---

From the ECS State Policy Database 2013 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 2013. 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--College Entrance Exams Assessment--Common Core/National Tests Assessment--End-of-Course 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 Brain Research Business Involvement Career/Technical Education Career/Technical Education--Career Academies/Apprenticeship Cheating Choice of Schools Choice of Schools--Charter Schools Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Charter Districts Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Closings Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Cyber Charters Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Finance Choice of Schools--Choice/Open Enrollment Choice of Schools--Innovation Schools Choice of Schools--Magnet or Specialized Schools Choice of Schools--Tax Credits Choice of Schools--Vouchers Choice of Schools--Vouchers--Privately Funded Civic Education Civic Education--Character Education Civic Education--Curriculum/Standards Class Size Counseling/Guidance Curriculum Curriculum--Arts Education Curriculum--Computer Science Curriculum--Drivers Education Curriculum--Financial Literacy/Economics Ed. Curriculum--Foreign Language/Sign Language Curriculum--Health/Nutrition Education 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 Economic/Workforce Development--Value of an Education Education Research Equity Federal Finance Finance--Bonds Finance--District Finance--Facilities Finance--Funding Formulas OR Signed into law 08/2013 P-12 Small School Supplemental Fund H.B. 2501 Creates a "small school supplemental fund" that directs additional funds to small districts (8,500 students or less) and small high schools (350 students or less). Directs each fiscal year, the Department of Education shall transfer the amount of $2.5 million ... More... OR Signed into law 08/2013 P-12 Flexible Spending for Regional Education Districts H.B. 3401 Provides regional education districts the opportunity to apply to the state for greater flexibility in the way that they expend funds starting with the 2014-2015 school year. Directs the the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representativ... More... CA Signed into law 07/2013 P-12 Community College Apprenticeship Programs (education finance omnibus) A.B. 86 - Apprenticeship Programs From bill summary: Revises the role of the state department of education in apprenticeship programs. Among other things, establishes standards for the provision of state funding and reimbursements for these programs at high schools, unified school districts, r... More... CA Signed into law 07/2013 P-12 Calculating Charter School ADA (education finance omnibus) A.B. 86 - Calculating Charter School ADA From bill summary: Revise certain procedures for the calculation of average daily attendance for the purpose of funding charter schools. Specifically prohibits a charter school pupil from generating more than one day of attendance in a calendar day. http://www... More... IL Passed 07/2013 P-12 Advisory Committee on Education Funding S.R. 431 Creates the Advisory Committee on Education Funding to conduct a thorough review of the existing distribution methods and expenditures of pre-K through grade 12 education funding and make recommendations to implement an education funding system. Directs the Ad... More... OR Signed into law 07/2013 P-12 School Funding and Appropriation H.B. 2506 Creates a panel to review the state's funding system and provides recommended changes. In addition, it makes minor changes to the state's funding formula. http://www.leg.state.or.us/13reg/measpdf/hb2500.dir/hb2506.en.pdf... More... OR Signed into law 07/2013 P-12 Calculating At-Risk Students for Funding Purposes H.B. 2098 Changes the way that the state counts "at-risk students" for funding purposes and leaves the department of education to determine a new system for counting at-risk/low-income students. http://www.leg.state.or.us/13reg/measpdf/hb2000.dir/hb2098.en.pdf... More... IA Signed into law 06/2013 P-12 Fiscal Provisions H.F. 215 - Funding Formula Elements Divisions I and II address fiscal provisions. Provides that the categorical state percent of growth for the budget year beginning July 1, 2013, is two percent. The categorical state percent of growth for the budget year beginning July 1, 2014, is four percent.... More... NH Signed into law 06/2013 P-12 Cooperative School Districts with Electric Generation Facilities H.B. 305 Establishes a committee to study the apportionment formula for cooperative school districts for towns with electric generation facilities. Sets membership for the committee. Requires the committee to study tax obligations and state aid for towns and districts ... More... NV Signed into law 06/2013 P-12 Task Force on K–12 Public Education Funding S.B. 500 Creates The Task Force on K–12 Public Education Funding. Charges task force with conducting a review of the report entitled "Study of a New Method of