ALL The Delaware Education Legislation In The General Assembly: Signed, Passed, Pending, & Tabled

*Updated with new legislation, votes on the floor, and committee agendas for tomorrow

Confused by all the Education legislation floating around in Delaware?  Can’t keep track of it all?  Don’t worry, I can’t either sometimes.  But I felt it was necessary to reestablish my old tradition of putting it all together.  I will update this as the Delaware 149th General Assembly finishes off the first half of this session on June 30th and when they reconvene in January 2018.  Below are all 50 of the education bills that have come up in the 149th General Assembly just this year alone.  More legislation will come by the time it is all done on June 30th, 2018.

If the legislation is entirely in bold, that means it is now law and signed by Governor Carney.  For House and Senate resolutions and concurrent resolutions, those are passed in the General Assembly and don’t go to Carney for signature.  These are usually some type of symbolic gesture or an appreciation type of statement.  A substitute bill is an indication a bill was changed in a significant way prior to being heard in a committee.  An asterisk means something is happening in the next week, whether it is a Committee hearing or an actual vote in the House or Senate.

In going through the sponsors for this legislation, I was shocked that the Chair of the Senate Education Committee Senator David Sokola, has been the prime sponsor on only one bill and that was a symbolic statement, not an actual law.  On the flip side, House Education Chair Earl Jaques has 10 bills and Vice-Chair Kim Williams has 11.  I am not counting resolutions in these numbers.  Other noteworthy legislators submitting education bills at three a piece are Senators Henry and McDowell and State Reps. Heffernan and Matthews.  This is not a position statement on these bills, but showing which legislators seem to be the most actively involved in education bill submission.

I’ve expressed thoughts on a ton of the below legislation.  Some I haven’t.  But I believe every bill deserves a chance to be heard in committee, and if released, given a chance for a vote.  This has probably been the most difficult of the three legislative sessions I’ve really followed as there are many bills that aren’t really black or white.  There is a lot of gray area.  There have been bills sponsored by those I am typically allied with that I don’t agree with and vice versa.  It is an odd time in Delaware, that’s for sure!

House Bill #3: This legislation requires that all full-time employees of the State, including employees of school districts, continuously in the employ of the state for at least one year, shall be eligible for 12 weeks of paid leave upon the birth or adoption of a child 6 years of age or younger. Both parents would be eligible for such leave. Employees shall continue to have the right, as they do under current law, to use accrued sick leave for maternity and paternity purposes. This legislation leaves intact the rights of persons adopting a child over 6 years of age to take unpaid leave. Due to lack of adequate paid family leave policies, many parents must return to work sooner than is optimal for the health of mothers (in the case of biological birth) and children. Granting paid leave will contribute to the establishment of parent-child bonds, breastfeeding establishment, and allow infants to receive vaccines and develop stronger immune systems prior to entering daycare. Further, a more generous leave policy will increase the productivity of workers and reduce employee turnover. This Act takes effect January 1, 2019. The Office of Management and Budget is directed to establish guidelines for the implementation of this Act. Status: sent to House Administration Committee 4/5/17, Sponsor: Heffernan

*House Bill #4: This legislation amends the Delaware Code to establish the Department of Human Resources by transferring various divisions and other organizational units from the Office of Management and Budget to the newly established Department of Human Resources. The powers and duties of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Secretary of the Department of Human Resources are aligned to reflect the transfers of the divisions and other organizational units of the newly established Department of Human Resources. Various sections of the Delaware Code are amended to reflect changes in titles and nomenclature. This bill also establishes Office of Women’s Advancement and Advocacy. This bill sets forth that the Office of Women’s Advancement and Advocacy will be a unit of the Department of Human Resources. The purpose of this Office is to promote the equality of women in all areas of society. Functions of the Office include fostering and facilitating collaborations between all facets of government and private businesses to eliminate gender-based bias and discriminatory practices, study and report on the status of women in the State, compile and analyze statistics, advise executive and legislative bodies on the effect of proposed legislation, make specific legislative proposals and submit a report to the Governor, Secretary of the Department of Human Resources and the General Assembly at the beginning of every General Assembly of the Office’s activities and recommendations. The bill establishes that the governing body of the Office is the Commission for Women comprised of 9 members. This bill provides that the Office of Women’s Advancement and Advocacy oversees the Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame Committee and the Delaware Women’s Workforce Council. The Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame Committee shall have 7 members and the Delaware Women’s Workforce Council shall be comprised of 11 members. Delaware Women’s Workforce Council shall conduct a study of gender-based inequities in workplaces in Delaware, recommend policies to remove gender-based inequities in the workplace, and develop and publish best practices for employers to achieve gender equality. Status: sent to House Administration Committee 6/6/17, on agenda to be heard in committee on 6/14/17,Sponsor: Longhurst

