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 BackHOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Committee Report
| Legislation: | HB 90 |
| Sponsor: | K. Williams |
| Long Title: | AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EDUCATION AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ENROLLMENT CHOICE PROGRAM. |
| Committee: | EDUCATION |
| Number of Committee Members: | 13 |
| Date of Report: | 04/24/2013 |
| Committee Vote: | Favorable: | On Its Merits: | Unfavorable: |
| 2 | 6 | 0 |
Purpose of the Bill : This bill updates the school choice program by making it easier for parents to navigate the choice process by standardizing application forms and deadlines across traditional and charter schools. More specifically, the bill requires all local education agencies to accept a standard application form provided by the Department of Education, which must be available on the Department’s website. Further, the bill seeks to eliminate exclusionary practices, which includes special needs students, of districts when accepting/rejecting an application. After priority spots are filled, districts must use a lottery system for the remaining applicants. Districts would also be required to accept choice students until each school and/or program has reached 85% of its capacity. Districts would be required to hold a public information session about choice and enrollment opportunities by October 31 and report estimated capacity and projected enrollment information to the Department of Education by November 30; those estimates may be revised until January 30. Finally, the bill will create a task force to consider the current landscape of all school enrollment preferences to include magnet, vocational technical, and charter schools, and to develop recommendations as necessary.
Committee Findings: The bill was released after a discussion of future amendments.
Committee Meeting Minutes:
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