FINAL ** All Delaware 149th General Assembly Education Legislation Passed, Defeated, Pending, Tabled & Vetoed

The 149th Delaware General Assembly is finished!  All bills either passed or didn’t.  If it is in black, it passed.  If it is in red, it didn’t.

Legislators: If you find any errors, omissions, or want to provide clarification on the status of a bill, please let me know.

House Bill 3, S: Rep. Deb Heffernan, “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.”, House Amendment #4: “This Amendment delays the enactment of the bill until April, 2019 to provide the Department of Human Resources and the school districts time to establish guidelines and procedures regarding parental leave. This amendment clarifies that the employees of all school districts employees, charter schools and vocational school districts are included in the bill. This amendment also clarifies that parental leave, FMLA and short-term disability are to run concurrently. This amendment establishes reporting requirements, which will enable the number of people using parental leave and the impact the program is having on retention and recruitment of employees to be evaluated. This Amendment change requires the Department of Human Resources to establish guidelines for other state agencies to follow in granting leave under this Act and to distribute the guidelines to these state agencies. Finally, this amendment makes technical changes to the bill.”, Introduced: 4/5/17, Status: Passed House 6/12/18, Passed Senate 6/20/18, awaiting signing from Governor Carney

House Bill 10, S: Rep. Melanie Smith, “This Act entitles all students from kindergarten through the 8th grade who are enrolled in a Delaware public school to morning and afternoon recess periods and a lunch period that is at least 30 minutes in length. Morning and afternoon break periods must be at least 10 minutes in length each. Under this Act, students are entitled to morning and afternoon breaks and a lunch period only on a full day of school.”, Introduced: 6/21/17, Status: House Education Committee 6/21/17  **Bill is dead**

HS 1 for House Bill 12, S: Rep. Kim Williams, “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.”, Introduced: 1/5/17, Status: out of House Education Committee 1/18/17, sent to House Appropriations Committee 1/19/17, note: while the full funding from this bill were not allocated for this need the Joint Finance Committee did give funding to create this in May of 2018

House Bill 15, S: Rep. Deb Heffernan, “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.”, Introduced: 1/5/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 9/22/17

House Bill 17, S: Rep. Tim Dukes, “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.”, Introduced: 12/15/16, Status: Tabled in House Education Committee

House Bill 23, S: Rep. Sean Matthews, “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.”, 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.”, Introduced: 1/5/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 5/18/17

House Bill 24, S: Rep. Sean Matthews, “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.”, Introduced: 1/5/17, Status: House Education Committee 1/5/17  **bill is dead**

House Bill 34, S: Rep. Paul Baumbach, “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.”, Introduced: 1/12/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 7/17/17

HS1 for House Bill 49, S: Rep. Earl Jaques, “This Act requires all new school construction and schools undergoing major renovations to incorporate the following safety features: a secured vestibule to be used as the primary entrance to screen visitors, installation of ballistic resistant glass or other ballistic resistant materials in all areas used to screen visitors, installation of a panic button or intruder alert system, and classroom doors that can be locked on the outside with a key or magnetic card locking system. Further, the Act provides that the Office of Management and Budget Facilities Management Section shall coordinate a review of construction plans with the Department of Homeland Security to verify compliance with this Act and evaluate the security and safety of new schools and schools planning major renovations. This Act shall be known as the “Representative Joseph E. Miro School Safety Act.” This bill is a substitute for and differs from House Bill 49 by using industry standard terms, requiring the installation of a panic button or intruder alert system, requiring that the Department of Education and Comprehensive School Safety Program annually provide best practices for ballistic and alarm capabilities to school districts and Facilities Management, and ensuring compliance with fire prevention regulations.”, Introduced: 3/20/18, Status: Passed by House on 3/29/18, Passed Senate 6/7/18, Signed by Governor Carney on 6/14/18

House Bill 50, S: Rep. Earl Jaques, “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.”, Introduced: 1/24/17, out of House Education Committee 3/15/17, sent to House Appropriations Committee 3/21/17

House Bill 51, S: Rep. Kim Williams, “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.”, Introduced: 1/24/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 5/18/17

House Bill 55, S: Rep. Deb Heffernan, “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.”, Introduced: 1/25/17, Status: out of House Education Committee 4/26/17, sent to House Appropriations Committee 5/11/17

House Bill 60, S: Rep. John Kowalko, “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.”, Introduced 1/26/17, Status: House Education Committee 1/26/17, Note: was heard in committee last June but it was neither released from committee or tabled, *bill is dead**

House Bill 67, S: Rep. Earl Jaques, “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.”, Introduced: 3/9/17, Status: out of House Education Committee and sent to House Administration Committee 5/11/17, Stricken in House 6/21/18

House Bill 70, S: Rep. Andria Bennett, “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.”, Amendment #1: “This amendment changes the beginning school year from 2017-2018 to 2018-2019.”, Introduced: 3/9/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 8/30/17

HS 1 for House Bill 85, S: Rep. Kim Williams, “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.”, Note: Attempts in the House and Senate to remove the part about the contiguous location were defeated in both chambers, Introduced: 3/28/17, Status: Vetoed by Governor Carney 7/20/17

House Bill 88, S: Rep. Sean Matthews, “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.”, Introduced: 3/23/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 3/16/18

House Bill 98, S: Rep. Earl Jaques, “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.”, Introduced: 3/28/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 7/17/17

House Bill 99, S: Rep. Kim Williams, “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.”, Introduced: 3/30/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 7/17/17

