H.B. 412

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MODIFIED CENTENNIAL SCHOOLS AMENDMENTS
2 1997 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Sponsor: Brian R. Allen
5 AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS; ALLOWING FOR AN INCREASE IN THE
6 NUMBER OF MODIFIED CENTENNIAL SCHOOLS; AND PROVIDING FOR GREATER
7 FLEXIBILITY IN RECEIVING WAIVERS.
8 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
9 AMENDS:
10 53A-1a-303.5, as enacted by Chapter 65, Laws of Utah 1996
11 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
12 Section 1. Section 53A-1a-303.5 is amended to read:
13 53A-1a-303.5. Modified program.
14 (1) (a) For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1996, the State Board of Education, in
15 collaboration with the governor's office, shall select ten schools or centennial clusters for
16 participation in a modified Centennial Schools program from a pool of applicants who demonstrate
17 the most widespread parent/guardian and school staff support.
18 (b) The school applicants shall have completed three years, or be in the third year of
19 completion, as a centennial school.
20 (c) Centennial clusters may be added to the program in subsequent years based upon the
21 availability of existing or new funding or both.
22 [(c)] (d) As used in this section, "centennial cluster" means two or more public schools
23 in which[;]:
24 (i) the schools have a feeder school relationship, such as an elementary school that feeds
25 into a middle school or junior high school;
26 (ii) at least one of the schools is currently or has been a centennial school selected under
27 Section 53A-1a-303; and

1 (iii) participation of a noncentennial school in the cluster is on a voluntary basis with
2 demonstrated support from the parents of a majority of the students who attend the school.
3 (2) The modified program shall run for at least three years, subject to reauthorization by
4 the Legislature based upon an evaluation and the achievement of the student performance goals
5 required under Subsection 53A-1a-302(2)(d)(i).
6 (3) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the selected schools are subject to the
7 qualification requirements listed in Section 53A-1a-302, the appropriation provisions listed in
8 Section 53A-1a-303, and the reporting requirements listed in Section 53A-1a-304.
9 (4) (a) The school directors at a selected school shall consist of an equal number of
10 individuals employed at the school and parents or guardians of students attending the school who
11 are not also employed at the school and the school's principal.
12 (b) Each employee director is elected by a majority vote of the employees at the school
13 and serves a two-year term.
14 (c) Each parent director is elected at an election held at the school by a majority vote of
15 those voting at the election and serves a two-year term.
16 (d) Only parents or guardians of students attending the school may vote at the election
17 held under Subsection (2)(c)(i).
18 (e) Written notice of the elections held under Subsections (4)(b) and (c) shall be given at
19 least two weeks prior to the elections.
20 (f) Employee and parent directors may serve up to three successive terms.
21 (g) Initial terms shall be staggered so that no more than 50% of the directors stand for
22 election in any one year.
23 (5) (a) The school directors may request and shall receive a waiver from the state or local
24 board of education of any rule or policy that prevents or inhibits the school from achieving its
25 performance goals, unless approval of the request would conflict with state or federal laws or put
26 the school out of compliance with matters related to the health[,] and safety[, welfare, civil rights,
27 and insurance] of students and staff at the school.
28 (b) If the waiver relates to a contract between the district and its employees, then the entity
29 that represented the employees in obtaining the agreement must also agree to the waiver.
30 (6) (a) (i) A local board of education, in consultation with the school directors of a selected
31 school, shall identify education monies which shall flow directly to the school.

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1 (ii) The board shall focus on maximizing the amount of money to flow to the school under
2 Subsection (6)(a)(i).
3 (b) The school directors shall manage the monies received under Subsection (6)(a) in such
4 a manner as to accomplish the school's performance goals and may use the services of the school
5 district to do so or contract out with other public or private providers for goods and services
6 required at the school.
7 (c) Expenditures of monies received under Subsection (6)(a) are subject to procedures and
8 restrictions established under the Public Officers and Employees Ethics Act, the Procurement
9 Code, and accounting rules of the State Board of Education.
10 (7) (a) The state board shall closely monitor the activities of each participant school and
11 provide assistance if requested by the directors.
12 (b) The state board, in collaboration with the school directors, shall prepare an annual
13 evaluation of each school's performance, including a financial component on the expenditure of
14 monies received under this subsection.
15 (8) The State Board of Education shall, after consulting with the affected local school
16 boards, schools, and parents of students at the schools, adopt rules for implementation of this
17 section.
18 (9) (a) In addition to the modified centennial schools authorized under Subsection (1),
19 individual centennial schools may participate in the modified program under the following
20 circumstances:
21 (i) the school has been a centennial school for at least three years;
22 (ii) the school directors receive a petition requesting participation in the program by at
23 least 10% of the parents whose children attend the school;
24 (iii) the petition is voted on by the parents whose children attend the school and receives
25 a majority vote in favor of becoming a modified centennial school and is ratified by a majority of
26 the school's faculty and administrators;
27 (iv) the school is subject to Subsections (2) through (8); and
28 (v) the school will not receive additional state funding under this section.
29 (b) For purposes of Subsection (9)(a)(iii), "majority vote" means a majority of those voting
30 on the issue.


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Legislative Review Note
as of 2-24-97 9:36 AM

A limited legal review of this bill raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

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