The bill amends the State School Aid Act of 1979, specifically section 101, to establish new requirements for district superintendents and intermediate districts regarding the submission and certification of pupil enrollment and attendance data. Superintendents are now required to submit this data by the fifth Wednesday after both the pupil membership count day and the supplemental count day, with a mandate to resolve any conflicts and recertify data by the sixth Wednesday after these count days. Noncompliance will result in the withholding of state aid until the issue is resolved, and if not addressed by the end of the fiscal year, the district will forfeit the withheld amount. Additionally, the bill allows superintendents to waive up to 10 days of the minimum instructional hours and days requirement for the 2024-2025 school year due to extreme weather events, contingent upon meeting specific conditions.

The bill further outlines the criteria for counting professional development as pupil instruction, emphasizing the necessity for structured and approved training for educators. It states that if professional development exceeds 5 hours in a single day, that day can be counted as pupil instruction, with at least 8 hours needing to be recommended by a districtwide advisory committee primarily composed of teachers, nonteaching staff, parents, and administrators. The bill encourages online professional development, provided it is district-approved, and mandates the inclusion of the Michigan Virtual School in the list of approved online providers. It also specifies that professional development must align with the school or district improvement plan and meet certain attendance and timing criteria, while clarifying that certain subsections do not apply to cyber schools and dropout recovery programs. The superintendent is tasked with reviewing waiver standards every two years to ensure they remain relevant, incorporating stakeholder input in the process.

Statutes affected:
Senate Introduced Bill: 388.1701