HS 1 for House Bill 104, S: Rep. Melanie Smith, “The state is currently funding service providers at 75% of the market rate established in a 2014 study that was done by DHSS. This bill would mandate an increase in the rates paid to service providers according to the recommendations of the market study, so that by fiscal year 2021 the state would fund service providers at 100% of the benchmarked rate. These rate increases are necessary to increase the hourly wages of Direct Support Professionals (DSPs), to improve recruitment and retention of these positions, to decrease staff turnover, and to decrease position vacancies. Along with the corresponding costs for program oversight, direct supervision of DSPs, and training, stabilizing the DSP workforce with increased pay is essential to keep people with I/DD safe and integrated to the maximum extent possible in their local communities. The bill also requires that the adequacy of the rate system be evaluated against performance measures that are commonly used to assess program quality.”, Amendment #1: “This Amendment states the intent of the General Assembly to phase in increases to the rate system for services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities subject to available funding.”, Introduced: 5/10/18, Passed House 6/27/18, Passed Senate 6/28/18, sent to Governor Carney for signing

House Bill 133, S: Rep. Earl Jaques, “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.”, Introduced: 4/13/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 8/2/17

House Bill 134, S: Rep. Earl Jaques, “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.”, House Amendment #1: “This bill fixes technical errors and eliminates language that was not needed.”, Introduced: 4/13/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 4/24/18

House Bill 142, S: Rep. Kim Williams, “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.”, Introduced 4/25/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 9/29/17

HS 1 for House Bill 143, S: Rep. Kim Williams, “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.”, Introduced: 5/17/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 6/20/17

House Bill 149, S: Rep. David Bentz, “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.”, Introduced: 4/26/17, Status: House Education Committee 4/26/17

House Bill 159, S: Rep. Earl Jaques, “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.”, Introduced: 5/9/17, Status: House Education Committee 5/9/17

House Bill 176, S: Rep. Deb Hudson, “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.”, House Amendment #1: “This amendment makes a technical correction.”, House Amendment #2: “This amendment modifies the proposed bill by clarifying the suspension for deadly weapons is an alternative option in lieu of a requirement.”, Introduced: 5/6/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 9/29/17

House Bill 193, S: Rep. Kim Williams, “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.”, Introduced: 6/1/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 9/21/17

House Bill 194, S: Rep. Jeff Spiegelman, “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.”, Introduced: 6/1/17, Status: House Administration Committee 6/1/17

House Bill 213, S: Rep. Earl Jaques, “This bill creates a mechanism by which school boards may increase funds for a school district without a referendum.”, Introduced: 6/6/17, Status: House Education Committee 6/6/17, **bill is dead**

House Bill 218, S: Rep. Kim Williams, “This Act removes the ability of members of the Interagency Resource Management Committee to appoint designees to serve in their stead.”, Introduced: 6/8/17, Status: out of committee and on House Ready list 6/21/17

House Bill 229, S: Rep. Earl Jaques, “This bill concerns sick leave payout for retired State Troopers who became reemployed in public education. Specifically, this bill adds language to the code that would treat retired State Troopers the same as other educational employees as it relates to sick leave payment upon separation from educational employment.”, House Amendment #1: “This amendment will cap the total number of days a State Police Officer can receive compensation for unused sick days at 90 days, whether claimed in full following retirement from DSP or in combination with a second state job.”, Senate Amendment #1: “This amendment replaces House Amendment No. 1, and will cap the total number of days a State Police Officer can receive compensation for unused sick days at 75 days, whether claimed in full following retirement from DSP or in combination with a second state job.”, Introduced: 6/13/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 8/2/17

House Bill 230, S: Rep. Earl Jaques, “This bill expands the population of war veterans who are eligible to be awarded a high school diploma.”, Introduced 6/13/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 7/21/17

House Bill 253, S: Rep. Ruth Briggs King, “This Act extends the enrollment reduction requirements and clarifies that enrollment shall not exceed 1,250 students as of the 2017-2018 school year and each school year thereafter.”, Introduced: 6/21/17, Status: out of committee and on House Ready list 6/27/17

House Bill 255, S: Rep. Deb Heffernan, “This Act establishes the ability of state and school district employees to use the “donated leave” program to donate and accept annual leave and sick time for use by employees in connection with the birth or adoption of a child under the age of 6 years. An employee becomes eligible to receive such leave upon the birth of a child to the employee or employee’s spouse or upon adoption of a child younger than 6. Such an employee remains eligible for 6 months after such birth or adoption. The recipient may also use donated leave for a period of 1 year following the birth or adoption for absence related to maternal or pediatric medical appointments. Provided, however, that a recipient of donated leave must first use all of his or her accrued sick time and half of his or her annual leave. Where the recipient does not accrue annual leave, the recipient must have used all but 3 of that employee’s sick days prior to utilizing donated leave. All other established terms and conditions for donated leave remain the same.”, House Amendment #1: “This amendment provides a cap of 12 total weeks of donated leave that any one recipient may draw. It also provides that a qualified recipient may use donated leave to cover subsequent absence for up to one year for maternal or pediatric medical care requiring hospitalization or extended care at home. This amendment also provides that the Act will not take effect until OMB has sought and received a ruling from the IRS stating that tax treatment of this expansion of the donated leave program will not be different from the existing program.”, Introduced: 6/22/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 9/29/17

House Bill 261, S: Rep. Ruth Briggs King, “The Delaware Advisory Council on Career and Technical Education received $331,700 out of the Delaware General Fund for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017. Based upon a simple cost benefit analysis weighed against the budget issues Delaware is facing, it is clear these funds would produce greater benefits if utilized elsewhere. This bill will eliminate this annual expenditure by terminating this Committee via a total repeal of Chapter 86 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code.”, Introduced: 6/23/17, Status: Tabled in House Education Committee 6/23/17

