and numeracy supports, sensory motor skill development,

behavior supports, instructional consultation for teachers, and the

development of a parent/school learning plan. Specific support or

learning strategies may include support in or out of the general

classroom in areas including reading, writing, math, visual memory,

motor skill development, behavior, or language development. These

would be provided based on an understanding of the individual

child's learning needs.

(b) Shall provide early intervening strategies for pupils in

grades K to 3 using school-wide systems of academic and behavioral

supports and shall be scientifically research-based. The strategies

to be provided shall include at least pupil performance indicators

based upon response to intervention, instructional consultation for

teachers, and ongoing progress monitoring. A school-wide system of

academic and behavioral support should be based on a support team

available to the classroom teachers. The members of this team could

include the principal, special education staff, reading teachers,