No. 29690 (Amendment): R277-419. Pupil Accounting

DAR File No.: 29690
Filed: 03/15/2007, 04:31
Received by: NL

RULE ANALYSIS

Purpose of the rule or reason for the change:

This rule is amended to implement contingencies for public school attendance when dealing with emergencies such as a deadly influenza pandemic.

Summary of the rule or change:

The rule provides a new definition and provides procedures for waiver of the day and hour requirement and other contingencies in the event of a pandemic or other public health emergency.

State statutory or constitutional authorization for this rule:

Subsections 53A-1-401(3) and 53A-1-402(1)(e)

Anticipated cost or savings to:

the state budget:

There are no anticipated cost or savings to state budget. The amendment provides for contingencies in the event of a pandemic or other public health emergency so that public schools may continue to the extent possible.

local governments:

There are no anticipated cost or savings to local government. The amendment provides for contingencies in the event of a pandemic or other public health emergency so public schools may continue to the extent possible.

other persons:

There are no anticipated cost or savings to other persons. The amendment provides for contingencies in the event of a pandemic or other public health emergency so that public schools may continue to the extent possible.

Compliance costs for affected persons:

There are no compliance costs for affected persons. The amendment provides for contingencies in the event of a pandemic or other public health emergency so that the public schools may continue to the extent possible.

Comments by the department head on the fiscal impact the rule may have on businesses:

I have reviewed this rule and I see no fiscal impact on businesses. Patti Harrington, State Superintendent of Public Instruction

The full text of this rule may be inspected, during regular business hours, at the Division of Administrative Rules, or at:

Education
Administration
250 E 500 S
SALT LAKE CITY UT 84111-3272

Direct questions regarding this rule to:

Carol Lear at the above address, by phone at 801-538-7835, by FAX at 801-538-7768, or by Internet E-mail at [e-mail]

Interested persons may present their views on this rule by submitting written comments to the address above no later than 5:00 p.m. on:

05/01/2007

This rule may become effective on:

05/09/2007

Authorized by:

Carol Lear, Director, School Law and Legislation

RULE TEXT

R277. Education, Administration.

R277-419. Pupil Accounting.

R277-419-1. Definitions.

A. "Aggregate Membership" means the sum of all days in membership during a school year for the student, program, school, LEA, or state.

B. "Board" means the Utah State Board of Education.

C. "Compulsory school age" means:

(1) a person who is at least five years old and no more than 17 years old on or before September 1;

(2) with respect to special education, a person who is at least three years old and no more than 21 years old on or before September 1.

D. "Data Clearinghouse" means the electronic data collection system used by the USOE to collect information required by law from LEAs about individual students at certain points throughout the school year to support the allocation of funds and accountability reporting.

E. "Electronic high school" means a rigorous program offering 9-12 grade level courses delivered over the Internet and coordinated by the USOE.

F. "Influenza pandemic (pandemic)" means a global outbreak of serious illness in people. It may be caused by a strain of influenza that most people have no natural immunity to and that is easily spread from person to person.

[F]G. "LEA" means a local education agency, including local school boards/public school districts and charter schools.

[G]H. "Membership" means a public school student is on the current roll of a public school class or public school as of a given date:

(1) A student is a member of a class or school from the date of entrance at the school and is placed on the current roll until official removal from the class or school due to the student having left the school.

(2) Removal from the roll does not mean that the LEA should delete the student's record, only that the student should no longer be counted in membership.

[H]I. "Minimum School Program (MSP)" means public school programs for kindergarten, elementary, and secondary schools described in Section 53A-17a-103(5).

[I]J. "Resource" means a student who receives 1 to 179 minutes of special education services during a typical school day consistent with the student's IEP provided for under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq., amended in 2004.

[J]K. "Retained senior" means a student beyond the general compulsory education age who is authorized [by]at the discretion of the LEA to remain in enrollment as a high school senior in the year(s) after the cohort has graduated due to:

(1) sickness;

(2) hospitalization;

(3) pending court investigation or action or both; or

(4) other extenuating circumstances beyond the control of the student.