House Bill #15 w/Senate Amendment #1: HB15: This bill creates a requirement that all public high schools, including charter schools, shall offer at least one computer science course at the high school level by the 2020-2021 school year. Also, this bill creates a requirement that, by the 2018-2019 school year, a computer science course may satisfy one year of the total credit requirement in mathematics, excluding Algebra I, Geometry, or Algebra II or the equivalent courses. The State Board of Education shall develop guidelines addressing how computer science courses can satisfy graduation requirements. Senate Amendment #1: This amendment allows a public high school, including a charter school, to request waiver of the requirement that the school offer at least one computer science course if it would be a financial or programmatical burden to the school. The request must be in writing and submitted to the Secretary of Education, who will approve or deny the request. Status: passed Senate 3/29 and passed House 4/4/17, sent to Governor Carney for signature, Sponsor: Heffernan

House Bill #17: This bill increases the minimum age of required school attendance from 16 to the age of 17. The minimum age for truancy has also been increased accordingly. Status: Tabled in House Education Committee, Dead, Sponsor: Dukes

House Bill #23 w/House Amendment #1: HB #23: This Act requires that any student over the age of 16 who wishes to leave school prior to graduation must obtain the written consent of the parent or guardian, and attend an exit interview where information is supplied regarding the likelihood of diminished earning potential and the increased likelihood of unemployment associated with dropping out. The school is also directed to explore whether there are support services, interventions or programs that might assist the student in remaining enrolled. The intent is to lower the dropout rate and encourage students to complete high school. House Amendment #1: This amendment clarifies that written consent is only required for students who have not reached the age of majority. It also limits the burden on schools by clarifying that a school must make three attempts to contact and schedule an exit interview with a parent or guardian. If the parent or guardian is unreachable or uncooperative the school has no further obligations under this subsection. Status: passed House 3/21/17 and passed Senate 4/5/17, signed by Governor Carney 5/18/17, Sponsor: Matthews

House Bill #24: This bill requires a conference with the parent or guardian of a student who has been absent without excuse for 5 days from school. A needs assessment will be performed to determine what supports or services will help the student and family improve school attendance. Moving the intervention forward to the fifth unexcused absence rather than the 10th may help to improve outcomes for Delaware’s students and help prevent students from disengaging from the school community and dropping out of school. Status: sent to House Education Committee 1/5/17, Sponsor: Matthews

House Bill #34: This bill expands the list of persons eligible to participate in the Ada Leigh Soles Memorial Professional Librarian and Archivist Incentive Scholarship Program to include employees of non-public libraries in Delaware that join the Delaware Library Consortium. Status: Passed House 3/28/17 and Senate 4/25/17, sent to Governor Carney for signature, Sponsor: Baumbach

House Bill #49: This bill requires all new school construction or major renovation to include the following features: an intruder alarm, bulletproof glass in entrance areas and interior doors and windows, and doors lockable with keys on both sides. Further, the bill would require all new school construction plans to be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget’s Facilities Management Section for compliance with these requirements as well as with Crime Prevention through Environmental Design principles. Status: released from House Education Committee 3/29/17, on House Ready List, Sponsor: Jaques

House Bill #50: This Act seeks to ensure that every public school in the State has a school nurse. This Act provides a mechanism to allow a district or a charter school that currently does not have a school nurse to receive state funds. This Act also permits a district to levy a tax under § 1902(b), Title 14, known as a “match tax”, to assist those districts that hire a school nurse as a result of this Act to pay for the local share of that school nurse. Status: sent to House Appropriations Committee 3/21/17, Sponsor: Jaques

