H.B. No. 0093

School finance-amendments.

Sponsored By: Joint Education Interim Committee

AN ACT relating to school finance; providing assistance to districts for reading assessment and intervention programs; implementing the adjustment to the education resource block grant model for experience and longevity of school district classified staff; modifying the at-risk adjustment to include mobile students; modifying the small school adjustment; providing a foundation program hold harmless through school year 2005-2006; clarifying Wyoming cost-of-living index computations; imposing duties upon the department of education; providing for school finance studies and reporting; providing appropriations; and providing for effective dates.

01/30/2004 Bill Number Assigned

02/09/2004 H Received for Introduction

02/10/2004 H Introduced and Referred to H04

ROLL CALL

Ayes: Representative(s) Alden, Anderson, R., Bagby, Berger, Brechtel, Buchanan, Bucholz, Childers, Cohee, Cooper, Diercks, Edwards, Esquibel, Gentile, Gilmore, Hageman, Harshman, Harvey, Hastert, Hinckley, Iekel, Illoway, Jansen, Johnson, L., Johnson, W., Jones, Jorgensen, Landon, Latta, Law, Lockhart, Luthi, Martin, McMurtrey, McOmie, Meuli, Meyer, Miller, D., Morgan, Nicholas, Olsen, Osborn, Parady, Petersen, Philp, Powers, Prosser, Reese, Robinson, Ross, Semlek, Simpson, Slater, Thompson, Walsh, Warren, Wasserburger and Wostenberg.

Excused: Representative(s) Baker and Tipton.

Ayes 58 Nays 0 Excused 2 Absent 0 Conflicts 0

02/11/2004 H04 Recommended Amend and Do Pass

ROLL CALL

Ayes: Representative(s) Bucholz, Gentile, Hinckley, Lockhart, McOmie, Robinson, Semlek, Wasserburger and Wostenberg

Ayes 9 Nays 0 Excused 0 Absent 0 Conflicts 0

02/11/2004 H Placed on General File

02/11/2004 H Rereferred to H02

02/17/2004 H02 Recommended Amend and Do Pass

ROLL CALL

Ayes: Representative(s) Jones, Jorgensen, Luthi, Meuli, Nicholas, Philp and Warren

Ayes 7 Nays 0 Excused 0 Absent 0 Conflicts 0

02/17/2004 H Placed on General File

HB0093HS002/FAILED

Page 25-After line 18 Delete the first standing committee amendment (HB0093HS001/A) to this line. NICHOLAS, CHAIRMAN

HB0093HS001/ADOPTED

Page 1-line 11 After "reporting;" insert "providing assistance to school districts for provision of full-day kindergarten programs;".

Page 23-line 21 Delete "such time as".

Page 24-After line 14 insert:

"[SECTION 8. FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS]

Section 801.

(a)  To provide financial assistance to school districts for the provision of full-day kindergarten programs, each school district shall for school year 2004-2005, receive an amount payable from the school foundation program account determined in accordance with subsection (b) of this section. This payment shall be made by the department of education from amounts within the foundation program account appropriated by the legislature for purposes of this section and shall be in addition to the foundation program amount determined for each district under W.S. 21‑13‑309(p). If there is an insufficient amount within the foundation program account for payments under this section, the department shall make a pro rata reduction in the payments to districts for each kindergarten student.

(b)  Payments to school districts for full-day kindergarten programs shall be computed by multiplying the number of students enrolled in full-day kindergarten programs within each district during school year 2004-2005 by one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), and shall be distributed to districts on February 15 together with foundation program distributions for school year 2004-2005 under W.S. 21‑13‑313. For purposes of computations under this subsection, the kindergarten enrollment count for each district shall be the enrollment taken during October, 2004.

(c)  Each district shall report expenditures of amounts distributed under subsection (b) of this section to the department in the manner and at the time specified by the department. Not later than September 1, 2005, the department shall provide a report of expenditures broken down by district and expenditure category to the joint education interim committee.".

Page 25-After line 18 insert:

"(c)  Six million dollars ($6,000,000.00) is appropriated from the school foundation program account to the department of education for distributions to school districts for full-day kindergarten programs pursuant to section 801 of this act.".

Page 26-line 5 Delete "801" insert "901(a) and (b)".

Renumber as necessary. WASSERBURGER, CHAIRMAN

HB0093HW001/ADOPTED

Page 13-line 5 After ";" insert "and".

Page 13-line 12 Delete "; and" insert ".".

Page 13 lines 14 through 23 Delete.

Page 14-lines 1 and 2 Delete.

Page 14-line 11 After ";" insert "and".

Page 14-line 16 Delete "; and" insert ".".

Page 14-lines 18 through 20 Delete.

Page 15-line 3 After ";" insert "and".

Page 15-line 9 Delete "; and" insert ".".

