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H0276..........................................................by EDUCATION
SCHOOL UNIFORM POLICY - Amends existing law to provide that the board of
trustees of each school district shall have the power and duty to develop a
policy regarding school uniforms; to allow the boards to develop policy
which does not require school uniforms to be worn or to limit application
of a policy which does require school uniforms to be worn; and to require
boards, whose policy requires uniforms to be worn, to assist, upon request,
in seeking financial assistance in obtaining uniforms for any pupil whose
parent or guardian is economically disadvantaged.
02/16 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/19 Rpt prt - to Educ
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-sixth Legislature First Regular Session - 2001
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 276
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
4 AND DUTY TO DEVELOP A POLICY REGARDING SCHOOL UNIFORMS, TO ALLOW BOARDS TO
5 DEVELOP POLICY WHICH DOES NOT REQUIRE SCHOOL UNIFORMS TO BE WORN, TO ALLOW
6 BOARDS TO LIMIT APPLICATION OF A POLICY WHICH DOES REQUIRE SCHOOL UNIFORMS
7 TO BE WORN, TO REQUIRE BOARDS WHOSE POLICY REQUIRES UNIFORMS TO BE WORN,
8 TO ASSIST, UPON REQUEST, IN SEEKING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN OBTAINING UNI-
9 FORMS FOR ANY PUPIL WHOSE PARENT OR GUARDIAN IS ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED
10 AND TO MAKE A TECHNICAL CORRECTION.
11 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
12 SECTION 1. That Section 33-512, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
13 amended to read as follows:
14 33-512. GOVERNANCE OF SCHOOLS. The board of trustees of each school dis-
15 trict shall have the following powers and duties:
16 1. To fix the days of the year and the hours of the day when schools
17 shall be in session. However:
18 (a) Each school district shall annually adopt and implement a school cal-
19 endar which provides its students at each grade level with the following
20 minimum number of instructional hours:
21 Grades Hours
22 9-12 990
23 4-8 900
24 1-3 810
25 K 450
26 (b) School assemblies, testing and other instructionally related activi-
27 ties involving students directly may be included in the required instruc-
28 tional hours.
29 (c) When approved by a local school board, annual instructional hour
30 requirements stated in paragraph (a) may be reduced as follows:
31 (i) Up to a total of twenty-two (22) hours to accommodate staff
32 development activities.
33 (ii) Up to a total of eleven (11) hours of emergency school closures
34 due to adverse weather conditions and facility failures.
35 However, transportation to and from school, passing times between classes,
36 recess and lunch periods shall not be included.
37 (d) Student and staff activities related to the opening and closing of
38 the school year, grade reporting, program planning, staff meetings, and
39 other classroom and building management activities shall not be counted as
40 instructional time or in the reductions provided in paragraph (c)(i) of
41 this subsection.
42 (e) For multiple shift programs, this rule applies to each shift (i.e.,
43 each student must have access to the minimum annual required hours of
2
1 instructions).
2 (f) The instructional time requirement for grade 12 students may be
3 reduced by action of a local school board for an amount of time not to
4 exceed eleven (11) hours of instructional time.
5 (g) The state superintendent of public instruction may grant an exemption
6 from the provisions of this section for an individual building within a
7 district, when the closure of that building, for unforeseen circumstances,
8 does not affect the attendance of other buildings within the district.
9 2. To adopt and carry on, and provide for the financing of, a total edu-
10 cational program for the district. Such programs in other than elementary
11 school districts may include education programs for out-of-school youth and
12 adults; and such districts may provide classes in kindergarten;
13 3. To provide, or require pupils to be provided with, suitable textbooks
14 and supplies, and for advice on textbook selections may appoint a textbook
15 adoption committee as provided in section 33-512A, Idaho Code;
16 4. To protect the morals and health of the pupils;
17 5. To exclude from school, children not of school age;
18 6. To prescribe rules for the disciplining of unruly or insubordinate
19 pupils, such rules to be included in a district discipline code adopted by the
20 board of trustees and a summarized version thereof to be provided in writing
21 at the beginning of each school year to the teachers and students in the dis-
22 trict in a manner consistent with the student's age, grade and level of aca-
23 demic achievement;
24 7. To exclude from school, pupils with contagious or infectious diseases
25 who are diagnosed or suspected as having a contagious or infectious disease or
26 those who are not immune and have been exposed to a contagious or infectious
27 disease; and to close school on order of the state board of health or local
28 health authorities;
29 8. To equip and maintain a suitable library or libraries in the school or
30 schools and to exclude therefrom, and from the schools, all books, tracts,
31 papers, and catechisms of sectarian nature;
32 9. To determine school holidays. Any listing of school holidays shall
33 include not less than the following: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Indepen-
34 dence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Other days listed in section
35 73-108, Idaho Code, if the same shall fall on a school day, shall be observed
36 with appropriate ceremonies; and any days the state board of education may
37 designate, following the proclamation by the governor, shall be school holi-
38 days;
39 10. To erect and maintain on each schoolhouse or school grounds a suitable
40 flagstaff or flagpole, and display thereon the flag of the United States of
41 America on all days, except during inclement weather, when the school is in
42 session; and for each Veterans Day, each school in session shall conduct and
43 observe an appropriate program of at least one (1) class period remembering
44 and honoring American veterans;
45 11. To prohibit entrance to each schoolhouse or school grounds, to pro-
46 hibit loitering in schoolhouses or on school grounds and to provide for the
47 removal from each schoolhouse or school grounds of any individual or individu-
48 als who disrupt the educational processes or whose presence is detrimental to
49 the morals, health, safety, academic learning or discipline of the pupils. A
50 person who disrupts the educational process or whose presence is detrimental
51 to the morals, health, safety, academic learning or discipline of the pupils
52 or who loiters in schoolhouses or on school grounds, is guilty of a misde-
53 meanor.
