Assigned to ED & APPROP                                                                                FOR CAUCUS & FLOOR ACTION

   

 

 

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Phoenix, Arizona

 

REVISED

FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2096

 

school districts; admissions; other districts.

 

Purpose

 

Limits the number of students a school district governing board is required to admit into a high school district from an elementary school district that is not within a high school district to 350 students if the students are without certificates of educational convenience.

 

Allows the School Facilities Board (SFB) to determine alternative methods for serving students if resources available to a school district are insufficient and requires the SFB to provide funding for a high school if specified conditions are met (as removed by the Education Committee).

 

Background

 

Under current law, a high school student may be admitted to another school district outside of the boundaries of the student’s school district area if the student resides in an elementary school district within the State that is not within the boundaries of a high school district.  The elementary school district is required to pay tuition for all students admitted to a high school located in a school district outside of the boundaries of the elementary school district. 

 

            Forty-two elementary school districts exist in the State that are not located within the boundaries of a high school district or unified school district.  At this time, there are seven elementary school districts that have 350 or more high school students where admission is required into another school district that serves high school students outside of the boundaries of the elementary school district.

 

H.B. 2096 limits the number of students a school district governing board is required to admit into a high school district from an elementary school district that is not within a high school district to 350 students if the students are without certificates of educational convenience (as adopted by the Appropriations Committee).

 

Additionally, this bill allows the SFB to determine an alternative method of serving students, if the SFB finds the resources available to a school district are insufficient, including expending new school facilities fund monies to expand current school facilities serving students.  The SFB is also required to provide funding for a new high school if certain conditions stipulated in the act are met.

 

There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state general fund associated with this bill. 

 

Provisions

 

1.      Limits the number of high school students a school district governing board is required to admit into a high school district from an elementary school district that is not within a high school district to no more than 350 students if the students do not have a certificate of educational convenience.

 

2.      Specifies that the 350 or fewer student required-admission limitation does not apply to a school district meeting the definition of a small isolated school district (as adopted by the Education Committee).

 

3.      Stipulates that if a school district pays tuition to another school district for all or a portion of the school district’s high school students, the capital plan must indicate the number of students for which the tuition is paid to the other school district.  

 

4.      Requires a school district accepting students from another school district to indicate the enrollment projections for these students separately in the capital plan.

 

5.      Exempts a small isolated district from requirements regarding attendance projections for students for whom tuition is paid as well as from the requirements of developing a capital facilities plan (as adopted by the Education Committee).

 

6.      Requires the School Facilities Board (SFB), the receiving district and the resident district to develop a capital plan to determine how to best serve students if the projected growth and existing number of students who are served in a school district other than the student’s resident school district exceeds 350 students from a single resident school district.

 

7.      Requires the SFB to review the capital facilities plan and determine if the resources currently available to a school district for educating high school students are sufficient if a unified school district does not currently have a high school and the approved projections indicate the unified school district qualifies for a high school within the next three years (as removed by the Education Committee).

 

8.      Requires the SFB to determine if the resources available to a school district for educating high school students are sufficient (as removed by the Education Committee).

 

9.      Allows the SFB to determine an alternative method of serving students if the SFB determines the resources available to a school district are insufficient, including expending new school facilities fund monies to expand current school facilities that serve those students (as removed by the Education Committee).

 

10.  Requires that monies provided by the SFB revert to the originating fund if the SFB determines that the resources currently available to the school district are insufficient (as removed by the Education Committee).

 

 

 

 

11.  Requires the SFB to provide funding for a high school that serves grades nine through 12 if all of the following conditions are met (as removed by the Education Committee):

 

a)      The unified district does not currently have a high school.

b)      The unified district became a unified district before June 30, 1985.

c)      The unified district pays tuition for at least 400 students to another district.

d)      The high school is expected to serve at least 400 students.

 

12.  Makes technical and conforming changes.

 

13.  Contains a retroactivity clause of March 1, 2002. 

 

Amendments Adopted by Education Committee

 

1.      Specifies that the 350 or fewer student required-admission limitation does not apply to a school district meeting the definition of a small isolated school district.

 

2.      Exempts a small isolated district from requirements regarding attendance projections for students for whom tuition is paid as well as from the requirements of developing a capital facilities plan.

 

3.      Removes the requirement that the SFB review the capital facilities plan and determine if the resources currently available to a school district for educating high school students are sufficient if a unified school district does not currently have a high school and the approved projections indicate the district qualifies for a high school within the next three years.

 

4.      Removes the requirement that the SFB determine if the resources available to a school district for educating high school students are sufficient. 

 

5.      Removes the allowance of the SFB to determine an alternative method of serving students if the SFB determines the resources available to a school district are insufficient.

 

6.      Removes the requirement that monies provided by the SFB revert to the originating fund if the SFB determines that the resources currently available to the school district are insufficient.

 

7.      Removes the requirement that the SFB provide funding for a high school that serves grades nine through 12 if specified conditions are met.

 

House Action                                                               Senate Action

 

ED                   3/25/02            DP       9-0-0-1-0        ED                   4/18/02        DPA     8-0-0-0

3rd Read           4/03/02                        57-3-0-0          APPROP         4/23/02        DP        10-2-0-0

 

Prepared by Senate Staff

April 29, 2002