A.R.S. tit. 15 ch. 10.1 — Arizona Revised Statutes Title 15 Chapter 10.1 — Additional Support For Public Education

15-1281. Student support and safety fund; exemption; distribution; definitions (Caution: 1998 Prop. 105 applies) A. The student support and safety fund is established consisting of monies deposited pursuant to section 43-1013, private donations and interest earned on those monies. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated. Monies in the fund and its accounts may not be transferred to any other fund except as provided in this section, do not revert to the state general fund, and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations. The state treasurer shall administer the fund. B. All monies in the student support and safety fund must first be spent, and the state treasurer shall transfer monies from the fund, to pay: 1. The actual reasonable costs incurred by the state treasurer to administer the fund. 2. The actual reasonable costs incurred by the auditor general and department of education to implement section 15-1284. 3. The actual reasonable costs incurred by the department of revenue to implement and enforce section 43-1013. 4. The actual reasonable costs incurred by the state board of education to implement subsection D, paragraph 3 of this section. 5. Any other mandatory expenditure of state revenues required to implement this chapter and the invest in education act. C. The state treasurer may prescribe forms necessary to make transfers from the student support and safety fund pursuant to subsection B of this section. D. On or before June 30 and December 31 of each year, the state treasurer shall transfer all monies in the student support and safety fund in excess of the amounts paid pursuant to subsection B of this section as follows: 1. Fifty percent as grants to school districts and charter schools, in proportion to the weighted student count pursuant to section 15-943, paragraph 2, for the school district or charter school for the prior fiscal year, for the purpose of hiring teachers and classroom support personnel and increasing base compensation for teachers and classroom support personnel. For the purposes of this paragraph, the state education system for committed youth and the Arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind shall receive grant funds in the same manner as school districts and charter schools. 2. Twenty-five percent as grants to school districts and charter schools, in proportion to the weighted student count pursuant to section 15-943, paragraph 2, for the school district or charter school for the prior fiscal year, for the purpose of hiring student support services personnel and increasing base compensation for student support services personnel. For the purposes of this paragraph, the state education system for committed youth and the Arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind shall receive grant funds in the same manner as school districts and charter schools. 3. Ten percent as grants to school districts and charter schools, in proportion to the weighted student count pursuant to section 15-943, paragraph 2, for the school district or charter school for the prior fiscal year, for the purpose of providing mentoring and retention programming for new classroom teachers to increase retention. The state board of education shall prescribe the form and format of mentoring and retention programming supported by monies transferred pursuant to this paragraph, except that the equivalent of one full-time mentor may be assigned to not more than fifteen new classroom teachers employed by the school district or charter school. If a school district or charter school receives monies pursuant to this paragraph in excess of its needs for mentoring and retention programming, those excess monies may be used for teacher retention. The state board of education shall adopt rules to implement this paragraph not later than six months after the effective date of this section. For the purposes of this paragraph, the state education system for committed youth and the Arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind shall receive grant funds in the same manner as school districts and charter schools. 4. Twelve percent to the career training and workforce fund established by section 15-1282. 5. Three percent to the Arizona teachers academy fund established by section 15-1655. E. Grants made pursuant to this section are exempt from title 41, chapters 23 and 24. F. For the purposes of this section: 1. "Classroom support personnel" means any nonadministrative school personnel, including certified personnel, who provide classroom support and instructional support services as prescribed by the school district governing board or charter school governing body, including librarians, nurses, counselors, social workers, speech pathologists, behavioral coaches and psychologists. 2. "Mentoring and retention programming" means regular, job-embedded, in-person, one-on-one feedback that is focused on instruction and ensuring new classroom teacher quality, success and retention. 3. "New classroom teacher" means a classroom teacher who is in the teacher’s first, second or third year of teaching. 4. "Student support services personnel" means any classified, nonadministrative school personnel who provide student support services as defined by the school district governing board or charter school governing body, including classroom aides, media specialists, health assistants, security personnel, student food service personnel, clerical staff, student transportation personnel and school site plant operators. 