House Bill 268, S: Rep. Kim Williams, “This bill converts the senior property tax credit from a credit against the school taxes imposed and collected at the county level to a means-tested refundable income tax credit to be administered by the Department of Finance, Division of Revenue. For eligible seniors who do not file a personal income tax because their income falls below the threshold set by the Code, the Division will issue a rebate in the amount for which that person is eligible. The Division is authorized to promulgate whatever forms or rules are necessary to administer this section. The tax credit will become effective as early as tax year 2019 upon certification by the Secretary of Finance that systems are in place for the Division of Revenue to administer the credit.”, Senate Amendment #1: “This Amendment provides technical clarifications to this Act and modifies the implementation dates for this Act.”, Introduced 6/30/17, Status: Passed House 7/2/17, Passed Senate 6/28/18, Passed House again on 6/30/18, awaiting signing by Governor Carney

House Bill 269, S: Rep. Kim Williams, “Since 1996, students across Delaware have participated in school choice. Currently, reorganized school districts, vocational technical school districts, and charter schools do not follow the same processes thus causing confusion and barriers for families seeking to access choice for their children. This Act aims to streamline the school choice process, making it easier and clearer for parents, guardians, and school administrators to navigate. This Act requires reorganized school districts, vocational-technical school districts, and charter schools to use a standard online application receipt and processing tool approved by the Department that is offered at no charge. It also clarifies that the application deadlines apply to all students, regardless of age or school. Additionally, it will prohibit schools from asking for additional information that does not directly pertain to an enrollment or program criterion. The bill will make the timing uniform for the ranked waitlist process. It aligns the sibling preference across all school types and eliminates the separate charter school April 1st enrollment requirement of 80% and moving to May 1st to allow for parents to make a final, informed decision. Under this bill, in the event of a mid-year termination of a pupil’s enrollment, the sending reorganized school district, vocational-technical school district, or charter school and the receiving reorganized school district, vocational-technical school district, or charter school shall enter into an agreement providing for the pro-ration of student funding based on a formula prescribed by the DDOE.”, Introduced: 6/30/17, Status: House Education Committee 6/30/17 **bill is dead**

House Bill 278, S: Rep. Paul Baumbach, “This Act changes the term of a school board member from 5 years to 4 years. While longer board member terms enable school board members to have more years as experienced board members, this must be weighed against the goal of providing the community with sufficient opportunities to run for school boards, and to replace school board members. In addition, shorter board member terms can increase the number of candidates who run for office, as a longer term can prevent some individuals from choosing to run for this office.”, House Amendment #1: “This Amendment changes the applicability of this Act from elections held on or after January 1, 2018, to elections held 90 days or more after the enactment of this Act.”, Introduced: 12/14/17, Status: out of committee and on House Ready list 1/17/18

House Bill 282, S: Rep. Sean Matthews, “In order to support enrichment activities such as field trips for students at high-poverty schools, this bill would require the State to provide $25 per student to high poverty schools to be used for the purpose of educational and enrichment field trips.”, Introduced: 12/14/17, Status: out of committee and sent to House Appropriations committee 3/27/18

House Bill 283, S: Rep. Ruth Briggs King, “In the 149th General Assembly House Bill No. 64 amended Title 29, Section 5120 to insure that mothers who are full time state employees may have up to 6 weeks of unpaid leave following the newborn(s) discharge from the hospital even if their FMLA benefits have been exhausted. This bill clarifies that school district employees are entitled to the same unpaid leave.”, House Amendment #1: “This amendment removes an unnecessary clause from the bill. The Merit Employee Relations Board of State Personnel Office is not applicable to school district employees.”, Introduced: 1/14/18, Status: out of committee, on House Ready list 5/2/18

House Bill 286, S: Rep. Kim Williams, “Enactment of the Every Student Succeeds Act amended the Individuals with Disability Education Act (“IDEA”) by mandating that special education teachers must have obtained full certification and may not be working under emergency certifications. The Delaware Department of Education must stop issuing emergency certifications in special education in order for the State to continue receiving $36 million in federal IDEA funding for our schools. This Act creates a mechanism that is in compliance with federal requirements to enable educators to obtain a certificate of eligibility in the areas of special education. Educators will be able to meet federal requirements while being enrolled in an approved, alternative routes to certification program. This Act will allow local education agencies to staff special education classrooms while ensuring the educators are receiving high quality training working toward their standard certificate in the appropriate area of special education. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.”, House Amendment #1: “This Amendment adds the phrase “or charter school”, which is missing on lines 46 and 48.”, Introduced: 1/9/18, Status: Signed by Governor Carney on 1/29/18

HS1 for House Bill 287, S: Rep. Kim Williams, (from original HB #287): “This Act replaces the term “Certificate of Performance” with “State of Delaware High School Diploma of Modified Performance Standards.” Doing so provides the opportunity for schools to award students who meet the requirements of their Individualized Education Plans (“IEP”) a high school diploma which recognizes the accomplishment of having attained a level of performance that is modified from the State graduation requirements but aligned with their established goals and performance outcomes. This high school diploma will be awarded on the same criteria for which some students with special needs are currently issued a Certificate of Performance. Issuing a Certificate of Performance instead of awarding a diploma has had a negative impact on students’ employment and education opportunities. Under this Act, a student who successfully completes the requirements of his or her IEP will receive a high school diploma, thereby having access to greater career and education opportunities. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.”,“This Substitute Bill makes the following changes to House Bill No. 287: 1. It changes the name of the new diploma to a “Diploma of Alternate Achievement Standards” instead of a “Diploma of Modified Performance Standards.” 2. It adds a requirement that a student must be eligible to take a statewide alternate assessment to receive the new diploma. 3. The Act takes effect in the academic year after enactment.”, House Amendment #1: “This Amendment removes the requirement that a student must be eligible to take a statewide alternate assessment to receive the new diploma. The reason is the requirement actually limited the number of students who would receive the new diploma which was not the intention.”, Introduced: 3/6/18, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 4/18/18

