SB-0330, As Passed House, March 28, 2006
HOUSE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 330
A bill to amend 1979 PA 94, entitled
"The state school aid act of 1979,"
by amending section 31a (MCL 388.1631a), as amended by 2005 PA 155.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 31a. (1) From the money appropriated in section 11, there
is allocated for 2005-2006 an amount not to exceed $314,200,000.00
for payments to eligible districts and eligible public school
academies
under this section. Subject to subsection (12) (13),
the amount of the additional allowance under this section shall be
based on the number of actual pupils in membership in the district
or public school academy who met the income eligibility criteria
for free breakfast, lunch, or milk in the immediately preceding
state fiscal year, as determined under the Richard B. Russell
national school lunch act, 42 USC 1751 to 1769h, and reported to
the department by October 31 of the immediately preceding fiscal
year and adjusted not later than December 31 of the immediately
preceding fiscal year. However, for a public school academy that
began operations as a public school academy after the pupil
membership count day of the immediately preceding school year, the
basis for the additional allowance under this section shall be the
number of actual pupils in membership in the public school academy
who met the income eligibility criteria for free breakfast, lunch,
or milk in the current state fiscal year, as determined under the
Richard B. Russell national school lunch act.
(2) To be eligible to receive funding under this section,
other than funding under subsection (6), a district or public
school academy that has not been previously determined to be
eligible shall apply to the department, in a form and manner
prescribed by the department, and a district or public school
academy must meet all of the following:
(a) The sum of the district's or public school academy's
combined state and local revenue per membership pupil in the
current state fiscal year, as calculated under section 20, plus the
amount of the district's per pupil allocation under section 20j(2),
is less than or equal to $6,500.00 adjusted by the dollar amount of
the difference between the basic foundation allowance under section
20 for the current state fiscal year and $5,000.00, minus $200.00.
(b) The district or public school academy agrees to use the
funding only for purposes allowed under this section and to comply
with the program and accountability requirements under this
section.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, an
eligible district or eligible public school academy shall receive
under this section for each membership pupil in the district or
public school academy who met the income eligibility criteria for
free breakfast, lunch, or milk, as determined under the Richard B.
Russell national school lunch act and as reported to the department
by October 31 of the immediately preceding fiscal year and adjusted
not later than December 31 of the immediately preceding fiscal
year, an amount per pupil equal to 11.5% of the sum of the
district's foundation allowance or public school academy's per
pupil amount calculated under section 20, plus the amount of the
district's per pupil allocation under section 20j(2), not to exceed
$6,500.00 adjusted by the dollar amount of the difference between
the basic foundation allowance under section 20 for the current
state fiscal year and $5,000.00, minus $200.00, or of the public
school academy's per membership pupil amount calculated under
section 20 for the current state fiscal year. A public school
academy that began operations as a public school academy after the
pupil membership count day of the immediately preceding school year
shall receive under this section for each membership pupil in the
public school academy who met the income eligibility criteria for
free breakfast, lunch, or milk, as determined under the Richard B.
Russell national school lunch act and as reported to the department
by October 31 of the current fiscal year and adjusted not later
than December 31 of the current fiscal year, an amount per pupil
equal to 11.5% of the public school academy's per membership pupil
amount calculated under section 20 for the current state fiscal
year.
(4) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a district
or public school academy receiving funding under this section shall
use that money only to provide instructional programs and direct
noninstructional services, including, but not limited to, medical
or counseling services, for at-risk pupils; for school health
clinics; and for the purposes of subsection (5) or (6). In
addition, a district that is organized as a school district of the
first class under the revised school code or a district or public
school academy in which at least 50% of the pupils in membership
met the income eligibility criteria for free breakfast, lunch, or
milk in the immediately preceding state fiscal year, as determined
and reported as described in subsection (1), may use not more than
15% of the funds it receives under this section for school
security. A district or public school academy shall not use any of
that money for administrative costs or to supplant another program
or other funds, except for funds allocated to the district or
public school academy under this section in the immediately
preceding year and already being used by the district or public
school academy for at-risk pupils. The instruction or direct
noninstructional services provided under this section may be
conducted before or after regular school hours or by adding extra
school days to the school year and may include, but are not limited
to, tutorial services, early childhood programs to serve children
age 0 to 5, and reading programs as described in former section 32f
as in effect for 2001-2002. A tutorial method may be conducted with
paraprofessionals working under the supervision of a certificated
teacher. The ratio of pupils to paraprofessionals shall be between
10:1 and 15:1. Only 1 certificated teacher is required to supervise
instruction using a tutorial method. As used in this subsection,
"to supplant another program" means to take the place of a
previously existing instructional program or direct
noninstructional services funded from a funding source other than
funding under this section.
