Education reform.

2017
STATE OF WYOMING
17LSO-0533
Introduced
1.2

SENATE FILE

NO.

SF0114

Education reform.

Sponsored by:
Senator(s) Scott, Bebout, Coe and Perkins

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to education; increasing reading achievement goals; modifying the education resource block grant model; increasing class size components and reducing expenditures; amending foundation account eligibility requirements for class size; reducing nonblock grant education funding as specified; requiring reduction of transportation expenses; limiting special education expenses as specified; authorizing Medicaid reimbursement for special education purposes as specified; reducing school district administration expenses as specified; prohibiting school district hiring as specified; requiring rulemaking; requiring education-related reports; conforming provisions; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.

W.S.
21
‑
3
‑
401(c), 21
‑
9
‑
101(
d),
21
‑
13
‑
307(a)(iv)
, 21
‑
13
‑
335(d)(intro) and 42
‑
4
‑
103(a) by creating new paragraph (xxxii)
are amended to read:

21
‑
3
‑
401.

Reading assessment and intervention.

(c)

Each district shall annually report to the department of education on the progress of each of its schools toward reaching the goal of
eighty
‑
five percent (85%)

ninety percent (90%)
of all students reading at grade level upon completion of the third grade. The report shall include longitudinal data on all students in kindergarten through grade three (3), and shall include the percentage of students meeting or exceeding proficiency levels for the reporting period. The reporting shall also include the aggregate number of students identified by the screening instruments in each district by grade. Each school not meeting the
eighty
‑
five percent (85%)

ninety percent (90%)
goal specified under this subsection shall submit an improvement plan to the department. At a minimum, the improvement plan shall outline the district's general strategy for increasing reading proficiency for the next school year and shall specifically address the
student
‑
teacher ratio, the use of certified tutors and the use of instructional facilitators in kindergarten through grade three (3) in all schools within the district.

21
‑
9
‑
101.

Educational programs for schools; standards; core of knowledge and skills; special needs programs; class size requirements;
cocurricular
activities.

(d)

In addition to subsections (b) and (c) of this section, each school district within this state shall endeavor to maintain when practicable, in kindergarten through grade three (3) within the district, an average class size of no more than
sixteen (16)
seventeen (17)

s
tudents per teacher

in the 2017
‑
2018 school year, eighteen (18) students per teacher in the 2018
‑
2019 school year and nineteen (19) students per teacher in the 2019
‑
2020 school year
and each year thereafter
, excluding children with disabilities who spend more than fifty percent (50%) of their time outside of regular classroom instruction.

21
‑
13
‑
307.

Eligibility to share in distribution of money from foundation account; mandatory financial reporting.

(a)

Each district which meets the following requirements is eligible to share in the distribution of funds from the foundation account:

(iv)

The district shall provide evidence to the state superintendent that the district has maintained an average student
‑
teacher ratio of not greater than
sixteen (16)
seventeen
(17)
to one (1)

for the 2017
‑
2018 school year, eighteen (18) to one (1) for the 2018
‑
2019 school year and nineteen (19)

to one (1)
for the 2019
‑
2020 school year and each year thereafter

for the aggregate of all classes in kindergarten through grade three (3) in the
district in the preceding school year.
The requirement of this paragraph may be waived by the department of education for any district that demonstrates insufficient school facility capacity, positive school performance,
positive
student achievement or for other reasons related to the delivery of the education program to students. This paragraph shall not apply to charter schools established under W.S. 21
‑
3
‑
301 through 21
‑
3
‑
314 or schools designated as exceeding expectations pursuant to W.S. 21
‑
2
‑
204(
e)(i)(A). Schools designated as exceeding
expectations pursuant to W.S. 21
‑
2
‑
204(
e)(i)(A) shall notify the department annually of the student teacher ratios for the aggregate of all classes in kindergarten through grade three (3) in the district in the preceding year. The department shall compute the student
‑
teacher ratio and report it to each district not later than March 1 of each year. To obtain a waiver under this paragraph, a school district shall apply to the department not later than March 15 of each year. The application shall be based on the student
‑
teacher ratio reported by the department of education, together with any other information required by the department. The department shall approve or deny an application for a waiver under this paragraph not later than April 10 of that year. A waiver approved under this paragraph shall be effective for the school year immediately following the application and approval.

21
‑
13
‑
335.

Supplemental financial assistance program for instructional facilitators and instructional coaches.

(d)

Financial assistance under this section shall be based upon prior year school level attendance and configuration reports submitted by each eligible school
district pursuant to W.S. 21
‑
13
‑
309(
m)(iv). Grant amounts shall be computed by the department for the eligible applicant district as if the education resource block grant model contained the following component for instructional facilitators, funded at an amount equal to
sixty percent (60%)

thirty
percent (30%) for the 2017
‑
2018 school year and fifteen percent (15%) for each school year thereafter
for each full
‑
time equivalent position, prorated up and down from the FTE position level specified for each prototype similar to computational operation of other components within the block grant model:

42
‑
4
‑
103.

Authorized services and supplies.

(a)

Services and supplies authorized for medical assistance under this chapter include:

(xxx
i
i)

Special education services delivered pursuant to an individual
ized
education plan.

Section
2
.