House Bill 292, S: Rep. Earl Jaques, “This Act implements the recommendations of the March 2015 Autism Educational Task Force report regarding § 1332 of Title 14, the Program for Children with Autism and its Special Staff. Enacted nearly three decades ago, this law established a network of educational programs initially within a separate school structure known as The Delaware Autism Program (DAP). Today, this network continues as a combination of both separate school programs and within local school district support services. However, the current model does not reflect current practices in special education, especially regarding inclusive education, and parents’ desire to have their children educated in their local communities. In addition, the increase in students with an educational classification of autism spectrum disorder (“ASD”) has made it difficult for the Statewide Director to provide the level of services and support that once was offered. This Act establishes the qualifications and duties of the Statewide Director and enhances the current mandatory committee structure to include a Parent Advisory Committee, in addition to the Peer Review Committee and Statewide Monitoring Review Board, to increase family input, monitoring, and protections. This Act creates a 3 year pilot program that revises the concept of DAP toward a system in which the statewide Director will work in collaboration with a team of experts to provide technical assistance and training to districts and educational entities. It allows for and provides adequate resources for all students with ASD in Delaware by eliminating the distinction between DAP-approved programs and other in-district options and by providing in-state experts at a lower cost than out-of-state residential treatment and consultants. The pilot program created under this Act makes changes that recognize and support the need for specialized technical assistance and training staff to be available to build capacity for teachers in all districts and other programs educating students with ASD. These changes expand available supports so that excellent, evidence-based training and technical assistance can be made available to all Delaware schools and the students who attend them. The pilot program created under this Act establishes a technical assistance team of educational autism specialists numbering a ratio of 1 for every 100 students (currently estimated at 15 positions). The fiscal mechanism to support the pilot program will be accomplished through mandated district participation that is consistent with the current needs-based funding system in Delaware and by redirecting state spending towards lower cost, community-based supports from out-of-state residential placements. The number of training specialists will be phased in over several years or until the pilot program ends. Finally, this Act is known as “The Alex Eldreth Autism Education Law” in memory Alex Eldreth, who passed away unexpectedly on November 24, 2017, and his dedication to this work.”, Introduced: 1/4/18, Passed House on 6/12/18, Passed Senate on 6/21/18, awaiting signing by Governor Carney

House Bill 326, S: Rep. Kim Williams, “This Act creates the Delaware Advance Scholarship Program (“Program”). The goal of this Act is to encourage Delaware students with intellectual disabilities to pursue studies for a comprehensive certificate or degree at a Delaware institution of higher education in order to promote economic self-sufficiency. This will result in an economic benefit to the State in the form of a more diverse, well-prepared workforce that is less reliant on government support. This Act follows the Higher Education Opportunities Act of 2008, which authorizes comprehensive transition and post-secondary programs as a pathway to higher education for students with intellectual disabilities. The Program will be effective beginning in the 2018 through 2019 academic year.”, House Amendment 1: “This amendment makes a technical change to delete redundant language.”, House Amendment 2: “This Amendment clarifies the meaning of “tuition” for purposes of the Act.”, Introduced: 3/1/18, Status: passed by House 4/26/18, Passed by Senate on 6/13/18, awaiting signing by Governor Carney

HS 1 for House Bill 335, S: Rep. Danny Short, “This Act establishes the Delaware School Safety and Security Fund to allow certain eligible public schools to partially or fully fund projects intended to improve school facilities and training relating to safety or security. The Department of Education shall administer the fund. This Act is effective upon appropriation.”, House Amendment #2: “This amendment establishes the Delaware School Safety and Security Fund to allow school districts, vocational technical schools, or charter schools (LEAs) to request funding to partially or fully fund projects intended to improve school facilities and training relating to safety or security. The Department of Education shall administer the fund. This Act is effective upon appropriation.”, Introduced: 3/13/18, Status: Passed by House on 6/21/18, Passed Senate on 6/27/18, awaiting signing by Governor Carney

House Bill 336, S: Rep. Joe Miro, “This Act requires each public school district to equip the schools within their respective jurisdictions with an adequate number of panic buttons that may be used to immediately alert local law enforcement authorities of a security threat at a school. Once activated, the required silent alarm system will immediately alert authorities without simultaneously activating an audible alarm within the school building.”, House Amendment 1: “This amendment clarifies that this section applies to every public school and charter school and that the silent alarm system must be approved by the local board of education which has the responsibility to see that the requirements are complied with. Additionally, the silent alarm system may be activated by mobile phone.”, House Amendment 2: “This amendment clarifies that this section applies to every public school and charter school and that the silent alarm system must be approved by the local board of education which has the responsibility to see that the requirements are complied with. Additionally, the silent alarm system may be activated by a phone application based system that integrates with the state’s supplemental 9-1-1 database and allows authorized users to simultaneously place a voice call to 9-1-1 while also providing notifications via text, email, and push notifications to school staff, school resource officers, 9-1-1, local law enforcement, and emergency personnel.”, Introduced: 3/13/18, Status: out of committee 4/18/18, on House Ready list 4/18/18, Stricken in House on 6/21/18