Funding for Public Schools in Nevada;" survey the weighted pupil public education funding formulas which are u... More... OR Signed into law 06/2013 P-12 Impact of Poverty on Education H.B. 2665 The department of education requires an evaluation of the means by which the impact of poverty on educational attainment is addressed by state law. Study requires the distribution of state school funds, standards for equivalency in opportunities to learn acro... More... TX Signed into law 06/2013 P-12 K-12 Students Holding Certain U.S. Student Visas S.B. 453 From fiscal note: Makes provisions for students who are required to pay tuition to a district or charter school as a condition of a visa. Requires the district or charter to accept as tuition the full unsubsidized per capita cost of providing the student's edu... More... VT Signed into law 06/2013 P-12 Education Funding Act 60 (H.B. 538) Lowers the excess spending threshold from 125% of the prior year's statewide average per-pupil spending to 123% in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 and then to 121% in fiscal year 2017 and after.  It also limits the amount of money a sending school district pays for... More... VT Signed into law 06/2013 P-12 Tax Increment Financing S.B. 37 This bill proposes to create an additional tax increment financing district to be used for education tax increment financing. http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/2014/Acts/ACT080.pdf... More... GA Signed into law 05/2013 P-12 Education Finance H.B. 283 Alters the funding weights and student-teacher ratio requirements for state-authorized instructional programs. Sets student-school counselor ratio at 450 to 1. http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20132014/137066.pdf... More... IL Passed 05/2013 P-12 Advisory Committee on Education Funding S.J.R. 32 Creates the General Assembly's Advisory Committee on Education Funding to conduct a thorough review of the existing distribution methods and expenditures of education funding pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Directs the committee to make recommendations to i... More... NE Signed into law 05/2013 P-12 Changes to Elements of Funding Formula L.B. 407 - Fiscal Sections Makes multiple changes to the state's school funding formula, the most significant of which is that beginning in FY2013-14, general fund operating expenditures will include tuition paid and transportation fees paid to other districts. This change will cost the... More... NE Signed into law 05/2013 P-12 Funding Formula Changes L.B. 410 Among other amendments, this bill (Section 5) eliminates provisions requiring the state department to reimburse option school districts for transportation expenses paid to parents of option students. School districts are still responsible to reimburse the pare... More... WV Signed into law 05/2013 P-12 Relating to the school aid formula H.B. 2727 Amends school aid formula related to transportation. Restricts ten percent additional allowance for school buses using compressed natural gas. http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=HB2727%20SUB.htm&yr=2013&sesstype=RS&i=2727... More... CO Signed into law 04/2013 P-12 Mid-year School Finance Adjustments S.B. 108 Provides for K-12 state education funding to be held harmless from budget reductions. http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2013a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/EA751916940288F087257AEF007F6F54?Open&file=108_enr.pdf... More... FL Signed into law 04/2013 P-12 Florida Virtual School Funding S.B. 1076 - Florida Virtual School Funding Earlier provision required adjustment of Florida Virtual School Funding after a student completed an end-of-course assessment (regardless of whether student passed assessment or required for high school graduation). Beginning in the 2016-17 school year, report... More... ID Signed into law 04/2013 P-12 Amendments to Differential Pay, Technology Pilot and Social Security Benefits S.B. 1199 Makes adjustments to differential pay so that moneys for the differential pay program will be distributed to school districts requesting grant funds for local excellence in achievement awards. Funding will be made available to public schools and public charter... More... MT Signed into law 04/2013 P-12 Revises Public Education Funding S.B. 175 Generally revises public education funding. revises K-12 funding and the funding formula. Creates a new funding component, the Data-For-Achievement payment. The school districts' "BASE budget" and "maximum general fund budget" are modified to include 100% of t... More... ND Signed into law 04/2013 P-12 Transition Payments for Isolated School Districts S.B. 2214 Extends the hold harmless provision for districts that no longer qualify for funding for isolated schools by an additional year. http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/63-2013/documents/13-0552-04000.pdf?20130419121258... More... NM Signed into law 04/2013 P-12 Home School Student Program