[K]L. "S1" means the record maintained by the USOE containing individual student demographic and school membership data in a Data Clearinghouse file.

[L]M. "S2" means the record maintained by the USOE containing individual student data related to participation in a special education program in a Data Clearinghouse file.

[M]N. "School day" means:

(1) a minimum of two hours per day per session in kindergarten and a minimum of four hours per day in grades one through twelve, subject to the following constraints:

(2)(a) All school day calculations shall exclude lunch periods and pass time between classes but may include recess periods that include organization or instruction from school staff.

(b) Each day that satisfies hourly instruction time shall count as a school day, regardless of the number or length of class periods or whether or not particular classes meet.

[N]O. "School membership" means membership other than in a special education or YIC program in the context of the Data Clearinghouse.

[O]P. "School year" means the 12 month period from July 1 through June 30.

[P]Q. "Self-contained" means a public school student with an IEP who receives 180 minutes or more of special education services during a typical school day.

[Q]R. "Self-Contained Resource Attendance Management (SCRAM)" means a record that tracks the aggregate membership of public school special education students for state funding purposes.

[R]S. "SSID" means Statewide Student Identifier.

[S]T. "UCAT" means any public institution of higher education affiliated with the Utah College of Applied Technology.

[T]U. "Unexcused absence" means an absence charged to a student when the student was not physically present at school at any of the times attendance checks were made in accordance with Section R277-419-3B(3) and the student's absence could not be accounted for by evidence of a legitimate or valid excuse in accordance with local board policy on truancy as defined in Section 53A-11-101.

[U]V. "USOE" means the Utah State Office of Education.

[V]W. "Virtual education" means the use of information and communication technologies to offer educational opportunities to students in a manner that transcends traditional limitations of time and space with respect to their relationships with teachers, peers, and instructional materials.

[W]X. "Year End upload" means the Data Clearinghouse file due annually by July 15 from school districts and charter schools to the USOE for the prior school year.

[X]Y. "YIC" means Youth in Custody.

[Y]Z. "YICSIS" means YIC Student Information System.

 

R277-419-3. Minimum School Days, LEA Records, and Audits.

A. Minimum standards for school days

(1) LEAs shall conduct school for at least 990 instructional hours and 180 school days each school year; exceptions to the number of days for individual students and schools are provided for in R277-419-7.

(2) The required days and hours may be offered at any time during the school year, consistent with the law.

(3) Health Department Emergency or Pandemic

(a) The Board may waive the day and hour requirement, following a vote of Board members, pursuant to a directive from the Utah State Health Department or a local health department, that results in the closure of a school in the event of a pandemic or other public health emergency.

(b) In the event that the Board is unable to meet in a timely manner, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction may issue a waiver following consultation with a majority of Board members.

(c) The waiver may be for a designated time period and for specific areas, school districts, or schools in the state, as determined by the health department directive.

(d) The waiver may allow for school districts to continue to receive state funds for pupil services and reimbursements.

(e) The waiver by the Board or State Superintendent of Public Instruction shall direct school districts to provide as much notice to students and parents of the suspension of school services, as is reasonably possible.

(f) The waiver shall direct school districts to comply with health department directives, but to continue to provide any services to students that are not inconsistent with the directive.

(g) The Board may encourage school districts to provide electronic or distance learning services to affected students for the period of the pandemic or other public health emergency to the extent of personnel and funds available.

([3]4) Minimum standards shall apply to all public schools in all settings unless Utah law or this rule provides for specific exceptions. Local boards are encouraged to provide adequate days and hours in the school district's yearly calendar to avoid the necessity of a waiver request except in the most extreme circumstances.

B. Official records

(1) To determine student membership, LEAs shall ensure that records of daily student attendance are maintained in each school which clearly and accurately show for each student the:

(a) entry date;

(b) exit date;

(c) exit or high school completion status;

(d) whether or not an absence was excused; and

(e) disability status (resource or self-contained, if applicable).