House Bill 338, S: Rep. Deb Heffernan, “This Act increases the eligibility for a child with a disability to be eligible for free appropriate public education from the end of the school year in which the child attains the age of 21 to the end of the school year in which the child attains the age of 22. This Act also makes a technical correction to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.”, Introduced: 3/15/18, Status: tabled in House Education Committee 3/15/18

HS1 for House Bill 346, S: Rep. David Bentz, “This Act establishes the High Needs Educator Student Loan Payment Program. The Program allows qualified applicants to apply for a payment from the State to the applicant’s lending agency, to pay a portion of the applicant’s student loan debt. The purpose of the Program is to encourage Educators to work and remain working in certification areas in which Delaware has a shortage and to encourage Educators to work and remain working in Delaware’s hardest-to-staff Schools. The amount of the award shall be no less than $1000 and no more than $2000. This substitute redesignates the chapter where this language will be placed in the code.”, House Amendment #2: “The purpose of this amendment is to incentivize educator consistency for students in high needs schools. This amendment requires that in order to be eligible for an award, an applicant must be employed in a high needs school for at least 1 year and must be at the same school the following year in order to receive the award.”, Introduced: 4/12/18, Status: out of House Education Committee 4/18/18, Released from House Appropriations committee 6/6/18, Passed by House on 6/12/18, Passed Senate on 6/27/18, awaiting signing by Governor Carney

House Bill 363, S: Rep. Kim Williams, “This bill changes the time of school board and school referendum election from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.”, House Amendment #1: “This amendment changes the time when the polls open from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. to be consistent with all other elections.”, Introduced: 3/29/18, Status: Passed House 5/1/18, Passed Senate 6/13/18

House Bill 398, S: Rep. Ruth Briggs King, “This bill is a companion bill to House Substitute No. 1 for House Bill No. 344 and provides the authority for the Department of Education to prescribe the rules and regulations necessary to implement the Prison Education Program which provides educational services to the Department of Correction.”, Introduced: 5/2/18, Status: House Education Committee 5/2/18  **bill is dead**

House Bill 402, S: Rep. Sean Lynn, “Previously, a school superintendent was required to notify the DMV any time a student was expelled from a public school, at which time the DMV was permitted to suspend or refuse to issue or renew the expelled student a driver’s license. This bill eliminates the ability for the DMV to suspend a student’s driver’s license who has been expelled from a public school.”, Introduced: 5/3/18, Status: Passed House on 6/26/18, Passed Senate on 6/30/18, awaiting signing by Governor Carney

House Bill 433, S: Rep. Kim Williams, “This Act expands the pathways to entering an alternative routes for teacher licensure and certification program (“ARTC”) casting a wider net in order to attract a diverse pool of qualified candidates into the field of education as the need for teachers, particularly in critical needs areas, has increased. It also clarifies district and charter school responsibilities and ARTC program provider responsibilities, to assure proper supports are in place. Under this Act, attainment of final licensure and certification is contingent on meeting all ARTC program requirements, demonstrating effective teaching based on a state-approved evaluation system, and attaining passing scores on applicable and available approved content readiness exams and a performance assessment. These exit requirements hold ARTC participants to the same high standards for final licensure and certification as those entering the field from a typical teacher pre-service program. This Act also makes technical corrections to confirm existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.”, Passed House on 6/12/18, Passed Senate on 6/26/18, awaiting signing by Governor Carney

House Bill 438, S: Rep. Charles Potter, “This Act eliminates the ability of a court to suspend a student’s driving privileges or hunting license for truancy.”, Status: Passed House on 6/26/18, Passed Senate on 6/30/18, awaiting signing by Governor Carney

House Bill 454, S: Rep. Deb Heffernan, “This Act promotes diversity of housing in Delaware by acknowledging that not all residential units warrant the same Voluntary School Assessment. Currently, single family residential subdivision projects are subject to the same per unit Voluntary School Assessment as an apartment project, regardless of size and number of bedrooms. The current framework can place an undue burden on multi-family and smaller unit residential projects. This Act seeks to mitigate this burden for redevelopment plans by eliminating the Voluntary School Assessment for one-bedroom apartment units, such that the per unit Voluntary School Assessment would be charged only for each residential unit containing two or more bedrooms, and further by reducing the Voluntary School Assessment cap to 2.5 percent of the total cost of the residential unit. This Act further recognizes that relief in support of the above-mentioned policy is most appropriate for redevelopment projects where any financial burden on the school system potentially caused by reducing the Voluntary School Assessment is mitigated by taxes previously paid to the school district for the prior development.”, House Amendment #1: “This amendment removes an exception for golf courses and other recreational uses in the definition of what is included as previously developed land.”, Status: Stricken on 6/30/18, bill is dead

House Bill 455, S: Rep. Stephanie Bolden, “This Act fulfills recommendations made by the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee by doing the following: (1) Establishing 2 new, nonvoting members to serve on the State Board of Education (“Board”). The new members are a former Delaware Teacher of the Year and a Delaware 11th or 12th grade student. (2) Defining the duties of the Board’s Executive Director. (3) Clarifying that the Executive Director is selected by the Board; is an employee of the Department of Education, subject to all of the Department’s employment policies and procedures; but serves at the pleasure of the Board. (4) Requiring the Board to rotate its meetings among the 3 counties of this State in such a way to facilitate parents’, teachers’, and other community members’ attendance. (5) Establishing the circumstances under which a Board member may be removed, using language standard to boards and commissions in this State. (6) Requiring the Board to permit public comment on each agenda item prior to voting on the item and in proximity to the time at which the Board discusses the item. An exception is provided if, under Delaware law or Department or Board rules, the item has a formal comment period or a process for making a record in an administrative matter that has closed before the Board’s discussion of the agenda item. Examples of matters that qualify for the exception include charter school applications or formal reviews, amendments to Department of Education and Professional Standards Board regulations, and student appeals. The intent of the exception is to exclude Board actions that are quasi-judicial in nature and therefore not appropriate to open to public comment. This Act also corrects 2 internal references and makes other technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.”, House Amendment #1: “This Amendment changes a word in the provision related to the State Board of Education’s Executive Director.”, Status: Passed House on 6/26/18, Passed Senate on 6/30/18, awaiting signing by Governor Carney

