Michigan Federation of Teachers & School Related Personnel
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Michigan Federation of Teachers & School Related Personnel
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Capitol Report Archives Go to current Capitol Report for links to complete archive. April, 2003 March, 2003 February, 2003 January, 2003 2002 2001 2000 |
SB 364 Would Eliminate 180-Day School Year SB 366 Would Eliminate Professional Development HB 4038 Would Required CPR & First Aid for NEW Teachers SB 179 Would Require Sport Safety Training for Coaches HB 4453 Would Provide Service Credit for 1,020 Hours $10 Million in Literacy Grants House Completes Work on Education Budgets Higher Education Budget Highlights Community College Budget Highlights may be found on the Legislative Hotline page of this website.  Return to Top SB 364 Would Eliminate 180-Day School Year Senate Bill 364 (Garcia, R-Howell) would remove the requirement that schools provide a minimum of 180 days of pupil instruction, or forfeit a percentage of their State aid allocation; and delete the provision that at least 75% of a district's membership must be in attendance on any day of pupil instruction, or the district will forfeit a percentage of its State aid. Districts still would have to provide a minimum number of 1,098 hours of pupil instruction. The bill would also permit the first 30 instructional hours lost due to circumstances out of control of a district, such as severe storms, fires, epidemics, or health conditions, to be counted toward the 1,098-hour requirement. This would replace the current two "snow days" for which the Act provides. Under the bill, each school district individually would determine the number of days necessary to complete a school year, providing at least 1,098 hours of pupil instruction. It would require the district to hold at least two public hearings before it could change the school calendar. This bill retains the provisions allowing for up to 51 of the 1098 hours to be used for professional development. Senate Bill 364 has passed the Senate and is currently on the House floor. Return to Top SB 366 Would Eliminate Professional Development Senate Bill 366 (Cropsey, R-DeWitt), would eliminate the requirement that a district provide to its teachers each year a minimum number of professional development days. Currently, school districts must provide at least five days of professional development to its experienced teachers and 15 days of professional development for three-year probationary teachers. Under Senate Bill 366 school boards would be required to comply with the professional development requirements of the Federal No Child Left Behind Act, which are:
This bill passed the Senate on May 1 and is currently before the House Education Committee. Return to Top HB 4038 Would Required CPR & First Aid for NEW Teachers House Bill 4038 (Rocca, R- Sterling Heights) has passed the House and Senate and is awaiting the Governor's signature. This bill will prohibit the Superintendent of Public Instruction from issuing an initial teaching certificate to a person unless that person presented evidence that he or she has successfully completed a course in CPR and first aid. The provision will begin July 1, 2004. Under the bill, NEW TEACHERS will have to hold valid certification from the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or a comparable organization or institution approved by the Department of Education. A person will have to have successfully completed a Department- approved course in CPR and first aid, including a test demonstration on a mannequin, as well as instruction approved by the Department in foreign body airway obstruction management. A person will be exempt from this requirement if he or she has physical limitations that make it impracticable for him or her to complete the instruction and obtain the required certification. A person who meets the requirements of the bill and who performes CPR, first aid, or foreign body airway obstruction management on another person in the course of his or her employment as a teacher will not be liable in a civil suit for damages resulting from an act or omission occurring in that performance, except an act or omission that constituted gross negligence or willful and wanton misconduct. However, this bill will not require that a person perform CPR or first aid. Return to Top SB 179 Would Require Sport Safety Training for Coaches Senate Bill 179 (Hammerstrom, R-Temperance) would require that school athletic coaches hold valid certification in sport safety training. The school district would have to require each NEW person it employed or assigned as an interscholastic athletic coach to meet this requirement. The bill would take effect July 1, 2004. Coaches would have to complete a sport safety training course approved by the State Board of Education. The course would have to include instruction in at least cardiopulmonary resuscitation, emergency procedures, first aid, and injury prevention. People already employed or serving as interscholastic athletic coaches on or before the bill's effective date would be exempt from the certification requirement. In addition, certification would not be required if a coach had a physical limitation that made it impracticable for him or her to complete the course and obtain the certification. The certification requirement also would not apply to a licensed physician, physician's assistant, nurse, or emergency medical services personnel. If a coach with valid sport safety certification, in the course of his or her employment or service as a coach, provided physical aid within the scope of sport safety training to another person in an emergency, the coach would not be liable in a civil suit for damages resulting from an act or omission occurring in the provision of that aid, except for an act or omission constituting gross negligence or willful and wanton misconduct. However, this bill does not create a duty to act on the part of a person who holds a sport safety certificate. Senate Bill 179 passed the Senate and is currently before the House Education Committee. Return to Top HB 4453 Would Provide Service Credit for 1,020 Hours House Bill 4453 (Hoogendyk, R-Portage), would require the retirement board to grant one year of service credit to a member who had been employed and remunerated for services performed for not less than 1,020 hours in a school fiscal year. Currently, the act requires granting of the service credit for services performed for not less than six hours per day and for not less than 170 days in a school fiscal year. In determining whether a member was entitled to service credit under the bill, the retirement system would have to calculate service credit using the payroll cycle reported to the retirement system by the member's employer.