54 12. To supervise and regulate, including by contract with established
55 entities, those extracurricular activities which are by definition outside of
3
1 or in addition to the regular academic courses or curriculum of a public
2 school, and which extracurricular activities shall not be considered to be a
3 property, liberty or contract right of any student, and such extracurricular
4 activities shall not be deemed a necessary element of a public school educa-
5 tion, but shall be considered to be a privilege.
6 13. To govern the school district in compliance with state law and rules
7 of the state board of education.
8 14. To submit to the superintendent of public instruction not later than
9 July 1 of each year documentation which meets the reporting requirements of
10 the federal gun-free schools act of 1994 as contained within the federal
11 improving America's schools act of 1994.
12 15. To require that all persons hired for the first time by the district
13 or who have been in the employ of the district five (5) years or less, undergo
14 a criminal history check as provided in section 33-130, Idaho Code. All such
15 employees who are required to undergo a criminal history check shall obtain
16 the history check within three (3) months of starting employment, or for
17 employees with five (5) years or less with the district, within three (3)
18 months from the date such employee is notified that he must undergo a criminal
19 history check. Such employees shall pay the cost of the criminal history
20 check. If the criminal history check shows that the employee has been con-
21 victed of a felony crime enumerated in section 33-1208, Idaho Code, it shall
22 be grounds for immediate termination, dismissal or other personnel action of
23 the district, except that it shall be the right of the school district to
24 evaluate whether an individual convicted of one (1) of these crimes and having
25 been incarcerated for that crime shall be hired. The district may require any
26 or all persons who have been employed continuously with the same district for
27 more than five (5) years, to undergo a criminal history check as provided in
28 section 33-130, Idaho Code. If the district elects to require criminal history
29 checks of such employees, the district shall pay the costs of the criminal
30 history check or reimburse employees for such cost. A substitute teacher who
31 has undergone a criminal history check at the request of one (1) district in
32 which he has been employed as a substitute shall not be required to undergo an
33 additional criminal history check at the request of any other district in
34 which he is employed as a substitute if the teacher has obtained a criminal
35 history check within the previous three (3) years. If the district next
36 employing the substitute still elects to require another criminal history
37 check within the three (3) year period, that district shall pay the cost of
38 the criminal history check or reimburse the substitute teacher for such cost.
39 16. Each board of trustees of a school district shall be responsible for
40 developing a system for registering volunteers or contractors consistent with
41 maintaining a safe environment for their students.
42 17. To develop a policy regarding school uniforms. In developing a policy
43 regarding school uniforms, the board may consult with administrative and
44 instructional staff of schools within the district, parents and legal guard-
45 ians of pupils who are enrolled in the district, and associations and organi-
46 zations representing licensed educational personnel within the district. Noth-
47 ing shall prevent a board from determining that district policy does not
48 require school uniforms to be worn. If the policy of a board requires school
49 uniforms to be worn, nothing shall prevent a board from limiting application
50 of the policy to designated schools in the district, or from authorizing pilot
51 programs in one (1) or more schools in the district. Any policy which requires
52 school uniforms to be worn shall:
53 (a) Describe the uniform;
54 (b) Designate which pupils shall wear the uniform;
55 (c) Designate the hours or events during which the uniform shall be worn;
4
1 (d) Include a provision which allows a parent or guardian to stipulate in
2 writing that the parent does not wish his child to be subject to the
3 school uniform policy; and
4 (e) Include a provision which requires the board, upon request, to assist
5 in seeking financial assistance in obtaining a school uniform for any
6 pupil whose parent or legal guardian is economically disadvantaged.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 10726
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 IMPACT
Should a local school board choose to adopt a school uniform policy, the board shall, upon
request, provide financial assistance to economically disadvantage 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
Name: Representative Kent Kunz
Phone: (208) 332-1120
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 276 Bill No.