---

From the ECS State Policy Database 2006 State Policies / Activities

---

Education Commission of the States • 700 Broadway, Suite 810 • Denver, CO 80203-3442 • 303.299.3600 • fax 303.296.8332 • www.ecs.org

The following summary includes policies enacted in 2006. This database is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States (ECS). Most entries are legislative, although rules/regulations and executive orders that make substantive changes are included. Every effort is made to collect the latest available version of policies; in some instances, recent changes might not be reflected. For expediency purposes minimal attention has been paid to style (capitalization, punctuation) and format. To view the documents, click on the blue triangle next to the topic of interest. To view all, press the button located at the top labeled "Expand All." Please cite use of the database as: Education Commission of the States (ECS) State Policy Database, retrieved [date]. State Status/Date Level Summary Accountability Accountability--Accreditation Accountability--Measures/Indicators Accountability--Reporting Results Accountability--Rewards Accountability--Sanctions/Interventions Accountability--Sanctions/Interventions--No Pass No Drive Accountability--Sanctions/Interventions--Takeovers Accountability--School Improvement Adult Basic Education Assessment Assessment--Accommodations Assessment--Computer Based Assessment--End-of-Course Assessment--Formative/Interim Assessment--High Stakes/Competency Assessment--Value Added At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention) At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention)--Alternative Education At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention)--Drugs/Alcohol Attendance Attendance--Compulsory Attendance--Statutory Ages (Upper and Lower) Attendance--Truancy Background Checks Bilingual/ESL Business Involvement Career/Technical Education Career/Technical Education--Career Academies/Apprenticeship Cheating Choice of Schools--Charter Schools Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Closings Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Cyber Charters Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Finance Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Research Choice of Schools--Choice/Open Enrollment Choice of Schools--Magnet or Specialized Schools Choice of Schools--Tax Credits Choice of Schools--Vouchers Civic Education Civic Education--Character Education Civic Education--Pledge of Allegiance Class Size Counseling/Guidance Curriculum Curriculum--Alignment Curriculum--Arts Education Curriculum--Core Curriculum Curriculum--Drivers Education Curriculum--Environmental Education Curriculum--Family Living Education Curriculum--Financial Literacy/Economics Ed. Curriculum--Foreign Language/Sign Language Curriculum--Geography Education Curriculum--Health/Nutrition Education Curriculum--International Education Curriculum--Language Arts Curriculum--Language Arts--Writing/Spelling Curriculum--Mathematics Curriculum--Physical Education Curriculum--Science Curriculum--Sex Education Curriculum--Social Studies/History Data-Driven Improvement Demographics--Enrollments Economic/Workforce Development Education Research Equity Federal Finance Finance--Adequacy/Core Cost Finance--Bonds Finance--District OH Signed into law 12/2006 P-12 Chief Fiscal Officer H.B. 671 Requires local boards to appoint a treasurer, who serves as the chief fiscal officer of the school district. The treasurer is to be appointed for a term not longer than five years beginning the first day of August and ending the thirty-first day of July. The b... More... OH Signed into law 12/2006 P-12 District Deficits H.B. 276 -- Sec. 3315.20 Sec. 3315.20. A school district may have a deficit in any special fund of the district only if both of the following conditions are satisfied: (A) The district has a request for payment pending with the state sufficient to cover the amount of the deficit and t... More... CO Rejected by voters 11/2006 P-12 District Budget Requirements (65%) as Statute Referendum J (REFERENDUM J; HB 06-1283) Creates the State Public School Expenditures Accountability Act. If approved, would amend state statutes to require districts to spend at least 65% of their operational expenditures on classroom instruction beginning in the 2007-08 s... More... ID Rejected by voters 11/2006 P-12 Sales Tax and Local Public Schools Investment Fund Proposition 1 Relates to K-12 public school funding. Adds 1% sales tax rate, revenue stream for this component of K-12 local public school funding; creates the Local Public Schools Investment Fund which must be used for supporting students in the classroom and improving lo... More... LA Approved by voters 09/2006 P-12 Prohibiting Legislative Mandates on Local Boards Amendment 9 Proposes a