NO. 36.  AN ACT RELATING TO CLARIFICATION AND UPDATING OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF EDUCATION LAW.

(H.477)

It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:

Sec. 1.  16 V.S.A. § 242 is added to read:

§ 242.  DUTIES OF SUPERINTENDENTS

The superintendent shall be the chief executive officer for each school board in the supervisory district, and shall:

(1)  carry out the policies adopted by the school board relating to the educational or business affairs of the school district;

(2)  identify the educational goals and objectives of the school district and prepare plans to achieve those goals and objectives for adoption by the school board;

(3)  recommend that the school board employ or dismiss persons as necessary to carry out the work of the school district;

(4)  furnish the commissioner data and information required by the commissioner; and

(5)  provide for the general supervision of the public schools in the supervisory union or district.

Sec. 2.  REPEAL

16 V.S.A. § 261a(12) through (17), relating to duties of a supervisory union board, are repealed.

Sec. 3.  16 V.S.A. § 428(d) is amended to read:

(d)  The treasurer of each school district which has voted a budget with local education spending in excess of the general state support grant and which can raise more than the yield amount shall, on December 1 in the year in which the tax is levied and on June 1 of the following year, pay to the state treasurer for deposit into the education fund one-half of the municipality’s education property tax liability net payment, as determined by the commissioner of education.  Payment shall be accompanied by a return prescribed by the state treasurer in consultation with the commissioner of education.  Any portion of local share property tax liability due to the treasurer and paid before the due date shall be discounted on a per diem basis at an annual rate of six percent.  A district which has not voted a budget and for which the commissioner has used the most recently adopted budget in calculating the yield amount under section 4027 of this title, shall be subject to this subsection, based on its most recently adopted budget and shall borrow the funds necessary to make payments to the state treasurer.

Sec. 4.  16 V.S.A. § 511(d) is amended to read:

(d)  The treasurer of an incorporated district which has voted a budget with local education spending in excess of the general state support grant and which can raise more than the yield amount shall, on December 1 in the year in which the tax is levied and on June 1 of the following year, pay to the state treasurer for deposit into the education fund one-half of the municipality’s education property tax liability net payment, as determined by the commissioner of education.  Payment shall be accompanied by a return prescribed by the state treasurer in consultation with the commissioner of education.  Any portion of local share property tax liability due to the treasurer and paid before the due date shall be discounted on a per diem basis at an annual rate of six percent.  An incorporated district which has not voted a budget and for which the commissioner has used the most recently adopted budget in calculating the yield amount under section 4027 of this title, shall be subject to this subsection, based on its most recently adopted budget and shall borrow the funds necessary to make payments to the state treasurer.

Sec. 5.  16 V.S.A. § 563(5), (8), and (10) are amended to read:

(5)  Shall keep the school buildings and grounds in good repair, suitably equipped, insured and in safe and sanitary condition at all times.  The school board shall regulate or prohibit firearms or other dangerous or deadly weapons on school premises.  At a minimum, a school board shall adopt and implement a policy at least consistent with section 1166 of this title and section 4004 of Title 13, relating to a student who brings a weapon to firearm to or possesses a firearm at school.

(8)  Shall establish and maintain an adequate system of financial a system for receipt, deposit, disbursement, accounting, control, and reporting procedures that meets the criteria established by the state board pursuant to subdivision 164(15) of this title and that ensures that all payments are lawful and in accordance with a budget adopted or amended by the school board.  The school board may authorize a subcommittee, the superintendent of schools, or a designated employee of the school board to examine claims against the district for school expenses and draw orders for such as shall be allowed by it payable to the party entitled thereto.  Such orders shall state definitely the purpose for which they are drawn and shall serve as full authority to the treasurer to make such payments.  It shall be lawful for a school board to submit to its treasurer a certified copy of those portions of the board minutes, properly signed by the clerk and chairman, or a majority of the board, showing to whom, and for what purpose each payment is to be made by the treasurer, and such certified copy shall serve as full authority to the treasurer to make the payments as thus approved.

(10)  Shall prepare and distribute to the electorate, not less than ten days prior to the district’s annual meeting, a report of the conditions and needs of the district school system, including the superintendent’s, supervisory union treasurer’s and school district treasurer’s annual reports for the previous school year, the balance of any reserve funds established pursuant to 24 V.S.A. § 2804, a summary of the town auditor’s report as to fiscal years which are audited by town auditors as required by 24 V.S.A. § 1681, a summary of the public accountant’s report as to fiscal years which are audited by a public accountant, and a notice of the time and place where the full report of the town auditor or the public accountant will be available for inspection and copying at cost.  Each town auditor’s and public accountant’s report shall comply with 24 V.S.A. § 1683(a).