Page 15-lines 11 through 13 Delete.

Page 15-line 19 After stricken "." insert "and".

Page 15-line 23 Delete "; and" insert ".".

Page 16-lines 1 through 3 Delete.

Page 16-line 13 After ";" insert "and".

Page 16-line 17 Delete "; and" insert ".".

Page 16-lines 19 through 22 Delete. POWERS, WASSERBURGER, HINCKLEY

02/19/2004 H Passed CoW

HB0093H2001/ADOPTED

Page 21-line 13 After "shall" insert "through consultants to the legislature,". LOCKHART

02/20/2004 H Passed 2nd Reading

02/23/2004 H Passed 3rd Reading

ROLL CALL

Ayes: Representative(s) Alden, Bagby, Berger, Brechtel, Buchanan, Bucholz, Childers, Cohee, Cooper, Diercks, Edwards, Esquibel, Gentile, Gilmore, Hageman, Harshman, Harvey, Hastert, Hinckley, Iekel, Illoway, Jansen, Johnson, L., Johnson, W., Jones, Jorgensen, Landon, Latta, Law, Lockhart, Luthi, Martin, McMurtrey, McOmie, Meuli, Meyer, Miller, D., Morgan, Nicholas, Olsen, Osborn, Parady, Petersen, Powers, Prosser, Reese, Robinson, Ross, Semlek, Simpson, Slater, Thompson, Walsh, Warren and Wostenberg.

Nays: Representative(s) Baker, Philp and Wasserburger.

Excused: Representative(s) Anderson, R. and Tipton.

Ayes 55 Nays 3 Excused 2 Absent 0 Conflicts 0

02/24/2004 S Received for Introduction

02/24/2004 S Introduced and Referred to S04

02/26/2004 S04 Recommended Amend and Do Pass

ROLL CALL

Ayes: Senator(s) Anderson, J., Caller, Coe, Peck and Sessions

Ayes 5 Nays 0 Excused 0 Absent 0 Conflicts 0

02/26/2004 S Placed on General File

HB0093SS001/ADOPTED [TO ENGROSSED COPY]

Page 1-line 12 After ";" insert "clarifying and modifying charter school funding;".

Page 25-After line 2 insert and renumber:

[SECTION 9.  CHARTER SCHOOLS]

Section 901.  W.S. 21‑3‑314(c)(i)(intro) and (d) is amended to read:

21‑3‑314.  Students counted amount district ADM; determination of charter school funding.

(c)  As part of the charter school contract, the charter school and the school district shall agree on funding and any services to be provided by the school district to the charter school. The charter school and the school district shall begin discussions on the contract using the following revenue assumptions:

(i)  The charter school shall be entitled to the benefit of ninety-five percent (95%) of the foundation program amount computed under the appropriate prototypical school model level specified under W.S. 21‑13‑309(m)(ii) for 21‑13‑309(p) based upon the average daily membership of the charter school, less:

(d)  In addition to subsection (c) of this section, the charter school, at its discretion, may negotiate with the school district for funding under the adjustments to the appropriate prototypical school model levels under W.S. 21-13-309(n). The charter school may also contract with the school district for centralized services provided by the district including custodial services, routine maintenance, curriculum, media services, libraries and federally required educational services such as special education.

Section 902.  In the absence of any contractual agreement between a charter school and a school district specifying otherwise, the computation of the minimum school foundation program entitlement for charter schools commencing school year 2004-2005 and each school year thereafter, shall except for special education and transportation, include all adjustments to the appropriate prototypical dollar per ADM value as provided by section 901 of this act.".

Page 27-line 2 Delete "901(a)" insert "1001(a)". COE, CHAIRMAN

02/27/2004 S Passed CoW

HB0093S2001/ADOPTED [TO ENGROSSED COPY]

Page 19-line 2 After "The" delete balance of line.

Page 19-lines 3 through 7 Delete.

Page 19-line 8 Delete "the". MOCKLER

HB0093S2002/ADOPTED [TO ENGROSSED COPY]

Page 1-line 12 After ";" and following the Standing Committee Amendment (HB0093SS001/AE) to this line, insert "establishing a summer school grant program;".

Page 25-After line 2 and following the Standing Committee Amendment (HB0093SS001/AE) to this line, insert and renumber:

"[SECTION 10. SUMMER SCHOOL GRANT PROGRAM]

Section 1001.

