HOUSE BILL No. 4329 February 22, 2001, Introduced by Reps. Gosselin, Kuipers and Richner and referred to the Committee on Employment Relations, Training and Safety. A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled "The revised school code," by amending sections 503 and 1311e (MCL 380.503 and 380.1311e), section 503 as amended by 1995 PA 289 and section 1311e as added by 1999 PA 23. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 503. (1) An authorizing body is not required to issue 2 a contract to any person or entity. Public school academy con- 3 tracts shall be issued on a competitive basis taking into consid- 4 eration the resources available for the proposed public school 5 academy, the population to be served by the proposed public 6 school academy, and the educational goals to be achieved by the 7 proposed public school academy. 8 (2) If a person or entity applies to the board of a school 9 district for a contract to organize and operate 1 or more public 00984'01 c FDD 2 1 school academies within the boundaries of the school district and 2 the board does not issue the contract, the person or entity may 3 petition the board to place the question of issuing the contract 4 on the ballot to be decided by the school electors of the school 5 district. The petition shall contain all of the information 6 required to be in the contract application under section 502(3) 7 and shall be signed by a number of school electors of the school 8 district equal to at least 15% of the total number of school 9 electors of that school district. The petition shall be filed 10 with the secretary of the board. If the board receives a peti- 11 tion meeting the requirements of this subsection, the board shall 12 place the question of issuing the contract on the ballot at its 13 next annual school election held at least 60 days after receiving 14 the petition. If a majority of the school electors of the school 15 district voting on the question vote to issue the contract, the 16 board shall issue the contract. 17 (3) Within 10 days after issuing a contract for a public 18 school academy, the board of the authorizing body shall submit to 19 thestate boardSUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION a copy of 20 the contract and of the application under section 502. 21 (4) An authorizing body shall adopt a resolution establish- 22 ing the method of selection, length of term, and number of mem- 23 bers of the board of directors of each public school academy 24 subject to its jurisdiction. 25 (5) A contract issued to organize and administer a public 26 school academy shall contain at least all of the following: 00984'01 c 3 1 (a) The educational goals the public school academy is to 2 achieve and the methods by which it will be held accountable. To 3 the extent applicable, the pupil performance of a public school 4 academy shall be assessed using at least a Michigan education 5 assessment program (MEAP) test or an assessment instrument devel- 6 oped under section 1279.for a state-endorsed high school7diploma.8 (b) A description of the method to be used to monitor the 9 public school academy's compliance with applicable law and its 10 performance in meeting its targeted educational objectives. 11 (c) A description of the process for amending the contract 12 during the term of the contract. 13 (d) All of the matters set forth in the application for the 14 contract. 15 (e) For a public school academy authorized by a school dis- 16 trict, an agreement that employees of the public school academy 17 will be covered by the collective bargaining agreements that 18 apply to employees of the school district employed in similar 19 classifications in schools that are not public school academies. 20 (f) Procedures for revoking the contract and grounds for 21 revoking the contract, including at least the grounds listed in 22 section 507. 23 (g) A description of and address for the proposed physical 24 plant in which the public school academy will be located. 25 (h) Requirements and procedures for financial audits. The 26 financial audits shall be conducted at least annually by a 00984'01 c 4 1 certified public accountant in accordance with generally accepted 2 governmental auditing principles. 3 (6) A public school academy shall comply with all applicable 4 law, including all of the following: 5 (a) The open meetings act,Act No. 267 of the Public Acts6of 1976, being sections 15.261 to 15.275 of the Michigan Compiled7Laws1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 TO 15.275. 8 (b) The freedom of information act,Act No. 442 of the9Public Acts of 1976, being sections 15.231 to 15.246 of the10Michigan Compiled Laws1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 TO 15.246. 