Sec. 6.  16 V.S.A. § 706e is amended to read:

§ 706e.  ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

(a)  Each school district, at the meetings warned to vote on establishment of the union shall also elect directors by Australian ballot to represent the district on the union school board in the event the union is approved by the voters. Directors so elected shall serve from the date of the organization meeting for terms as provided in the final report.

(b)  Nominations for the office of union school director representing any district shall be made by filing with the clerk of that school district proposed as a member of the union, a statement of nomination signed by at least 30 voters in that district or one percent of the legal voters in the district, whichever is less and accepted in writing by the nominee.  A statement shall be filed not less than 30 nor more than 40 days prior to the date of the vote.  Each person so nominated shall have his or her name placed on the ballot.  Each district shall elect as many directors as it is then entitled to have represent it on the union school board.  The candidates for directors receiving the largest numbers of votes shall be elected to the union school board.  In the event of a tie which, if unbroken, will result in more directors being elected than a district is entitled to, the town board of school directors shall, by majority vote, cast one vote for one of the candidates tied, and so create a plurality for that candidate.  Nothing contained in this subchapter shall be construed to prohibit the election of school directors by at-large voting.

(c)  Nominations for the office of a union school director at-large shall be for a person who is a resident of a school district which is proposed as necessary to the establishment of the union.  The nomination shall be made by filing with the clerk of any of the school districts proposed as necessary to the establishment of the union not less than 30 nor more than 40 days prior to the date of the vote, a statement of nomination signed by at least 60 voters from one or more districts proposed as necessary to the establishment of the union.  Upon receipt of a petition for an at-large union school director, a clerk shall place the name of the person on the ballot and shall notify each clerk of every other school district proposed as a member of the union that the person is to have his or her name placed on each ballot in each district.  Each district shall vote on candidates for member at-large.  The candidates receiving the largest number of votes shall be elected to the union school board.

Sec. 7.  16 V.S.A. § 706k(c) is added to read:

(c)  In a union district which elects one or more at‑large directors by Australian ballot, a nomination shall be made by filing a statement of nomination signed by at least 60 voters from one or more member districts with the clerk of the union school district no later than 5:00 p.m. on the sixth Monday preceding the day of the election. 

Sec. 8.  16 V.S.A. § 1075(b) is amended to read:

(b)  The commissioner shall determine the legal residence of all state-placed students.  In all other cases, the pupil’s legal residence shall be determined by the board of school directors of the district in which the pupil is living shall determine the pupil’s legal residence seeking enrollment or, if the pupil is seeking payment of tuition, the board of directors from which the pupil is seeking tuition payment.  If a pupil is denied enrollment at any stage, the pupil and his or her parent or guardian shall be notified in writing, within 24 hours, of the provisions of this section.  If the pupil is not in attendance as a result of a preliminary decision by school officials and a decision from the board of school directors will not be available by the end of the second school day after the request for enrollment is made, the commissioner may issue a temporary order requiring enrollment.  Any interested person or taxpayer who is dissatisfied with the decision of the board as to the pupil’s legal residence may appeal to the commissioner of education, who shall determine the pupil’s legal residence, and the decision of the commissioner shall be final.  Pending appeal under this subsection, the commissioner shall issue a temporary order requiring enrollment.

Sec. 9.  16 V.S.A. § 1166 is amended to read:

§ 1166.  POSSESSION OF A WEAPON FIREARM AT SCHOOL

(a)  In this section, the terms “to school” and “weapon” “firearm” shall have the same meaning that the terms have in the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994 18 U.S.C. § 921.  However, the school board may expand the definitions provided they remain consistent with the Gun-Free Schools Act federal law.

(b)  Each school board shall adopt and implement policies regarding a student who brings a weapon to firearm to or possesses a firearm at school which at a minimum shall include:

(1)  A provision that any student who brings a weapon to firearm to or possesses a firearm at school shall be referred to a law enforcement agency.  In addition to any other action the law enforcement agency may take, it may report the incident to the department of social and rehabilitation services.

(2)  A provision that the superintendent or principal, with the approval of the school board following opportunity for a hearing, shall expel from the school for not less than one calendar year any student who brings a weapon to firearm to or possesses a firearm at school.  However, the school board may modify the expulsion on a case by case basis.  Modifications may be granted in circumstances such as but not limited to:

(A)  The pupil is unaware that he or she has brought a weapon to firearm to or possessed a firearm at school.

(B)  The pupil did not intend to use the weapon firearm to threaten or endanger others.

(C)  The pupil is disabled and the misconduct is related to the disability.

(D)  The pupil does not present an ongoing threat to others and a lengthy expulsion would not serve the best interests of the pupil.

