Public entities should have the legal authority to release employee contracts, members of Senate Education decided today. The committee unanimously endorsed SB 106, a measure designed to add clarity to the state’s public records laws.

A state-established commission ruled earlier this year that a school district correctly applied state law by denying a citizen access to a superintendent’s contract. According to the commission’s findings, state law prohibits schools from releasing any personnel records other than salary and routine directory information.

The law put school boards in a difficult position of trying to adhere to the law while also having to refute the implication that the board was withholding information from taxpayers.

Sen. Al Novstrup, R-Aberdeen, is the prime sponsor of the legislation.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

A plan to allow schools to charge fees for voluntary pre-k and driver education courses encountered resistance Monday from opponents of early learning programs.

During public testimony on HB 1195, Rep. Roger Hunt, R-Brandon, raised questions about whether schools should be allowed to charge for services that don’t have clearly defined standards. His comments came during time reserved for committee questions.

“We would be authorizing schools to charge for services that, as a legislative body, we do not know what they are going to provide,” Rep. Hunt said. He added that legislators have spent a lot of time outlining public school curriculum, and passing HB 1195 would go against that practice.

ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany, who led testimony in support of the plan, responded to Rep. Hunt by stressing that program is voluntary, and that parents have a choice to enroll their children in the program.

To avert what he called a “slippery slope” toward the establishment of pre-kindergarten standards, Rep. Hunt moved an amendment to strike provisions that would allow schools to charge for voluntary pre-k programs. The amendment failed, but garnered support from six lawmakers.

The committee added language, called an emergency clause, to make the bill effective as soon as the governor signs the bill. In order to pass with an emergency clause, the bill needs a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.

After changing the bill, lawmakers endorsed the measure on a 9-5 vote.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

The Senate Appropriations Committee is best positioned to consider changes to the state’s sparsity funding formula, lawmakers decided Tuesday.

Members of Senate Education voted unanimously to send SB 165 to the Legislature’s budget-building committee. The bill lowers the maximum distribution any one district can receive to $110,000, down from $123,750. According to data from the South Dakota Department of Education, the most any one district will receive in 2013 is $105,000.

A second measure, HB 1199, strikes a state law that requires the state to pro-rate available funds if the legislature doesn’t appropriate enough money to fully fund the formula. Taken together, the measures would eliminate the need to pro-rate available appropriations, but still preserve the amount schools currently receive.

ASBSD will continue to monitor both bills.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

• The committee endorsed HB 1147, a measure that removes personal financial liability school board members may incur if a district can not meet contractual obligations.
  
• Narrowly passed HB 1195, a measure that would allow school boards to charge fees for voluntary Pre-k and driver education programs.
  

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

A new ASBSD issue brief outlines ways in which South Dakota’s new accountability system may impact local school boards. The brief, titled Public School Accountability and SB 25, is available on ASBSD.org.

The document briefly explains public school accountability laws, then dives into the language of Senate Bill 25. The majority of the document focuses on education policy that would be enacted through the South Dakota Board of Education’s sweeping regulatory authority to design, implement and enforce measures of school performance.

The issue brief echoes testimony ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany recently delivered during the Senate Education Committee’s public hearing on SB 25, including an overview of possible unfunded mandates contained in the education department’s plan to implement new accountability laws.

To access the issue brief, click here.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Democratic legislators rolled out a package of bills Thursday that they characterized as an alternative to Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s recently released Investing in Teaching Initiative. The minority party’s plan revolves around two legislative proposals that would increase the state’s financial commitment to K-12 public schools.

House Bill 1110 will increase per-student funding to keep pace with neighboring states. According the measure, state per-student funding would have to reach the surrounding state average by 2016. The plan relies on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, and sets the goal at $10,212 per-student for 2012. The figure would have to be updated annually.

“Before we can compete globally, we have to at least compete within the region,” said House Minority Leader Bernie Hunhoff, D-Yankton, adding later that he hopes the proposal garners serious consideration from lawmakers.