House Bill #51: In 2016, the Legislature provided a reimbursement for teachers employed in Delaware who had to pay the 1-time licensure fee. By using “teacher”, we inadvertently excluded specialists including school media specialists, school counselors, school nurses, et cetera. This Bill changes “teacher” to “educator” to include specialists and other educators. Status: Passed House 3/23/17 and Senate 4/6/17, signed by Governor Carney 5/18/17, Sponsor: Williams

House Bill #55: This Act increases the age requirement for compulsory school attendance in Delaware from 16 to 18 years of age. The age increase is phased in over a two-year period; accordingly, there is a one-year interim period where the compulsory school attendance age requirement will be 17 years old. The Act further provides that a child may be exempt from the age requirement for compulsory school attendance if the child has received a high school diploma or a certificate of performance or obtains permission to withdraw from school from the superintendent of the district in which the child is enrolled or from the president of the board of the charter school in which the child is enrolled. To obtain a waiver from the date of enactment of this Act until August 31, 2018, a child must be at least 16 years old. To obtain a waiver on or after September 1, 2018, a child must be at least 17 years old. The Act preserves the exemption under which a child may be excused from compulsory attendance upon request of the child’s parent or legal guardian coupled with supporting written documentation from a qualified health professional. Status: released from House Education Committee 4/26/17, sent to House Appropriations Committee 5/11/17, Sponsor: Heffernan

*House Bill #60: This bill creates the right for the parent or guardian of a child to opt out of the annual assessment, currently the Smarter Balanced Assessment System. Status: sent to House Education Committee 1/26/17, on agenda for House Education Committee 6/14/17, Sponsor: Kowalko

House Bill #67: As a public school safety measure, this bill requires that any door to a classroom will be equipped with a lock that can be locked from either side of the door. Many doors are currently not capable of locking from the inside. Locking the door(s) to a classroom from inside the classroom would enable precluding a school intruder from entering that classroom. The Act permits schools 5 years from the date of enactment to bring existing structures into compliance with this requirement. New construction and major renovations must comply with the requirement immediately upon enactment. Status: House Appropriations Committee 5/11/17, Sponsor: Jaques

*House Bill #70 w/House Amendment #1: HB#70: Under current educational standards, students are no longer required to be taught cursive writing and many schools have abandoned teaching cursive writing to students. As cursive writing is still an imperative skill in many professions, this bill makes teaching cursive writing a requirement for all public schools in Delaware. House Amendment #1: This amendment changes the beginning school year from 2017-2018 to 2018-2019. Status: Passed House 6/8/17, sent to Senate Education Committee, on agenda for Senate Education Committee 6/14/17, Sponsor: Bennett

House Bill #88 w/House Amendment #1: HB#88: This Act allows for juniors and seniors majoring in education at a Delaware college or university to be paid $83 per day as substitute teachers, the same rate paid to those who hold a bachelor’s degree but not a teaching license. This will encourage education students to gain some field experience, while also incentivizing a larger pool of potential substitute teachers to address a growing difficulty in finding qualified, reliable substitute teachers for our schools. House Amendment #1: This amendment allows qualifying students enrolled in an accredited institution of higher education in Delaware or other jurisdictions to be substitute teachers. Status: released from House Education Committee 4/26/17, on House Ready List, Sponsor: Matthews

House Bill #98 w/House Amendment #1: HB#98: This Act establishes the ability to grant a waiver for participation in interscholastic sports when a child exercises the right for choice from one school to another school of choice provided the standards for the waiver are met. In addition, this Act takes into consideration a new charter school or newly added grades to a charter school. House Amendment #1: This amendment corrects a typographical error. Status: Passed House 5/16/17, released from Senate Education Committee 6/7/17, on Senate Ready List, Sponsor: Jaques

