New Laws. Crazy Legislative Year 10/7/2015. New Law You Need to Know and Old Laws You Need to Remember!

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1 New Law You Need to Know and Old Laws You Need to Remember! Susan Goldammer Missouri School Boards Association New Laws Crazy Legislative Year Lots of drama! House Speaker resigned the last week of session Senate Democrats filibustered after vote on Right to Work bill Most bills are passed the last week Fewer new state laws this year! 1

2 Tax Amnesty: House Bill 384 If you owe taxes to the state that are unpaid as of December 31, 2014, and you pay them between September 1 and November 30, 2015, the state will waive all fees and penalties. Expectation: $60 million (?) to general revenue Testing Drama: HB 2 State appropriations bill included funding for state assessments BUT funds cannot be used to pay licensing fees for the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium Problem: Where are we going to get a test aligned to Missouri State Standards? Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) providing K-8 test questions for Yet another test next year Testing Drama: HB 2 Also requires DESE to submit a plan for the development of a new test by February 1, 2016 Also prohibits use of tests to lower a district s accreditation or a teacher s evaluation Governor signed bill but stated that the administration would not follow these directives not allowed to legislate in appropriations bill 2

3 School Board Candidate Requirements: HB 63, SB 104 No federal felony or misdemeanor No Missouri felony or an offense in another state that would be considered a felony in Missouri Can be removed from ballot if delinquent on payment of state income taxes, property taxes, or municipal taxes Cannot owe state taxes if past or present officer of a fee office Residency: SB 116 Minor change in the student residency laws No need for a waiver if a student is living in the district with persons other than the student s parents because the parent is stationed or deployed out of state or deployed in Missouri under active duty orders Previously just deployed A+ Scholarship: SB 224 Regulation requires students to be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or otherwise lawfully present in the United States... New law requires students to be a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. More narrow and excludes those not being deported due to President Obama s Executive Order 3

4 Protective Orders: SB 321 Protective orders for juveniles, against juveniles Statute expanded to allow protective orders for sexual assault as well Problem: Could prevent a student from attending school Child Abuse: SB 341 Mandated reporter must report child abuse Children are sometimes abused by other children, including sexual abuse Must report This statute clarifies that Children s Division must take action when there is a juvenile with problem sexual behavior (i.e. has abused other children) Child Abuse: SB 341 Each school must post in a clearly visible location in a public area of the school a sign in English and Spanish that contains a tollfree child abuse and neglect hotline number Must also post in all student restrooms Must be posted at eye level for the students Must be printed 11x17 CD has developed signs districts may use: 4

5 Sex Education: HB 501 State law on sex education expanded to require course materials to include: Teaching students about the dangers of sexual predators, including online predators How to behave responsibly and remain safe on the Internet Teaching students about the consequences of inappropriate text messaging, even among friends 5

6 Sex Education: HB 501 Importance of having open communication with responsible adults and to report any inappropriate situation to a responsible adult, local law enforcement, the FBI or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children s CyberTipline Policy IGAEB Policy EHB (Similar requirements for federal law) Immunization: SB 341 Daycares, preschools and nursery schools must notify the parent or guardian that he or she may request notice of whether there are children currently enrolled in or attending the facility for which an immunization exemption has been filed. If a parent or guardian asks: Yes/No Do not provide more details. Provide notice at initial enrollment or attendance, but this year no later than December 1. Sample Notice In accordance with state law, a parent or guardian may request notification from the district if there is a child with an exemption from immunization filed with the district currently enrolled in or attending the facility at which the district s preschool/nursery school/daycare is located. If you are interested in this information, please make your request to [title, contact information]. 6