A second plank of the proposal calls for redefining a state law that governs annual increases in per-student funding. The concept, found in HB 1226, would require per-student funding to grow at the same rate as state general fund revenue.

Rep. Larry Lucas, D-Mission, said the measure would give school districts hope for the future and make it possible to restore recent cuts.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Republican lawmakers used their weekly press briefing to reiterate the goals of Governor Dennis Daugaard’s new Investing in Teaching Initiative and drive home the point that legislators are open to changing the plan.

Rep. Jacqueline Sly, R-Rapid City, told reporters that Republicans want to work with Democratic legislators to establish education policy that benefits children. She also stressed that lawmakers are considering changes to the governor’s proposal.

“I know that everyone does not agree with everything that’s been proposed in the Investing in Teachers Initiative, but it is a starting point,” said Rep. Sly. “Where it leads us is a story yet to unfold.”

Sen. Phyllis Heineman, R-Sioux Falls, credited the governor for focusing on quality teaching and improving student achievement. She called the need to improve public education “a national imperative” and said lawmakers will consider suggestions that conform to the governor’s overall objective.

“As a Legislature, we have many more ideas we’re looking at,” she said.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

A pair of legislative proposals are aimed at altering the formula that delivers additional funding to school districts serving sparsely populated areas.

House Bill 1199 will scrap a recently adopted state law that requires the state to pro-rate payments if lawmakers don’t appropriate enough money to fully fund the sparsity formula. In practical effect, it would ensure districts receive the full allocation, up to the $123,750 maximum threshold established in law.

The measure is sponsored by Rep. Dean Wink, R-Howes, and Sen. Larry Rhoden, R-Union Center. ASBSD supports the bill.

A separate proposed law, SB 165, will lower the maximum distribution through the sparsity formula. If adopted, qualifying districts will receive up to $110,000 per year. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Kent Juhnke, R-Vivian, and Rep. Tom Brunner, R-Nisland. ASBSD opposes the legislation.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s proposal to distribute one-time funding to K-12 schools has been introduced in the South Dakota Senate.

The bill, filed as SB 192, contains $4 million in one-time per-student funding, which amounts to approximately $31 per-student. The measure also includes $8.4 million for a state-led training initiative to implement common core academic standards and new, rigorous teaching standards. Both components were announced last December, during the governor’s budget address.

Combined with the legally required inflationary increase, per-student funding will increase $34.70 next year, a jump of 0.8 percent.

ASBSD supports the legislation.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Public employees would no longer be able to collectively bargain wages, benefits and working conditions if lawmakers endorse a measure filed in the South Dakota House of Representatives.

The bill, filed as HB 1261, states that no individual may participate in collective bargaining if they work in the public sector, including K-12 schools. The bill does allow public employees to express a “view, grievance, complaint, or opinion on any matter related to the conditions or compensation of public employment.”

Last year, Wisconsin political leaders earned national attention during a battle to eliminate collective bargaining. The measure passed, and Gov. Scott Walker is now facing recall for his pursuit of the plan.

Sen. Stan Adelstein, R-Rapid City, and Rep. Brian Liss, R-Sioux Falls, are prime sponsors of the measure.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Per-student funding would increase by 5 percent next year and 4 percent in FY14, according to a proposed law filed in the House of Representatives.

The bill, HB 1239, sets the per-student allocation at $4,608.82 for FY13, approximately $118 more than the 2.3 percent increase proposed by Gov. Dennis Daugaard. The increase amounts to approximately $15 million in additional formula funding, the same amount the governor has proposed to spend on his new Investing in Teaching Initiative. The legislation also sets the per-student allocation for the 2013-14 school year, promising a 5 percent increase and lifting the per-student allocation to $4,788.59.

Sen. Jason Frerichs, D-Wilmot, and Rep. Paul Dennert, D-Columbia, are sponsoring the legislation.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

After admitting that the state’s current public school accountability laws are flawed and weren’t realistic when they were established, Education Secretary Dr. Melody Schopp began a push Thursday to revamp how public school performance is measured.

