HB471 (2015) Detail

Relative to the powers of the state board of education and the duties of school boards.


HB 471 - AS INTRODUCED

2015 SESSION

15-0418

04/10

HOUSE BILL 471

AN ACT relative to the powers of the state board of education and the duties of school boards.

SPONSORS: Rep. Cordelli, Carr 4; Rep. Murotake, Hills 32; Rep. Harris, Rock 9; Rep. LeBrun, Hills 32; Rep. Jones, Straf 24; Rep. V. Sullivan, Hills 16; Rep. Seidel, Hills 28; Sen.?Avard, Dist 12; Sen. Reagan, Dist 17

COMMITTEE: Education

ANALYSIS

This bill removes the requirement that school boards comply with the rules and regulations of the state board of education. The bill also adds certain specific duties to school boards.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

15-0418

04/10

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fifteen

AN ACT relative to the powers of the state board of education and the duties of school boards.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 State Board of Education; Powers. Amend RSA 186:5 to read as follows:

186:5 Powers. The state board shall have the same powers of management, supervision, and direction over all public schools in this state as the directors of a business corporation have over its business, except as otherwise limited by law. It may make all rules and regulations necessary for the management of its own business and for the conduct of its officers, employees, and agents, and to secure the efficient administration of the public schools and the administration of the work of Americanization, in teaching English to non-English-speaking adults and in furnishing instruction in the privileges, duties, and responsibilities of citizenship, which is hereby declared to be an essential part of public school education. [It shall be the duty of school boards and employees of school districts to comply with the rules and regulations of the state board.]

2 School Boards; Duty to Provide Education. Amend RSA 189:1-a to read as follows:

189:1-a Duty to Provide Education.

I. It shall be the duty of the school board to provide, at district expense, elementary and secondary education to all pupils who reside in the district until such time as the pupil has acquired a high school diploma or has reached age 21, whichever occurs first; provided, that the board may exclude specific pupils for gross misconduct or for neglect or refusal to conform to the reasonable rules of the school, and further provided that this section shall not apply to pupils who have been exempted from school attendance in accordance with RSA 193:5.

II. Elected school boards shall be responsible for establishing the structure, accountability, advocacy, and delivery of instruction, the curricula and courses taught, and the methods for assessing pupil performance in each school operated and governed in its district. To accomplish this end, and to support flexibility in implementing diverse educational approaches, school boards shall establish, in each school operated and governed in its district, instructional policies that establish instructional goals based upon available information about the knowledge and skills pupils will need in the future.

III. School boards shall adopt a teacher performance evaluation system, with the involvement of teachers and principals, for use in the school district. A school board may consider any resources it deems reasonable and appropriate, including any resources that may be provided by the state department of education. In this paragraph, “teacher” shall have the same meaning as in RSA 189:14-a, V.

IV. Elected school boards shall be exclusively responsible for the employment of teachers and negotiations with collective bargaining units regarding compensation and other conditions of employment.

3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.