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S1198..........................................................by EDUCATION ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS - HARDSHIP - Amends existing law to clarify the authority of the State Board of Education to designate and retain hardship elementary schools. 02/15 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/16 Rpt prt - to Educ
S1198|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fifth Legislature First Regular Session - 1999IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1198 BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO HARDSHIP ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS; AMENDING SECTION 33-1003, IDAHO CODE, 3 TO CLARIFY THE AUTHORITY OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO DESIGNATE AND 4 RETAIN HARDSHIP ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND TO MAKE A TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 6 SECTION 1. That Section 33-1003, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 7 amended to read as follows: 8 33-1003. SPECIAL APPLICATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT PROGRAM. 1. Decrease 9 in Average Daily Attendance. -- Any school district which has a decrease in 10 total average daily attendance of one percent (1%) of its average daily atten- 11 dance in the then current school year from the total average daily attendance 12 used for determining the allowance in the educational support program for the 13 school year immediately preceding, the allowance of funds from the educational 14 support program may be based on the average daily attendance of the school 15 year immediately preceding, less one percent (1%). When this provision is 16 applied, the decrease in average daily attendance shall be proportionately 17 distributed among the various categories of support units that are appropriate 18 for the district. 19 2. Application of Support Program to Separate Schools in District. 20 a. Separate Elementary School. -- Any separate elementary school shall be 21 allowed to participate in the educational support program as though the 22 school were the only elementary school operated by the district. 23 b. Hardship Elementary School. -- Upon application of the board of 24 trustees of a school district, the state board of education is empowered 25 to determine that a given elementary school or elementary schools within 26 the school district, not otherwise qualifying, are entitled to be counted 27 as a separate elementary school as defined in section 33-1001, Idaho Code, 28 when, in the sole discretion of the state board of education, 29 special conditions , as such may be determined by the state board of 30 education, exist warranting theretentiondesig- 31 nation of the school as a separate attendance unit and the reten- 32 tion or operation of such school or schools results in a 33 nsubstantialincrease in cost per pupil in average 34 daily attendance above the average cost per pupil in average daily atten- 35 dance of the remainder of the district's elementary grade school pupils. 36 Such hardship designations made by the state board of education 37 shall be reviewed by the state board of education no less than once every 38 three (3) years to determine whether the special conditions continue to 39 warrant hardship status. 40 c. Separate Secondary School. -- Any separate secondary school shall be 41 allowed to participate in the educational support program as though the 42 school were the only secondary school operated by the district. 43 d. Minimum Pupils Required. -- Any elementary school having less than ten 2 1 (10) pupils in average daily attendance shall not be allowed to partici- 2 pate in the state or county support program unless the school has been 3 approved for operation by the state board of education. 4 3. Remote Schools. -- The board of trustees of any Idaho school district 5 which operates and maintains a school which is remote and isolated from the 6 other schools of the state because of geographical or topographical condi- 7 tions may petition the state board of education to recognize and approve the 8 school as a remote and necessary school. The petition shall be in form and 9 content approved by the state board of education and shall provide such infor- 10 mation as the state board of education may require. Petitions for the recogni- 11 tion of a school as a remote and necessary school shall be filed annually at 12 least ninety (90) days prior to the date of the annual meeting of the board of 13 trustees as established in section 33-510, Idaho Code. 14 Within forty-five (45) days after the receipt of a petition for the recog- 15 nition of a remote and necessary school, the state board of education shall 16 either approve or disapprove the petition and notify the board of trustees of 17 its decision. Schools which the state board of education approves as being 18 necessary and remote shall be allowed adequate funding within the support pro- 19 gram for an acceptable educational program for the students of the school. In 20 the case of a remote and necessary secondary school, grades 7-12, the educa- 21 tional program shall be deemed acceptable when, in the opinion of the state 22 board of education, the accreditation standard relating to staff size, estab- 23 lished in accordance with section 33-119, Idaho Code, has been met. The final 24 determination of an acceptable program and adequate funding in the case of a 25 remote and necessary elementary school shall be made by the state board of 26 education. 27 4. Support Program When District Boundaries are Changed. 28 a. In new districts formed by the division of a district, the support 29 program computed for the district divided in its last year of operation, 30 shall be apportioned to the new districts created by the division, in the 31 proportion that the average daily attendance of pupils, elementary and 32 secondary combined, residing in the area of each new district so created, 33 is to the average daily attendance of all pupils, elementary and secondary 34 combined, in the district divided in its last year of operation before the 35 division. 36 b. When boundaries of districts are changed by excision or annexation of 37 territory, the support program of any district from which territory is 38 excised for the last year of operation before such excision shall be 39 divided, and apportioned among the districts involved, as prescribed in 40 subsection 4 . a. hereof. 41 c. In new districts formed by consolidation of former districts, the sup- 42 port program allowance for a seven (7) year period following the formation 43 of the new district, shall not be less than the combined support program 44 allowances of the component districts in the last year of operation 45 before consolidation. 46 5. For the fiscal year which commences on July 1, 1986, and for each suc- 47 ceeding fiscal year, any school district whose adjusted market value for 48 assessment purposes decreases forty percent (40%) or more from the previous 49 year's adjusted market value for assessment purposes as such valuation existed 50 on December 31, is eligible to receive an adjustment to its educational sup- 51 port program entitlement, subject to qualifications as follows: 52 a. The adjusted market value for assessment purposes has decreased forty 53 percent (40%) or more from the previous year's adjusted market value for 54 assessment purposes as such valuation existed on December 31; and 55 b. The school levy to be certified for the general maintenance and opera- 3 1 tion fund shall be no less than four-tenths of one percent (.4%); and 2 c. An eligible school district has made application to the state depart- 3 ment of education for an adjustment to entitlement from the state educa- 4 tional support program on or before June 1 of the fiscal year. Such appli- 5 cation must document the need for additional funds and must include a dis- 6 trict plan to minimize impact of a reduced local tax base.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS08988
The purpose of this legislation is to clarify the statutory
authority of the State Board of Education to determine when an
elementary school has a legitimate hardship status. Last fall
the board approved a hardship elementary school for the first
time in over twenty years but the Attorney General's Office
opined that the grounds the Board used were beyond the confines
of the statute. Because of this, there is no approved criteria
upon which such hardship designations can be made. This renders
the current statute unusable. This bill would vest the Board,
as the lead policy body for public education, the discretion to
make such determinations based on special conditions adopted by
the Board. As a safeguard, the Board must review such decisions
at least every three years to ensure that either the hardship
still exists or that the designation will be removed.
FISCAL NOTE
An approved hardship elementary school is funded as a
separate elementary school. A separate elementary school is
funded as if it were the only elementary school in the
district, usually resulting in a lower divisor(s) (Idaho code
33-1002). This generates an increased number of support units,
and therefore additional funds to a school district with a
hardship school. The exception is if the separate elementary
school has attendance of 300 or more average daily attendance,
in which case the maximum divisors are used. Additional funding
for a hardship elementary school will dilute the amount of
funds available for other students throughout the state. The
effect of funding one hardship elementary school is negligible.
The materiality of the fiscal impact is a function of the
number of approved hardship elementary schools approved by the
State Board of Education.
CONTACT: Mike Killworth
334-2270
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/ FISCAL NOTE S119B