Schopp’s comments came during a Senate Education Committee hearing on SB 25, a bill that establishes a broad legal framework for a new, state-specific public school accountability system. She briefed lawmakers on the components of the legislation, but focused most of her testimony on the expansive system the education department will implement through their administrative authority.

According to Schopp, the new system will move away from judging schools on a single, mandated state assessment and to a plan that includes multiple measures of school performance. She outlined five areas – student achievement, academic growth, college and career readiness, teacher performance and school climate – that will be used in a new calculation called a “School Performance Index.”

The state’s top education official told lawmakers that the proposal is an upgrade over the current system, which was implemented following the passage of No Child Left Behind. She stressed that the plan better fits the unique circumstances of the state’s K-12 schools and will give the public a better idea of how schools are working to improve.

Schopp urged lawmakers to approve the measure, arguing that the state needs the legislation to qualify for a waiver from federal No Child Left Behind accountability laws. Without action, federal laws will still apply and a larger number of state’s schools will be identified for school improvement.

ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany testified in support of the legislation, telling lawmakers that school boards embrace public school accountability and are willing to do the work necessary to improve student achievement. He reminded lawmakers that the new accountability model is complex and not yet clearly defined, and he cautioned lawmakers that a lot of work still needs to be done to implement the proposed system.

Pogany walked lawmakers through each of the performance indicators, listing possible implications for local school boards, including provisions that would force schools to devote limited district funds to implement the new law. He also asked lawmakers to help local school boards.

“When you pass this bill, please don’t walk away,” Pogany said. “This isn’t just a math problem, this is our kids. We need the flexibility, time and resources to make this work.”

School superintendents, and representatives from other education organizations also testified in support. The South Dakota Education Association opposed the bill.

Members of Senate Education referred the bill to Senate Appropriations on a 7-0 vote.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

• Members of House Education narrowly passed HB 1005 this morning, sending the measure to the House for full consideration. The bill clarifies that a child is approved for alternative instruction as soon as the parent files application with the district.
  
• The committee took testimony, but delayed action, on HB 1145, a proposal by Rep. Betty Olson, R-Prairie City, to eliminate continuing contract and due process rights for teachers. ASBSD and SASD testified against the legislation, based on direction set by the respective organization's Delegate Assemblies.
  

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Parents who opt to homeschool their children would be eligible for a $275 grant from the South Dakota Department of Education, according to legislation filed today in the state House of Representatives.

The measure, filed as HB 1215, appropriates $907,500 to create the 2012 South Dakota Alternative Instruction Funding Grant Program. To be eligible for the grant, a parent must have provided their school-age child alternative instruction for the 2011-12 school year. The proposal is only established for one year, and any unspent funds will revert to the state at the end of the 2013 fiscal year.

Rep. Brian Liss, R-Sioux Falls, and Sen. Hal Wick, R-Sioux Falls, are prime sponsors of the legislation.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Parents wishing to enroll children in a neighboring school district would have to do so by a state-established enrollment deadline, according to legislation filed today in the South Dakota House of Representatives.

The measure, introduced as HB 1189, states that open enrollment requests can be accepted before the last Friday in September or the last Friday in January. If a request is granted outside of those dates, the transfer will occur at the next available deadline.

Currently, school boards are only allowed to deny open enrollment requests if the district doesn’t have the physical capacity or necessary programs to serve a student. Local administrators often have trouble placing a student, and deciphering how to award academic credit, when a student transfers in the middle of a semester.

Last November, school board members endorsed a resolution asking lawmakers to give districts the authority to establish dates by which open enrollment requests may be made. The position, which is part of ASBSD’s 2012 advocacy platform, seeks local authority to set the dates. House Bill 1189 establishes uniform dates for the entire state.

The proposal is sponsored by Rep. Brock Greenfield, R-Clark.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Public employee contracts will now be open records, according to a proposal introduced in the South Dakota Senate.

The bill, filed as SB 106, comes after the state-established commission ruled last year that a school district correctly interpreted state law by denying a citizen's request to examine a superintendent's contract. Senate Bill 106 clarifies the state law, making it possible for government entities to provide copies of individual employment contracts.

