EDUCATION LEGISLATIVE REPORT

By Vermont School Boards Association, Vermont Superintendents Association, Vermont Principals’ Association

March 7, 2011 - Issue #6

Senate Committee Continues Examination of Unemployment Eligibility

Prior to the Town Meeting break, the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs took testimony on a draft bill that would remove a long-standing prohibition on non-teacher and non-administrator school-year-only employees drawing unemployment benefits during summer months. VSBA staff testified that according to our best estimates school districts would be obligated to pay approximately $11.5 million in new unemployment costs during the first year of enactment should the bill pass. Our Associations vehemently oppose new cost burdens on local districts in light of the General Assembly’s call for schools to reduce costs.

Our analysis was based on a data collection from Vermont school districts asking for their most current available payroll data. That collection indicated that approximately 6,250 employees would be eligible for summer unemployment under the terms of the draft legislation, and those employees earn on average $17,347 in wages annually. We assumed a 10-week period of eligibility during the summer. Our analysis indicated that more than half the eligible employees would be paraeducators and instructional assistants.

The Committee did not take action on the bill prior to the break. We expect they will continue to deliberate its provisions next week, and we will report on any action the Committee takes at that time.

House Approves Repeal of “Two-vote” School Budget Law

H.299, a bill that would repeal a law that requires some school budgets to be divided and approved in two separate ballot articles, was approved by the House prior to the Town Meeting Day break. The bill was introduced by the Education Committee and approved by the House on a voice vote. H.299 would repeal the law prior to consideration of FY 2013 budgets in the spring of 2012; this is two years sooner than the “two-vote” provision is scheduled to expire. H.299 will now head to the Senate for consideration.

Record Number of School Budgets Approved by Voters

On Town Meeting Day 2011, all but three school budgets were approved according to unofficial tabulations collected by our Associations. This is the fewest number of defeated budgets as of Town Meeting Day in at least 20 years. A few of the budgets were approved with increases or cuts to the spending proposed by the school board. According to the Department of Education, education spending is expected to decrease approximately one percent in FY2012 as compared to FY2011.

House Committee Grapples with Structure for Education Leadership

The House Education Committee has been considering legislation that would make changes to the structure of the State Board of Education and enable the Governor to appoint a secretary of education (a position that would replace the commissioner of education). The Committee has scheduled a public hearing to solicit opinion on the topic. The details of the hearing are on page one of this Education Legislative Report and we encourage interested parties to voice their perspective at that hearing.

At this point it is unclear what direction the Committee will take, which only highlights the importance of Wednesday’s hearing. Some Committee members appear prepared to support a gubernatorial appointment of the secretary of education. Other ideas on the table include shortening term limits for State Board members, reserving some spots on the Board for education professionals, and moving some of the duties of the Board to the purview of the secretary or commissioner.

We will report on the hearing and further Committee deliberations in our next Report.

Senate Committee Crafting “Green” Cleaning Products Bill

The Senate Education Committee has been developing a bill that would require schools to utilize cleaning products that are safer for building occupants and the environment. The bill, which has not yet been formally introduced, would require public schools, approved independent schools, and public prekindergarten programs to clean their buildings with products that have been certified as environmentally preferable by an independent third party unless there is no “green” alternative in a particular product category.

The bill would require that the Department of Health annually train school staff on green cleaning practices and post a list of acceptable, environmentally preferable cleaning products on its website. The most recent draft of the bill would require districts to report annually that they have viewed the Department of Health’s information, and to report on the district’s satisfaction with the environmentally preferable cleaning products. The bill includes a violation provision wherein a school could be fined up to $100 for intentionally failing to comply with the bill’s requirements.

The Committee appears likely to approve some version of the bill in the first week back from the Town Meeting break.

House Committee Considers Principal Mentoring

The House Education Committee is developing a bill that would require novice building administrators to participate in a mentoring program for at least his or her first two years on the job. Details of the bill have not yet been finalized, and the bill has not been formally introduced. The Committee is currently deliberating how the mentoring would be administered and whether the bill should be applicable only to school principals, or also assistant principals and technical center directors. The VPA, which currently administers a mentoring program for districts that request it, is supportive of the concept and has recently testified in the Committee regarding the value of a mentoring experience for first-time principals.