House Bill #99 w/House Amendment #1: HB#99: This bill would require that a resident 65 years of age or older claiming a tax credit against school taxes must be a resident of the state for at least 10 years before qualifying for such credit. The current requirement is only for 3-year residency. This bill makes a conforming change in the Code provision governing reimbursements from the General Fund. It also eliminates language related to 2001 taxes, which is no longer relevant. This change will be effective for tax and fiscal years after January 1, 2017. Those residents who would have become eligible over the last three years under the prior version of the statute will remain eligible. House Amendment #1: This amendment retains the 3-year residency requirement for eligibility for anyone moving into the State before December 31, 2017. Anyone establishing residency after that date must be a resident for 10 years rather than 3 before becoming eligible. The amendment also corrects a typo in the original bill. Status: Passed House 4/27/17 and Senate 6/6/17, sent to Governor Carney for signature, sponsor: Williams

House Bill #133: This bill would create an end date for the special filing deadline created by school board vacancies that arise after the second Friday in February. The new end date for these vacancies would be the first Friday in March. Any vacancies that arise after the first Friday in March would be filled by the remaining members on the School Board for the remainder of the fiscal year. Status: released from House Education Committee 5/10/17, on House Ready List, sponsor: Jaques

House Bill #134: This Act establishes an Educational Support Professional of the year award program throughout the State. Through this legislation, the state will formally honor and recognize the work educational support professionals, such as paraprofessionals, food service workers, custodians, and secretaries do to enhance school communities in Delaware. Status: released from House Education Committee 5/10/17, on House Ready List, sponsor: Jaques

*House Bill #142: This Act will improve guidelines for training by school districts and charters as it pertains to School Resource Officers (SRO), their duties and training when interacting with students with disabilities. The limitations and prohibitions described in this section are in addition to, and not in derogation of, any other constitutional, statutory, or regulatory rights otherwise conferred by federal or state law or regulation. Status: passed House 6/13/17, sent to Senate Education Committee, sponsor: Williams

House Bill #149: This Act creates the Complete Your Degree Grant Program. Under this program, state funds may be provided to help eligible students who have completed at least 30 credit hours return to school and complete an associate degree. Status: House Education Committee, 4/26/17, sponsor: Bentz

House Bill #159: This Bill confirms licensing requirements for school nurses are established by the Professional Standards Board, and evaluation criteria for school nurses are established by the District or Charter School. Status: House Education Committee, 5/9/17, sponsor: Jaques

*House Bill #176: This bill gives local school boards or charter school boards more discretion on a case by case basis to suspend students for the possession of a deadly weapon other than a firearm in a Safe School or Recreation Zone. This bill is the result of a case in the Brandywine School District. Status: House Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee 5/16/17, on agenda for House Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee 6/14/17, sponsor: Hudson

*House Bill #193: This Act authorizes teacher candidates who will participate in the “alternative routes” for teacher licensure and certification program hired after July 1 of a school year to fulfill the 120 hour seminar/practicum requirement prior to the start of the following school year. Status: House Education Committee, 6/1/17, on agenda to be heard on House Education Committee 6/14/17, sponsor: Williams

House Bill #194: This bill phases out the school property tax credit for residents age 65 or older, by eliminating eligibility for those born after 1967 (currently age 50). The fifteen year provision allows time for residents to adjust their long range financial plans. This bill does not affect anyone currently eligible for the credit. Status: House Administration Committee, 6/1/17, sponsor: Spiegelman

House Bill #209: This Act is meant to prohibit the practice of waiving certain sections of the Delaware Code year after year through the use of epilogue language in the budget bill. Status: sent to House Administration Committee, 6/6/17, sponsor: Kowalko

House Bill #213: This bill creates a mechanism by which school boards may increase funds for a school district without a referendum. Status: Sent to House Education Committee, 6/6/17, sponsor: Jaques

House Bill #218: This Act removes the ability of members of the Interagency Resource Management Committee to appoint designees to serve in their stead.  Status: House Education Committee, 6/8/17, sponsor: Willliams

House Substitute 1 for House Bill #12: This bill provides State funding to kindergarten through third grade for basic special education. State funding already occurs for intensive and complex special education during these grades. Currently the basic special education funding runs from fourth through twelfth grade. This bill is an effort to promote earlier identification and assistance for basic special education needs which should then mitigate costs over the long term.Pursuant to its terms, funding for K-3 special education will be phased in gradually over 4 years. Status: released from House Education Committee 1/19/17, sent to House Appropriations Committee 1/19/17, sponsor: Williams