Technically, the proposal adds language to a collection of statutes that exempt records from public disclosure, making it clear that exclusion “does not apply to the public inspection or copying of any contract with any public employee or amounts paid or benefits provided to any public employee.”

Sen. Al Norvstrup, R-Aberdeen, and Rep. Nick Moser, R-Yankton, are prime sponsors of the legislation.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

An ASBSD-backed proposal to grant schools the authority to collect fees for voluntary pre-k and driver education programs will meet its first test Wednesday in the House Education Committee.

The measure, filed publicly today as HB 1195, makes clear that schools can provide the voluntary services on a fee-for-participation basis. State auditors and the Department of Education last year took a position that schools lack permission to charge, and the decision was backed by an informal interpretation issued by a member of the Attorney General’s office.

Clarifying the law is important to South Dakota school board members, who voted last November to elevate the issue to an advocacy priority. The bill’s sponsors include Rep. Jacqueline Sly, R-Rapid City, and Sen. Corey Brown, R-Gettysburg.

The House Education Committee meets every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7:45 am.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

A group of South Dakota lawmakers are pushing to give school districts additional per-student funding to help educate students who are learning English as a second language.

Under HB 1152, South Dakota’s funding formula would contain a new “limited English proficient” (LEP) adjustment, which deliver schools 20 percent more per-student funding for each student with limited English language skills. Based on the current per-student allocation of $4389.95, the new adjustment would generate an additional $877 for each eligible student enrolled in a district.

If approved, the weighted LEP adjustment would grow at the same rate as the per-student allocation. The state’s funding formula currently delivers weighted funding for each student enrolled in school districts with enrollments below 600, but that amount is fixed and does not increase.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Peggy Gibson, D-Huron, and Sen. Bruce Rampelberg, R-Rapid City.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

South Dakota lawmakers will consider eliminating continuing contract rights and due process rights for all teachers, according to legislation filed in the South Dakota House of Representatives.

House Bill 1145 would apply to veteran teachers the same non-renewal procedures that currently apply only to teachers with less than four years of service. If passed, school districts would be able to dismiss any teacher without providing justification and the teacher would no longer have the right to contest the dismissal at a school board hearing.

The measure leaves intact laws that require just cause and due process for terminating a contract. State law currently makes a distinction between termination and nonrenewal. Termination voids the contract during the term of the contract, while non-renewal refers to severing employment prior to the next contract year.

The measure is sponsored by Rep Betty Olson, R-Prairie City, and Sen. Corey Brown, R-Gettysburg.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard has also proposed modifying continuing contract laws, but the governor’s measure has not yet been made public. The governor has said he will propose the elimination of continuing contract rights for new teachers only, and that staff currently afforded due process and continuing contract would not lose it.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

A proposed law will require South Dakota to base education funding on the average per-student education expenditures of surrounding states.

House Bill 1110 would mandate per-student funding to meet or exceed the regional average by Jan 1, 2016. According to the law, the goal for 2012 would be $10,212 per-student, which is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s survey of local governments. The proposal requires the goal to be updated annually, with the arrival of new Census Bureau statistics.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Bernie Hunhoff, D-Yankton. House Education Chair Tom Brunner, R-Nisland, is listed as a co-sponsor.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Members of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Thursday endorsed changes to the way the state values agriculture land, approving HB 1003 on a unanimous vote.

The measure modifies laws passed in 2008 that changed the way agriculture land is valued in South Dakota. The system now determines the value of cropland based on its productivity value, rather than its market value. At the time the system was implemented, lawmakers placed an annual 10 percent cap on the growth of crop land valuation, a mechanism that lawmakers said would prevent dramatic increases in property taxes as a result of the shift in the way the land was assessed.

House Bill 1003 increases the annual cap to 25 percent, a change that Rep. Paul Dennert, D-Columbia, told lawmakers would allow county tax officials to better equalize valuation between different ag land classifications. According to Dennert, the 10 percent cap prevented as many as 45 counties from truly assessing ag value.

