Top Highlights

Maine

Bill: LD 1533
Status: 07/08/2013 – Vetoed by the Governor
Relevant Elements: 1, 2, 7
Maine LD 1533, as amended by Committee Amendment A, passed the Senate on June 27 and was vetoed by Republican Gov. Paul LePage on July 9. The veto was later sustained. The bill would have established the Maine Online Learning Collaborative, a partnership with a statewide consortium consisting of school administrative units, charter schools and approved private secondary schools to collaboratively develop a high-quality online learning program that would provide students in grades 9 to 12 access to part-time digital learning through online and hybrid courses that are taught by Maine certified teachers.

According to the veto message, Governor LePage was concerned about the funding and is “all for increasing the use of digital education in Maine. Providing our students with access to world-class teachers and curriculum is how we will improve our schools and provide more opportunities for Maine’s future. However, this version of the bill appears to move from the realm of legislative policy into managing activities.”

Bill: LD 1057
Status: 07/08/2013 – Vetoed by the Governor
Relevant Elements: 7, 9
Maine Republican Gov. Paul LePage vetoed LD 1057 on July 8 and the veto was sustained on July 9. It would have established provisions to fund public charter schools that are authorized by the Maine Charter School Commission beginning in fiscal year 2014-15. The bill would also have provided that, beginning in fiscal year 2014-15, the Commissioner of Education’s recommendations for funding levels must include funding level computations for the total allocation of funds to public charter schools authorized by the commission.

According to Governor LePage’s veto message, “the bill is another attempt to destroy public charter schools in Maine by a thousand cuts.” It would have forced “public charter schools to be funded through a separate line item in the budget. This would allow a legislature to target charter schools…That is simply not something I can support.”

Ohio

Bill: HB 59
Status: 06/30/2013 – Signed By Governor
Relevant Elements: 2, 5, 7, 9
Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich signed the state’s budget bill, HB 59, with a partial veto on June 30 after both chambers adopted a conference committee report on June 27. The two-year budget will give schools $15 billion, representing a four-percent increase over current appropriations, according to stateimpact.npr.org. The figure will leave two thirds of districts with more money than they currently receive; no districts will receive less money. The new law will also:

• Award $675,000 in FY 2015 for grants to public and chartered nonpublic schools for participation in the electronic textbook pilot project.
• Create the Straight A Program, a $250 million fund to provide grants to school districts for innovative practices.
• Places new enrollment growth caps on charter e-schools, including three new schools that were recently approved and allows e-schools to separate into multiple schools.
• Allow e-schools to provide career-technical education.

Wisconsin

Bill: AB 40/Act 20
Status: 07/01/2013 – Report approved by the Governor with partial veto on 6-30-2013. Asm.Published 7-1-2013
Relevant Elements: 1, 2, 6, 7, 9
Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed the budget on July 1 with a partial veto. AB 40/Act 20, which passed the Assembly on June 19 and the Senate on June 21, contains a nearly $70 billion spending plan. It took effect July 8 and:

• Requires the Department of Public Instruction to ensure that every school is providing academic and career planning to students in grades 6-12 including through technology.
• Prohibits the department from requiring a virtual charter school teacher from completing professional development not required by teachers who do not teach in a virtual public charter school.
• Prohibits the department from requiring that a licensed teacher be physically present in the classroom when instruction is being provided digitally or through an online course.
• Requires the department to develop and maintain an online resource to provide educational opportunities for parents, teachers and students, offer online learning opportunities, provide regional technical support centers and provide professional development for teachers.

Bills Signed

• Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott signed HB 7009/Chapter 2013-250 on June 28. Governor Scott will have until July 2 to act on the bill or it becomes law. It took effect on July 1 and:
  • Requires the school district of an innovation school of technology, created within the bill, to submit an annual report that includes evidence of efforts to close the achievement gap, the longitudinal performance for students who take an AP exam and the number and percentage of students who take an AP exam.
  • Creates the district innovation school of technology that will include major components of blended learning such as differentiated instruction, data-driven placement, flexible scheduling, differentiated teaching and self-paced learning. High performing school districts are permitted to apply for the designation.
  • Provides that the full implementation of online Next Generation Sunshine State Standards online assessments for all kindergarten through grade 12 public school students will be contingent upon an independent third party verifying that the technology infrastructure, connectivity and capacity of all public schools and school districts is capable of successfully deploying and implementing the assessments.
• Florida Governor Scott signed HB 7029 on June 27. It takes effect on July 1 and will make public school funding more available to private online learning companies as well as create an online catalog of available digital learning courses. Private providers will be allowed to bypass the approval process and get approved on a temporary basis. The bill will also open the state’s online course market to out-of-state digital learning companies and will also allow students to enroll in in any online course offered by any district in the state. The bill will create the Florida Approved Courses and Tests program that authorizes the department to approve courses, including massive open online courses, in algebra I, biology, geometry and civics.
• Illinois Governor Quinn also signed HB 208/Public Act 98-33, the FY 2014 education appropriations bill, on June 27. The budget takes effect July 1 and keeps general state aid level, maintaining the proration level at 89 percent, according to the State Journal-Register. The General Assembly’s budget will appropriate:
  • From the state Board of Education Federal Department of Education fund to the Board of Education, the bill will appropriate more than $5 million for a longitudinal data system
  • From the General Revenue Fund to the Board of Education, $2.5 million for technology for success
  • $5 million from the school technology revolving loan fund to the Board for technology loans.
• Missouri Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon signed HB 2 on June 28. It takes effect on August 28 and will appropriate money to the state Board of Education and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for the 2014 fiscal year. Specific appropriations will include:
  • $1.5 million for innovating educational programs
  • $389,778 for the virtual schools program from the lottery proceeds fund.
• New Jersey SB 3000/P.L. 2013, c.77, the 2013-2014 budget, sponsored by Democratic Assembly Budget Committee Chair Vincent Prierto of Secaucus, and other members, was substituted for its companion, AB 4200, on June 24. It passed the Senate 29-11 and it passed the House 52-25 the same day. Republican Gov. Chris Christie signed the measure on June 28 and it took effect on July 1. The bill appropriates:
  • $1.7 million for statewide longitudinal data systems research grants.
  • $1.7 million for innovation.