House Bill 456, S: Rep. Earl Jaques, “This Act amends Titles 14, 16, 17, 26, and 29 of the Delaware Code to prohibit the use of lead paints on outdoor structures such as bridges, water towers, playground equipment, highways, parking lots, and utility towers and poles, in order to protect public health from the dangers of such paints. More specifically, Section 1 of this Act substantively amends Title 16 to add a new Chapter 30M setting forth the general prohibition of use of lead paints on outdoor structures after specified effective dates. Section 2 of this Act amends Titles 17, 26, and 29 to reference back to the new Title 16 Chapter 30M prohibitions. Section 3 requires the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to develop regulations governing the removal of lead paint from outdoor structures consistent with this Act.”, House Amendment #1: “This amendment removes DNREC’s duty to establish regulations governing the removal of lead paints from outdoor structures in Delaware.”, House Amendment #2: “This Amendment clarifies that House Bill No. 456 creates Chapter 30M of Title 16.”, Status: Passed House on 6/26/18, Passed Senate on 6/27/18, awaiting signing by Governor Carney

HS1 for House Concurrent Resolution #34, S: Rep. Kevin Hensley, “This concurrent resolution establishes a Task Force to investigate the cost of special education and make recommendations related to cost efficiency.”, Amendment #1: “This Amendment adds additional members to the task force to investigate the cost of special education and further clarifies the duties of said Task Force to include recommending strategies to improve efficiencies and outcomes for special education.”, Introduced: 5/2/18, Status: Released from House Education Committee 5/9/18, on House Ready list

House Concurrent Resolution #39, S: Rep. Earl Jaques, “This concurrent resolution establishes a Task Force to study and make recommendations regarding the impact of consolidating school districts in the state of Delaware.”, House Amendment #2: “This amendment provides that the Task Force should study and make findings relating to the inclusion of charter schools in school districts and as part of school district consolidation. Additionally, the amendment provides that the Task Force may select other members to serve on the Task Force upon the approval of a majority of the members on the Task Force.”, House Amendment #4: “This amendment additional representation from all three counties and the City of Wilmington by including additional parents or guardians, as well as representation from each of the political bodies.”, Senate Amendment #1: “This amendment removes the provision found in House Amendment No. 2 that the Task Force should study and make findings related to the inclusion of charter schools in school districts and as part of school district consolidation.”, House Amendment #5: “This Amendment removes the Charter School Network from the task force.”, Introduced: 6/20/17, Status: Passed 7/2/17

House Concurrent Resolution #78, S: Rep. Sean Matthews, “This Concurrent Resolution supports the Wait Until Eighth Initiative which promotes awareness regarding risks associatied with smartphone use in young children.”, Introduced: 4/24/18, Status: Passed 5/3/18

House Concurrent Resolution #94, S: Rep. Earl Jaques, “This concurrent resolution recommends that the Government Efficiency and Accountability Review Board (GEAR) act upon recommendations made by the School District Consolidation Task Force regarding formal committees tasked with finding savings in the current school district system.”, Status: Passed House on 6/28/18, Passed Senate on 6/30/18

House Concurrent Resolution #97, S: Bolden, “This resolution acknowledges the need for the State of Delaware to actively work to increase the number of minority teachers in the classrooms and recognizes the benefits of diversity in Delaware’s educators.”, Status: Passed House on 6/28/18, Passed Senate on 6/30/18

House Joint Resolution #3, S: Rep. Earl Jaques, “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.”, Introduced: 1/11/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 3/22/17

House Joint Resolution #4, S: Rep. Joe Miro, “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.”, Introduced: 3/21/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 7/21/17

House Joint Resolution #6, S: Rep. Deb Heffernan, “This House Joint Resolution directs the Department of Education, with the assistance of the Delaware State Board of Education, to promulgate regulations that include specific guidelines to prohibit discrimination in school district employment practices or educational programs and activities for students on the basis of any legally-protected characteristic, including gender identity or expression.”, Introduced: 6/22/17, Status, Passed House 6/28/17, sent to Senate Education Committee 7/12/17, note: essentially this became Regulation #225 which is now in a revised version out for public comment until 7/6/18

Senate Bill 18, S: Senator Gerald Hocker, “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.”, Introduced: 1/24/17, Status: Senate Education Committee 1/24/17

Senate Bill 19, S: Senator Harris McDowell, “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., Introduced: 1/24/17, Status: out of committee and on Senate Ready list 3/15/17

Senate Bill 50, S: Senator Harris McDowell, “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.”, Senate Amendment #1: “This Amendment transfers administrative responsibilities from the Secretary of Finance to the State Treasurer and reduces the amount of taxing authority granted to Delaware Tech’s Board of Trustees from 10 cents per $100 of assessed value to 6.5 cents per $100 of assessed value.”, Introduced: 4/28/17, Status: out of Senate Finance Committee and on Senate Ready list 6/20/17

Senate Bill 62, S: Senator Ernie Lopez, “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.”, Introduced: 4/25/17, Status: Passed Senate 5/16/17, sent to House Education Committee 5/18/17