Under the measure, annual changes in ag assessments will fluctuate between 15 and 25 percent, depending on how far a county is from assessing full agricultural income value. Counties that are further from true valuation will be allowed to capture more growth, making it possible for the county to achieve full assessment more quickly.

State government officials testified in support of the change, calling the ag productivity system a work in progress and that the tweaks are part of the ongoing effort to create a fair and equitable tax system.

There were no opponents to the measure. ASBSD will continue to monitor the legislation.

Comments (1) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

A Senate panel on Thursday unanimously endorsed slight modifications and improvements to the South Dakota Retirement system, sending the proposed package of laws to the full Senate for consideration. Senate Retirement Laws approved three pieces of legislation – SB 29, SB 30 and SB 31 - all of which were recommended by the administrators of the public pension plan.

Senate Bill 29 allows the state retirement system to offer a Roth deferred compensation plan within the supplemental retirement system. The option, made possible by the federal Small Business Jobs Act, gives public employees a chance to make additional contributions to their retirement with after-tax dollars.

Most retirement system income is taxed at the time of distribution. Individuals aren't taxed on benefits received from a Roth because the individual paid taxes on the money before investing it in the Roth plan. In certain situations, funds invested in Roth plans grow without taxes on gains or interest.

Lawmakers also endorsed SB 30, a proposed law that will give system administrators the authority to develop an alternative enhancement methodology to protect the long-term stability of the system. Retirement system officials will develop the plan, but it couldn’t be put into place without additional legislative approval.

The final bill, SB 31, makes several style and form changes to a host of retirement system statutes by cleaning up definitions, eliminating gender-specific terms and making other small amendments.

ASBSD continues to monitor the legislation.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

The state’s public schools are still reeling from recent cuts to state aid to education and South Dakota school board members continue to be concerned about being asked to do more with less, ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany said Wednesday.

Pogany’s comments came during a briefing before the Senate Education Committee. The 20-minute presentation provided a brief overview of the association’s purpose, but focused largely on reinforcing the impact of recent state aid cuts. Pogany also outlined ASBSD’s advocacy goals, which were established in November by the ASBSD Delegate Assembly.

To detail the impact of last year’s $52 million cut to public school funding, Pogany walked lawmakers through Costly Cuts: A Survey of South Dakota Schools. The report, released by ASBSD last November, showed that schools slashed local budgets by more than $38 million and eliminated more than 465 full time positions. Pogany also stressed that local school boards aren’t done adjusting budgets to make up for the loss in state aid.

“The uncertainty is not over,” Pogany said. “Please understand: [schools] are still in a funding crisis.”

As school boards have reduced spending – cuts Pogany said were “in many cases, pretty extreme” – they have had to rely more on reserves and local property tax dollars to fund basic education programs. Having to use temporary financial fixes to patch budgets, combined with the looming threat of reductions in federal education spending, is troubling to schools that are “already as lean as they can possibly be,” Pogany said.

“[Schools] are in an extremely deep hole,” Pogany told legislators, adding that districts will be hard-pressed to fund existing reform initiatives, including the conversion to new learning standards and a more rigorous staff evaluation system. Pogany credited Gov. Daugaard for recommending the legally required per-student student increase and for committing funding to help implement the new Common Core Academic Standards and Charlotte Danielson teaching framework.

“[School districts] can get the job done if they have the resources to carry it out,” Pogany said, later adding that ASBSD will continue to ask lawmakers to provide the regulatory flexibility necessary to implement new state mandates at the local level.

During committee questions, Sen. Bruce Rampelberg, R-Rapid City, questioned Pogany about the association’s position on the governor’s Investing in Teachers Initiative, which he called a “challenge to districts.”

Pogany responded by saying the association needed time to go through the complex proposal, which has yet to be filed in bill form, but that ASBSD would evaluate the plan based on whether school boards were provided both the flexibility and financial resources to implement reform.

