From the ECS State Policy Database Governance--Mandates

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. Please cite use of the database as: Education Commission of the States (ECS) State Policy Database, retrieved [date]. State Status/Date Level Summary VA Signed into law 04/2012 P-12 Eliminates several statewide mandates on local and regional government entities relating to education and land use. The bill does the following: * Removes the requirement for establishing local advisory committees on gifted education and the annual reporting by such committees * Eliminates the requirement to provide the estimated per pupil cost for public education of individual school to each parent or guardian of the enrolled child * Removes the requirement that proceeds from the sale of local education surplus property be applied to capital improvements * Removes the requirement for economic and financial literacy courses in middle and high school * Eliminates the requirement to establish a school health board * Removes annual contract requirements for community service boards * Eliminates Internet policy mandates on local libraries * Changes requirement to give first priority for vending contracts to the blind from mandatory to a local option * Removes the requirement for economic and financial literacy courses in middle and high school * Repeals the requirement for civics training for teachers in order to renew license The bill also makes technical changes. The bill is identical to SB 679. http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+ful+CHAP0805+pdf Title: H.B. 1295/S.B. 679 Source: http://lis.virginia.gov/ NJ Issued 04/2011 P-12 Establishes the New Jersey Education Transformation Task Force. Charges the task force with reviewing all current administrative regulations that affect public education, and evaluating them to determine the degree to which they increase the quality of instruction for students, improve student academic achievement, improve teaching effectiveness, or improve the safety and well-being of students. Directs the task force to also review the statutes supporting these administrative regulations. Requires the task force to prepare recommendations for the governor and commissioner of education regarding all statutes and regulations that are overly prescriptive. Additionally directs the task force to review existing accountability systems and resulting incentive structures for public schools and districts, including the Quality Single Accountability Continuum ("Q SAC"). Directs the task force to provide recommendations to the governor on an accountability system that would give schools and districts greater autonomy while maintaining strict accountability measures in the areas of student performance, safety and fiscal responsibility. Permits the task force to elicit public input from specified stakeholders. Directs the task force to issue an initial report to the governor by August 15, 2011, and to revise the recommendations as necessary based on comments from the public, stakeholders and the state board of education. Provides the task force will expire upon the governor's receipt of a report containing its final recommendations. Directs the task force to issue its final recommendations by December 31, 2011, to provide the final report to the legislature and state board, and make the report available to the general public. http://nj.gov/infobank/circular/eocc58.pdf Title: E.O. 58 Source: nj.gov/infobank NY Issued 01/2011 P-12 Establishes the Mandate Relief Redesign Team to look for ways to reduce the costs of mandated programs on schools and local governments by determining how school districts and local governments may be given greater ability to control costs. Directs the team to look at the reason for delays in state reimbursement for mandated programs, and to look at the practice of cost-shifting of mandated programs. Calls for the team to identify opportunities for eliminating or reducing unfunded and underfunded mandates imposed by the state on local governments and school districts. Directs the team to begin its work no later than January 7, 2011 and to provide the governor with its first report of findings and recommendations by March 1, 2011. Directs the team to submit quarterly reports on its continuing review thereafter, and to make its final recommendations to the governor by the end of the 2011-12 state fiscal year, at which time it will be relieved of all responsibilities and duties. http://www.governor.ny.gov/executiveorder/6 Title: E.O. 6 Source: www.governor.ny.gov IL Signed into law 08/2010 P-12 Provides that no public school district or private school is obligated to comply with any new unfunded mandate adopted by the legislature or state board of education. Provides that if the amount appropriated to fund a new mandate does not fully fund the mandated activity, the district or private school may choose to discontinue or modify the activity to ensure that the costs of compliance do not exceed the funding received. Provides that before discontinuing or modifying the mandate, a district must petition its regional superintendent of schools on or before February 15 of each year to request to be exempt from implementing the mandate in a school or schools in the next school year. Sets forth provisions concerning what the petition must contain, review of the petition and a public hearing, granting an exemption, state board of education notification, and appealing the regional superintendent's decision. Provides that these provisions do not apply to: (1) Any new statutory or regulatory mandates related to revised learning standards developed through the Common Core State Standards Initiative and assessments developed to align with those standards or actions specified in the state's Phase 2 Race to the Top Grant application if it is approved by the U.S. Department of Education (2) New statutory or regulatory mandates imposed on school districts designated as being in the lowest performing 5% of schools within the Race to the Top Grant application. