---

From the ECS State Policy Database 2012 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 2012. 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 21st Century Skills 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--College Entrance Exams Assessment--Computer Based Assessment--End-of-Course Assessment--High Stakes/Competency At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention) At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention)--Alternative Education Attendance Attendance--Compulsory Attendance--Statutory Ages (Upper and Lower) Attendance--Truancy Background Checks Bilingual/ESL Career/Technical Education Career/Technical Education--Career Academies/Apprenticeship Cheating Choice of Schools 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--Curriculum/Standards Civic Education--Pledge of Allegiance Class Size Counseling/Guidance Curriculum Curriculum--Arts Education Curriculum--Drivers Education Curriculum--Excusal Curriculum--Family Living Education Curriculum--Financial Literacy/Economics Ed. Curriculum--Foreign Language/Sign Language Curriculum--Health/Nutrition Education Curriculum--Language Arts Curriculum--Mathematics Curriculum--Multicultural Curriculum--Physical Education Curriculum--Science Curriculum--Sex Education Curriculum--Social Studies/History Data-Driven Improvement Economic/Workforce Development Equity Finance Finance--Adequacy/Core Cost Finance--Bonds Finance--District Finance--Equity Finance--Facilities Finance--Federal Finance--Funding Formulas TX Adopted 10/2012 P-12 Calculating FTE Counts for Districts Serving a Significant Migrant Population 19 TAC 129.1021 From Texas Register: Adds provisions to reflect the agency's current practice for determining full-time-equivalent (FTE) counts for special education, bilingual education, and career and technical education allotments for school districts and charter schools i... More... CA Signed into law 09/2012 P-12 At-Risk Pupil Funding and Expenditures S.B. 754 From bill summary: Requires a district, as a condition of the receipt of at-risk pupil funding (i.e., economic impact aid funds, allocated based on the number of economically disadvantaged pupils and English learners in the district), to post in an easily acce... More... CA Vetoed 09/2012 P-12 California Task Force on School Finance A.B. 18 From bill summary: Establishes a 21-member California Task Force on School Finance as of January 1, 2013, to review and analyze alternative funding formulas, in order to identify and recommend a formula or formulas that best meet the needs of the state's publi... More... CA Signed into law 09/2012 P-12 Programs Eligible for Block Grant S.B. 1028 - Programs Eligible for Block Grant From bill summary: Under the California Constitution, whenever the legislature or a state agency mandates a new program or higher level of service on any local government, including a school district and a community college district, the state is required to p... More... CA Signed into law 09/2012 P-12 Computing Average Daily Attendance for Students in Online Instruction A.B. 644 From bill summary: Commencing with the 2014–15 school year, authorizes, for purposes of computing average daily attendance, the inclusion of pupils in grades 9-12, under the immediate supervision and control of a certificated employee of the school district or... More... HI Adopted 06/2012 P-12 Review of State Funding for ESL and Hawaiian Language Programs S.R. 43 Requests that the University of Hawaii, with the assistance of the department of education and other educational organizations as appropriate, review the state's funding for existing English as a Second Language and Hawaiian language programs offered in Hawaii... More... LA Adopted 06/2012 P-12 Legislative Approval of the MFP Formula for FY 2012-13 as Adopted by BESE on 2-27-12 S.C.R. 99 Provides for legislative approval of the formula for the 2012-13 school year to determine the cost of a minimum foundation program (MFP) of education in all public elementary and secondary schools as well as to equitably allocate the funds to local school syst... More... OH Signed into law 06/2012 P-12 Schools Not Open Due to Law Enforcement Emergencies S.B. 316 - Schools Not Open Due to Law Enforcement Emergencies Waives from calculation of full-time equivalency/minimum school calendar requirements for traditional public schools and community schools any hours or days that learning opportunities were not offered due to law enforcement emergencies. Pages 159 and 173 of 5... More... AZ Signed into law 05/2012 P-12 Average Daily Membership S.B. 1456 Limits the window during which the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) can conduct Average Daily Membership (ADM) audits to three years from the time the monitoring or audit activity begins; Allows ADE to adjust funding for a school district or charter schoo... More... CT Signed into law 05/2012 P-12 Low Performing Districts S.B. 458 (Sec. 34) Defines an alliance district as a town whose school district is among those with the lowest academic performance as measured by a district performance index (DPI) the bill establishes. For FY 13, the bill requires the education commissioner to design... More... ME Signed into law 05/2012 P-12 Amending Laws Regarding Financial Audits, Construction, Summer School Tuition Rates H.P. 1284-Finance