Positions are updated as POSITIONS ON 2015 PENDING LEGISLATION bills are able to be BY THE reviewed by the District. LEGEND SIOUX FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT Color Key Updated Sioux Falls Legislators Positions not yet approved by District 9 – Deb Peters, Paula Hawks, Steve Hickey School Board District 10 – Jenna Haggar, Don Haggar, Steven Haugaard Passed both District 11 –David M Omdahl, Jim Stalzer, Mark Willadsen houses District 12 – Blake Curd, Arch Beal, Alex Jensen District 13 – Phyllis Heineman, Steve Westra, G. Mark Mickelson Dead District 14 – Deb Soholt, Tom Holmes, Larry Zikmund Key Bills District 15 – Angie Buhl, Karen L. Soli, Patrick Kirschman House Bill 1044 Introduced by: The Committee on Education at the request of the Department of Education Sue Simons 367-5384 An Act to revise certain provisions regarding educational personnel certification and discipline. Impact: This bill is attempting to streamline and organize into one section the criteria and procedure for issuing, suspension, and non-renewal teacher and administrator certificates and for those administrators who are employed without a certificate and to outline the procedure of for discipline of teachers and administrators by their respective professional commissions. Position: The District supports this bill with suggested amendment to Section 10 (pg 5. Line 21). As written the bill allows “any person” to initiate proceedings for revocation of teacher/administrator certificates. This provision creates an avenue for complaints to be filed by those unfamiliar with the law, ethical requirements and regulations causing undue hardship for teachers and administrators and unduly burdens the professional practice commissions. Suggest leaving the list of who can initiate proceedings to school boards, professional commissions, and the Department. House Bill 1059 Introduced by: The Committee on Health and Human Services at the request of the Department of Health Sue Simons 367-5384 An Act to allow authorized entities to access immunization information in certain circumstances. Impact: This bill amends SDCL 34-22-12.5 to change the word “may” to “shall” to allow schools to access the state computerized immunization system in order to check immunization status of students in a timely and efficient manner to ensure the student meets the school entry requirements outlined in SDCL 13-28-7.1. Position: The District supports this bill. SDCL 13-28-7.1 requires that parents present certification from a licensed physician that a student has the required immunizations or is in the process of receiving those immunizations prior to admission into school. SDCL 34-22-12.5 currently states that a patient’s immunization record “may” be shared among health care providers and schools. Schools were previously accessing this required information through the South Dakota Immunization Information System (SDIIS). However, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently clarified recent HIPAA privacy rules such that schools can no longer directly access SDIIS Sioux Falls School District 49-5 Page 1 Printed 01/26/15 2:43:34 PM Positions are updated as POSITIONS ON 2015 PENDING LEGISLATION bills are able to be BY THE reviewed by the District. SIOUX FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT to assure the children in their schools and daycare settings are appropriately immunized thereby placing the burden back on the parent to provide this information. The new HIPPA rules, however, will permit access to this information through SDDIS if state law requires them to do so. HB 1059 therefore amends SDCL 34-22-12.5 to change the word “may” to “shall” to allow schools to access SDIIS directly to check immunization status of students in a timely and efficient manner to ensure the student meets the school entry requirements outlined in SDCL 13-28-7.1. This change reduces the burden on parents and medical providers to provide proof of immunization to the schools directly and reduces the burden on schools by allowing schools to directly access this information through SDIIS in a timely and efficient manner. This change does not impact the right of a parent/ guardian to sign a refusal stating that immunization information may not be shared or in any manner change the requirements or exceptions outlined in SDCL 13-28-7.1. House Bill 1092 Introduced by: Representatives Holmes, Deutsch, Kirschman, Rozum, Wiik, Willadsen, and Zikmund and Senator Greenfield (Brock) Todd Vik 367-7909 An Act to establish the rural school teacher recruitment assistance program, and to make an appropriation to the education enhancement trust fund to provide for the annual funding of the program. Impact: This bill establishes the rural school teacher recruitment assistance program. Position: The District opposes this bill. While this may be a good concept of categorical funding for rural schools, ongoing funds that are available should be used to increase the per student allocation in the general fund. House Bill 1097 Introduced by: Representatives