5. "Teacher" means any nonadministrative personnel, including certified teachers, who instruct students or support student academic achievement as prescribed by the school district governing board or charter school governing body, including classroom teachers, early childhood teachers, mentor teachers, instructional coaches and academic interventionists. 15-1282. Career training and workforce fund; exemption; distribution (Caution: 1998 Prop. 105 applies) A. The career training and workforce fund is established consisting of monies deposited pursuant to section 15-1281, private donations and interest earned on those monies. Monies in the fund are continuously appropriated. Monies in the fund and its accounts may not be transferred to any other fund except as provided in this section, do not revert to the state general fund, and are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations. The state treasurer shall administer the fund. B. All monies in the career training and workforce fund must first be spent, and the state treasurer shall transfer monies from the fund, to pay: 1. The actual reasonable costs incurred by the state treasurer to administer the fund. 2. The actual reasonable costs incurred by the department of education to implement and administer section 15-1283. 3. Any other mandatory expenditure of state revenues required to implement this section and section 15-1283. C. The state treasurer may prescribe forms necessary to transfer monies from the career training and workforce fund pursuant to subsection B of this section. D. The state treasurer shall transfer monies in the career training and workforce fund in excess of the amounts paid pursuant to subsection B of this section at the direction of the department of education in accordance with section 15-1283. 15-1283. Career training and workforce program; grants; rules (Caution: 1998 Prop. 105 applies) A. The department of education shall establish a career training and workforce program to do all of the following: 1. Provide multi-year grants of up to five years to school districts, charter schools and career technical education districts from the career training and workforce fund established by section 15-1282 for the purpose of providing services to students in grades nine through twelve. 2. Provide support to school districts, charter schools and career technical education districts that receive grants from the career training and workforce fund established by section 15-1282. B. Not later than nine months after the effective date of this section, the department of education shall adopt rules to implement this section. The rules shall include: 1. Procedures and requirements for school districts, charter schools and career technical education districts to apply for, receive and renew grants from the career training and workforce fund established by section 15-1282, including: (a) Requiring that grant applications be approved by the governing board or governing body of the school district, charter school or career technical education district. (b) Providing real-time, accessibly formatted data regarding student grades, attendance and behavior to grade nine teachers and support staff. (c) Committing to allocate time for grade nine teachers and support staff to meet during the school day to review data and develop strategies to intervene with at-risk students in grade nine, keeping records of such meetings and providing those records to the department on request. (d) Using grant monies to establish and expand programs, opportunities and strategies allowed under this section and not using grant monies to maintain programs, opportunities and strategies established before the effective date of this section, except when a use is necessary to replace the loss or expiration of time-limited grants and federal monies. 2. Procedures for the department’s evaluation of grant applications received pursuant to this section. 3. Allowable uses of grants received from the career training and workforce fund established by section 15-1282, including: (a) Developing or expanding career and technical education programs that are tied to medium to high-wage, high-demand careers that result in one or more of direct work experience, industry certification or postsecondary credits. (b) Developing or expanding career and technical education programs that inspire and prepare students to become classroom teachers. (c) Hiring school counselors. (d) Developing and implementing academic acceleration programs under which objective measures are used to enroll students who have reached proficiency into the next more rigorous course in that content area. (e) Expanding college-level educational opportunities, including: (i) Advanced placement, international baccalaureate or comparable college-level courses. (ii) Dual credit, co-enrollment programs or extended co-enrollment programs offered in conjunction with an Arizona community college, public university or other accredited institution of higher learning or postsecondary educational institution. (iii) Recruiting, licensing, employing and training personnel to provide college-level educational opportunities for high school students. (f) Assisting students in completing grade nine with sufficient credits to be on track to on-time graduation, including: (i) Expanding counseling services to students in