Support for Organizing Early Childhood Providers

Testimony has begun on H.97 that would provide for the organization of childcare providers. This bill would allow the approximately 10,000 childcare providers in the state to organize and to bargain with the state around various issues including regulations and benefits eligibility. There has been considerable debate on this issue. Proponents believe it will improve both compensation for early care and education providers and overall quality care for children. The opponents are concerned that the “solution” will actually work against the goal of assuring more children have a high quality early childhood experience.

This could potentially impact public education in two ways. First, educators are interested in seeing every child arrive at school having had an optimal early childhood experience. Second, Vermont’s schools and private childcare providers are partners in delivering prekindergarten services. Act 62 of the 2007 general assembly created a pre-K structure where schools are encouraged to deliver services through the private sector. Our Associations have some concerns that the features of this bill could actually result in fewer children having access to high quality early care and education, and is likely to have a dampening effect on the willingness of schools to enter into pre-K agreements with private providers. More detailed information on this bill will be provided in a later edition, particularly if it appears it will be moving from the House to the Senate.

Senate Committee Considers Open Meeting Law Modifications

The Senate Government Operations Committees is considering a bill that would make changes to the state open meeting law that governs school district and school board meetings, among others. S.67 would:

• specifically exclude from the definition of a “meeting” an electronic communication, including email, telephone, or teleconferencing between members of a public body, for the purpose of scheduling a meeting, developing an agenda, or distributing materials to discuss at a meeting;
• require that notice of any regular or special public meeting be given to any person who requests it;
• require reasonable accommodations be made to allow persons with disabilities to attend and participate in meetings;
• prohibit meetings from taking place unless a quorum of the body is physically present at the designated place of the meeting;
• prohibit members not physically present (i.e., participating via electronic means) from participating in voice votes (participation in roll call votes would be permissible);
• prohibit the use of executive sessions to consider the appointment of a person to a public board, council, or commission;
• extend the current $500 fine for violating the open meeting law from members of the public body to employees of the public body; and
• subject a public body violating the open meeting law to the payment of attorneys’ fees and other litigation costs if someone sues and prevails in court.

Editor’s Note: Parts of this article were excerpted with permission from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns Weekly Legislative Report.

Ways & Means Considers Property Tax Changes

The House Ways & Means Committee has been considering a number of changes to the education property tax including how the tax is assessed and collected. Each of the four proposals currently on the table would mean significant changes to the property tax system, but each is designed to be substantially revenue-neutral and should not directly affect school district operations. It is unclear at this time what action the Committee intends on taking, if any. What follows is a brief description of each proposal.

• One proposal would change the Legislature’s role in setting residential tax rates. Rather than annually determine a rate that is sufficient to provide for public education costs, the Legislature would set a yield that each dollar on the tax rate would generate in per pupil revenue for districts. This would allow residential tax rates to float up or down annually based on spending and (non-residential property tax) revenue projections for the Education Fund without the Legislature directly setting the rate.
• The second proposal would modify the sequence by which the Common Level of Appraisal (CLA) is applied to residential tax education rates. This change would be designed to simply tax bills; it would not change the amount any taxpayer would owe.
• The third proposal would modify the property tax adjustment system (commonly known as income sensitivity). The proposal would eliminate the income sensitivity system as it now exists and require everyone to pay based on property value. However, households with incomes less than $110,000 would be assessed a tax bill based on a sliding percentage of their house value. As compared to the current system, this proposal would increase taxes for households with high-value homes and modest incomes and decrease taxes for households with affordable homes and high incomes.
• Finally, the Committee is considering legislation that would require the education property tax to be billed and collected by the state’s Department of Taxes and not local town municipalities, as is current law.

We will be following the Committee’s deliberations as it returns from Town Meeting break and will report on any developments. If the Committee appears ready to move forward with one or more of these proposals, we will undertake a detailed analysis of the expected effect on school districts.

House Committee Approves Education Bill for Military Families

By a unanimous vote of the members present, the House Education Committee approved a bill that would direct schools to accommodate children of military personnel. H.38 was significantly modified and simplified from the original draft that was introduced. The bill approved by the Committee would direct schools to swiftly enroll and serve children of armed forces personnel who move into the district. The bill directs the school to accommodate these children by enrolling them in similar courses and, if applicable, provide them with special services comparable to what he or she had received at their prior school district. The bill also specifies that if the child is a 12^th grade student, he or she would be eligible to graduate by completing course requirements that align with the child’s old school, and the district would be required to waive local requirements that might delay the child’s graduation. The bill is scheduled to be considered by the full House in the week after Town Meeting break.

