House and Senate Hearings This Week

HB 1523, revising the statute on pupil safety and violence prevention to include harassment, intimidation, bullying, and cyberbullying, is scheduled for a public hearing before the Senate Education Committee next Tuesday, April 6, at 11:00. The bill adopted by the House contains needed improvements to the current statutes and incorporates cyberbullying. However, NHSBA will be offering testimony to help clarify a few sections of the bill, specifically the role of school boards as the policy development body, a clarification to the scope of the definition, and suggested modification to "annual training" requirements. (See the February 26, 2010 NHSBA Legislative Bulletin for a further description of the bill.)
HB 1265, requiring school boards to develop a policy to address air quality issues in schools. The policy must address methods of minimizing emissions from motorized vehicles on school property and take into account the state's anti-idling and clean air zone policies established by the department of environmental services.
HB 1289, requiring an annual investigation of air quality in public schools and for the department of education to disseminate, and encourage the use of, the Tools for Schools program in public schools. The annual air quality investigation is to be done by the principal, or designee, using a check list provided by the department of education.
SB 486, suspending state building aid for new projects approved next year, is scheduled for a public hearing before the House Education Committee next Tuesday, April 6, at 2 pm. The bill includes a legislative statement of purpose and incorporates changes to the Committee to Study the School Building Aid Grant Program. It continues to suspend building aid grants for next year (June 30, 2010 - June 30, 2011), provides for a waiver if the condition of the building, or portion thereof, constitutes a clear and imminent danger to the life or safety of occupants, and adds two more members to the Building Aid Study Committee: one senator and one representative. The Study Committee is charged to solicit and consider testimony and hold a public hearing before making a final report by December 1, 2010. The final report should include any findings or recommendations for proposed legislation to be considered next year. During discussion of the bill on the floor of the Senate, it was clarified that "project approval" meant "legislative body approval".
This bill is in direct conflict with the NHSBA resolution that was adopted unanimously at the January Delegate Assembly. Suspension of the program will likely delay any local projects being considered next year. Continuation of the aid should be maintained while the Study Committee completes its work, since the Building Aid program has effectively created local and state partnerships in financing school building improvements and represents a significant part of fulfilling the state's constitutional duty to provide an adequate education to all children.
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School Accountability System
The Task Force to Develop a Performance-Based Accountability System met this week to review decisions on common indicators, such as participation, graduation and dropout rates, as well as achievement scores. Discussion also continued on the role and use of locally determined goals, targets, and indicators, as well as the use of growth measures. The Task Force is scheduled to present an interim report of its findings and recommendations to a joint meeting of the House and Senate Education Committees on Tuesday, April 20, 2010 at 10:00. After the interim report is reviewed by the House and Senate Education Committees, the department shall verify the integrity, accuracy, and validity of the performance-based accountability system utilizing actual school data and submit a final report no later than November 1, 2010, including recommendations for future legislation and legislative adoption of the performance-based accountability system.