2011 Wyoming Session Laws, Chapte
r 185, Attachment "A"(b
)(
ii),
(iii)
and (xxxi)
is amended to read:

ATTACHMENT "A"

ATTACHMENT "A" CONTAINS AN ENUMERATION OF EDUCATION RESOURCE BLOCK GRANT MODEL COMPONENTS SUMMARIZING AND EXECUTING RECOMMENDATIONS CONTAINED IN THE 2010 COST OF EDUCATION STUDY AS FOLLOWS:

(b)

Notwithstanding components specified in the 2010 cost of education study accepted by the legislature, the Wyoming education resource block grant model components and the resourcing for those components, as enacted by the legislature, shall be as follows:

(ii)

Class size:
16
17

for grades

Kindergarten through 5

in school year 2017
‑
2018, 18 in 2018
‑
2019 and 19 in 2019
‑
2020
and each year thereafter
;
21

22
for grades 6
through 12

in school
year 2017
‑
2018, 23 in 2018
‑
2019 and 24 in 2019
‑
2020
and each year thereafter
.

(iii)

Core teachers:
Elementary school
ADM divided by
16

17
in school year 2017
‑
2018, 18 in 2018
‑
2019 and 19 in 2019
‑
2020
and each year thereafter
;
Middle school ADM divided by
21

22
in school year 2017
‑
2018, 23 in 2018
‑
2019 and 24 in 2019
‑
2020
and each year thereafter
;
High school
ADM divided by
21

22
in school year 2017
‑
2018, 23 in 2018
‑
2019 and 24 in 2019
‑
2020
and each year thereafter
.

(xxxi)

Transportation
:

Effective for the 2017-2018 school
year
and each year thereafter,
95% of prior year actual out of district travel expenses and
100% state reimbursement of

other

prior year

actual expenditures computed in accordance with W.S. 21
‑
13
‑
320.

Section
3
.

A school district shall fill no more than fifty percent (50%) of the total vacancies of the following positions occurring in the district between May 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018: superintendent, assistant superintendent, business manager, central office staff member, secretary,
or clerical staff member.

Notwithstanding W.S. 21
‑
13
‑
309, t
he
department of education

shall not
provide funding to school districts for any vacancy not filled pursuant to this subsection.

Section 4.

The
department of education
shall
, by June 15, 2017,
pr
omulgate rules
for the 2017
‑
2018 school year
to reduce
school districts'
transportation expenditures
relating to operation and maintenance costs
by ten percent (10%) below 201
5
‑
2016
school year
expenditure
levels.
The
department of education
shall, by December 31, 2017,
promulgate rules
for the 2018
‑
2019 school year and each year thereafter
to
reduce school districts' transportation expenditures
relating
to operation and maintenance
by twenty percent (20%) below 201
5
‑
201
6
school year
expendityure

levels.
The required transportation expense reductions contained in this section shall
be inclusive
of required
transportation funding reductions contained in section 2 of this act.

Section 5.

The
department of education
shall
promulgate rules by December 1, 2017 to reduce special education costs by ten percent (10%)

below 2015
‑
2016 expenditure
level
s
per school district
for the 2018
‑
2019 school year and each year thereafter.
For the 2017
‑
2018
school year
, reimbursement for special education services shall not exceed 201
5
‑
2016
school year expenditure levels
per
district
.
Once the
m
edicaid
st
ate plan is amended to allow reimbursement for special education services
, school districts may seek reimbursement
for allowable expenditures
. The
m
edicaid
program may seek and receive reimbursement from the school foundation account for the state share of these
m
edicaid expenses.

Section
6
.

The
department of education shall provide a report to the joint education interim committee of the legislature on or before September 1, 2017 on the percentage of second and third grade students, both statewide and
on a district level, who read
at

grade level. The department shall provide the committee with recommendations for
improving reading proficiency.

Section
7
.

(a)

The department of education shall provide a report to the joint education interim committee of the legislature on or before September 1, 2017 on the percentage of graduates of Wyoming high schools who require remedial
course
work at the University of Wyoming or any of the Wyoming community colleges. The University of Wyoming
,
the Wyoming community college commission
and the Wyoming community colleges shall provide the department with data necessary to create the report. The department shall provide recommendations to the committee to reduce remedial work required by Wyoming high school graduates. The University of Wyoming
, the Wyoming community college commission
and the Wyoming community colleges are invited to submit comments and recommendations for inclusion in the report.

(b)

The department of education shall provide a report to the joint education interim committee of the legislature on or before September 1, 2017 on the percentage of Wyoming high school graduates with inadequate math, reading or writing skills to function effectively in jobs suitable for high school graduates.
The department shall seek the assistance of
the department of workforce services and
Wyoming employers, both public and private, to create the report.

Section
8
.

The state department of education shall provide a report to the joint education interim committee of the legislature on or before September 1, 2017 on
the
use of n
on
‑
English language instruction
in Wyoming public schools in grades kindergarten through second. The report shall consider the benefits and costs of using
instructors
who speak the non
‑
English language being taught. The report shall consider the costs of benefits of total immersion programs. The report shall consider the costs and benefits of non
‑
English language programs
in relation
to mastering
English
.

Section
9
.

The state department of education shall provide a report to the joint education interim committee of the legislature on or before September 1, 2017 using available
assessment
data and other appropriate data aggregating Wyoming students
into appropriate groups to allow for comparisons between those groups.

Section
10
.

T
his act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article
4, Section 8 of the
Wyoming Constitution
.

(END)

1
SF0114