From the ECS State Policy Database Rural

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 WA Signed into law 04/2013 P-12 Expanding Participation in Innovation Academy Cooperatives. H.B. 1076 Amends existing law to allow two or more non high school districts to form an interdistrict cooperative and to offer an innovation academy cooperative for high school students residing in other school districts who enroll in the cooperative's reporting distric... More... AK Signed into law 04/2013 P-12 District Operated Boarding Schools S.B. 47 Amends existing legislation so that a district can operate a district-wide residential school and receive a boarding stipend as reimbursement for that said school provided that food services and a variable or 180 day school term is in effect. Funding per-pupil... More... SD To governor 03/2013 P-12 Exempts Certain Low Enrollment School Districts from Reorganizing Requirement S.B. 96 Amends §13-6-97 to include exempting any school district that is a part of a consortium of school districts exercising joint powers or intergovernmental cooperation in education, provided that any such joint powers agreement or intergovernmental cooperation ag... More... MD Signed into law 05/2012 Postsec. Northeast Maryland Higher Education Advisory Board H.B. 362 Establishes the Northeast Maryland Higher Education Advisory Board to support the development of higher education in two rural counties in Maryland. Requires representatives on Board to include members from the regional business industries and from the county... 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... PA Adopted 07/2011 Postsec. Community College Postsecondary Access in Rural Communities S.R. 147 A Resolution directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to examine the Commonwealth's programs for post-secondary education in Commonwealth rural communities and to make recommendations for improving the delivery of open admissions and affordable, ... More... IA Signed into law 04/2011 P-12 Postsec. Council for Agricultural Education H.B. 592 Establishes a council for agricultural education (advisory). Sets membership and duties. The duties of the council are to review, develop, and recommend standards for secondary and postsecondary agricultural education. http://search.legis.state.ia.us/NXT/gatew... More... MT Passed 04/2011 Postsec. Growing Divide Between Rural and Urban Communities S.J.R. 8 A joint resolution urging the Board of Regents and the Commissioner of Higher Education to study the growing divide between rural and urban communities and to present the findings and recommendations of the study to the legislature's Education and Local Govern... More... AL Issued 01/2011 P-12 Alabama Office of Rural Development Executive Order 5 Makes findings relative to education in rural areas of Alabama. Creates the Alabama Office of Rural Development. Provides the Alabama Office of Rural Development will be managed by a director and to consist of members to be appointed by, and to serve at the pl... More... AL Issued 06/2010 P-12 Alabama Rural Action Commission E.O. 50 Creates the Alabama Rural Action Commission. Identifies responsibilities of the commission, including to set comprehensive goals and specific objectives for improving the quality of life in rural Alabama, and to identify and assess organizations, authorities, ... More... OR Signed into law 06/2009 P-12 Rural schools H.B. 2533 Extends the date by which a school must qualify as a small high school for the purpose of calculating the school district's adjusted daily weighted membership; allows certain school districts to continue to increase property tax rates; excludes amounts attribu... More... MN Signed into law 05/2009 P-12 High School Exit Exams H.F. 2 Ties course credits to state and local academic standards. Requires Minnesota students to successfully pass state graduation exams effective August 1, 2012, and applicable to 9th grade students beginning in the 2012-2013 school year and later. https://www.revi... More... MN Signed into law 05/2009 P-12 Sparsity Revenue H.F. 2 Authorizes a school district that closes a school facility to receive the greater of its sparsity revenue computed under current law or the amount of sparsity revenue it received in the previous year. https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/bldbill.php?bill=H... More... MN Signed into law 05/2009 P-12 Alternative Compensation Rural District Application Assistance H.F. 2 Makes districts in the rural equity region eligible for assistance in developing Q-Comp applications with specific compensation program components.  Requires the commissioner to provide technical assistance to rural districts or groups of rural districts. ht... More... ID Signed into law 04/2009 P-12 Rural Schools S.B. 1165 Relates to public schools; provides that certain school districts shall be considered rural school districts; provides that certain public charter schools shall be considered rural public charter schools. Chapter 239 http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislatio... More... AR Signed into law 04/2009 P-12 Mobile Learning Technology Pilot Program H.B. 1273 Creates the Mobile Learning Technology Pilot Program to provide for mobile learning in rural school districts; provides that each district participating in the program shall equip school buses with wireless Internet service and purchase a specified number of l... More... NY Signed into law 09/2008 P-12 New York State Center for Rural Schools S.B. 7124 Establishes the New York State Center for Rural Schools to operate the state rural education program. Eliminates the