(5) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (11), a
district or public school academy that receives funds under this
section and that operates a school breakfast program under section
1272a of the revised school code, MCL 380.1272a, shall use from the
funds received under this section an amount, not to exceed $10.00
per pupil for whom the district or public school academy receives
funds under this section, necessary to operate the school breakfast
program.
(6) From the funds allocated under subsection (1), there is
allocated for 2005-2006 an amount not to exceed $3,743,000.00 to
support teen health centers. These grants shall be awarded for 3
consecutive years beginning with 2003-2004 in a form and manner
approved jointly by the department and the department of community
health. Each grant recipient shall remain in compliance with the
terms of the grant award or shall forfeit the grant award for the
duration of the 3-year period after the noncompliance. Beginning in
2004-2005, to continue to receive funding for a teen health center
under this section a grant recipient shall ensure that the teen
health center has an advisory committee and that at least one-third
of the members of the advisory committee are parents or legal
guardians of school-aged children. A teen health center program
shall recognize the role of a child's parents or legal guardian in
the physical and emotional well-being of the child. If any funds
allocated under this subsection are not used for the purposes of
this subsection for the fiscal year in which they are allocated,
those unused funds shall be used that fiscal year to avoid or
minimize any proration that would otherwise be required under
subsection (12)
(13) for that fiscal year.
(7) Each district or public school academy receiving funds
under this section shall submit to the department by July 15 of
each fiscal year a report, not to exceed 10 pages, on the usage by
the district or public school academy of funds under this section,
which report shall include at least a brief description of each
program conducted by the district or public school academy using
funds under this section, the amount of funds under this section
allocated to each of those programs, the number of at-risk pupils
eligible for free or reduced price school lunch who were served by
each of those programs, and the total number of at-risk pupils
served by each of those programs. If a district or public school
academy does not comply with this subsection, the department shall
withhold an amount equal to the August payment due under this
section until the district or public school academy complies with
this subsection. If the district or public school academy does not
comply with this subsection by the end of the state fiscal year,
the withheld funds shall be forfeited to the school aid fund.
(8) In order to receive funds under this section, a district
or public school academy shall allow access for the department or
the department's designee to audit all records related to the
program for which it receives those funds. The district or public
school academy shall reimburse the state for all disallowances
found in the audit.
(9)
Subject to subsections (5), (6), and (11),
and (12), any
district may use up to 100% of the funds it receives under this
section to reduce the ratio of pupils to teachers in grades K-6, or
any combination of those grades, in school buildings in which the
percentage of pupils described in subsection (1) exceeds the
district's aggregate percentage of those pupils. Subject to
subsections
(5), (6), and (11),
and (12), if a district obtains a
waiver from the department, the district may use up to 100% of the
funds it receives under this section to reduce the ratio of pupils
to teachers in grades K-6, or any combination of those grades, in
school buildings in which the percentage of pupils described in
subsection (1) is at least 60% of the district's aggregate
percentage of those pupils and at least 30% of the total number of
pupils enrolled in the school building. To obtain a waiver, a
district must apply to the department and demonstrate to the
satisfaction of the department that the class size reductions would
be in the best interests of the district's at-risk pupils.
(10) A district or public school academy may use funds
received under this section for adult high school completion,
general educational development (G.E.D.) test preparation, adult
English as a second language, or adult basic education programs
described in section 107.
(11) For an individual school or schools operated by a
district or public school academy receiving funds under this
section that have been determined by the department to meet the
adequate yearly progress standards of the federal no child left
behind act of 2001, Public Law 107-110, in both mathematics and
English language arts at all applicable grade levels for all
applicable subgroups, the district or public school academy may
submit to the department an application for flexibility in using
the funds received under this section that are attributable to the
pupils in the school or schools. The application shall identify the
affected school or schools and the affected funds and shall contain
a plan for using the funds for specific purposes identified by the
district that are designed to benefit at-risk pupils in the school,
but that may be different from the purposes otherwise allowable
under this section. The department shall approve the application if
the department determines that the purposes identified in the plan
are reasonably designed to benefit at-risk pupils in the school. If
the department does not act to approve or disapprove an application
within 30 days after it is submitted to the department, the
application is considered to be approved. If an application for
flexibility in using the funds is approved, the district may use
the funds identified in the application for any purpose identified
in the plan.
