SUSPENSION FOR VERBAL ASSAULT - S.B. 943: FLOOR ANALYSIS
Senate Bill 943 (as amended on Third Reading)
Sponsor: Senator Leon Stille
Committee: Education
CONTENT
The bill would amend the Revised School Code to require a school board either to suspend or to expel a pupil, for a period of time determined by the board, if the pupil verbally assaulted a school employee or volunteer, or made a bomb threat directed at school property. Currently, a school board must expel a pupil for up to 180 school days for that behavior.
The Code requires each school board annually to report to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction on the incidents of crime occurring at schools within a school district. The bill would require that the information be stated for the school district as a whole and separately for each school operated by the district. The bill also would require that at least once each semester, a school board provide a copy of the most recent crime report for the school district to the parent or legal guardian of each pupil enrolled in the school district.
MCL 380.1310a & 380.1311a - Legislative Analyst: L. Arasim
FISCAL IMPACT
If districts chose to suspend and subsequently re-enroll pupils committing verbal assaults or bomb threats prior to State aid pupil counts (rather than expelling the pupils as currently mandated), then State aid payments to such districts for these pupils would be higher than under current law. This would occur because the suspended/re-enrolled students would be back in school and counted in pupil counts for State aid, rather than being permanently expelled.
Additionally, local school districts could experience savings based on the changes proposed in Section 1310a(3). Under current law, school boards must provide a copy of the most recent crime incidents report each semester to parents of pupils enrolled in the district. The bill would change the "each semester" reporting to "annual" reporting, and simply require school boards to make the report available to all parents, not necessarily provide the report. For example, if a district chose to post the report on the Internet annually, this could potentially save the district dollars spent on copying and mailing the report to parents each semester. Since the size, type, and method of delivering crime incidents reports are unknown, it is not possible to calculate a fiscal impact.
With the series of amendments adopted on Third Reading of Bills, the changes to Section 1310a(3) would again require school boards to provide each semester a copy of the crime incidents report to all parents of pupils enrolled in the district. The changes essentially would return parts of the bill to current law and impose the same requirements and cost implications that districts are faced with at this time.
Date Completed: 5-22-00 - Fiscal Analyst: K. Summers-CotyFloor\sb943 - Bill Analysis @ http://www.state.mi.us/sfa
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.