grade nine and providing summer bridge programs for at-risk, incoming ninth graders. (ii) Implementing evidence-based strategies and programs to combat chronic absenteeism. (iii) Providing tutoring and mentoring services. (iv) Providing real-time, accessibly-formatted data regarding student grades, attendance and behavior to grade nine teachers and support staff. (v) Allowing grade nine teachers and support staff to meet during the school day to review data and develop strategies to intervene with at-risk students in grade nine, keeping records of such meetings and providing those records to the department upon request. (g) Expanding tutoring, mentoring, counseling, mental health and wrap-around services that meet high school students’ immediate needs. (h) Funding to offset the costs of students enrolled in ninth grade and who persist to complete four year career and technical education programs offered pursuant to section 15-393. 4. Procedures that will allow the department to provide ongoing support to school districts, charter schools and career technical education districts that receive grants pursuant to this section. C. The department of education shall: 1. Begin accepting applications for grants pursuant to this section not later than one year after the effective date of this section. 2. Notify the state treasurer when grants are awarded under this section and direct the state treasurer to transfer monies from the career training and workforce fund established by section 15-1282 to grantees. D. Grants made pursuant to this section are exempt from title 41, chapters 23 and 24. 15-1284. Separate local-level funds; annual reporting; no supplanting (Caution: 1998 Prop. 105 applies) A. Each school district and charter school that receives monies from the student support and safety fund established by section 15-1281 shall establish a separate local level fund to receive monies from that fund. This subsection applies to the state education system for committed youth and the Arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind. B. Each school district, charter school and career technical education district that receives monies from the career training and workforce fund established by section 15-1282 shall establish a separate local-level fund to receive monies from that fund. C. School districts, charter schools and career technical education districts that receive monies from either the student support and safety fund established by section 15-1281 or the career training and workforce fund established by section 15-1282 shall provide: 1. An accounting of monies received from those funds each fiscal year through the uniform system of financial records. 2. Information regarding classroom teacher salaries for each fiscal year through the uniform system of financial records, including the average classroom teacher salary, the average salary for a first-year classroom teacher, and the average salaries for classroom teachers in their fifth, tenth, fifteenth, and twentieth years of teaching in the school district, charter school or career technical education district. D. The department of education and the auditor general shall allow the additional reporting required by subsection C of this section through the uniform system of financial records and the Arizona chart of accounts. E. Notwithstanding any other law, the additional monies received by school districts, charter schools and career technical education districts from the student support and safety fund established by section 15-1281 and the career training and workforce fund established by section 15-1282 are in addition to any other appropriation, transfer or allocation of public or private monies from any other source and may not supplant, replace or cause a reduction in other funding sources. 15-1285. Local revenues and revenue control limitations; exemption (Caution: 1998 Prop. 105 applies) Notwithstanding any other law, monies received by school districts and career technical education districts pursuant to this chapter: 1. Are not considered local revenues for the purposes of article IX, section 21, Arizona constitution. 2. Are exempt from any budgetary, expenditure or revenue control limit that would limit the ability of school districts or career technical education districts to accept or expend those monies. 15-1286. State treasurer; annual reports; distributions from funds A. On or before September 1 of each year, the state treasurer shall report to the joint legislative budget committee and the governor's office of strategic planning and budgeting on distributions made from the student support and safety fund established by section 15-1281 to the state treasurer, auditor general, department of education, department of revenue and state board of education pursuant to section 15-1281, subsection B. The report shall include actual distributions made to each entity in the prior fiscal year and estimated distributions for the current fiscal year. B. On or before September 1 of each year, the state treasurer shall report to the joint legislative budget committee and the governor's office of strategic planning and budgeting on distributions made from the career training and workforce fund established by section 15-1282 to the state treasurer and the department of education pursuant to section 15-1282, subsection B. The report shall include actual distributions made to each entity in the prior fiscal year and estimated distributions for the current fiscal year.