SS1 for Senate Bill 85, S: Senator Margaret Rose Henry, “This Act draws attention to the types of discipline used in schools by capturing data about out-of-school suspensions and publishing that data, in an effort to help schools identify areas where the data regarding out-of-school suspensions indicates there is room to reduce such suspensions. This Act is meant to increase transparency, improve overall school climate, resulting in improved student outcomes. The collection and publication of this data will also help the Department of Education and community partners identify opportunities to provide greater supports to schools, students, and their families. 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. 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. The federal process requires schools to collect and publicly report disaggregated student discipline data and solicit feedback from students, staff, families, and community representatives. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the guidelines of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Substitute Bill makes the following changes to Senate Bill No. 85: 1. References the existing definition of “disruptive behavior” in Title 14. 2. Includes “disability” as a category for data collection. 3. Extends by 1 year the years stated in the requirements to retain the same time frames. This is necessary because this Act will be enacted in 2018, not 2017 when it was drafted. 4. Clarifies what information is required for reports and provides deadlines for the required plans and reports. 5. Clarifies that schools must develop plans and strategies with stakeholder input. 6. Clarifies content for professional development.”, House Amendment #1: “This Amendment clarifies when a school must develop a plan to address the number of out-of-school suspensions, provides the Department of Education authority to promulgate regulations to implement this section, and corrects a typographical error.”, Introduced 3/29/18, Status: Passed House 6/5/18, Passed Senate 6/7/18, awaiting signing by Governor Carney

Senate Bill 87, S: Senator Margaret Rose Henry, “This Act updates the school stability law for children in the custody of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF) following passage of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). ESSA requires Delaware to eliminate the provision “awaiting foster care placement” under § 202(c), Title 14 in accordance with the federal McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act by December 10, 2017, and instead create a distinct provision regarding school stability for children in the custody of DSCYF. [42 U.S.C. §§ 11431 to 11435; ESEA section 1111(g)(1)(E)(i)-(iii)), 20 U.S.C. §6311(g)(1)(E)]. This Act clarifies that children in the custody of DSCYF remain entitled to attend their school of origin if it is in their best interests to do so, or are eligible for immediate enrollment in a new school. Sections 1, 2, and 3 of this Act take effect on the effective date of final regulations published in the Register of Regulations and promulgated under authority granted by § 202A(d) of Title 14, which is created by Section 2 of this Act.”, Introduced 5/22/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 7/21/17

Senate Bill 90, S: Senator Brian Bushweller, “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.”, Introduced: 5/22/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 5/10/18

Senate Bill 102, S: Senator Margaret Rose Henry, “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.”, Introduced: 6/1/17, Status: Signed by Governor Carney 8/9/17

Senate Bill 104, S: Senator David Lawson, “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.”, Introduced: 6/6/17, Status: Senate Education Committee 6/6/17

Senate Bill 126, S: Senator Ernie Lopez, “This Act provides school-based speech-language pathologists and audiologists who hold a current Certificate of Clinical Competence in speech-language pathology, (“CCC-SLP”) or audiology (“CCC-A”), issued by the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association and who hold a current state license to practice from the Delaware Board of Speech Pathologists, Audiologists and Hearing Aid Dispensers with a base salary level of Master’s Plus 30 credits. Professionals who have a CCC-SLP or CCC-A ASHA certification have met the following rigorous academic and professional standards: 1. Successful completion of requisite academic courses by an accredited program. 2. Successful completion of supervised clinical practicum experiences in the practice of speech-language pathology or audiology. 3. Successful completion/passing score on the National Praxis Exam in speech-language pathology or audiology. 4. Successful completion of a Clinical Fellowship. This Act allows speech language pathologists and audiologists who have completed the course work required by state guidelines to apply for an additional 15 credits to move to the Master’s Plus 45 level. This Act contains a grandfather clause that allows school-based speech-language pathologists and audiologists in Delaware who have a master’s degree, a current license, and have worked as a speech-language pathologist for 20 or more years but do not have Certificate of Clinical Competence to, be granted the equivalent pay grade of Master’s Plus 30 with the same additional coursework criteria for moving to Master’s Plus 45 level.”, Introduced: 6/21/17, Passed Senate 6/12/18, Passed House 6/26/18, awaiting signing by Governor Carney

Senate Bill 166, S: Senator Margaret Rose Henry, “This Act requires that feminine hygiene products be provided free of charge to individuals in custody at facilities operated by the Department of Correction and facilities operated by the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.”, Introduced: 3/28/18, Status: Passed Senate 4/26/18, Passed House on 6/26/18

Senate Bill 168, S: Senator Margaret Rose Henry, “According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, an estimated 42% of all face-to-face contact between individuals and law-enforcement officers occurred during a traffic stop. This Act requires the Department of Transportation (“Department”) to examine applicants for a driver’s license regarding their knowledge related to traffic stops by law-enforcement officers by including at least 2 questions on the subject in any examination given to applicants. This Act also charges the Department of Justice and the Office of Defense Services with collaborating to produce information to educate applicants regarding traffic stops by law-enforcement officers, which the Department must include in any document designed to educate applicants on the rules for driving a motor vehicle. Also, this Act makes clear that students in a State-approved driver education course must demonstrate knowledge related to traffic stops by law-enforcement officers. Also, this Act requires defensive driving courses approved by the Department to educate individuals in these courses on traffic stops by law-enforcement officers and to examine these individuals in the subject by including at least 2 questions on the subject in any examination given to the individuals. In addition, this Act takes effect on August 1, 2019, to provide time to implement its requirements. Finally, this Act makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.”, Senate Amendment #1: “This Amendment adds additional State agencies to those agencies tasked in Senate Bill No. 168 with producing information to educate an applicant related to traffic stops by a law-enforcement officer. This Amendment also authorizes those State agencies to consult with other interested parties in producing this information. Finally, this Amendment makes clear that the information is not legal advice.”, Introduced: 3/28/18, Status: Passed by Senate on 6/5/18, Passed Senate on 6/30/18, awaiting signing by Governor Carney