7 Revised Immunization Regulations Supt. or designee must review immunization requirements annually Must use original DHSS forms for exemptions Medical provider, public health department, DHSS 5x7 cards: Parent/Guardian exemptions (preschool): brown font Religious exemptions: black font Medical exemptions: red font Future Immunization Requirements All children entering the 8th grade in will be required to have a MCV4 (bacterial meningitis) vaccination. All children entering the 12th grade in will be required to have a booster dose of MCV4 vaccination if no previous dose was given, then a single dose after 16 years of age will be required. Speech-Language Pathologist: SB 107 Eliminates the requirement for a clinical fellowship for a speech-language pathologist to receive a full license from the Board of Healing Arts (and therefore a full certificate from DESE) Note: Licensed speech-language pathology assistants are those with a bachelors, but not a masters degree. Must be supervised by an SLP Might be a better option to hire than using a certificated teacher 7

8 Preschool Teacher/Aide Qualifications To collect state aid for preschool students Lead teacher: teaching certificate in early childhood education or early childhood special education TA or paraprofessional for classes with more than 10 children: child development associate s degree; associate s degree in early childhood; or 60 college hours with a minimum of 3 college hours in early childhood, child development or child/family related courses and experience with young children Garnishments Beginning January 1, 2016 there are new garnishment rules Continuous garnishment that allows one debtor to continue collecting until the judgment is completed More information at the MSBA Practical Personnel Law Webinars FMLA and Policy GBBDA Most Know: Same-sex marriage is legal and employees may now use FMLA leave for the serious health condition of a same-sex spouse Most Do Not Know: The same is true for common-law marriage. Alabama, Colorado, District of Columbia, Georgia (before 1/1/97), Idaho (before 1/1/96), Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Ohio (before 10/10/91), Pennsylvania (before 1/1/05), Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, possibly Oklahoma 8

9 Omni Circular Policies Federal regulations now require districts to adopt specific policies and procedures regarding the request for and expenditure of federal funds. Policy DLCA and Procedures CGC-AP2, AP3 Adopt right away! More coming next year.... Interpreters for Those With Communications Disabilities Must be provided free of charge and licensed Cannot require a family member or student to interpret for another Exception: Emergency involving an imminent threat to the safety or welfare of an individual or the public Exception: When the person with a disability requests, an adult may interpret (not a minor) Old Laws 9

10 Requirement for Minutes , section 7 Policy BDDG Name of District Date, time and place of meeting Board members present, Board members absent Record of any vote taken Answering Sunshine Law Requests Any person in the whole wide world can ask for information even if it is a pain. They do not have to say Sunshine law They do not have to put it in writing (but we encourage them to!) You are required to respond in 3 business days (not calendar days) but if this is impossible, tell them there will be a delay and when you will have the information Answering Sunshine Law Requests You only have to provide records you have You do not have to create information If you have the records and they ask for them in a particular format, you must provide them if the format is available You do not have to buy new software, etc. If you do not understand what they want, ask! 10

11 The District Can Charge! See and Policy BDDL Not a fundraiser! Actual cost of research using the cheapest employee Duplication time not to exceed the average hourly rate of pay for clerical staff 10 cents a page for 9 x 14 or less Can require them to pay up front Signing Documents Checks: President and Treasurer (both) , RSMo. Employment Contracts: President and attested by Secretary , RSMo. MSBA Policy DGA Newly Revised! Tax Rate Hearing , Policy DC Held in August and tax rate due September 1 (for most) Notice of hearing in newspaper or posted in 3 public places: 7 days prior to meeting Date, time, place, statutory information about finances Public hearing prior to setting tax rate Does not need to be a separate meeting and can just be an agenda item in regular meeting 11

12 School Calendar Meeting , RSMo. and Policy IC If the district wants to start school sooner than 10 calendar days prior to the first Monday in September, must give notice of a public meeting to discuss calendar. Does not require a special meeting Does not require district to allow public to speak Board Vacancies BM must resign in writing Board is required by law to fill vacancy MSBA Policy BBE: Advertise, interview, and select MSBA Form BBE-AF1: Sample application Everything MUST be in open session Board Absences If a Board member misses 3 consecutive, regular meetings (3 regular meetings in a row), the Board secretary must tell the Board Board can excuse if they want Motion and vote to excuse Otherwise, vacancy exists 12

13 Have a safe drive home! 13