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H0541aa........................................................by EDUCATION
SCHOOLS - UNIFORMS - Amends existing law to provide that the board of
trustees of each school district shall have the power to develop a policy
regarding school uniforms; and to require boards of trustees which have
established a school uniform policy to assist in seeking financial
assistance in obtaining uniforms for those pupils whose parent or guardian
is economically disadvantaged.
02/10 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/11 Rpt prt - to Educ
03/08 Rpt out - to Gen Ord
03/09 Rpt out amen - to engros
03/10 Rpt engros - 1st rdg - to 2nd rdg as amen
03/13 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg as amen
03/14 3rd rdg as amen - PASSED - 58-6-6
AYES -- Alltus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bell, Bieter, Black, Boe,
Bruneel, Callister, Campbell, Clark, Crow, Cuddy, Deal, Denney,
Ellsworth, Field(13), Field(20), Gagner, Gould, Hadley, Hammond,
Hansen(23), Henbest, Hornbeck, Jaquet, Judd, Kellogg, Kempton, Kunz,
Lake, Linford, Loertscher, Mader, Marley, Meyer, Montgomery,
Mortensen, Moss, Moyle, Pearce, Pischner, Pomeroy, Reynolds,
Ridinger, Robison, Sali, Schaefer, Sellman, Smith, Smylie, Stevenson,
Taylor, Tilman, Trail, Wheeler, Wood, Zimmermann
NAYS -- Chase, Cheirrett, Hansen(29), Kendell, Shepherd, Stoicheff
Absent and excused -- Geddes, Jones, McKague, Ringo, Stone, Mr
Speaker
Floor Sponsor - Kunz
Title apvd - to Senate
03/15 Senate intro - 1st rdg as amen - to Educ
H0541
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-fifth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2000
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 541, As Amended
BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO SCHOOL UNIFORMS; AMENDING SECTION 33-512, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE
3 THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL HAVE THE POWER TO
4 DEVELOP A POLICY REGARDING SCHOOL UNIFORMS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
5 DATE.
6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
7 SECTION 1. That Section 33-512, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
8 amended to read as follows:
9 33-512. GOVERNANCE OF SCHOOLS. The board of trustees of each school dis-
10 trict shall have the following powers and duties:
11 1. To fix the days of the year and the hours of the day when schools
12 shall be in session. However:
13 (a) Each school district shall annually adopt and implement a school cal-
14 endar which provides its students at each grade level with the following
15 minimum number of instructional hours:
16 Grades Hours
17 9-12 990
18 4-8 900
19 1-3 810
20 K 450
21 (b) School assemblies, testing and other instructionally related activi-
22 ties involving students directly may be included in the required instruc-
23 tional hours.
24 (c) When approved by a local school board, annual instructional hour
25 requirements stated in paragraph (a) may be reduced as follows:
26 (i) Up to a total of twenty-two (22) hours to accommodate staff
27 development activities.
28 (ii) Up to a total of eleven (11) hours of emergency school closures
29 due to adverse weather conditions and facility failures.
30 However, transportation to and from school, passing times between classes,
31 noninstructional recess and lunch periods shall not be included.
32 (d) Student and staff activities related to the opening and closing of
33 the school year, grade reporting, program planning, staff meetings, and
34 other classroom and building management activities shall not be counted as
35 instructional time or in the reductions provided in paragraph (c)(i).
36 (e) For multiple shift programs, this rule applies to each shift (i.e.,
37 each student must have access to the minimum annual required hours of
38 instructions).
39 (f) The instructional time requirement for grade 12 students may be
40 reduced by action of a local school board for an amount of time not to
41 exceed eleven (11) hours of instructional time.
42 (g) The state superintendent of public instruction may grant an exemption
43 from the provisions of this section for an individual building within a
2
1 district, when the closure of that building, for unforeseen circumstances,
2 does not affect the attendance of other buildings within the district.
3 2. To adopt and carry on, and provide for the financing of, a total edu-
4 cational program for the district. Such programs in other than elementary
5 school districts may include education programs for out-of-school youth and
6 adults; and such districts may provide classes in kindergarten;
7 3. To provide, or require pupils to be provided with, suitable textbooks
8 and supplies, and for advice on textbook selections may appoint a textbook
9 adoption committee as provided in section 33-512A, Idaho Code;
10 4. To protect the morals and health of the pupils;
11 5. To exclude from school, children not of school age;
12 6. To prescribe rules for the disciplining of unruly or insubordinate
13 pupils, such rules to be included in a district discipline code adopted by the
14 board of trustees and a summarized version thereof to be provided in writing
15 at the beginning of each school year to the teachers and students in the dis-
16 trict in a manner consistent with the student's age, grade and level of aca-
17 demic achievement;
18 7. To exclude from school, pupils with contagious or infectious diseases
19 who are diagnosed or suspected as having a contagious or infectious disease or
20 those who are not immune and have been exposed to a contagious or infectious
21 disease; and to close school on order of the state board of health or local
22 health authorities;
23 8. To equip and maintain a suitable library or libraries in the school or
24 schools and to exclude therefrom, and from the schools, all books, tracts,
25 papers, and catechisms of sectarian nature;
26 9. To determine school holidays. Any listing of school holidays shall
27 include not less than the following: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Indepen-
28 dence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Other days listed in section
29 73-108, Idaho Code, if the same shall fall on a school day, shall be observed
30 with appropriate ceremonies; and any days the state board of education may
31 designate, following the proclamation by the governor, shall be school holi-
32 days;
33 10. To erect and maintain on each schoolhouse or school grounds a suitable
34 flagstaff or flagpole, and display thereon the flag of the United States of
35 America on all days, except during inclement weather, when the school is in
36 session; and for each Veterans Day, each school in session shall conduct and
37 observe an appropriate program of at least one (1) class period remembering
38 and honoring American veterans;
39 11. To prohibit entrance to each schoolhouse or school grounds, to pro-
40 hibit loitering in schoolhouses or on school grounds and to provide for the
41 removal from each schoolhouse or school grounds of any individual or individu-
42 als who disrupt the educational processes or whose presence is detrimental to
43 the morals, health, safety, academic learning or discipline of the pupils. A
44 person who disrupts the educational process or whose presence is detrimental
45 to the morals, health, safety, academic learning or discipline of the pupils
46 or who loiters in schoolhouses or on school grounds, is guilty of a misde-
47 meanor.