(c)  Annually at a time and on a form determined by the commissioner, each superintendent shall provide the commissioner with a description of the circumstances surrounding expulsions imposed under this section, the number of students expelled and the type of weapons firearm involved.

Sec. 10.  16 V.S.A. § 1324(b) is amended to read:

(b)  The superintendent shall verify that the register is accurate.  The register shall include the name of the registrar for each school, the name of the teacher or teachers of the school during the year for which the register was kept and the date and character of the certificate license held by the teacher or teachers.  On or before August 15, the superintendent shall ensure that the register is filed in a secure location within the supervisory union.  School registers shall be kept in accordance with the provisions of section 454 of Title 22.  The commissioner of education may adopt rules providing for the central collection and storage of the annual school registers.  However, nothing herein shall prohibit the clerk of the school district from keeping the register if the superintendent and the clerk agree.

Sec. 11.  24 V.S.A. § 1523(b) is amended to read:

(b)  When a school district at the end of the fiscal year contemplated by section 1683 of this title has a deficit, unless the voters have voted to borrow funds to repay the deficit over a term of three years or less, or unless the deficit has been refunded pursuant to chapter 53 of this title, the school board shall add an amount sufficient to pay the deficit to its next adopted budget and report the total to the commissioner of education for purposes of calculating local education spending.

Sec. 12.  16 V.S.A. § 1756(b) is amended to read:

(b)  Each board of school directors or supervisory union board of directors shall insure against the liability imposed upon it by this section in any insurance company organized in this state or in any insurance company of another state authorized by law to write such insurance in this state, or through participation in an intermunicipal insurance agreement established under subchapter 6 of chapter 121 of Title 24, with minimum coverage in the form of a comprehensive general liability policy including liability for the operation of owned and nonowned motor vehicles and including the employees as additional insureds and with minimum limits of not less than $300,000.00 per person and $500,000.00 per occurrence for bodily injury and $50,000.00 per occurrence for property damage.

Sec. 13.  16 V.S.A. § 2962(a) is amended to read:

     (a)  Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, extraordinary services reimbursement shall be payable to each town school district, unified union school district, gore, unorganized town, and incorporated district.

Sec. 14.  16 V.S.A. § 2963(a) is amended to read:

(a)  Each town school district, unified union school district, gore, unorganized town, and incorporated school district shall receive a special education expenditures reimbursement grant each school year.

Sec. 15.  16 V.S.A. § 2967(a) is amended to read:

(a)  On or before December 15, the commissioner shall publish an estimate, by town school district, unified union school district, gore, unorganized town, and incorporated school district, of the amount of state assistance necessary to fully fund sections 2961 through 2963 of this title in the ensuing school year.

Sec. 16.  16 V.S.A. § 2945(a) is amended to read:

(a)  There is created an advisory council on special education which shall consist of seventeen 17 members.  Fifteen of the members shall be appointed by the governor with the advice of the commissioner of education.  Among the gubernatorial appointees, two shall be teachers of children with disabilities, four shall be representatives of other state agencies involved in the financing or delivery of related services to children with disabilities, representatives of independent schools, at least one representative of a vocational, community, or business organization concerned with the provision of transition services to children with disabilities, representatives from the state juvenile and adult corrections agency, handicapped individuals, five shall be parents of children with disabilities, two shall be local education administrators and two shall be special education program administrators.  A majority of the members must be either individuals with disabilities or parents of children with disabilities.  In addition, two members of the general assembly shall be appointed, one from the house of representatives and one from the senate.  The house member shall be appointed by the speaker, and the senate member shall be appointed by the committee on committees.  All members of the council shall serve for a term of three years, beginning from April 1 of the year of appointment or until their successors are appointed.  For the purpose of implementing this section, the governor shall make initial appointments as follows:  Approximately one-third of the members shall be appointed to one-year terms, one-third to two-year terms, and one-third to three-year terms.  As the terms expire, the new appointees shall be appointed to fill three-year terms.

Sec. 17.  16 V.S.A. § 2957(e) is amended to read:

(e)  Where Except as provided in 20 U.S.C. Section 1412(a)(10)(C), where a unilateral placement has been made without the school district of residence being offered a reasonable opportunity to evaluate the child and to develop an individualized education plan, reimbursement may not be sought for any costs incurred before the school district is offered such an opportunity. 

Sec. 18.  16 V.S.A. § 4030 is amended to read:

§ 4030.  DATA SUBMISSION; CORRECTIONS

(a)  Upon discovering an error or change in data submitted to the commissioner for the purpose of determining payments to or from the education fund, a school district shall report the error or change to the commissioner as soon as possible.  In this subsection, an error in data is a clerical mistake.  A change in data due to new information or a change in situation is not an error under this subsection, and any resultant Any budget deficit or surplus due to the error or change shall be carried forward to the following year.  A ruling of the commissioner as to whether a change in data is due to error or to new information or a change in situation shall be final.