authority of the commissioner of education to run such program; expands the membership of the rural education advisory committee. Provides that... More... TX Signed into law 06/2007 P-12 Postsec. Rural Technology Center Grant Program H.B. 2235 Subject to available funds, the office shall establish a grant program under which the Office of Rural Community Affairs awards grants to public institutions of higher education, public high schools, and governmental entities located in a rural county for the ... More... TX Signed into law 05/2007 P-12 Grants for Volunteers, Technology-Based Supplemental Instruction H.B. 2237 (Supplemental Help Provisions) Requires the commissioner to award grants to organizations that provide volunteers for programs to enhance college readiness, workforce readiness, dropout prevention, and personal financial literacy. Also requires the commissioner of education to review and ap... More... MS Signed into law 04/2007 Postsec. Community College Rural Physicians Scholarship Program H.B. 1465 Establishes the Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program to identify and recruit university and college students from rural areas of the state for medical or osteopathic school matriculation. Participating students will be provided with financial assis... More... ID Signed into law 04/2007 P-12 Potential Study on the Challenges of Rural Schools S.B. 1236 (Section 7) Authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction to expend $100,000 of a state appropriation to conduct a study and develop plans that address the challenges of rural schools including, but not limited to, the issues of declining enrollment, inefficiencies ... More... NM Signed into law 03/2007 P-12 Rural Library Development Act H.B. 655 Provides grants to improve existing rural libraries' collections and services and provide resources to plan and establish new rural libraries, provides professional development to librarians and other library staff in rural libraries, connects rural libraries ... More... KS Signed into law 05/2006 P-12 Districts with Extraordinary Declining Enrollment S.B. 549 - Section 4 Defines 'extraordinary declining enrollment' as a district enrollment which has declined during the preceding three school years at a rate of at least 5% per year or by at least 50 students per year, whichever is greater. Bars the board of any district with e... More... ID Signed into law 04/2006 P-12 Distance Learning and Remedial Coursework H.B. 847 Section 9 Specifies that $1,100,000 of the appropriation in section 3 of the bill be distributed to the Idaho Digital Learning Academy, as follows: (1) $200,000 shall be utilized to reduce or eliminate tuition charged by the Idaho Digital Learning Academy to Idaho stu... More... CO Signed into law 05/2005 P-12 Teacher Loan Forgiveness Pilot Program S.B. 191 Defines "high-poverty school" and "rural school district." Expands teacher loan forgiveness pilot program to include teachers who (1) contract to teach in a high-poverty public elementary school in a rural school district or in a facility school in a rural sch... More... AR Signed into law 04/2005 P-12 Closure of Isolated Schools H.B. 1289 Allows a school district to close an isolated school or part thereof following an annexation or consolidation. Specifies that the state board may approve a motion to close such a school if the closure is in the best interest of the students in the school distr... More... AR Signed into law 03/2005 P-12 Public School Funding S.B. 391 Provides special needs funding for certain isolated schools; provides special needs funding for certain school districts with a low student density. ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/bills/2005/public/SB391.pdf... More... MI Signed into law 09/2004 P-12 2005 School Aid Budget S.B. 1069 Ensures a minimum level of funding to small, rural and Upper Peninsula or island districts that are not near other schools or accessible by a bridge. http://www.michiganlegislature.org/mileg.asp?page=getObject&objName=2004-SB-1069... More... CA Vetoed 09/2004 P-12 Postsec. Teachers A.B. 242 Requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and, where appropriate, the State Department of Education, to incorporate into licensure requirements for teacher candidates, professional development requirements for renewal of licenses, and accreditation requ... More... CA Signed into law 09/2004 P-12 Education Technology A.B. 2706 Repeals the obsolete provisions that established the Commission on Technology in Learning law and specified its duties. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to ensure school districts have access to technical assistance on the implementation of ed... More... UT Rule Adoption 08/2004 P-12 Special Subject Certification for Small Schools R277-510 Repeals rules concerning special subject certification for small secondary schools. UTAH REG 27208 (SN)... More... AR Signed into law 02/2004 P-12 Educational Renewal Zones H.B. 1056 Creates the office of education renewal zones; provides for renewal zones to improve student achievement in smaller schools and districts; provides for collaboration with higher education partners, including community and technical colleges; enables small, rur... More... MT Signed into law 03/2001 P-12 Opening or Reopening of Elementary Schools, Including Isolated Schools H.B. 358 Revises the procedures for opening or reopening an elementary school; allows parents of at least two pupils to petition the trustees; lowers the required average number belonging to two; allows the trustees to open or reopen the school during the current schoo... More...