Units S.B. 302 Allows for home schooled students to take one or more classes at public schools and for home schooled students to generate program units. Payment of the program units for home schooled students will be paid to the school district in which they are generated. E... More... ID Signed into law 03/2013 P-12 97% Funding Protection for Declining Enrollment H.B. 225 Ensures that districts will not see a decrease in state funding each year of greater than 3%. There was an omission in the original bill HB 603 (2012) - the bill only had a "hold harmless" provision in effect for FY 2012. This bill makes sure that the hold har... More... ID Signed into law 03/2013 P-12 Alternative Secondary School Funding Formulas H.B. 226 Amends current law for any alternative secondary school to have their full-term average daily attendance used to calculate support units for each cohort of students that meets the minimum instructional hours that are required. Support units so calculated shall... More... Finance--Lotteries Finance--Performance Funding 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--Regional Entities Governance--School Boards Governance--School Boards--Training 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--Credit Recovery 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--Grading Practices Instructional Approaches--Homeschooling Instructional Approaches--Problem Based Learning Instructional Approaches--Single-Sex Education Instructional Approaches--Teaching Across Disciplines Integrated Services/Full-Service Schools 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--Induction Programs and Mentoring Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Professional Development Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Tenure Middle School Minority/Diversity Issues Minority/Diversity Issues--American Indian / Alaska Native / Native Hawaiian Minority/Diversity Issues--Hispanic No Child Left Behind--Adequate Yearly Progress No Child Left Behind--Assessment No Child Left Behind--Reauthorization Issues/Waivers 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 Early Intervention (0-3) P-3 English Language Learners (ELL) P-3 Ensuring Quality P-3 Evaluation/Economic Benefits 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 Public/Private Partnerships P-3 Special Ed./Inclusion P-3 Teaching Quality/Professional Development P-3 Technology Parent/Family Parent/Family--Parent Rights Partnerships--University/School Postsecondary Postsecondary Accountability Postsecondary Accountability--Accreditation Postsecondary Accountability--Diploma Mills Postsecondary Accountability--Licensing/Program Review and Approval Postsecondary Accountability--Student Learning 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--Intellectual Property 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 Online Instruction Postsecondary Participation Postsecondary Participation--Access Postsecondary Participation--Affirmative Action Postsecondary Participation--Outreach Postsecondary Students Postsecondary Students--Adults Postsecondary Students--Disabled Postsecondary Students--Foster Youth Postsecondary Students--Graduate/Professional Postsecondary Students--Low-Income Postsecondary Students--Military Postsecondary Students--Minority Postsecondary Success Postsecondary Success--Completion Postsecondary Success--Developmental/Remediation Postsecondary Success--Retention/Persistence Postsecondary Success--Transfer/Articulation Private Schools Privatization Proficiency-Based Approaches Promotion/Retention Purposes of Public Education Reading/Literacy Religion Remediation (K-12) Rural Scale-Up/Replication Scheduling/School Calendar 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/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--Personnel (Non-Teaching) School/District Structure/Operations--Shared Services School/District Structure/Operations--Staffing Ratios School/District Structure/Operations--Transportation Service-Learning Social/Emotional Learning and Non-Cognitive Skills 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--Task Forces/Commissions STEM Student Achievement Student Achievement--Closing the Achievement Gap Students--Athletics/Extracurricular Activities Students--Incentives Students--K-12 Exchange Students Students--Mobility 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--Natl. Bd. for Prof. Teach. Stds. Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Special Education Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--State Prof. Standards Bds. 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--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 Attitudes Teaching Quality--Teacher Contracts (Not Tenure) Teaching Quality--Teacher Rights Teaching Quality--Tenure or Continuing Contract Teaching Quality--Unions/Collective Bargaining Technology Technology--Computer Skills Technology--Devices/Software/Hardware Technology--Internet Safety Technology--Teacher/Faculty Training Textbooks and Open Source