(12) A district or public school academy that receives funds
under this section may use funds it receives under this section to
implement and operate an early intervening program for pupils in
grades K to 3 that meets either or both of the following:
(a) Monitors individual pupil learning and provides specific
support or learning strategies to pupils 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) Provides early intervening strategies using school-wide
systems of academic and behavioral supports and is 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, and other
appropriate personnel who would be available to systematically
study the needs of the individual child and work with the teacher
to match instruction to the needs of the individual child.
(13) (12)
If necessary, and before any proration required
under section 11, the department shall prorate payments under this
section by reducing the amount of the per pupil payment under this
section by a dollar amount calculated by determining the amount by
which the amount necessary to fully fund the requirements of this
section exceeds the maximum amount allocated under this section and
then dividing that amount by the total statewide number of pupils
who met the income eligibility criteria for free breakfast, lunch,
or milk in the immediately preceding fiscal year, as described in
subsection (1).
(14) (13)
If a district is formed by consolidation after
June 1, 1995, and if 1 or more of the original districts was not
eligible before the consolidation for an additional allowance under
this section, the amount of the additional allowance under this
section for the consolidated district shall be based on the number
of pupils described in subsection (1) enrolled in the consolidated
district who reside in the territory of an original district that
was eligible before the consolidation for an additional allowance
under this section.
(15) (14)
A district or public school academy that does not
meet the eligibility requirement under subsection (2)(a) is
eligible for funding under this section if at least 1/4 of the
pupils in membership in the district or public school academy met
the income eligibility criteria for free breakfast, lunch, or milk
in the immediately preceding state fiscal year, as determined and
reported as described in subsection (1), and at least 4,500 of the
pupils in membership in the district or public school academy met
the income eligibility criteria for free breakfast, lunch, or milk
in the immediately preceding state fiscal year, as determined and
reported as described in subsection (1). A district or public
school academy that is eligible for funding under this section
because the district meets the requirements of this subsection
shall receive under this section for each membership pupil in the
district or public school academy who met the income eligibility
criteria for free breakfast, lunch, or milk in the immediately
preceding fiscal year, as determined and reported as described in
subsection (1), an amount per pupil equal to 11.5% of the sum of
the district's foundation allowance or public school academy's per
pupil allocation under section 20, plus the amount of the
district's per pupil allocation under section 20j(2), not to exceed
$6,500.00 adjusted by the dollar amount of the difference between
the basic foundation allowance under section 20 for the current
state fiscal year and $5,000.00, minus $200.00.
(16) (15)
As used in this section, "at-risk pupil"
means a
pupil for whom the district has documentation that the pupil meets
at least 2 of the following criteria: is a victim of child abuse or
neglect; is below grade level in English language and communication
skills or mathematics; is a pregnant teenager or teenage parent; is
eligible for a federal free or reduced-price lunch subsidy; has
atypical behavior or attendance patterns; or has a family history
of school failure, incarceration, or substance abuse. For pupils
for whom the results of at least the applicable Michigan education
assessment program (MEAP) test have been received, at-risk pupil
also includes a pupil who does not meet the other criteria under
this subsection but who did not achieve at least a score of level 2
on the most recent MEAP English language arts, mathematics, or
science test for which results for the pupil have been received.
For pupils for whom the results of the Michigan merit examination
have been received, at-risk pupil also includes a pupil who does
not meet the other criteria under this subsection but who did not
achieve proficiency on the reading component of the most recent
Michigan merit examination for which results for the pupil have
been received, did not achieve proficiency on the mathematics
component of the most recent Michigan merit examination for which
results for the pupil have been received, or did not achieve basic
competency on the science component of the most recent Michigan
merit examination for which results for the pupil have been
received. For pupils in grades K-3, at-risk pupil also includes a
pupil who is at risk of not meeting the district's core academic
curricular objectives in English language arts or mathematics.