In order to prevent the accumulation of service credit for part-time members and members working only part of a school fiscal year from being accelerated, the bill would also specify that service credit for these employees would be received based on 60 or more hours per bi-weekly period and proportionate credit for less than 60 hours. House Bill 4453 passed the House on May 14 and is currently before the Senate Education Committee. Note: House Bill 4453 amends MPSERS and does not change the school code's provision mandating 1098 hours of pupil instruction. Return to Top $10 Million in Literacy Grants The Michigan Department of Education announced that more than $10 million in literacy grants for hundred of Michigan schools. The primary intent of the Federal Even Start program is to break the intergenerational cycle of illiteracy and school failure by funding interactive literacy activities between parents and their children. Even Start programs also provide training for parents that promote self-sufficiency so they may be the primary educator for their child. More than $2.1 million of the funding is directed to nine educational service agencies for new programs. Approximately $7.9 million in grant funding was awarded to 32 programs already undertaking this important work. Funding for new programs in the latest Even Start grant cycle includes:
2003 - 2004 Even Start Continuation Grant Applications Recommended for Funding Include:
To qualify for Even Start funding, families served by the program must include at least one parent who is eligible for participation in adult basic education, English as a Second Language programming, or a parent under the age of 18. Even Start also directly aligns with the State Board of Education's Priorities for Integrating Schools and Communities, and Ensuring Early Childhood Literacy. A crucial requirement of Even Start funding specifies that the local school must partner with community-based organization, public agency, institution of higher education, or a non-profit organization, to build upon and enhance existing community resources. Return to Top House Completes Work on Education Budgets The House has passed their budget recommendations for K-12 School Aid (HB 4401), Higher Education (HB 4396), and Community College (HB 4388). These bills now go to the Senate for their consideration. These budgets are a long way from being settled. However, many legislators speculated that budgets will not be finished until fall. The Revenue Estimating Conference recently reported that Michigan's school aid fund will decline by nearly $200 million through the end of the current fiscal year and for next year. School aid revenues for the current year will be $91.9 million short of earlier estimates. That leaves a budgetary problem lawmakers intend to solve without forcing schools to make additional cuts when the school year is nearly over. Return to Top Higher Education Budget Highlights House Bill 4396 (Shulman, R-West Bloomfield), containing the House proposal for the Higher Education Budget, has passed the House and is currently before the Senate Appropriations Higher Education Subcommittee. Listed below is a summary of the bill's major provisions. State University Operational Funds - The Executive budget proposed an across-the-board reduction of 6.74% from current-year levels. The House proposal provides differential cuts ranging from 5.45% to 6.74%. Michigan Merit Awards - The Executive budget recommends a reduction of the maximum Michigan Merit Award to $500 beginning with the 2004 high school graduating class. The House proposal adds $60 million to the Executive recommendation for the first half of payments (@ $1250)for the class of 2004 Award recipients. Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) - The Executive proposal recommended an increase of $4 million in this program targeted at low-income Medicaid-eligible students to address increased participation rates and higher college costs. The House proposal does not concur and leaves funding at the FY 2003 level of $5,250,000. Other Financial Aid Programs - The Executive proposal recommended elimination of seven financial aid and grant programs and the creation of a new needs-based Michigan Opportunity Scholarships program, which would absorb nearly all of the funding currently directed to five of the seven programs proposed for termination. The House proposal retains the State Competitive Scholarship, Tuition Grant, and MEOG programs and moves the funding for Adult Part-time grants into the retained Michigan Work-Study program. MPSERS Contribution Subsidy - The Executive recommendation proposed to use funds in a Michigan Public School Employee Retirement System (MPSERS) stabilization subaccount to offset the required contribution rate increase for the seven state universities who have employees in the MPSERS system. The House proposal concurs, thus enabling MPSERS contribution rates to be frozen at their current-year levels of 12.99%. Higher Education - Fiscal Year 2004:
Return to Top Community College Budget Highlights House Bill 4388 (Shulman, R-West Bloomfield), containing the House proposal for the Community College Budget, passed the House on May 1. It is now being considered by the Senate Community College Appropriations Subcommittee. Listed below is a summary of the bill's provisions. Operations Funding - The Executive budget recommended and the House concurs in the reduction of operations funding by $20.5 million; colleges generally would experience a 6.7% reduction over current year-to-date. PASS Program - The Executive Budget recommended and the House concurs in the elimination of the Postsecondary Access Student Success (PASS) program, which is fully-supported by the Michigan Merit Award Trust Fund. Fewer than 700 students participated last year; current-year funding is $700,000. At-Risk Program - The Executive proposal contained a reduction of 6.7% for the At-Risk Student Success Program . The House budget further reduces the award by $4,500 for each college other than Gogebic. The $121,500 freed by this action was added to Gogebic's operations funding. Renaissance Zone Tax Reimbursement - The Executive Budget recommended and the House concurs in the an $652,800 increase for renaissance zone reimbursement payments. These payments reimburse colleges for property tax revenues lost through the establishment of renaissance zones. MPSERS Contribution Subsidy - Contribution rate increases to the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (MPSERS) are estimated to total $7.0 million for the community colleges that participate in MPSERS. The Executive Budget and the House proposal assume that the increase would be funded through a MPSERS stabilization subaccount, thus enabling MPSERS payments to be frozen at their current-year levels of 12.99%. Operational Funding:
At-Risk Student Success Program:
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