Senate Bill 172, S: Senator David Sokola, “This bill will increase the public transparency of education funding information by directing the Department of Education to: 1. Establish, in collaboration with stakeholders, a statewide approach for districts and charter schools for reporting expenditures at the school level and the school’s share of central office expenditures so that per-pupil expenditure data is consistent and comparable across the State. 2. Report per-pupil expenditure data with key information that provide context on differences in funding such as school type, student demographics, and student outcomes. 3. Provide optional trainings to increase understanding of the data. As a result, this bill is intended to enable all taxpayers, parents, and schools to understand their school spending and resources in order to make data-driven decisions for students.”, Senate Amendment #1: “This Amendment replaces the term “tuition” with “fees for student services” as an excluded expense category. The Amendment also adds Educators and the Delaware State Education Association and the Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens as representatives that must be involved in developing the standardized statewide approach.”, House Amendment #2: “This Amendment clarifies that the term salaries, for purposes of this Act, includes benefits and other employment costs. This Amendment also requires that expenditures be coded and reported with a label that identifies the type of the expenditure.”, Introduced: 4/18/18, Status: Passed Senate 5/3/18, Passed House 6/28/18, Passed Senate again on 7/1/18

Senate Bill 215, S: Senator David Lawson, “This Act creates the Omnibus School Safety Fund to provide funding to public and charter schools for certain school safety projects.”, Introduced 6/1/18, Status: Senate Education Committee 6/1/18, not released from Committee, **bill is dead**

Senate Bill 234, S: Senator Bryan Townsend, “Currently, the ability of the Department to take licensure action (i.e., suspension, revocation, limitation) is, in certain cases, contingent upon the public school employer first taking employment action (i.e., dismissal, termination). The Department believes that its ability, as the agency issuing professional teaching credentials to educators, to undertake licensure action should be separate from any action by the public school employer. Further, the Department seeks to expand the circumstances in which the Secretary may automatically suspend teaching credentials, specifically to include situations involving felony crimes against a children or where there is a clear and immediate danger to student safety or welfare. This bill removes the requirement of employment action before disciplinable offenses may be handled by the Department, making this licensure disciplinary structure consistent with how other licensed professions are handled in this State. The bill also creates the power to impose temporary emergency suspensions in those rare instances where a teacher poses a threat to student health, safety, or welfare. Finally, this bill creates the confidential letter of concern that is non-disciplinary and may be used in those instances where a teacher’s behavior is not in violation of the code, but indicative of a practice that is a matter of concern. These two provisions also make teacher licensure discipline more similar to other licensed professions in the State.”, Status: Passed Senate on 6/14/18, Passed House on 6/28/18, sent to Governor Carney for signing

Senate Bill 235, S: Senator Harris McDowell, “AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE EXPENSE OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2019; SPECIFYING CERTAIN PROCEDURES, CONDITIONS AND LIMITATIONS FOR THE EXPENDITURE OF SUCH FUNDS; AND AMENDING CERTAIN PERTINENT STATUTORY PROVISIONS, Status: Passed Senate 6/2018, Passed House 6/26/18, awaiting signing by Governor Carney

Senate Bill 236, S: Senator Harris McDowell, “This Act appropriates $49,167,700 to provide a $500 one-time salary supplement to full-time and part-time employees, to provide a $400 pension supplement to pensioners and provides one-time funded projects through the Office of Management and Budget.”, Status: Passed Senate on 6/27/18, Passed House on 6/28/18, signed by Governor Carney 6/28/18

Senate Bill 241, S: Senator Nicole Poore, “This Act provides the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association with the authority to establish fees for officiating. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.”, Status: Passed Senate on 6/14/18, Passed House on 6/28/18, sent to Governor Carney for signing

Senate Bill 242, S: Senator Jack Walsh, “This Act creates Pay for Success contracts. A Pay for Success contract is an agreement between a State agency and either a program intermediary or an investor under which an investor will provide upfront capital to fund a service, program, or economic development initiative. The State agency agrees to repay the program intermediary or investor if the service, program, or economic development initiative meets the performance measures and outcomes agreed to in the contract. An independent evaluator will determine if the performance measures and outcomes are met. If the State agency contracts with a program intermediary, the program intermediary will manage all aspects of the project, including identifying the investor and the entity or entities that will provide the service, program, or economic development initiative. In other situations, a State agency will contract directly with the investor, who will contract directly with the entity or entities that will provide the service, program, or economic development initiative.”, Senate Amendment #1: “This Amendment requires that specific procedures be established for Pay for Success contracts that involve early childhood education or public education. This Amendment also creates a working group that will make recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget regarding these procedures.”, Status: Passed Senate on 6/14/18, Passed House on 6/28/18, sent to Governor Carney for signing

Senate Bill 250, S: Senator Robert Marshall, “This Act encourages and provides funding for the installation of detection equipment for deadly weapons, dangerous instruments, and other dangerous things at public, charter, and private schools.”, sent to House Education Committee 6/14/18

Senate Concurrent Resolution #39, S: Senator Bryan Townsend, “This Concurrent Resolution requests an Opinion of the Justices of the Delaware Supreme Court regarding the proper construction of § 1, Article X of the Delaware Constitution and the constitutionality of laws establishing and maintaining Delaware’s free public school system.”, Introduced: 6/30/17, Status: Defeated in Senate 6/30/18

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