Part A amends and clarifies audit requirements in order for the State and school administrative units to be in compliance with federal regulations and also enacts statutory language requiring the audit of state-funded school construction projects Part B requi... More... VT Signed into law 05/2012 P-12 Educational Opportunities Working Group S.B. 113 - Section on State Funding Creates a working group to review and evaluate how the state's current system allocates financial and other resources in a way that promotes high quality, equitable educational opportunities for students throughout the state and how impediments to opportunity,... More... WA Signed into law 05/2012 P-12 Task Force On Education Funding H.B. 2824 Establishes the joint task force on education funding to: (1) Develop a proposal for a reliable and dependable funding mechanism to support basic education programs; and (2) Consider the specific recommendations, from the quality education council, for the tra... More... FL Signed into law 04/2012 P-12 Charter School Administrative Fee H.B. 5101 - Charter School Administrative Fee From bill analysis: Reduces the 5% charter school administrative fee charged by school districts for schools that have an exceptional student enrollment that is 75% or greater of the total school enrollment. Bases the fee for affected schools on unweighted FTE... More... FL Signed into law 04/2012 P-12 Delay of Class Size Penalty H.B. 5101 - Delay of Class Size Penalty From bill analysis: Delays the increased class size penalty (from 50% to the full amount of the base student allocation) until 2014-2015, including a retroactive adjustment of the 2011-2012 penalty calculation. Bill text (pages 17-18 of 41): http://myfloridaho... More... FL Signed into law 04/2012 P-12 Funding for Juvenile Justice Education Programs H.B. 5101 - Funding for Juvenile Justice Education Programs Calcifies the amount of state and local funding to which juvenile justice education programs are entitled. Pages 18-20 of 41: http://myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h5101er.docx&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=5101&Session=2012... More... GA Signed into law 04/2012 P-12 Funding for School Health Nurse Programs S.B. 403 Includes school nurses in state funding formula based on full-time equivalent student counts. Requires one nurse for every 750 full-time equivalent students at the elementary level and one nurse for every 1,500 studetns at the secondary level. Sets additional ... More... KY Signed into law 04/2012 P-12 District in a County in Which a Disaster Has Been Declared H.B. 255 For the 2011-12 school year, directs the commissioner of education to waive up to 10 instructional days for a district in a county in which a disaster has been declared. Permits a district in a county in which a disaster has been declared, when submitting the ... More... NY Issued 04/2012 P-12 Establishing the New NY Education Reform Commission E.O. No. 44 Establishes the New NY Education Reform Commission to provide guidance and advice to the governor on education policy, performance, and innovation. Directs the commission to study the best national and international public education models and best practices t... More... CO Signed into law 03/2012 P-12 No School Pupil Enrollment Counts On Holidays H.B. 1090 Changes the language of the annual pupil count day from October 1 to Pupil Enrollment Count Day to provide flexibility in case Oct. 1 falls on a weekend, holiday or other situation. The education department can establish alternative dates for year-round school... More... ID Became law without governor's signature 03/2012 P-12 School Funding Based on Average Daily Attendance Formula H.B. 603 Provides for 97% average daily attendance (ADA) funding protection for Idaho school districts. This is important because school districts must make teacher contract offers by no later than July 1st, before they know how many students will show up for school at... More... IN Signed into law 03/2012 P-12 Nonpublic to Public Student Records Transfer, Charter Start-up Grants H.B. 1189 Requires an accredited nonpublic school to provide sufficient verbal information to permit a requesting school to which a child transfers to make an appropriate placement decision when the parent of the child is in breach of a contract that conditions release ... More... UT Signed into law 03/2012 P-12 Local Discretionary Block Grant Program H.B. 156 - Local Discretionary Block Grant Program Repeals 53A-17a-123, which required the state board to distribute money appropriated for the Local Discretionary Block Grant Program to school districts and charter schools according to a board-adopted formula. http://le.utah.gov/~2012/bills/hbillenr/hb0156.pd... More... UT Signed into law 03/2012 P-12 Repealing Certain School Funding Provisions H.B. 156 - Repealing Certain School Funding Provisions Repeals 53A-17a-131.9, which governed use of monies appropriated to or received by the State Board of Education to maintain Title 63M, Chapter 9, Families, Agencies, and Communities Together for Children and Youth At Risk Act. Repeals 53A-17a-131.16, provision... More... CA Signed into law 02/2012 P-12 Budget Act of 2011 S.B. 81 Requires the state to readjust how budget cuts impact district funding. District funding would be reduced by a rate of 9.57% instead