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/96/HB/PDF/09600HB4711lv.pdf Title: H.B. 4711 Source: www.ilga.gov IL Signed into law 08/2010 P-12 Deletes language requiring that on or before February 1, 1998, and each year thereafter, the state board of education submit a cumulative report summarizing all types of waivers of mandates and modifications of mandates granted by the state board or the general assembly. Page 17 of 51: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/96/PDF/096-1423.pdf Title: S.B. 3681 - (105 ILCS 5/2-3.25g(f) Source: www.ilga.gov IL Signed into law 07/2010 P-12 Defines "instructional mandate" as any state law that requires a district to devote any amount of time to the instruction of or engagement by students in any subject or course. Directs the state board to create the Instructional Mandates Task Force. Establishes task force membership. Directs the task force to examine all K-12 instructional mandates on public schools, and to make recommendations on the propriety of all existing mandates, the imposition of future mandates, and waivers of instructional mandates. Directs the task force to submit a final report of its findings and recommendations to the governor and general assembly by July 2011. Provides that the task force is abolished on July 2, 2011, and this section is repealed on July 1, 2012. Provides a moratorium on the passage of instructional mandates for public schools from the effective date of this act until one year after the task force submits a final report to the governor and general assembly. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/96/PDF/096-1374.pdf Title: H.B. 4209 Source: www.ilga.gov RI Signed into law 06/2010 P-12 Creates a special legislative commission to study relief from state mandates. Includes among the commission's nine members the commissioner of education or designee; and a union representative who represents teachers, to be appointed by the senate president. Directs the commission to report its findings and recommendations to the general assembly by February 1, 2011. Provides the commission will expire on March 31, 2011. http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/PublicLaws/law10/res10/res10339.htm Title: S.R. 3013 Source: www.rilin.state.ri.us UT Signed into law 03/2010 P-12 Postsec. Section 1: Directs the state board, by December 31, 2010, to review mandates provided for in administrative rule, to determine whether some could be waived to remove funding pressures on public schools temporarily. Sections 2-4: Eliminates the requirement to administer criterion-referenced tests to students in grade 2. Directs the state board, before the October 2010 Education Interim Committee meeting, to present its plan for a pilot program for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years to (1) replace the 10th-grade basic skills competency test with computer adaptive testing of basic skills, and (2) administer the ACT exam to high school students. Directs the state board to implement such a pilot program during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years. Exempts districts and charter schools from administering the 10th-grade basic skills competency test during the the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years. Directs the state board to re-direct the money saved by not administering the 10th-grade basic skills competency test to fund implementation of the pilot program during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 fiscal years. Exempts a student from the 10th-grade basic skills competency test requirement if the student was in 10th grade in the 2008-09 or 2009-10 school years and did not pass the competency test (10th-grade basic skills competency test functions as exit exam unless certain waivers apply). Section 5: Exempts local boards from the requirement to develop and administer activity disclosure statements for high school-level extracurricular activities (as called for in Section 53A-3-420) until the 2012-13 school year. Section 6: Exempts the state board, until the 2012-13 school year, from the requirements called for in Section 53A-3-602.5 to annually (1) develop a school performance report for schools, districts and charter schools, and (2) collect and electronically report specified performance data for schools, districts and charter schools. Section 7: Exempts a school district from certain requirements related to the disposal of textbooks until the 2012-13 school year. Section 8: Until the 2012-13 school year, releases districts from the requirement in Section 53A-13-107 that an annual presentation on adoption be given to students in grades 7-12. Section 9: Until the 2012-13 school year, releases districts from the requirement in Section 53A-14-107 regarding alignment of primary instructional materials aligned with the core curriculum adopted under Section 53A-1-402. http://le.utah.gov/~2010/bills/hbillenr/hb0166.pdf Title: H.B. 166 Source: le.utah.gov RI Passed 07/2007 P-12 (Joint Resolution)Would create an eleven (11) member special legislative commission whose purpose it would be to make a comprehensive study of the impact of mandates on Rhode Island's school districts, and who would report back to the general assembly no later than January 8, 2008 and whose life would expire on March 8, 2008. Title: S.B. 361 Source: Lexis-Nexis/StateNet