Principals’ Bill of Rights (HB 5802)

House Bill 5802 would require elementary school testing in grades 1 to 5; expand principals’ powers; establish virtual high school for the 2000 - 2001 school year; and revise mandatory expulsion law.

Principals’ Responsibilities and Rights: Each school principal would have at least all of the following powers and duties:

• the right to participate in hiring all staff employed at or assigned to the school and the right to refuse to have a particular staff member assigned to that school;
  

• the right to establish incentives approved by the school board to reward staff at the school for improved pupil achievement;
  

• the right to control the expenditure of discretionary funds within the school's budget;
  

• the right to review, modify, or reject a school improvement plan.
  

OUR THANKS GOES OUT TO ALL OF YOU WHO CONTACTED YOUR
STATE LEGISLATORS IN OPPOSITION TO HOUSE BILL 5802!

Mandatory Expulsion Law (SB 943, SB 944, and SB 945)

Proposed legislation would give school officials more latitude on suspending or expelling students committing verbal or minor physical assaults. Current law requires that a student who commits either a verbal or physical assault be expelled for up to 180 days.

Senate Bill 943 would require a school board either to suspend or to expel a pupil, for a period of time determined by the board or designee, if the pupil verbally assaults a school employee or volunteer, or makes a bomb threat directed at school property.

The bill would also require that local school districts make school crime reports available to parents only once a year. The law now requires districts make school crime reports available to parents at least once a semester.

Senate Bill 944 would require a school board or a designee of a school board to suspend or expel for up to 180 school days a pupil who commits a physical assault against another pupil at school. A school principal could make the suspension decision instead of requiring just the school board to make that decision.

Senate Bill 945 would allow school officials to get information on vehicle registration from the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN), for use in identifying unknown vehicles left on school property.

Senate Bills 944 and 945 have passed the Senate, but Senate Bill 943 is still awaiting Senate Action. The Michigan Federation of Teachers and School Related Personnel supports this package of bills.

Contracting Out Substitute Teachers (HB 5750 and SB 1249)

Identical legislation has been introduced in both the House and the Senate to allow the board of a school district or intermediate school district to enter into a contact with a person, or entity to furnish substitute teachers to the school district or intermediate school district. “Entity” is defined as a partnership, nonprofit or business corporation, labor organization, limited liability company, or any other association, corporation, trust, or other legal entity.

Senate Bill 1249 was referred to the Senate Education Committee and House Bill 5750 was referred to the House Education Committee. This legislation opens wide the doors to privatize substitute teachers. Kelly Services, Incorporated, and Sub Finders were ready to contract with Michigan schools to recruit substitute teachers when they learned that this was illegal under current law.

The Michigan Federation of Teachers and School Related Personnel oppose these bills as a move toward privatization of school services and urge you to voice your concerns to your state legislators.


School Employee Liability Bills (HB 5255 and 5256)

Under current law, a teacher or other school employee or volunteer may not inflict or cause corporal punishment to be inflicted upon any pupil under any circumstances. The law allows limited circumstances where reasonable physical force may be used upon a pupil to maintain order and control in a school or school-related setting for the purpose of providing an environment conducive to safety and learning.

In maintaining that order and control, a person may use physical force upon a pupil for one or more of the following:

• to restrain or remove a pupil who was interfering with the orderly exercise and performance of school functions in the school or at a school related activity;
  

• for self defense or defense of another;
  

• to prevent the pupil from harming himself or herself;
  

• to quell a disturbance that threatens any person with physical injury;
  

• to take a weapon or other dangerous object from the pupil; or
  

• to protect property.
  

1. Permit school districts to hire individuals to serve in counseling roles if they hold a valid teaching certificate with a school counseling endorsement, or
   

• holds a master’s degree awarded after completion of an approved school counselor education program;
  

• has successfully completed the Michigan Department of Education Guidance Counseling Exam; and
  

• has been recommended by an approved school counselor education program to provide services as a school counselor.
  

• To be eligible a student must be in the eleventh grade, be making satisfactory progress in meeting local attendance and graduation requirements, and has achieved state endorsement in all subject areas of the MEAP test or state endorsement in math plus passed work keys.
  

• If the course is provided by the local district or ISD, the student is not eligible to dual enroll unless there are scheduling conflicts.
  

• The local district would be required to provide general information about enrollment options to all students in eighth grade or higher.
  

• The school district would not be required to pay for transportation or parking for a student.
  

• The governor would appoint a review team that would have 90 days to study the districts problems and prepare a plan with measurable goals and outcomes. Included on the team are three members selected from a list of five recommendations by the intermediate school superintendent (who would chair the review team) plus the state superintendent, state treasurer and state management and budget director;
  

• The local school board and state accountability board (first established to deal with the Detroit Public Schools) would have 30 days to approve or reject the review team plan and the school would be under the oversight of the ISD superintendent for three years after the review plan was accepted;
  

• A second review team would be appointed if the goals were not achieved;
  

• The review team could recommend a trustee be appointed to run the district or the district be dissolved and student sent to adjoining districts if its improvement plan were rejected or the goals of the second review team were not met. It is unclear who would take on the dissolved district's debts and assets. The districts receiving students would not have power to refuse their admission.
  

• The trustee-either an individual or an entity-would serve under a three-year contract with the ISD with the power to run all aspects of the school and void all but union contracts; the elected school board would be relegated to an advisory role. A second trustee would he appointed if the goals are still not met;
  

• The trustee could be appointed for one additional three-year period if the review team’s goals are met, or the local school board could be reinstated on the condition of three years of ISD oversight.