House Substitute 1 for House Bill #85: This bill eliminates the use of an enrollment preference for students living within a 5-mile radius of a charter school. This change was supported by a majority vote of the Enrollment Preferences Task Force established by House Bill No. 90 of the 147th General Assembly. The Act will take effect immediately. For any charter school using the 5-mile preference at the time of enactment, the school is required to eliminate the preference through notification to the authorizer prior to the 2018-2019 school year. The bill allows a new preference for students located in the portion of the regular school district that is geographically contiguous with the location of the charter school. Status: Passed House 5/18/17, released from Senate Education Committee 6/8/17, on Senate Ready List, sponsor: Williams

*House Substitute 1 for House Bill #143 & House Amendment #1: HS #1: This Act removes the provisional license and re-establishes a 3 tiered licensure system. An initial license provides for two years for the initial licensee to obtain a passing score on an approved performance assessment. This Act provides for reciprocity for a state-created and approved performance assessment from another state or jurisdiction to meet the performance assessment requirement. This Act also eliminates the general knowledge exam for licensure which will result in a savings to the candidate of a range of $100 to $150. Additionally, this Act provides for a reimbursement of no less than $100 to a license holder who meets the performance assessment requirement and becomes employed in a Delaware public school. The Department will be responsible for training local district and school staff on the performance assessment. Additionally, the Department of Education leadership, including the Secretary of Education will be trained on the performance assessment. For enactment, any individual provided an initial license prior to the enactment date will not be subject to the requirement of obtaining a passing score on a performance assessment. Additionally, any individual provided a provisional license prior to the enactment date will be reissued an initial license and the 2 year requirement for meeting the performance assessment will become effective commencing on the new issue date. The remainder of the bill makes conforming changes to cross-references and license designations. House Amendment #1: This amendment clarifies implementation of this Act to ensure those educators already on an initial license with multiple years to pass a general knowledge exam, such as School Nurses and Skilled and Technical Science Instructors, are no longer obligated to meet the requirement of passing a general knowledge exam and also clarifies that those educators currently on an initial license are not required to pass an approved performance assessment for movement to a continuing license. Status: Passed House on 6/8/17, sent to Senate Education Committee, on agenda for Senate Education Committee 6/14/17, sponsor: Williams

Senate Bill #18: This Act requires public schools to begin their school year after Labor Day. There have been many economic impact reports done that show a positive impact from starting public schools after Labor Day. A report by the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association estimates that $369 million would be lost if schools were not required to start after Labor Day. This includes $104 million in wages and $21 million in state and local taxes. Maryland is considering similar legislation. A study of Maryland found that pushing the start of school back would generate $74.3 million in economic activity and $7.7 million in new state and local tax revenue. Status: sent to Senate Education Committee 1/24/17, sponsor: Hocker

Senate Bill #19: Some students from disadvantaged backgrounds arrive at school lacking the same vocabulary and word recognition skills of their peers, putting them at a disadvantage when developing literacy skills in primary grades. In analyzing this disparity, studies have shown that the third grade is a critical turning point in educational development and that students who are not preforming at grade level by this point will continue to fall behind their peers at an increasingly rapid pace. This Act will seek to diminish this performance gap by creating a 3-year pilot program for disadvantaged students in primary grades in Delaware public schools. The State will provide $1 million in grant funding per year, over a 3-year period, to support the pilot program. Under the Act, Delaware State University, Delaware Technical and Community College, and the University of Delaware are invited to help collect and analyze data to assess the program. Status: released from Senate Education Committee 3/15/17, on Senate Ready List, sponsor: McDowell

Senate Bill #50: Delaware’s Community College System, operated by Delaware Technical and Community College (“the College”), plays a critical role in the State’s economy by providing workforce development and transfer education that connects Delawareans with good paying jobs within the State and region. This Act gives the College’s Board of Trustees the authority to issue bonds to finance the cost of major and minor capital improvements, deferred maintenance, and the acquisition of related equipment and educational technology and establishes the Community College Infrastructure Fund (“the Fund”) to pay the principal and interest on such bonds. This Act adopts the county Vo-Tech structure to finance the Fund by authorizing the College’s Board of Trustees to collect a local property tax, subject to a cap. All money raised in a county must be placed in a segregated account and spent exclusively on projects in that county; this eliminates any possibility of applying this Act in an unconstitutional manner. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Status: sent to Senate Finance Committee 4/28/17, sponsor: McDowell