(2)(a) Computerized or manually produced records for Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs shall be kept by teacher, class and Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) code.

(b) These records shall clearly and accurately show for each student in a CTE class the:

(i) entry date;

(ii) exit date; and

(iii) excused or unexcused status of absence.

(3) A minimum of one attendance check shall be made by each public school each school day.

C(1) Due to school activities requiring schedule and program modification during the first days and last days of the school year, an LEA may report for the first five days, aggregate days of membership equal to the number recorded for the second five-day period of the school year.

(2) For the last three-day period, an LEA may report aggregate days of membership equal to the number recorded for the immediately preceding three-day period.

(3) Schools shall continue instructional activities throughout required calendared instruction days.

D. Audits

(1) An independent auditor shall be employed under contract by each LEA to audit its student accounting records annually and report the findings to the LEA board of education and to the Finance and Statistics Section of the USOE;

(2) Reporting dates, forms, and procedures are found in the State of Utah Legal Compliance Audit Guide, provided to LEAs by the USOE in cooperation with the State Auditor's Office and published under the heading of APP C-5;

(3) The USOE shall review student membership and fall enrollment audits as they relate to the allocation of state funds and may periodically or for cause review LEA records and practices for compliance with the laws and this rule.

 

R277-419-7. Variances.

A. An exception for school attendance for public school students may be made at the discretion of the local board, in the length of the school day or year, for students with compelling circumstances. The time an excepted student is required to attend school shall be established by the student's IEP or SEOP.

B. Emergency/activity/weather-related exigency time shall be planned for in an LEA's annual calendaring. If school is closed for any reason, the instructional time missed shall be made up under the emergency/activity time as part of the minimum required time to qualify for full MSP funding.

C. Staff Planning, Professional Development, Student Assessment Time, and Parent-Teacher and Student Education Plan (SEP) Conferences.

(1) To provide planning and professional development time for staff, LEAs may hold school longer some days of the week and shorter other days so long as minimum school day requirements, as provided for in R277-419-1[M]N, are satisfied.

(2) Schools may conduct parent-teacher and student education plan conferences during the school day.

(3) Such conferences may only be held for a total of the equivalent of three full school days or a maximum of 16.5 hours for the school year. Student membership for professional development or parent-teacher conference days shall be counted as that of the previous school day.

(4) LEAs may designate no more than 12 instructional days at the beginning of the school year or at the end of the school year or both for the assessment of students entering or completing kindergarten. If instruction days are designated for kindergarten assessment:

(a) the days shall be designated by the LEA board in an open meeting;

(b) adequate notice and explanation shall be provided to kindergarten parents well in advance of the assessment period;

(c) assessment shall be conducted by qualified school employees consistent with Section 53A-3-410; and

(d) assessment time per student shall be adequate to justify the forfeited instruction time.

(5) The final decision and approval regarding planning time, parent-teacher and SEP conferences rests with the local board of education, consistent with Utah law and Board administrative rules.

(6) Total instructional time and school calendars shall be approved by local boards in an open meeting.

D. A school participating in the School Professional Development Days Pilot Program, consistent with R277-418, may use a maximum of 22 hours of the 990 hours of student instructional time required under R277-419-3A(1) for professional development days. Use of this time, consistent with R277-418, requires prior Board approval.

E. A school using a modified 45-day 15-day year round schedule initiated prior to July 1, 1995 shall be considered to be in compliance with this rule if a school's schedule includes a minimum of 990 hours of instruction time in a minimum of 172 days.

 

KEY: education finance, school enrollment

Date of Enactment or Last Substantive Amendment: [November 9, 2006]2007

Notice of Continuation: October 18, 2002

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: Art X Sec 3; 53A-1-401(3); 53A-1-402(1)(e); 53A-1-404(2); 53A-1-301(3)(d); 53A-3-404; 53A-3-410