48 12. To supervise and regulate, including by contract with established
49 entities, those extracurricular activities which are by definition outside of
50 or in addition to the regular academic courses or curriculum of a public
51 school, and which extracurricular activities shall not be considered to be a
52 property, liberty or contract right of any student, and such extracurricular
53 activities shall not be deemed a necessary element of a public school educa-
54 tion, but shall be considered to be a privilege.
55 13. To govern the school district in compliance with state law and rules
3
1 of the state board of education.
2 14. To submit to the superintendent of public instruction not later than
3 July 1 of each year documentation which meets the reporting requirements of
4 the federal gun-free schools act of 1994 as contained within the federal
5 improving America's schools act of 1994.
6 15. To require that all persons hired for the first time by the district
7 or who have been in the employ of the district five (5) years or less, undergo
8 a criminal history check as provided in section 33-130, Idaho Code. All such
9 employees who are required to undergo a criminal history check shall obtain
10 the history check within three (3) months of starting employment, or for
11 employees with five (5) years or less with the district, within three (3)
12 months from the date such employee is notified that he must undergo a criminal
13 history check. Such employees shall pay the cost of the criminal history
14 check. If the criminal history check shows that the employee has been con-
15 victed of a felony crime enumerated in section 33-1208, Idaho Code, it shall
16 be grounds for immediate termination, dismissal or other personnel action of
17 the district, except that it shall be the right of the school district to
18 evaluate whether an individual convicted of one (1) of these crimes and having
19 been incarcerated for that crime shall be hired. The district may require any
20 or all persons who have been employed continuously with the same district for
21 more than five (5) years, to undergo a criminal history check as provided in
22 section 33-130, Idaho Code. If the district elects to require criminal history
23 checks of such employees, the district shall pay the costs of the criminal
24 history check or reimburse employees for such cost. A substitute teacher who
25 has undergone a criminal history check at the request of one (1) district in
26 which he has been employed as a substitute shall not be required to undergo an
27 additional criminal history check at the request of any other district in
28 which he is employed as a substitute if the teacher has obtained a criminal
29 history check within the previous three (3) years. If the district next
30 employing the substitute still elects to require another criminal history
31 check within the three (3) year period, that district shall pay the cost of
32 the criminal history check or reimburse the substitute teacher for such cost.
33 16. Each board of trustees of a school district shall be responsible for
34 developing a system for registering volunteers or contractors consistent with
35 maintaining a safe environment for their students.
36 17. To develop a policy regarding school uniforms. Nothing shall prevent a
37 board from limiting application of the policy to designated schools in the
38 district, or from authorizing pilot programs in one (1) or more schools in the
39 district. In developing the policy, the board may consult with administrative
40 and instructional staff of schools within the district, parents and legal
41 guardians of pupils who are enrolled in the district, and associations and
42 organizations representing licensed educational personnel within the district.
43 The policy shall:
44 (a) Describe the uniforms;
45 (b) Designate which pupils shall wear the uniforms;
46 (c) Designate the hours or events during which the uniforms shall be
47 worn; and
48 (d) Include a provision which allows a parent or guardian to stipulate in
49 writing that he does not wish his child to be subject to the school uni-
50 form policy.
51 If the board of trustees develops a policy that requires pupils to wear school
52 uniforms, the board shall, upon request, assist in seeking financial assis-
53 tance in obtaining a school uniform for any pupil whose parent or legal guard-
54 ian is economically disadvantaged.
4
1 SECTION 2. This act shall be in full force and effect on and after July
2 1, 2000.
AH0541
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-fifth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2000
Moved by Bieter
Seconded by Hadley
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE AMENDMENT TO H.B. NO. 541
1 AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 1
2 On page 3 of the printed bill, in line 36, delete "establish a policy that
3 requires pupils to wear" and insert: "develop a policy regarding"; in line 51,
4 delete "establishes" and insert: "develops"; and in line 52, delete "provide"
5 and insert: "assist in seeking".
6 CORRECTION TO TITLE
7 On page 1, in line 4, delete "ESTABLISH" and insert: "DEVELOP" and also in
8 line 4, delete "WHICH REQUIRES PUPILS TO WEAR" and insert: "REGARDING".
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 09712
A safe and disciplined learning environment is essential for Idaho students. In
response to growing levels of violence in our schools, many parents, teachers, and
school officials have come to see school uniforms as one positive and creative
way to reduce discipline problems and increase school safety.
The purpose of this legislation is to promote a legal framework whereby local
school boards may adopt a mandatory school uniform policy for some or all of
their schools.
FISCAL NOTE
Should a local school board choose to adopt a school uniform policy, the board
shall, upon request, provide financial assistance to economically disadvantaged
students. Consequently there will be an impact upon that local school board's
budget. There will be no fiscal impact upon the general fund of the State of Idaho
CONTACT: Representative Kent Kunz
(208) 332 - 1000
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/ FISCAL H 541