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The legislators have gone home for the session and the 2016-17 school year is over (or nearly over)! This will be our last edition of Rural Net until September but we will continue to provide updates and highlight opportunities through
the Rural Advocacy Network. Join us on Facebook and Twitter .
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Legislative Wrap up
School Finance/Funding
The School Finance Act,
SB 296
, delivers a flat Negative (now "Budget Stabilization" or "BS" ) Factor and an average of $242 additional dollars per student for 2017-18 school year, with base per pupil funding set at $6,546.
Rural Schools also received an additional $30 million thru SB 267, the Rural Sustainability Act. This money is one-time funding for 2017-18. As stated in the bill, the funds must be used for the broadly stated purpose of "improving student learning and the educational environment, including but not limited to loan forgiveness for educators and staff, technology and transportation." This provides wide latitude for districts to determine how to spend those funds based on local needs. Districts are required to share the funds with district authorized charter schools.
Click here
to review 2017-18 district funding calculations under the School Finance Act and SB 267.
Charter school mill levy sharing
HB 1375,
the compromise solution to SB 61, requires school districts that authorize charter schools to
either share 95 percent of additional mill levy override tax revenue with their charter schools or create a plan that outlines how they will spend the revenue to best meet the needs of their students regardless of what type of school they attend.
The plans would be required to take effect during the 2019-20 school year. Stay tuned for more information/resources regarding implementation from our state partners.
Study bill
HB 1340
creates a legislative interim committee to study school finance and create a new school finance funding formula. The interim committee will be convened in August and they have two years to do their work.
We are cautiously optimistic about the work of the committee and will be working to ensure strong rural representation.
Teacher Shortage
HB 1176
eliminates the 110/140 day limitation on PERA retirees who return to work as a teacher, bus
driver or cook in a Rural school district.
HB 1003
directs the department of higher education and the department of education to prepare a strategic plan to address teacher shortages. The study is being led by Robert Mitchell from CDHE who has already begun to look at these issues with a number of rural and urban educators/experts.
Assessments
HB 1181
eliminates 9th grade PARCC and replaces it with an assessment aligned with the 10th grade assessment, currently SAT.
Ascent
HB 1294
allows a school to count a student as a graduate even if they remain enrolled as part of the ASCENT program, so long as they have completed all of the school district's graduation requirements.
Diploma Endorsements
HB 1201
a
uthorizes a high school diploma endorsement for students who demonstrate mastery in STEM. and
SB 123
authorizes a bi-literacy endorsement.
Student Fees
HB 1301
bans districts from withholding transcripts from students who haven’t paid fines, fees or returned school property. Contrary to what you may have heard, school districts can still prohibit students from to take part in school sponsored events; i.e., graduation, if they owe money to the school. The bill does not prohibit school districts from taking steps to collect on the debt, though we understand this provides very limited recourse in most circumstances.
Performance Indicators
SB 272 adds an additional measure for determining attainment of the postsecondary and workforce performance indicator which will be based on the percentage of students enrolled in high school who demonstrate college and career readiness, as determined by new cut scores to be set by the state Board on the Menu of Options included in the State's graduation requirements. True to its name, the menu includes a list of options; i.e., assessments and applicable cut scores, capstones and industry certificates, that students must meet/complete to graduate high school. School districts may offer some or all of the state menu options, may raise a cut score on an included assessment and may add graduation requirements in other content areas.
The new legislation directs the State Board to set new, higher cut scores at a level that indicates that the student is prepared to enroll in postsecondary courses without remediation. The new indicator and the graduation requirements will be effective in the 2020-21 school year.
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A huge thank you goes out to...
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...
all of you who came to the Capitol to testify this session! Your testimony made a real difference on several bills that were not certain to make it out of Committee and/or would have made it out of committee despite our opposition; and
...all of you participated in our bi-weekly legislative calls and/or contacted your legislators on issues of import!
Rural schools had a real impact at the Capitol this session and that would not have happened without all of your efforts and engagement!
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Once again, CPR's Jenny Brundin has done a great job telling the rural story.
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Executive Update: Dues increase and open board seats
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Dues Increase
The Rural Alliance Board is considering a $300 dues increase effective in the 2017-18 school year. We understand that budgets are tight but the increase is necessary to sustain operations as we continue to maximize our impact. The board does not make this decision lightly. We are proud of how the organization has grown in scope and influence and we need the additional funds to sustain and expand our work.
Over the past two years, the Rural Alliance has dramatically increased rural schools profile (and power) at the Capitol by:
- Hiring a contract lobbyist;
- Connecting members with legislators, and other policy makers, through our regional Rural Advocacy Receptions;
- Building a Rural Advocacy Network to strengthen the rural policy voice around the State; and
- Keeping members informed and engaged through legislative calls, advocacy updates and newsletters.
This session, we were instrumental in securing additional funding for rural schools and scaling back many (but not all) proposed inroads on local control. We have increased awareness around rural issues and forged meaningful partnerships to help advance rural interests but there is still much work to be done.
School Finance remains our number one priority and we will have to step up our efforts (and hours) as we monitor the work of (and appointments to) the School Funding Interim Committee and participate in the 2018 Table discussions around a ballot initiative securing additional revenues for schools.
Outside the political sphere, we are working on several strategic initiatives to help rural schools/communities increase opportunities for students. More specifically, we are partnering with:
- Donnell Kay Foundation to produce a roadmap for districts interested in developing affordable housing for teachers;
- CEI and CASPA to develop a human resources guide for rural administrators;
- CSDSIP to develop a handbook for districts implementing student internship programs; and
- Colorado Rural Education Collaborative on the Rural Education Summit.
There is so much great work happening in our rural districts and we are grateful to these partners who share our commitment to scaling/sharing this work and increasing opportunities for rural students.
The Rural Alliance Board will vote on the $300 dues increase on June 19th and we would like to hear from membership. We have developed a one-question survey inquiring as to whether your district supports or opposes this increase. There is also a space for comments/questions and we encourage you to reach out to your regional board representative if you have any questions or concerns.
Open Board Seats
We have two seats open on the Rural Alliance Board for the 2017-18 school year. Board members are elected for a two year term and must be paid employees of a school district, We currently have openings in
Region 3 (Pikes Peak) and Region 4 (San Luis Valley).
If you are interested in a seat in your region, please
email Michelle Murphy
with a brief statement of interest on or before June 15th.
Thank you for your time, attention and support! It has been a great couple of years and we are excited about all the opportunities that lie ahead!
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Advocacy and Learning Resources
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We are delighted by the growth of our
Associate Membership Program
, which has allowed us to begin to expand our activities and impact. Our current partners share our commitment to increasing opportunities for rural students and communities and have much to offer by way of information, opportunity and resources-advocacy and otherwise!
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