(b)  The commissioner shall use data submitted on or before January 15 prior to the fiscal year which begins the following July 1, in order to calculate the amounts due each school district for any fiscal year for the following:

(1)  the general state support grant due under section 4011 of this title;

(2)  transportation aid due under Sec. 98 of Act No. 71 of 1998; and

(3)  the small school support grant due under section 4015 of this title.

(c)  The commissioner shall use data corrections regarding local education budget amounts submitted on or before June 15 prior to the fiscal year which begins the following July 1, in order to calculate the amounts due each school district under section 4027 of this title.

(d)  Errors in data submitted to the commissioner following the dates required for calculations under subsections (b) and (c) of this section shall be used to adjust payments to or from the education fund in the fiscal year following the fiscal year in which the error was reported.  The commissioner shall not use data corrected due to an error submitted following the deadlines to recalculate the equalized pupil ratio under subdivision 4001(3) of this title, or the equalized yield under section 4027 of this title in any year.  The commissioner shall not adjust payments to or from the education fund if an error or change is reported more than three fiscal years following the date that the original data was due.  Adjustments to payments to or from the education fund under this section shall be made on the earliest date possible after the fiscal year in which the error was reported, and in accordance with the schedules set forth in subsections 4028(a), 428(d) and 511(d) of this title and after the necessary appropriation by the general assembly.

(e)  The board may adopt rules as necessary to implement the provisions of this section.

Sec. 19.  16 V.S.A. § 563(17) is amended to read:

(17)  Shall employ a public accountant at least once in each period of three years to audit the financial statements of the school district and the average daily membership count submitted by the district to the department of education under subdivisions 4001(1)(A)  and (B)  of this title.  The school board may authorize an audit in conjunction with another school district or supervisory union.  The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply However, if the town has voted to eliminate the office of auditor under section 2651b of Title 17 and an audit of the school district’s accounts under section 1681 of Title 24 is performed by a public accountant, the school board shall employ a public accountant annually to audit the financial statements of the school district and the average daily membership count pursuant to that section.  The audit options provided in this subdivision notwithstanding, an audit of the average daily membership count submitted by the district to the department of education shall be included.  The school board may authorize an audit in conjunction with another school district or a supervisory union. 

Sec. 20.  16 V.S.A. § 1545(b) is amended to read:

(b)  The credits earned for a technical education program approved by the state board shall be honored by any public or independent school within Vermont and.  If necessary to enable a student to participate in technical education and graduate with his or her class, the credits earned shall be applied toward any school district or independent school graduation requirements exceeding the minimum number of credits required by the state board.  The school board of the high school from which the student wishes to graduate shall make a determination as to whether the credits shall be applied toward graduation requirements.  A decision of the board may be appealed to the commissioner who shall construe this section to favor participation in technical education.

Sec. 21.  16 V.S.A. § 4011(f) is amended to read:

(f)  Annually, the commissioner shall pay to a department or agency which provides an adult diploma program, an amount equal to 0.3 times the general state support grant for each student who completed the diagnostic portion of the program in the previous year based on an average of the previous two years.

Sec. 22.  16 V.S.A. § 4011(b) is amended to read:

(b)  Annually, each school district shall receive a general state support grant for support of basic education costs.  Funds distributed under this section shall be allocated on the basis of the equalized pupils in each school district except for unorganized towns and gores.  An unorganized town or gore shall receive an amount equal to the general state support grant for that year for each student based on the weighted average daily membership count which shall not be equalized.  However, no school district shall receive more than its local education spending amount.

Sec. 23.  16 V.S.A. § 4031 is added to read:

§ 4031.  UNORGANIZED TOWNS AND GORES

(a)  For an unorganized town or gore, if the local education spending is in excess of the general state support grant, there shall be imposed on its education property tax grand list a tax rate necessary to raise the excess amount.

(b)  A tax imposed under this section shall be administered and collected in the same manner as an education property tax in accord with the provisions of Part 2 of Title 32.  For purposes of a claim for property tax adjustment under chapter 154 of Title 32 by a taxpayer in a municipality affected under this section, “local share property tax” shall mean the tax assessed in the fiscal year under this section; and the “local share property tax liability” under subdivision 6066(a)(2) of Title 32 shall be the claimant’s statewide property tax liability multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the tax rate imposed under this section and the denominator of which is the equalized statewide property tax rate.

Approved:  May 26, 2003