11 (c)Act No. 336 of the Public Acts of 1947, being12sections 423.201 to 423.217 of the Michigan Compiled Laws1947 13 PA 336, MCL 423.201 TO 423.217. 14(d) Act No. 166 of the Public Acts of 1965, being15sections 408.551 to 408.558 of the Michigan Compiled Laws.16 (D)(e)Sections 1134, 1135, 1146, 1153, 1263(3), 1267, 17 and 1274. 18 (7) A public school academy and its incorporators, board 19 members, officers, employees, and volunteers have governmental 20 immunity as provided in section 7 ofAct No. 170 of the Public21Acts of 1964, being section 691.1407 of the Michigan Compiled22Laws1964 PA 170, MCL 691.1407. An authorizing body and its 23 board members, officers, and employees are immune from civil 24 liability, both personally and professionally, for any acts or 25 omissions in authorizing a public school academy if the authoriz- 26 ing body or the person acted or reasonably believed he or she 00984'01 c 5 1 acted within the authorizing body's or the person's scope of 2 authority. 3 (8) A public school academy is exempt from all taxation on 4 its earnings and property. Instruments of conveyance to or from 5 a public school academy are exempt from all taxation including 6 taxes imposed byAct No. 134 of the Public Acts of 1966, being7sections 207.501 to 207.513 of the Michigan Compiled Laws1966 8 PA 134, MCL 207.501 TO 207.513. A public school academy may not 9 levy ad valorem property taxes or any other tax for any purpose. 10 However, operation of 1 or more public school academies by a 11 school district or intermediate school district does not affect 12 the ability of the school district or intermediate school dis- 13 trict to levy ad valorem property taxes or any other tax. 14 (9) A public school academy may acquire by purchase, gift, 15 devise, lease, sublease, installment purchase agreement, land 16 contract, option, or by any other means, hold and own in its own 17 name buildings and other property for school purposes, and inter- 18 ests therein, and other real and personal property, including, 19 but not limited to, interests in property subject to mortgages, 20 security interests, or other liens, necessary or convenient to 21 fulfill its purposes. For the purposes of condemnation, a public 22 school academy may proceed under the uniform condemnation proce- 23 dures act,Act No. 87 of the Public Acts of 1980, being sections24213.51 to 213.77 of the Michigan Compiled Laws1980 PA 87, 25 MCL 213.51 TO 213.75, excluding sections 6 to 9 of that act, 26being sections 213.56 to 213.59 of the Michigan Compiled Laws27 MCL 213.56 TO 213.59, or other applicable statutes, but only with 00984'01 c 6 1 the express, written permission of the authorizing body in each 2 instance of condemnation and only after just compensation has 3 been determined and paid. 4 Sec. 1311e. (1) An authorizing body is not required to 5 issue a contract to any person or entity. Contracts for strict 6 discipline academies shall be issued on a competitive basis 7 taking into consideration the resources available for the pro- 8 posed strict discipline academy, the population to be served by 9 the proposed strict discipline academy, and the educational goals 10 to be achieved by the proposed strict discipline academy. 11 (2) If a person or entity applies to the board of a school 12 district for a contract to organize and operate 1 or more strict 13 discipline academies within the boundaries of the school district 14 and the board does not issue the contract, the person or entity 15 may petition the board to place the question of issuing the con- 16 tract on the ballot to be decided by the school electors of the 17 school district. The petition shall contain all of the informa- 18 tion required to be in the contract application under section 19 1311d and shall be signed by a number of school electors of the 20 school district equal to at least 15% of the total number of 21 school electors of that school district. The petition shall be 22 filed with the secretary of the board. If the board receives a 23 petition meeting the requirements of this subsection, the board 24 shall place the question of issuing the contract on the ballot at 25 its next annual school election held at least 60 days after 26 receiving the petition. If a majority of the school electors of 00984'01 c 7 1 the school district voting on the question vote to issue the 2 contract, the board shall issue the contract. 3 (3) Within 10 days after issuing a contract for a strict 4 discipline academy, the board of the authorizing body shall 5 submit to the state board a copy of the contract and of the 6 application under section 1311d. 7 (4) An authorizing body shall adopt a resolution establish- 8 ing the method of selection, length of term, and number of mem- 9 bers of the board of directors of each strict discipline academy 10 subject to its jurisdiction. 