Legislature Calls for Suspension of NCLB Punitive Sanctions

The House and Senate approved J.R.S. 16, a resolution regarding the punitive sanctions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The resolution reads:

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives: That the General Assembly urges Congress to suspend immediately the punitive sanctions under the No Child Left Behind Act until the act is reauthorized in a revised form, and be it further Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to the Vermont Congressional Delegation.

A similar resolution was first proposed and approved by the Brattleboro Town school board and the VSBA.

Budget Adjustment Bill Enacted

H.65, a bill that adjusts the revenues and expenditures of the state in FY 2011 and makes other miscellaneous changes to law, has been enacted. H.65 has several specific provisions related to education. We described these provisions in detail in our Education Legislative Report Issue #4.

Miscellaneous Bill Status Reports

In addition to the legislation described above, we have reported on several other bills in prior Education Legislative Reports. Here is a brief status report on each and a link to our prior write-ups.

H.45 Unanticipated Tuition Costs and the Excess Spending Threshold

Approved by House. In Senate Education Committee. See Issue #4.

H.46 School Athlete Concussions

Approved by House. In Senate Education Committee. See Issue #4.

H.73 Public Records

In House Government Operations Committee. See Issue #3.

S.44 Obligations of Approved Independent Schools

In Senate Education Committee. See Issue #5.

S.53 Repealing Prekindergarten ADM Caps

In Senate Finance Committee. See Issue #5.

New Bills

The following education-related bills have been introduced by one or more members of the Legislature from February 22 to March 2. To read any bill’s full text or see its status in the legislative process, go to http://www.leg.state.vt.us/database/status/status.cfm.

H.295 AN ACT RELATING TO CREATING PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHOICE REGIONS

Introduced by Representatives Smith of New Haven and six other Representatives

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to expand public high school choice policy to include public elementary school choice regions.

H.296 AN ACT RELATING TO EXPANDING SCHOOL CHOICE AND AUTHORIZING THE CREATION OF CHARTER SCHOOLS

Introduced by Representatives Clark of Vergennes and 16 other Representatives

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to expand opportunities for school choice and authorize the creation of charter schools:

1. The bill would permit school districts to use public funds to pay tuition to approved independent schools with a religious affiliation if the religious aspects of the school are incidental to the school’s curriculum and academic mission, and if the school does not require students for whom the district has paid tuition to enroll in religion classes or participate in religious observations. Tuition paid by a school district could not exceed the lesser of 75 percent of the tuition charged by the religious school or the average announced tuition of Vermont union schools.

2. The bill would require a school district that maintains a secondary school for its resident students to use public funds to pay tuition to a public or approved independent secondary school for any resident student who notifies the school district of his or her intent to enroll in a school not maintained by the district, if the district receives the notification on or before November 1 of the academic year preceding the academic year of intended enrollment.

3. The bill would authorize local school boards, the University of Vermont, and each of the Vermont state colleges to grant a charter to operate a public charter school.

H.299 AN ACT RELATING TO REPEALING THE PROVISION THAT SOME SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGETS BE PRESENTED TO THE VOTERS BY MEANS OF A DIVIDED QUESTION

Introduced by Committee on Education

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to repeal the requirement that a school district’s proposed budget be presented as a divided question if the proposed budget contains education spending in excess of the maximum inflation amount and the district’s proposed spending per equalized pupil exceeds the statewide average.

Editor’s Note: See our write-up on H.299 on page 1 of this Report.

H.300 AN ACT RELATING TO THE REQUIREMENT OF MANDATORY BINDING ARBITRATION AND THE ELIMINATION OF STRIKES AND IMPOSED CONTRACTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR TEACHERS’ AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS’ CONTRACTS

Introduced by Representatives Wright of Burlington, Condon of Colchester, Degree of St. Albans City, Komline of Dorset and McAllister of Highgate

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to prohibit teachers and school administrators from striking and school boards from imposing contracts; to require mandatory binding arbitration; and to require that voters in a school district in which the mandated arbitration has resulted in a contract that exceeds the previous approved budget by more than a certain percentage be provided the opportunity to approve or disapprove of the budget.