Comments (1) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany is slated to speak before the Senate and House Education Committees this week. Pogany will speak to the Senate Education Committee on Thursday morning at 8:00 am, and then to members of House Education Friday morning at 7:45 am.

The 20 to 30 minute presentations will introduce the association, convey school board member legislative priorities and provide a brief overview of Costly Cuts: A Survey of South Dakota Schools, the publication the association released last November detailing the impact of recent dramatic cuts to K-12 education.

The committee meetings will be broadcast live on South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Congress has failed to rewrite the nation’s public school accountability law, so the South Dakota Department of Education is taking up the task.

The framework for a new state public school accountability system is housed in SB 25, a measure introduced at the request of the state education department. In general, the bill eliminates language codified following the passage of No Child Left Behind and replaces it with a skeletal outline for a new model released last December.

The legislation is short on detail, leaving most of the specifics to the education department’s rule-making authority. Open Forum will have a more detailed explanation of the bill in the coming days.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Gov. Dennis Daugaard used his state-of-the-state speech Tuesday to outline a series of sweeping policy proposals that will reshape public education in South Dakota.

Measuring school, student and teacher performance are key components to the governor’s ambitious education agenda. In his speech to lawmakers, the governor referenced a push already underway to revamp South Dakota’s public school accountability system and to change the way teachers are evaluated, calling the efforts central to a new Investing in Teaching Initiative that will financially reward some teachers and strip new teachers of continuing contract rights.

Before outlining his education proposals, the governor used a battery of statistics – enrollment trends, inflation-adjusted spending data, school staffing levels and achievement scores – to establish an argument that additional public school funding doesn't lead to improved achievement. 

“We are not afraid of investing in our young people,” Daugaard said. “But we cannot put money into the same old system.”

The governor praised South Dakota public schools and dedicated educators for helping keep South Dakota achievement scores high, but he expressed concern that test scores have flat-lined. To address stagnant achievement levels, Gov. Daugaard announced a series of policy proposals he believes will improve classroom teaching and better compensate educators, including what he called “the largest investment in the teaching profession in our state’s history.”

Under Daugaard’s plan, South Dakota teachers that don’t currently have continuing contract status will not be granted the protection. The governor said the proposal, which will take effect at the beginning of the next school year, is intended to give administrators the tools to “deal with low-performing teachers.”

Two new programs totaling more than $15 million annually will provide teacher salary enhancements funded entirely by the state.

Math and science teachers at the middle and high school levels will be given a $3,500 bonus each year, beginning in the 2013-14 school year. The proposal meshes with a major workforce development initiative, called South Dakota Wins, which the governor also announced Tuesday. The initiative also coincides with his campaign promise to boost science, technology, engineering and math education at the K-12 level.

In addition, the state’s top performing teachers will be eligible for a $5,000 bonus. To qualify, a teacher must be characterized as a “distinguished” teacher according to a new state-mandated teacher evaluation system. Schools will receive sufficient state funding to provide 20 percent of the district’s “distinguished” teachers with the one-year bonus. The program has a delayed implementation to ensure that the state’s new teacher evaluation system is fully implemented.

The proposals, which are sure to be a hot topic during the 2011 Legislative Session, will be released in bill form later this week.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

South Dakota remains the only state in the nation without a law to prevent bullying in public schools, but that could change if lawmakers back a proposal by South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley.

According to SB 44, local school boards would be required to follow a state-established bullying prevention policy if the district does not already have an anti-bullying policy on the books. The measure also codifies a sample model policy, the text of which is nearly identical to ASBSD’s sample policy for public schools.

The bill is lengthy and features several elements that districts are encouraged – not mandated – to follow. The proposed law is flexible - school districts don’t have to do anything if the school board has already adopted a bullying prevention policy. In fact, the second sentence of the measure makes it clear that “Nothing in this Act supplants or preempts an existing school district policy.”

ASBSD supports a state bullying law, provided that the details and implementation are left to local school boards.

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story

Comments (0) | Link to this story | Send to a friend | Print Story