(a)  The summer school grant program is established for the 2004 summer session to provide financial assistance to districts for the provision of intervention and remediation instruction to students beyond the required school year specified by law under W.S. 21‑4‑301 and 21‑13‑307(a)(ii). Assistance made available under the grant program shall supplement district intervention and remediation programs and shall be made available to students requiring additional instruction to master statewide content and performance standards prescribed by the state board of education under W.S. 21‑2‑304(a)(iii) or otherwise seeking credit recovery for promotion to the subsequent grade level. Summer school programs eligible for assistance under this section shall also:

(i)  At minimum, provide each participating student the opportunity to receive remediation and intervention instruction in mathematics and reading and language arts;

(ii)  Provide a minimum of sixty (60) instructional hours to each elementary school student during the summer school session, and a minimum of sixty (60) instructional hours per subject to each middle and high school student unless the middle or high school student otherwise demonstrates proficiency prior to receiving the full sixty (60) hours of instruction;

(iii)  To the extent practical and reasonable, limit class size to not more than ten (10) students for elementary level programs and to not more than fifteen (15) students for middle and high school level programs;

(iv)  Require the development of an individual student learning plan for each participating student;

(v)  Require program instructors to receive training in research-based strategies focusing on individualized instruction at the level, duration and content specified by rule and regulation of the department of education;

(vi)  To assure effectiveness of teaching and program quality, provide for program monitoring by a school principal or superintendent trained in research-based instructional strategies for at-risk students as prescribed by rule and regulation of the department of education.

(b)  To receive grant assistance under this section, a district shall apply to the department of education on or before May 1, 2004. Application review by the department shall be completed by June 1, 2004. On or before June 1, 2004, districts shall be notified by the department of any estimated grant amount to be made available to the district during the 2004 summer school session. Application to the department shall be in a manner and form prescribed by the department and shall include:

(i)  An estimate of the number of students to be enrolled in the summer school intervention and remediation program for which a grant is requested, broken down by grade level;

(ii)  A description of program content including subjects offered and additional information depicting compliance with program requirements specified under subsection (a) of this section;

(iii)  Evidence of specific professional development and training for each summer school instructor;

(iv)  Other information determined necessary to implement this section as may be required by the department.

(c)  Grant payments shall be determined for each recipient district under this section based upon the larger of the following amounts:

(i)  Multiply the number of students within the district participating in the summer school program by five hundred dollars ($500.00), subject to a per district maximum amount computed by multiplying five hundred dollars ($500.00) times a number equal to ten percent (10%) of the district's elementary or secondary school enrollment, as applicable, for the school year immediately preceding the summer school session for which the grant is requested; or

(ii)  One (1) of the following minimum amounts, as applicable:

(A)  Five thousand five hundred thirty dollars ($5,530.00) if an elementary summer school program;

(B)  Seven thousand nine hundred thirty dollars ($7,930.00) if a secondary summer school program;

(C)  Twelve thousand ten dollars ($12,010.00) if a combined elementary and secondary summer school program.

(iii)  Notwithstanding paragraphs (i) and (ii) of this subsection, an intersession intervention and remediation program for school districts operating schools on a year-round basis for purposes of qualifying for a grant under this section shall be awarded an amount in accordance with criteria and guidelines prescribed by rule and regulation of the department of education, which in no event shall exceed the amounts prescribed under paragraphs (i) and (ii) of this subsection.

(d)  The department may request additional information prior to awarding a grant under this section to ascertain programs comply with the requirements of this section. Upon completion of the summer school program, each recipient district shall report to the department any statistical, expenditure and program evaluation information as may be required by the department prior to receiving grant amounts computed under this section.

(e)  As soon as reasonably possible following the effective date of this act, the department of education shall notify school districts of the availability of assistance under the summer school grant program established under this section and of the requirements imposed upon districts to obtain a grant award.

(f)  On or before December 1, 2004, the department shall review and report to the joint education interim committee on summer school remediation and intervention programs funded under this section, evaluate program effectiveness and provide recommendations for program improvement and continuation.".

Page 26-After line 12 insert:

"(d)  Four million five hundred thousand dollars ($4,500,000.00) is appropriated from the school foundation program account to the department of education to fund the summer school grant program established under section 1001 of this act for the period beginning on the effective date of this act and ending June 30, 2005.".

Page 27-line 2 Delete the Standing Committee Amendment (HB0093SS001/AE) to this line; delete "and 901(a) and" insert ", 1001 and 1101(a),".

Page 27-line 3 After "(b)" insert "and (d)". SESSIONS

ROLL CALL

Ayes: Senator(s) Anderson, J., Barrasso, Boggs, Burns, Caller, Cathcart, Decaria, Geis, Goodenough, Hanes, Job, Massie, Meier, Mockler, Northrup, Peck, Roberts, Scott, Sessions and Townsend.

Nays: Senator(s) Case, Coe, Devin, Erb, Hawks, Hines, Kunz, Larson, Schiffer and Vasey.

Ayes 20 Nays 10 Excused 0 Absent 0 Conflicts 0

03/01/2004 S Passed 2nd Reading

HB0093S3001/FAILED (TO ENGROSSED COPY)

Page 25-Before line 3 insert and renumber:

"[SECTION 11. REGIONAL COST ADJUSTMENT STUDY]

Section 1101.