constitutional amendment to provide that no law, unless enacted by two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature, requiring increased expenditures for any purpose shall be applicable to a city, parish, or other local public scho... More... DE Signed into law 07/2006 P-12 School District Fiscal Accountability S.B. 374 Implements enhanced public education financial accountability provisions. Includes vocational- technical school districts and charter school funds and authority. http://www.legis.state.de.us/LIS/lis143.nsf/vwLegislation/SB+374/$file/legis.html?open... More... HI Became law without governor's signature 07/2006 P-12 School Impact Fee Working Group S.B. 2708 Requires the school impact fee working group to submit supplemental findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no less than 20 days before the convening of the 2007 session. Makes an appropriation for the operation of ... More... MI Signed into law 07/2006 P-12 School District Bond Issuance H.B. 6069 Allows boards of local or intermediate school districts to borrow money by issuing notes to secure funds for school operations or to pay previous loans obtained for school operations in the event of the unavailability or insufficiency of state school aid for a... More... IA Signed into law 06/2006 P-12 District Financial Reports S.B. 2272 - Section 14-15 Directs each local board to annually develop, maintain, and distribute a financial report. Provides that the objective of the financial report shall be to facilitate public access to a variety of information and statistics relating to the education funding re... More... IL Signed into law 06/2006 P-12 District Financial Reporting S.B. 2829 - District Financial Reporting Revises provisions related to districts' public reporting of finances. Specifies content that must be included in annual statement of affairs summary. Tranfers from regional superintendents to state board control over processing of payments of districts not ... More... LA Signed into law 06/2006 P-12 Parishwide School District of the Parish of Cameron S.B. 32 Recognizes that the parish of Cameron has suffered wide-spread devastation and crippling disruption from the effects of Hurricane Rita prohibiting normal recovery and restoration. Creates the Parishwide School District of the Parish of Cameron. Provides that... More... LA Signed into law 06/2006 P-12 Business Managers/Chief Financial Officers S.B. 539 Requires school systems to employ or share by agreement school board business managers or chief financial officers who meet qualifications established by the state board. Gives any business manager or chief financial officer who does not meet the requirements ... More... KS Signed into law 05/2006 P-12 School Accreditation and Resource Allocation S.B. 549 - Section 1 Provides that whenever the state board determines that a school has failed either to meet the accreditation requirements or standards adopted by the state board or provide the curriculum required by state law, the state board must notify the district in which ... More... KS Signed into law 05/2006 P-12 District Expenditure Reporting S.B. 549 - Section 2 Requires districts to report expenditures in the manner required by the state board in order to achieve uniform reporting of expenditures in school district budgets. http://www.kslegislature.org/bills/2006/549.pdf... More... KS Signed into law 05/2006 P-12 District Needs Assessment S.B. 549 - Section 26 Directs every district to conduct an assessment of each attendance center's educational needs. Directs the board to use information obtained from such needs assessment when preparing the district budget. Also directs the board to prepare a summary of the budge... More... KS Signed into law 05/2006 P-12 Bilingual Weighting Funds S.B. 549 - Section 13, 16, 27 Authorizes districts to spend funds received from the bilingual weighting to pay the cost of providing at-risk and preschool-aged at-risk education programs and services. Authorizes districts to spend funds received from the preschool-aged at-risk weighting to... More... AR Signed into law 04/2006 P-12 Uniform Reporting Requirements H.B. 1018, S.B. 7 Concerns uniform reporting requirements for school district fund balances. http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/ftproot/bills/2006S1/public/HB1018.pdf... More... GA Signed into law 04/2006 P-12 65% Rule S.B. 390 Concerns the Classroom First for Georgia Act. Defines "direct classroom expenditures" and "total operating expenditures." Beginning with fiscal year 2008, requires local schools to spend a minimum of 65% of total operating expenditures on direct classroom exp... More... MS Signed into law 04/2006 P-12 District Audits H.B. 1119 Revises requirements relating to district financial audits and