House of Representatives

HB 2385

schools; ADM calculation

Sponsors: Representative Boone

 

DPA

Committee on Education

DPA

Committee on Appropriations

DPA

Caucus and COW

X

As Transmitted to the Governor

HB 2385 modifies the manner in which average daily membership is calculated for school districts and charter schools.

History

Currently, schools record daily the total number of students in attendance throughout the district, a school district averages the totals of the first 100 days of the school year to obtain the average daily attendance (ADA). Additionally, for each of these days, the school district averages the total number of students enrolled for classes regardless of whether or not the student is present for the day which is known as the average daily membership (ADM). School districts and charter schools in Arizona receive State funding based on student counts or ADM. These counts are weighted for differences in student populations, including grade levels, the number of students in a district, and students with disabilities. Disability categories are divided between two different weights known as Group A and Group B. Group A encompasses special educational programs for a specific learning disability, an emotional disability, mild mental retardation, remedial education, a speech/language impairment, developmental delay, bilingual, other health impairments, and homebound and gifted pupils. Group B includes special educational programs for autism, hearing impairments, moderate mental retardation, multiple disabilities, multiple disabilities with severe sensory impairment, orthopedic impairments, preschool severe delay, severe mental retardation, and emotional disabilities (A.R.S. § 15-901).

A.R.S. § 15-902 requires a common or unified school district in which the ADM through the first 100 days of the current year has exceeded the ADA by more than 6% to adjust the ADM to determine student count by multiplying the ADA by 106%. If a high school district’s ADM exceeds its ADA by 8.5%, then the student count must be adjusted by multiplying the ADA by 108.5%.

A.R.S. § 15-948 allows a school district to determine if it is eligible to increase its revenue control limit and district support level for the current year due to growth in the student population. Statute also authorizes a school district to apply to the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) for a further adjustment of student count due to absences of pupils with chronic health problems if the school district is providing services to the pupils during their absence from school (A.R.S. § 15-902).

 

 

 

Provisions

·          Deletes the definition and statutory references of average daily attendance.

·          Modifies the definition of average daily membership as the total enrollment of fractional students and full-time students, minus withdrawals who are enrolled on September 15, November 15, January 15, and March 15, divided by four.

·          Requires school districts and charter schools to report student absence data to the ADE at least once every 60 days in session.

·          Specifies that for computation purposes, the effective date of withdrawal must be retroactive to the last day of actual attendance of the student or excused absence.

·          Requires school district governing boards and the governing board of each charter school to adopt a policy governing excused pupils from school attendance and stipulates that the policy must require the school district to apply to the ADE for authorization of school closure for the following reasons:

Ø        Widespread illness for any period of three consecutive days or more.

Ø        Adverse weather conditions for any period of three consecutive days or more.

Ø        Concerted refusal by students to attend classes for any period of three consecutive days or more.

Ø        Threats of violence against school property, school personnel, or students for any period of one day or more.

Ø        School closure due to situations affecting the safety of person or property resulting from fire, flooding or floodwater, an earthquake, a hazardous material event, or another cause if approved by the ADE.

·          Repeals A.R.S. § 15-902 relating to the determination of student count.

·          Requires the ADE to compute and aggregate ADM for the current year no later than April 15 and cannot further aggregate student data after April 15 for the current year.

·          Exempts AOI from the ADM calculation requirements specified in this act.

·          Mandates that the ADE inform school districts and charter schools of their final ADM counts no later than April 22 of the current year and requires school districts to use these student counts to determine the ADM for the budget year.

·          Stipulates that any future adjustments in student counts, if discovered by the school district or charter school after April 15, must be made pursuant to the correction of state aid or budget limit errors statutes.

·          Allows school districts to continue to use the adjustment for growth in student count.

·          Allows school districts to continue to make corrections of state aid or budget limit errors but reduces the timeframe in which a school district or charter school may correct budget limit errors from three years to one year.

·          Requires the ADE and the Auditor General to include at least a 10% sample of daily attendance records as part of the ADM audits beginning in FY 2011-2012.

·          Adds the 180 day school year or the instructional hours prescribed in statute requirement to the definition of fractional students for common schools.

·          Modifies the definition of fractional students for high schools as:

Ø        0.75 ADM for part-time students enrolled in an instructional program of 3 subjects that meets for a total of at least 580 hours for a 180 day school year or the instructional hours prescribed in statute;

Ø        0.5 ADM  for part-time students enrolled in an instructional program of 2 subjects that meets for a total of at least 360 hours for a 180 day school year or the instructional hours prescribed in statute; and

Ø        0.25 ADM for part-time students enrolled in an instructional program of 1 subject that meets for a total of at least 180 hours for a 180 day school year or the instructional hours prescribed in statute.

·          Modifies the definition of full-time students for high schools as:

Ø        Students enrolled in an instructional program of 4 or more subjects that meets for a total of at least 720 hours for a 180 day school year or the instructional hours prescribed in statute and stipulates that the ADM must be 1.0.

·          Modifies the definition of full-time students for common schools as:

Ø        Students at least 6 years of age, 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade students, ungraded students at least 6 but under 9 years of age or ungraded Group B children at least 5 but under six years of age enrolled in an instructional program that meets for at least 712 hours for a 180 day school year or the instructional hours prescribed in statute;

Ø        4th, 5th or 6th grade students or ungraded students at least 9 but under 12 years of age enrolled in an instructional program that meets for at least 890 hours for a 180 day school year or the instructional hours prescribed in statute; and

Ø        7th and 8th grade students or ungraded students at least 12 but under 14 years of age enrolled in an instructional program that meets for at least 1,068 hours for a 180 day school year or the instructional hours prescribed in statute.

·          Deletes the definition of full-time instructional program.

·          Stipulates that a school district or charter holder that elects to provide 200 days of instruction may increase its base level by 5% and must obtain approval from the ADE before the beginning of the fiscal year that the school district or the charter holder is planning on offering instruction for 200 days.

·          Requires a school district or charter holder that elects to provide 200 days to ensure that the last day of instruction in any school year occurs before June 30 and must increase its annual instructional hours by 10% in order to receive the 5% base level increase.

·          Contains a delayed effective date of June 30, 2011.

·          Makes technical and conforming changes.

 

 

 

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Forty-ninth Legislature

Second Regular Session          3          May 3, 2010

 

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