of 8.92%. The money saved by this budget move would be used to help restore $248 million to school district transportation fund... More... NJ Issued 02/2012 P-12 Creates the New Jersey Education Funding Task Force E.O. 89 Creates the New Jersey Education Funding Task Force to examine the state's school funding formula and identify areas that may be susceptible to fraud or subject to outside manipulation. Additionally, the Task Force is directed to consider: (a) economically eff... More... Finance--Local Foundations/Funds Finance--Lotteries 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--Mandates Governance--Regional Entities Governance--School Boards Governance--School Boards--Training Governance--Site-Based Management Governance--State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies Health Health--Child Abuse Health--Nutrition Health--School Based Clinics or School Nurses Health--Suicide Prevention 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--Grading Practices Instructional Approaches--Homeschooling Integrated Services/Full-Service Schools International Baccalaureate Leadership Leadership--District Superintendent Leadership--District Superintendent--Compensation and Diversified Pay 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--Professional Development Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Tenure Mentoring/Tutoring Middle School Minority/Diversity Issues Minority/Diversity Issues--American Indian / Alaska Native / Native Hawaiian No Child Left Behind No Child Left Behind--Choice/Transfer No Child Left Behind--Consequences for Schools No Child Left Behind--Reauthorization Issues/Waivers No Child Left Behind--School Support 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 Content Standards and Assessment P-3 Data Systems P-3 Early Intervention (0-3) P-3 Ensuring Quality P-3 Family Involvement P-3 Finance P-3 Governance P-3 Grades 1-3 P-3 Health and Mental Health P-3 Kindergarten P-3 Kindergarten--Full-Day Kindergarten P-3 Preschool P-3 Teaching Quality/Professional Development Parent/Family Parent/Family--Parent Rights Partnerships--University/School Postsecondary Postsecondary Accountability Postsecondary Accountability--Accreditation Postsecondary Accountability--Licensing/Program Review and Approval Postsecondary Affordability Postsecondary Affordability--Financial Aid Postsecondary Affordability--Textbooks 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--Tenure Postsecondary Finance Postsecondary Finance--Efficiency/Performance-Based Funding Postsecondary Finance--Facilities Postsecondary Finance--Revenue and Expenditures Postsecondary Governance and Structures Postsecondary Governance and Structures--Administrative/Leadership Issues Postsecondary Governance and Structures--State Executives/State Agencies Postsecondary Institutions Postsecondary Institutions--Community/Technical Colleges Postsecondary Institutions--For-Profit/Proprietary Postsecondary Institutions--Four-Year Baccalaureate Postsecondary Institutions--Private/Independent Postsecondary Online Instruction Postsecondary Participation Postsecondary Participation--Access Postsecondary Participation--Enrollments (Statistics) Postsecondary Participation--Outreach Postsecondary Students Postsecondary Students--Adults Postsecondary Students--Disabled Postsecondary Students--Foster Youth Postsecondary Students--Graduate/Professional Postsecondary Students--Military Postsecondary Success Postsecondary Success--Completion Postsecondary Success--Developmental/Remediation Postsecondary Success--Retention/Persistence Postsecondary Success--Transfer/Articulation Private Schools Privatization--Education Management Agencies (EMOs) Proficiency-Based Approaches Promotion/Retention Purposes of Public Education Reading/Literacy Religion Religion--Prayer/Meditation 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--Corporal Punishment School Safety--Disaster/Emergency Preparedness School Safety--Expulsion/Suspension 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--Org. (K-3/K-8 etc.) School/District Structure/Operations--Personnel (Non-Teaching) 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--Placement Special Education--Transition Special Populations--Corrections Education Special Populations--Foster Care Special Populations--Gifted and Talented Special Populations--Homeless Education Special Populations--Migrant Education Special Populations--Military Standards Standards--Common Core State Standards State Longitudinal Data Systems State Policymaking State Policymaking--Ballot Questions State Policymaking--Constitutional Clauses State Policymaking--Task Forces/Commissions STEM Student Achievement Student Achievement--Closing the Achievement Gap Student Surveys Students--Athletics/Extracurricular Activities Students--Employment Students--K-12 Exchange Students 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--Recruitment and Retention--High-Needs Subjects Teaching Quality--Reduction in Force Teaching Quality--Teacher Contracts (Not Tenure) Teaching Quality--Teacher Rights Teaching Quality--Tenure or Continuing Contract Teaching Quality--Unions/Collective Bargaining Technology Technology--Devices/Software/Hardware Technology--Equitable Access Technology--Funding Issues Technology--Internet Safety Technology--Teacher/Faculty Training Textbooks and Open Source Urban