reporting. http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2006/html/HB/1100-1199/HB1119SG.htm... More... IN Signed into law 03/2006 P-12 District and School Financial Management, Analysis and Reporting H.B. 1006 - Section 4 Requires the department to develop a plan to upgrade the financial management, analysis, and reporting system for school corporations (districts) and schools. Requires the plan to: (1) Provide the use of generally accepted accounting principles based on the ... More... WY Signed into law 03/2006 P-12 Flexibility in Operating Balances S.B. 88 Chapter No. 83 povides flexibility to school districts in accounting for revenues received from settlements of protested amounts attributable to district property tax levies; Flexibility is provided by a deferral of these revenues from the 15% limit imposed up... More... MS Signed into law 02/2006 P-12 Postsec. Community College Borrowing funds from federal government to cover loss of revenue as result of Hurricane Katrina S.B. 2701 Authorizes school districts, universities and community colleges to borrow funds from federal government to cover loss of revenue as result of Hurricane Katrina. http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2006/pdf/SB/2700-2799/SB2701SG.pdf... More... DE Signed into law 01/2006 P-12 School "Energy Fund" Appropriations S.B. 242 The legislature appropriated $5,000,000 to the Department of Education for an "Energy Fund". These funds will help reorganized school districts, vocational-technical school districts and charter schools pay for energy cost increases resulting from, but not lim... More... WI Vetoed 01/2006 P-12 Referendum Authorizing Borrowing S.B. 171 Under current law, with certain exceptions, if a school board wishes to borrow money or exceed the revenue limit otherwise applicable to the school district, it must obtain the approval of the school district's electors at a referendum. A referendum authorizi... More... WI Signed into law 01/2006 P-12 District Funds Held in Trust A.B. 167 (Act No. 99) Restricts the manner in which a school district may invest its funds and to whom it may delegate its investment authority. Expands the investment authority and delegation of investment authority for all school districts with respect to funds that are held in t... More... WI Signed into law 01/2006 P-12 Disclosure of District Investments A.B. 167 -- Act 99 Relates to the investment by school districts of funds held in trust to provide post-employments benefits; relates to deferred compensation funds; provides that if a school board has established such trust, the required report shall state the amount in the tru... More... Finance--Equity Finance--Facilities Finance--Federal Finance--Funding Formulas Finance--Lotteries Finance--Performance Funding Finance--Private Giving Finance--Resource Efficiency Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures Finance--Student Fees Finance--Taxes/Revenues Finance--Taxes/Revenues--Alternative Revenues Governance Governance--Deregulation/Waivers/Home Rule Governance--Ethics/Conflict of Interest Governance--School Boards Governance--Site-Based Management Governance--State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies Health Health--Child Abuse Health--Mental Health Health--Nutrition Health--School Based Clinics or School Nurses Health--Suicide Prevention Health--Teen Pregnancy High School High School--Advanced Placement High School--College Readiness High School--Dropout Rates/Graduation Rates High School--Dual/Concurrent Enrollment High School--Early Colleges/Middle Colleges High School--Exit Exams High School--GED (General Education Development) High School--Graduation Requirements Instructional Approaches Instructional Approaches--Constructivism Instructional Approaches--Homeschooling Instructional Approaches--Problem Based Learning Instructional Approaches--Single-Sex Education Integrated Services/Full-Service Schools International Baccalaureate Leadership Leadership--District Superintendent Leadership--Principal/School Leadership Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Certification and Licensure Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Compensation and Diversified Pay Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Evaluation and Effectiveness Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Preparation Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Recruitment and Retention Mentoring/Tutoring Middle School Minority/Diversity Issues Minority/Diversity Issues--American Indian / Alaska Native / Native Hawaiian Minority/Diversity Issues--Hispanic No Child Left Behind No Child Left Behind--Adequate Yearly Progress No Child Left Behind--Assessment No Child Left Behind--Choice/Transfer No Child Left Behind--Consequences for Schools No Child Left Behind--Reauthorization Issues/Waivers No Child Left Behind--Report Cards No Child Left