Bill Text: DE HB312 | 2023-2024 | 152nd General Assembly | Draft

Delaware House Bill 312

Draft

Bill Title: An Act To Amend Title 14 Of The Delaware Code Relating To School Boards.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-2)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-03-27 - Reported Out of Committee (Education) in Senate with 6 On Its Merits [HB312 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2023-HB312-Draft.html

SPONSOR:	Rep. K. Williams & Sen. Sturgeon
Reps. Baumbach, Hensley, Matthews, Morrison, Parker Selby, Michael Smith; Sens. Sokola, Walsh

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 312

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SCHOOL BOARDS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend § 1803, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 1803. Financial responsibility training.

(a) With the approval of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Controller General, the Department of Education, hereinafter referred to as “Department,” is directed and authorized to develop a program of financial responsibility training to instruct district and charter leaders, members of school boards, including vocational-technical school boards, and the boards of charter schools, in properly discharging their responsibility to ensure that public funds, including both state and local funds, are appropriately managed and expended, and shall also include training on state and local funding of public education. The training must be offered virtually at least twice a year. The Department is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to implement such a program of training and each of the district training. District and charter leaders and members of the aforementioned boards shall be required to attend such training as may be required by the Department pursuant thereto.

(b) For purposes of this section, “district leaders” is defined as the district superintendent and business manager and “charter leaders” is defined as the head of school or principal and business manager. If 1 individual acts in a dual capacity as both superintendent and business manager or as head of school or principal and business manager, the district or charter school shall designate a second individual to attend the training.

(c) The president of a school board for a school district or charter school shall inform each newly elected or appointed member of the obligation to complete training under subsection (a) of this section. By January 15 of each year, the president of a school board shall send a letter to any board member who has not completed the training required under this section by January 1 following the board member’s election or appointment.

Section 2. Amend § 1049B, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 1049B. Training program.

(a) In order to best understand the educational and legal issues involved in special education due process hearings, each school board member shall must receive training during at the beginning of that member’s term on a school board concerning special education due process hearings. The Department of Education through regulations shall establish the criteria, material material, and method of such training program. The training must be offered virtually at least twice a year. Delivery of the training may be delegated outside the Department of Education.

(b) The president of a school board shall inform each newly elected or appointed member of the school board of the obligation to complete training under subsection (a) of this section. By January 15 each year, the president of a school board shall send a letter to any board member who has not completed the training required under this section by January 1 following the board member’s election or appointment.

Section 3. Amend Chapter 5, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 519. Training program.

(a) In order to best understand the educational and legal issues involved in special education due process hearings, each member of a charter school board of directors must receive training at the beginning of that member’s term on a charter school board concerning special education due process hearings. The Department of Education through regulations shall establish the criteria, material, and method of such training program. The training must be offered virtually at least twice a year. Delivery of the training may be delegated outside the Department of Education.

(b) The president of a charter school board of directors shall inform each newly elected or appointed member of the board of directors of the obligation to complete training under subsection (a) of this section. By January 15 each year, the president of a charter school board of directors shall send a letter to any board member who has not completed the training required under this section by January 1 following the board member’s election or appointment.

SYNOPSIS

School board members are currently required to engage both in financial responsibility training and a training to understand educational and legal issues about due process and special education. This Act will require that a school board president inform each new member of the board of the training obligation. A school board president must also send a letter by January 15 of every year to any school board member who has not fulfilled the training obligation by January 1 following that member’s election or appointment.

The Act also makes the special education due process training requirement explicit in the Code for members of a charter school board of directors as well as members of a traditional or vocational technical district school board. This training is already required for charter schools by regulation.