Senate Bill #62 w/Senate Amendment #4: SB62: This bill aligns requirements for initial licensure for school nurses to the unique role they play in Delaware public schools. It requires school nurses to hold a Bachelors Degree in Nursing (BSN) from an accredited college or university, maintain a registered nurse license, and be certified in CPR and in the use of an AED. It also requires school nurses to complete 90 clock hours of training approved by the Department of Education. And finally it requires schools nurses to complete three years of supervised clinical nursing experience and achieve a passing score on the NCLEX exam before a provisional or initial license can be granted. Senate Amendment #4: This Amendment does all of the following: (1) On lines 3 through 5 and 13 through 15, removes defining language to the type of training required to give the Department the ability to continually revise the training requirements of school nurse licensure to keep pace with the ever evolving nursing field. (2) On lines 1 through 2, 6 through 7, 11 through 12, and 16 through 17, makes technical corrections. (3) On lines 8 through 10 and 18 through 20, allows for a school nurse employed before the effective date of this Act to follow the new criteria rather than the criteria that was in place at hire. This allows for more flexibility for current school nurses. Status: Passed Senate 5/16/17, sent to House Education Committee, sponsor: Lopez

Senate Bill #85: According to data provided by the Delaware Department of Education (“DOE”), thousands of Delaware students receive out-of-school suspensions each year for minor infractions, such as being unprepared or late for class, dress code violations, and disrespectful behavior. In 2013, only 2% of out-of-school suspensions were for serious offenses such as weapons, drugs, or serious violence. Out-of-school suspensions do not address the root causes for the misbehavior, and only serve to put the students further behind in class. Furthermore, DOE data shows that, in 2013, African-American students made up only 32% of the student body, but accounted for 62% of out-of-school suspension, and students with disabilities made up 13% of the student body, but accounted for 24% of out-of-school suspensions. New federal discipline guidance, developed jointly by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice, instructs schools to commit to regular evaluation of school discipline policies and practices, and monitor progress toward the schools’ climate and discipline goals. This process requires schools to first collect and publicly report disaggregated student discipline data, and solicit feedback from students, staff, families, and community representatives. This Act furthers those goals by requiring schools that suspend at a high rate or that show significant suspension disparities to take meaningful corrective action by implementing plans to reduce these numbers and by replacing out-of-school suspensions with more effective and restorative discipline interventions. The schools in need of intervention are defined schools with high rates of suspension in the following categories: (1) All students. (2) Students belonging to 1 or more subgroups, such as students of specified racial subgroups or with disabilities. (3) Schools with a significant disparity in suspension rates between racial subgroups or between students with disabilities and students without disabilities. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the guidelines of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. Status: sent to Senate Education Committee 5/17/17, sponsor: Henry

Senate Bill #90: This bill would allow for a student to participate in the Inspire Scholarship Program for eight continuous semesters instead of the current six. This would allow a student to use Inspire Scholarships for each of the semesters during a traditional college program. Status: released from Senate Education Committee 5/8/17, on Senate Ready List, sponsor: Bushweller

*Senate Bill #102: This Act consolidates Delaware law related to child abuse and child sexual abuse training and detection, suicide prevention, bullying, criminal youth gang detection, and teen dating violence and sexual assault into one subchapter of Chapter 41, Title 14 of the Delaware Code and develops a non-academic training program that coordinates the trainings school district and charter school employees are required to receive. In addition to streamlining non-academic trainings, this Act provides school districts and charter schools with flexibility to meet current and future non-academic training needs of school district and charter school employees, students, and parents. This Act applies to all public schools, including charter schools and vocational technical schools. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, ensure consistency within the new subchapter, and make references throughout the Code consistent based changes to certain Code designations made by this Act. Status: passed Senate 6/8/17, sent to House Education Committee, on agenda for House Education Committee 6/14/17, sponsor: Henry