(a)  The joint education interim committee shall through consultants to the legislature, conduct a study of the regional cost adjustment to the education resource block grant model, reviewing the validity and reliability of the Wyoming cost of living index as a measure of cost differences between school districts. The study shall investigate enhancement of index adjustments to the block grant model, including remoteness, salary demands in all regions of the state, benefits and health insurance costs, retention and other factors. To assist with study efforts, the committee cochairs shall assemble an advisory group comprised of district representatives.

(b)  Following consideration of findings and recommendations developed under subsection (a) of this section, the committee shall submit any adopted recommendations and necessary enabling legislation to the legislature which implement an enhanced regional cost adjustment. Adopted recommendations shall be submitted in sufficient time for consideration by the legislature during the 2005 general session.".

Page 26-Before line 13 insert:

"(e)  Twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) is appropriated from the school foundation program account to the legislative service office to fund the analysis and study necessary for development of recommendations pertaining to the regional cost adjustment as required under section 1101 of this act. Funds appropriated under this subsection shall include funding staff support and consultants to the legislature necessary to conduct the study, as approved by the management council.".

Page 27-line 2 Delete the Standing Committee Amendment (HB0093SS001/AE) and the Sessions Second Reading Amendment (HB0093S2002/AE) to this line; delete "and 901(a) and" insert ", 1001, 1101 and 1201(a),".

Page 27-line 3 Delete the Sessions Second Reading Amendment (HB0093S2002/AE) to this line; after "(b)" insert ", (d) and (e)". ANDERSON

ROLL CALL

Ayes: Senator(s) Anderson, J., Barrasso, Boggs, Case, Decaria, Goodenough, Job, Northrup, Scott, Sessions, Townsend and Vasey.

Nays: Senator(s) Burns, Caller, Cathcart, Coe, Devin, Erb, Geis, Hanes, Hawks, Hines, Kunz, Larson, Massie, Meier, Mockler, Peck, Roberts and Schiffer.

Ayes 12 Nays 18 Excused 0 Absent 0 Conflicts 0

HB0093S3002/ADOPTED (TO ENGROSSED COPY)

Page 25-After line 2 In the Sessions Second Reading amendment (HB0093S2002/AE) to this line, following subsection 1001(a) insert the following new subsection (b) and renumber as necessary:

"(b)  In addition to subsection (a) of this section, programs providing before-school, after-school and Saturday school enhanced instruction for student mastery of the state content and performance standards are eligible for assistance under this section. To receive funding eligibility under this subsection, a district shall file program plans with the department of education requesting use of a portion of summer school program funds otherwise available under this section, not to exceed a maximum level established by rule and regulation of the department. Plans submitted to the department shall be filed within the time specifications imposed upon the applicant district for summer school grants and shall be subject to program requirements and criteria established by the department.". PECK

03/02/2004 S Passed 3rd Reading

ROLL CALL

Ayes: Senator(s) Anderson, J., Barrasso, Boggs, Burns, Caller, Cathcart, Coe, Decaria, Geis, Hanes, Hawks, Hines, Job, Larson, Massie, Meier, Mockler, Northrup, Peck, Roberts, Scott, Sessions and Townsend.

Nays: Senator(s) Case, Devin, Erb, Goodenough, Kunz, Schiffer and Vasey.

Ayes 23 Nays 7 Excused 0 Absent 0 Conflicts 0

03/04/2004 H Did Concur

ROLL CALL

Ayes: Representative(s) Alden, Bagby, Berger, Buchanan, Cooper, Esquibel, Gentile, Gilmore, Hageman, Harshman, Harvey, Hastert, Hinckley, Iekel, Jansen, Johnson, L., Johnson, W., Landon, Latta, Law, Lockhart, Martin, McMurtrey, McOmie, Meuli, Meyer, Morgan, Osborn, Parady, Petersen, Powers, Reese, Robinson, Ross, Slater, Thompson, Walsh, Warren and Wasserburger.

Nays: Representative(s) Anderson, R., Baker, Brechtel, Bucholz, Childers, Cohee, Diercks, Edwards, Illoway, Jones, Jorgensen, Luthi, Miller, D., Olsen, Philp, Prosser, Semlek, Simpson and Wostenberg.

Excused: Representative(s) Tipton

Conflicts: Representative(s) Nicholas

Ayes 39 Nays 19 Excused 1 Absent 0 Conflicts 1

03/04/2004 Assigned Number HEA No. 0067

03/04/2004 H Speaker Signed HEA No. 0067

03/04/2004 S President Signed HEA No. 0067

03/15/2004 Governor Signed HEA No. 0067

03/15/2004 Assigned Chapter Number

Chapter No. 0108 Session Laws of Wyoming 2004.