Legislative Updates…
Evaluation Legislation Update
Senate Bill 103 remains on the House floor awaiting consideration. However, the respective Senate and House Education Chairs appear to be very close to agreement on a final version of the bill, and action may yet happen this month. MEMSPA is encouraged by latest dialogue between the two chambers, and we are supportive of making the final minor modifications necessary to advance a bill to the Governor’s desk that he can sign in short order to replace the 50% student growth and assessment threshold for teacher and administrator evaluations in current law.
House Education Committee Update
The House Education Committee this week took testimony on House Bill 4493, sponsored by Rep. Klint Kesto (R-Commerce Twp.), that would create a 15-member, gubernatorial-appointed advisory committee to develop age-appropriate material educating students on genocide and the Holocaust. Similar to legislation that passed the Senate but stalled in the House last session, HB 4493 would require at least six hours of teaching on genocide and the Holocaust for students between 8th and 12th grade, and would require a question on state assessments related to either subject. Similar legislation has been adopted in other states, and the committee may return to the subject for potential action in the near future.
Senate Education Committee Update
The Senate Education Committee this week passed HB 4059, which would address critical shortage and substitute teaching needs. MEMSPA encourages members to thank the committee chair, Sen. Pavlov, for advancing this long-overdue legislation to the Senate floor. As the committee adopted some changes to the bill, the bill will need concurrence votes in both the Senate and House in order to advance to the Governor.
GSRP
Governor Snyder this week signed into law Senate Bill 134, sponsored by Sen. Dave Hildenbrand (R-Lowell). SB 134, now Public Act 139 of 2015, ensures that districts will receive at least the same number of GSRP slots this year as they received during the last school year. The legislation was necessary given that a number of districts throughout the state submitted GSRP slot allocations that reflected increased need, and without any additional dollars available, the existing GSRP formula provided gains in slots for some districts, while others would have been forced to layoff staff due to reductions in slots.
The legislation also clarifies language in Section 31(a) of the School Aid Act with respect to increased at-risk funding and reading The language states that the three-year “shot clock” for demonstrating third grade reading proficiency amongst at-risk student begins in the current 2015-2016 school year. Beginning in the 2018-2019 school year, if a district does not demonstrate that at least fifty percent of at-risk pupils are reading at grade level by the end of third grade, the district must do the following:
Determine the proportion of total at-risk pupils not reading at grade level and,
Dedicate that same proportion multiplied by one-half of the district’s at-risk funding toward tutoring and/or other methods of improving third grade reading levels.
The new language accompanies the $70 million increase in at-risk funding included in the 2015-2016 School Aid budget.