*Senate Bill #104: This Act sets the minimum educational courses for each grade. It does not set the curriculum for these courses or how they will be presented within the classrooms. The life skills program replaces the half credit currently listed as part of the 3 1/2 electives required for graduation, and is not an additional half credit added to the graduation requirements. Status: sent to Senate Education Committee 6/6/17, on agenda for Senate Education Committee 6/14/17, sponsor: Lawson

*Senate Bill #107: This bill requires the Division of Public Health and the Department of Education to collaborate with local school districts to find ways to help improve the indoor environment in schools. The bill also requires the Division of Public Health to establish an online portal on the DHSS website through which it will provide technical expertise and exchange information with local school districts in order to help improve the air quality and overall indoor environment in schools. The bill also requires the Department of Education to notify local school districts of the portal every year. Status: sent to Senate Education Committee 6/6/17, on agenda for Senate Education Committee 6/14/17, sponsor: Hansen

Senate Bill #112: This Act creates the Delaware Student Entrepreneur Program Fund. The primary purposes of the Act are as follows: (1) To attract and retain high-skilled, entrepreneurs, including immigrants to the United States, that graduated from Delaware higher education institutions (2) To help fund and develop new businesses in Delaware and create job opportunities in Delaware for Delaware’s young citizens in the areas of innovation and technology that are poised to grow in the 21st century economy; (3) To attract global entrepreneurs to Delaware higher education institutions, to grow businesses, create jobs in Delaware, and provide employment opportunities for the graduates from these institutions; and (4) To support entrepreneurship and innovation in Delaware. Status: sent to Senate Elections & Government Affairs 6/8/17, sponsor: McDowell

Senate Bill #116: This bill creates a 3-year exemption for public school construction from prevailing wage requirements. Also the public school will prepare cost study comparison reports for the Controller General’s Office to compile and report to the General Assembly. Status: sent to Senate Labor Committee 6/13/17, sponsor: Simpson

House Concurrent Resolution #15: This Concurrent Resolution commends the 2017 Delaware State Teacher of the Year, Wendy Turner, and all of the District Teachers of the Year. Status: Passed House and Senate 3/21/17, sponsor: Jaques

House Concurrent Resolution #21: This concurrent resolution designates April 26, 2017, as Engineering and Technology Education Day. Status: Passed House 4/25/17 and Senate 4/26/17, sponsor: Matthews

House Concurrent Resolution #26: This resolution recognizes the week of May 8-12, 2017 as “Teacher Appreciation Week”. Status: Passed House and Senate 5/9/17, sponsor: Jaques

Senate Concurrent Resolution #18: This Concurrent Resolution commends and congratulates the Secretary of Education Scholars for 2017. Status: passed Senate 4/5/17 and House 4/6/17, sponsor: Sokola

House Joint Resolution #3: This Joint Resolution directs the Department of Education to present its plan for compliance with the new federal education law – “Every Student Succeeds Act” or “ESSA” – at a meeting of the education committees of both chambers of the General Assembly prior to the completion of the state plan and it’s submission to the federal Department of Education. Status: passed House 1/24/17 and Senate 3/21/17, signed by Governor Carney 3/22/17, sponsor: Jaques

House Joint Resolution #4: This resolution requires a Delaware Certificate of Multi-literacy be established. The criteria for such certificate is to be developed by the Department of Education no later than August 30, 2017. Passed House 4/26/17, released from Senate Education Committee 6/7/17, on Senate Ready List, sponsor: Miro

House Resolution #12: This resolution designates May 5, 2017, as “School Lunch Hero Day” in order to recognize the hardworking school nutrition professionals in this State’s school cafeterias and to showcase the difference these professionals make in the lives of every child who comes through the cafeteria. Status: passed House 5/3/17, sponsor: Osienski

House Resolution #13: This Resolution recognizes the important work of school nurses and declares May 10, 2017 as “National School Nurse Day” in Delaware. Status: passed House 5/10/17, sponsor: Jaques

Senate Resolution #11: This resolution designates the week of May 1, 2017 to May 5, 2017 as National Charter School Week. Status: passed Senate 5/2/17, sponsor: Pettyjohn