March 13, 2009 NHSBA Legislative Bulletin

Legislative Bulletin
March 13, 2009

A Brief Summary of Education Issues at the State House

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House Labor Committee

The House Labor Committee has taken action on several bills that remain within the committee:
HB 46, seeking to implement binding arbitration: ITL (Inexpedient to Legislate) recommended.
HB 305, allowing non-emergency public employees to strike: ITL recommended.

A sub-committee working on another bill seeking to implement binding arbitration, HB 631, is recommending to the committee that the bill be retained for further study of the negotiation/resolution process. HB 631 would create a 3-person "neutral impasse panel" to resolve disputed cost items when mediation fails. The decisions of this outside 3rd party would be final and binding on the district without any vote of the legislative body. The committee is scheduled to act on the bill next Wednesday, March 18.

Also scheduled for a committee vote next Wednesday is HB 231, a specific NHSBA resolution that seeks to repeal the "evergreen provision" adopted last year that continues the terms of "any pay plan" in a contract after its expiration when a new contract has not been settled. With passage of HB 231, school districts would no longer be required to pay salary increases to employees when contracts are at impasse.

ACTION ITEM
Please contact the House Labor Committee and express your support for this bill. All contracts include an "expiration date", an agreement as to when the terms of the contract cease and are no longer in effect. The statutory mandate for an evergreen clause creates an obligation on employers that was not part of the contractual agreement. This is really a state-imposed unfunded mandate because such a provision unilaterally implements pay raises and bypasses the local voter approval process. In addition, much of the impasse that occurs is a result of contracts being rejected by the voters at a school district meeting: how do you then justify a state mandated pay raise after such a negative vote? The repeal this bill seeks is a specific NHSBA resolution adopted at the January Delegate Assembly.

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Accountability for an Adequate Education - SB 180

The Senate has given preliminary approval to this bill that establishes an accountability system to ensure schools are providing the opportunity for an adequate education.

Schools are initially required to demonstrate that they meet such requirement by an input methodology of self-assessments based on the school standards established in rules (ED 306). Narrative explanations, certified by the school principal and district superintendent, must be submitted to the Commissioner of Education, who shall review the self-assessments and verify that the standards are being met. Annual site visits by the Department will be conducted to assess the validity of the self-assessments. Beginning with the 2011-12 school year, the Department of Education will have developed a performance-based school accountability system based on findings and recommendations of a Task Force, chaired by the Commissioner of Education who shall also appoint 9-13 members who are either department personnel, school district representatives, educational experts, or any other individual or group with information or expertise of benefit to the task force's duties. Duties include defining the system to be used, identifying performance criteria, establishing goals and the basis for determining whether the opportunity for an adequate education exists. The bill states that the task force consider one or more of the following criteria: performance on state tests, percentage of pupils in advanced placement courses, attendance rates, cumulative drop-out rates, environment indicators such as safe schools data, subsequent programs/careers of graduates, expulsion and suspension rates, percentages of highly qualified teachers and teacher as well as administrative turnover rates.

The department of education will annually prepare a detailed report documenting the results of each school on the performance-based school accountability system identifying all schools that can demonstrate the opportunity for an adequate education. The report is to be submitted no later than October 1 to a legislative oversight committee with the first report due October 1, 2012. A report is due November 1, 2010 on the department's plans for implementing the performance-based school accountability program.

The bill also requires a detailed Corrective and Technical Assistance process to be implemented by the department for schools that do not demonstrate that they are providing the opportunity for an adequate education. In the first year, an action plan must be submitted explaining a strategy to achieve compliance and showing how the budget reflects the plan. In the second year, the action plan must include descriptions of mentoring or coaching, ongoing technical assistance and a liaison from the department, and an accounting of how education funds are being expended. In the third year, the commissioner shall assess how the school is expending its education funds and may order that funds be redirected for use in a different manner.

The bill now goes to the Senate Finance Committee for a review of financial considerations.

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Economic Stimulus Update
The U.S. Department of Education continues to release more information concerning the distribution and use of funds under the Stimulus Bill (see US DoE recent information). State Deputy Attorney General Orville "Bud" Fitch, Director of NH's Office of Economic Stimulus, presented to the full legislature on Monday, and to the House Finance Committee on Friday. The web site for his office contains recent documentation regarding on the Stimulus program for NH.

The message continues to be that funding will consist of basically two types of programs. The first, and highest funded type, are additional monies for existing structured programs that have a dedicated purpose. Funding for these programs will mostly supplement, not supplant, local funding and will be distributed through existing formulas or procedures. Title I and IDEA funding are examples, and more information can be found at Title I Stimulus and IDEA Stimulus. These sources provide preliminary information with still more explanation and details to be forthcoming. The second type of program will be one-time funds for a particular purpose and may also be based on competitive grants.

A constant message from the federal government is the need for transparency and accountability on how funds are expended. The Stimulus Bill appropriates $184 million to the Inspector Generals Office for the purpose of auditing and ensuring compliance with program provisions. It will be important for school districts to fully understand the need for careful accounting of any funds received through the Stimulus Program.

The State Fiscal Stabilization Fund allocates $200,787,230 for New Hampshire and continues to be a focus of attention due to language in the Stimulus Bill that allows these funds to be used for "Restoring State Support for Education". These monies are distributed to the Governor, who must divide the funds according to the following criteria: 81.8% to support elementary, secondary, postsecondary and early childhood education programs and services; 18.2% to support public safety and other government services, including education, and for modernization and repair of public school and higher education facilities at the state's discretion. It is these monies that the Governor is recommending be used to fund the $123 million increase in Adequacy Aid that takes effect next year. Of the $200 million in this fund, $165 million represents 81.8%. Dedicating $123 to adequacy would leave approximately $40 million for the biennium. The Stimulus Bill indicates that "remaining" funds be provided to LEAs based on their relative shares of funding under part A of Title I, but more specific information regarding "remaining" funds is expected in the future.

Questions remain regarding issues associated with "Maintenance of Effort", and supplementing vs. supplanting current funds. As more information is released by both the federal and state departments of education, further clarity should be provided along with details of funding levels. Those amounts are expected to be available in the next 30-45 days. NHSBA will continue to monitor the situation and work to keep school boards informed.

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For the complete text of any bill, go to the general court web site and enter the bill number, e.g. HB114, SB38 or CACR2 (no spaces!), and make sure the Session Year is 2009.

For more information on specific legislation, please call Dean Michener, NHSBA Director of Governmental Affairs at 603-228-2061, or email: deanm@nhsba.org.