H.311 AN ACT RELATING TO REQUIRING FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION IN ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL

Introduced by Representative Weston of Burlington

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to require that all public schools provide instruction in grades one through seven in at least one of the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, or Spanish.

H.317 AN ACT RELATING TO ESTABLISHING A RANDOMIZED ALPHABET FOR LISTING CANDIDATE NAMES ON BALLOTS

Introduced by Representatives Stevens of Shoreham, Moran of Wardsboro, Perley of Enosburgh, Taylor of Barre City, Till of Jericho and Wilson of Manchester

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to establish a randomized alphabet for listing candidate names on ballots.

H.322 AN ACT RELATING TO AUTHORIZING VOTING STUDENT MEMBERS TO SERVE ON LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS

Introduced by Representatives Donovan of Burlington and seven other Representatives

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to allow the electorate of a school district, including a union school district, to authorize a secondary student from the district to serve as a voting member of the school board.

H.323 AN ACT RELATING TO THE NUMBER OF PREKINDERGARTEN CHILDREN INCLUDED WITHIN A SCHOOL DISTRICT’S AVERAGE DAILY MEMBERSHIP

Introduced by Representatives Donovan of Burlington and eleven other Representatives

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to remove limits on the number of prekindergarten children who may be included in a school district’s calculation of average daily membership.

Editor’s Note: This bill is substantially the same as S.53, which is currently under consideration in the Senate Finance Committee.

H.346 AN ACT RELATING TO THE EXPLORATION OF STRUCTURAL CHANGES BY SUPERVISORY UNIONS WITH A SUPERINTENDENT VACANCY

Introduced by Representatives Johnson of South Hero, Krebs of South Hero, Browning of Arlington, Hooper of Montpelier and Kitzmiller of Montpelier

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to direct the state board of education to require all supervisory unions that wish to employ a new superintendent to explore structural changes that will result in real dollar efficiencies, operational efficiencies, expanded student learning opportunities, and improved student outcomes.

H.347 AN ACT RELATING TO CONSOLIDATION OF SUPERVISORY UNIONS

Introduced by Representative Fisher of Lincoln

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to direct the state board of education to consolidate supervisory unions into 16 supervisory unions with approximately the same boundaries as the technical center regions.

H.348 AN ACT RELATING TO SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION COSTS

Introduced by Representatives Fisher of Lincoln and Sharpe of Bristol

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to permit school districts to exclude education spending attributable to a school construction project from the calculations relating to excess spending and divided voting, without requiring the approval of the commissioner of education, if the voters have approved the capital construction costs and the district will receive no state aid for construction in connection with the project.

H.349 AN ACT RELATING TO PROTECTING PUBLIC HEALTH BY THE USE OF SAFER CLEANING PRODUCTS IN SCHOOLS

Introduced by Representatives Fisher of Lincoln and six other Representatives

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to protect the health of the public by requiring safer cleaning products in schools.

H.362 AN ACT RELATING TO THE AMOUNT OF SURPLUS FUNDS A SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY DEPOSIT INTO ONE OR MORE RESERVE FUNDS

Introduced by Representative Scheuermann of Stowe

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to limit the amount of surplus funds a school district may deposit in one or more reserve funds to four percent of the district’s education spending in the prior fiscal year.

H.382 An ACT RELATING TO AUTHORIZING THE CREATION OF PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS IN VERMONT

Introduced by Representative Crawford of Burke

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to authorize the creation of public charter schools in Vermont.

H.383 AN ACT RELATING TO DESIGNATION OF PUBLIC AND APPROVED INDEPENDENT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Introduced by Representative Crawford of Burke

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to permit towns that do not operate an elementary school to designate a public school in another district or an approved independent school as the public elementary school of the district.

H.412 AN ACT RELATING TO HARASSMENT AND BULLYING IN EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS

Introduced by Representative Larson of Burlington

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to expand the definitions of “harassment” and “bullying” in the educational context to include actions committed electronically. It would permit school administrators to discipline students for actions conducted outside normal school hours and off school grounds where the conduct can be shown to pose a clear and substantial interference with another student’s right to access educational programs. The bill would authorize the human rights commission to ensure educational institutions comply with procedures required in connection with allegations of harassment and would clarify the legal standard required to prove harassment in a civil action. Finally, it would create a new full-time, limited service position within the human rights commission to direct harassment and bullying prevention and response training initiatives.

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