Behind--School Support No Child Left Behind--Special Populations No Child Left Behind--Supplemental Services Online Learning--Digital/Blended Learning Online Learning--Virtual Schools/Courses P-16 or P-20 P-3 P-3 Child Care P-3 Early Intervention (0-3) P-3 Ensuring Quality P-3 Evaluation/Economic Benefits P-3 Finance P-3 Governance P-3 Grades 1-3 P-3 Kindergarten--Full-Day Kindergarten P-3 Preschool P-3 Teaching Quality/Professional Development Parent/Family Parent/Family--Parent Rights Parent/Family--Research Postsecondary Postsecondary Accountability Postsecondary Accountability--Accreditation Postsecondary Accountability--Diploma Mills Postsecondary Affordability--Financial Aid Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees--Prepd/College Savings Plans Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees--Undocumented Immigrants Postsecondary Faculty Postsecondary Faculty--Compensation Postsecondary Faculty--Intellectual Property Postsecondary Faculty--Teaching Assistants Postsecondary Finance Postsecondary Governance and Structures Postsecondary Institutions--Community/Technical Colleges Postsecondary Institutions--For-Profit/Proprietary Postsecondary Institutions--Private/Independent Postsecondary Online Instruction Postsecondary Participation--Access Postsecondary Participation--Admissions Requirements Postsecondary Participation--Affirmative Action Postsecondary Participation--Outreach Postsecondary Students--Disabled Postsecondary Students--Foster Youth Postsecondary Students--Military Postsecondary Students--Minority Postsecondary Success--Completion Postsecondary Success--Developmental/Remediation Postsecondary Success--Transfer/Articulation Private Schools Promising Practices Promotion/Retention Reading/Literacy Religion Religion--Scientific Creationism (Evolution) Remediation (K-12) Rural Scheduling/School Calendar Scheduling/School Calendar--Day/Class Length Scheduling/School Calendar--Extended Day Programs Scheduling/School Calendar--Summer School Scheduling/School Calendar--Year School Safety School Safety--Bullying Prevention/Conflict Resolution School Safety--Code of Conduct School Safety--Disaster/Emergency Preparedness School Safety--Expulsion/Suspension School Safety--No Child Left Behind--Safe Schools School Safety--Sexual Harassment and Assault School Safety--Special Education School Safety--Uniforms/Dress Codes School/District Structure/Operations School/District Structure/Operations--District Consolidation/Deconsolidation School/District Structure/Operations--Facilities School/District Structure/Operations--Food Service School/District Structure/Operations--Libraries School/District Structure/Operations--Personnel (Non-Teaching) School/District Structure/Operations--School Size School/District Structure/Operations--Shared Services School/District Structure/Operations--Transportation Service-Learning Special Education Special Education--Federal Law/Regulations Special Education--Finance Special Education--Inclusion (Mainstreaming) Special Education--Placement Special Education--Transition Special Populations--Corrections Education Special Populations--Foster Care Special Populations--Gifted and Talented Special Populations--Homeless Education Standards State Longitudinal Data Systems State Policymaking State Policymaking--Ballot Questions State Policymaking--Politics State Policymaking--Task Forces/Commissions STEM Student Achievement Student Achievement--Closing the Achievement Gap Students Students--Athletics/Extracurricular Activities Students--Records/Rights Teaching Quality Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Alternative Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Assignment Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Highly Qualified Teachers Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Natl. Bd. for Prof. Teach. Stds. Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Special Education Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--State Prof. Standards Bds. Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Substitute Teachers Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay--Pay-for-Performance Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay--Retirement/Benefits Teaching Quality--Evaluation and Effectiveness Teaching Quality--Induction Programs and Mentoring Teaching Quality--Paraprofessionals Teaching Quality--Preparation Teaching Quality--Professional Development Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention--At-Risk Schools Teaching Quality--Teacher Rights Teaching Quality--Tenure or Continuing Contract Teaching Quality--Unions/Collective Bargaining Technology Technology--Computer Skills Technology--Devices/Software/Hardware Technology--Equitable Access Technology--Funding Issues Technology--Internet Safety Technology--Teacher/Faculty Training Textbooks and Open Source