Deutsch, Anderson, Beal, Bolin, Brunner, Campbell, Craig, Cronin, DiSanto, Duvall, Gibson, Greenfield (Lana), Harrison, Hawks, Hawley, Heinemann (Leslie), Hickey, Holmes, Hunt, Johns, Kaiser, Klumb, Langer, Latterell, Marty, May, Mickelson, Munsterman, Novstrup (Al), Otten (Herman), Peterson (Kent), Qualm, Rasmussen, Ring, Rounds, Rozum, Russell, Schoenbeck, Schoenfish, Sly, Stalzer, Stevens, Tulson, Verchio, Wiik, Willadsen, Wollmann, and Zikmund and Senators Peterson (Jim), Brown, Buhl O'Donnell, Greenfield (Brock), Haggar (Jenna), Holien, Monroe, Olson, Rampelberg, Soholt, Solano, and Tidemann Todd Vik 367-7909 An Act to provide for a reduced minimum fall enrollment for certain school districts. Impact: This bill prorates the number of students required to remain open for a public school district that contracts for high school based on the number of grades contracted for (presumably 4). The current requirement is 100 students. Position: The District takes no position on this bill. Sioux Falls School District 49-5 Page 2 Printed 01/26/15 2:43:34 PM Positions are updated as POSITIONS ON 2015 PENDING LEGISLATION bills are able to be BY THE reviewed by the District. SIOUX FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT Senate Bill 6 Introduced by: Senators Sutton, Frerichs, and Peterson (Jim) and Representatives Cronin and Bartling at the request of the Agricultural Land Assessment Implementation and Oversight Advisory Task Force Todd Vik 367-7909 An Act to revise certain provisions concerning the pension and capital outlay tax levies for school districts. Impact: This bill extends to 2019 (currently they sunset after 2015) the limitations placed on the capital outlay and pension funds back in 2010 when the Legislature changed the way Ag. Land was valued. Per the changes from four years ago, the limitations apply to districts whose valuations grow greater than ten percent (10%) per year and they do not punish districts that were not levying at the max. Position: The District supports this bill. Senate Bill 7 Introduced by: Senators Sutton, Frerichs, and Peterson (Jim) at the request of the Agricultural Land Assessment Implementation and Oversight Advisory Task Force Todd Vik 367-7909 An Act to revise certain provisions concerning the school district pension fund and capital outlay fund tax levies and to provide property tax opt-out procedures for the capital outlay levy. Impact: This bill comes from the Ag. Land Task Force that met this summer. It limits growth in the capital outlay fund and the pension fund to the prior year’s levy plus three percent (3%) or inflation, whichever is greater and new construction. The bill contains a catchup factor if a district doesn’t utilize its full index factor in a given year. The bill also exempts districts that levied less than $1.50 in the previous year and are below average in capital dollars raised per student from the limitation. Position: The District opposes this bill. According to the Ag Land Task Force hearing, there are three primary reasons for this bill. They are illusory. 1) The failure to limit school district capital outlay and pension funds is allowing the districts to increase property taxes at alarming rates; therefore they should be limited like counties and municipalities. False. According to Department of Revenue and Regulation (DRR) slides presented to the task force, the percent of property taxes statewide going to schools was 59.72% in 2003 and it was 57.03% in 2014. 2) Agricultural land has been disproportionately hit by the failure to limit capital outlay and pension fund taxes similar to the limits on counties and municipalities, and therefore is inherently unfair. False. According to DRR slides presented to the task force, Ag property accounted for 27% of all property taxes collected in 1997, 25% in 2003, and 25% in 2014. 3) According to DRR slides presented to the taskforce, school districts have been hoarding capital outlay funds (i.e. the fund balance grew from 100% in 2010 to 150+% in 2013). Misleading. The big jump occurred between FY10 and FY11 from 100% to over 150%. This was the same time that GASB 54 redefined what the Department of Education reports as Sioux Falls School District 49-5 Page 3 Printed 01/26/15 2:43:34 PM Positions are updated as POSITIONS ON 2015 PENDING LEGISLATION bills are able to be BY THE reviewed by the District. SIOUX FALLS SCHOOL DISTRICT school fund balances, thereby artificially inflating them. The same thing happened to the State of South Dakota as evidenced in its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report where its general fund balance jumped from $155 million in FY10 to $287 million in FY11. The State even defined the balances as “Per GASB 54” and “Prior to GASB 54” to explain the increase. The same is true for school district capital outlay funds. This bill appears to be the classic example of a solution looking for a problem. The bill is also inherently unfair, as it rewards districts who have taxed at the maximum by establishing 2015 receipts as the base while punishing districts who have tried to manage their capital outlay and pension fund levies.