11 (5) A contract issued to organize and administer a strict 12 discipline academy shall contain at least all of the following: 13 (a) The educational goals the strict discipline academy is 14 to achieve and the methods by which it will be held accountable. 15 To the extent applicable, the pupil performance of a strict dis- 16 cipline academy shall be assessed using at least a Michigan edu- 17 cation assessment program (MEAP) test or an assessment instrument 18 developed under section 1279 for a state-endorsed high school 19 diploma. 20 (b) A description of the method to be used to monitor the 21 strict discipline academy's compliance with applicable law and 22 its performance in meeting its targeted educational objectives. 23 (c) A description of the process for amending the contract 24 during the term of the contract. 25 (d) All of the matters set forth in the application for the 26 contract. 00984'01 c 8 1 (e) For a strict discipline academy authorized by a school 2 district, an agreement that employees of the strict discipline 3 academy will be covered by the collective bargaining agreements 4 that apply to employees of the school district employed in simi- 5 lar classifications in schools that are not strict discipline 6 academies. 7 (f) Procedures for revoking the contract and grounds for 8 revoking the contract, including at least the grounds listed in 9 section 1311l. 10 (g) A description of and address for the proposed physical 11 plant in which the strict discipline academy will be located. 12 (h) Requirements and procedures for financial audits. The 13 financial audits shall be conducted at least annually by a certi- 14 fied public accountant in accordance with generally accepted gov- 15 ernmental auditing principles. 16 (6) A strict discipline academy shall comply with all appli- 17 cable law, including all of the following: 18 (a) The open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 19 15.275. 20 (b) The freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 21 to 15.246. 22 (c) 1947 PA 336, MCL 423.201 to 423.217. 23(d) 1965 PA 166, MCL 408.551 to 408.558.24 (D)(e)Sections 1134, 1135, 1146, 1153, 1263(3), 1267, 25 and 1274. 00984'01 c 9 1 (E)(f)Except for part 6a, all provisions of this act 2 that explicitly apply to public school academies established 3 under part 6a. 4 (7) A strict discipline academy and its incorporators, board 5 members, officers, employees, and volunteers have governmental 6 immunity as provided in section 7 of 1964 PA 170, MCL 691.1407. 7 An authorizing body and its board members, officers, and employ- 8 ees are immune from civil liability, both personally and profes- 9 sionally, for any acts or omissions in authorizing a strict dis- 10 cipline academy if the authorizing body or the person acted or 11 reasonably believed he or she acted within the authorizing body's 12 or the person's scope of authority. 13 (8) A strict discipline academy is exempt from all taxation 14 on its earnings and property. Instruments of conveyance to or 15 from a strict discipline academy are exempt from all taxation 16 including taxes imposed by 1966 PA 134, MCL 207.501 to 207.513. 17 A strict discipline academy may not levy ad valorem property 18 taxes or any other tax for any purpose. However, operation of 1 19 or more strict discipline academies by a school district or 20 intermediate school district does not affect the ability of the 21 school district or intermediate school district to levy ad 22 valorem property taxes or any other tax. 23 (9) A strict discipline academy may acquire by purchase, 24 gift, devise, lease, sublease, installment purchase agreement, 25 land contract, option, or by any other means, hold and own in its 26 own name buildings and other property for school purposes, and 27 interests therein, and other real and personal property, 00984'01 c 10 1 including, but not limited to, interests in property subject to 2 mortgages, security interests, or other liens, necessary or con- 3 venient to fulfill its purposes. For the purposes of condemna- 4 tion, a strict discipline academy may proceed under the uniform 5 condemnation procedures act, 1980 PA 87, MCL 213.51 to 213.75, 6 excluding sections 6 to 9 of that act, MCL 213.56 to 213.59, or 7 other applicable statutes, but only with the express, written 8 permission of the authorizing body in each instance of condemna- 9 tion and only after just compensation has been determined and 10 paid. 11 Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take 12 effect unless Senate Bill No. _____ or House Bill No. _____ 13 (request no. 00984'01) of the 91st Legislature is enacted into 14 law. 00984'01 c Final page. FDD