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(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

Duplicates/Conflicts with/Companion to/Relates to SB 79

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

State Department of Public Education (SDE)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 74 enacts a new section of the Public School Code, the Middle School Initiative Act. The purpose of the act is to provide statewide before-and after-school programs that include extracurricular activities for students in grades six through nine to teach and develop physical fitness, sport, activity, school pride and a sense of community.

Significant Issues

According to SDE, studies indicate that children in middle grades are the group most "at risk." Children in middle grades are at an age when they are too old to require parent supervision and yet too young to assume adult responsibility. The before-school and after-school activities mentioned in this bill would provide adult supervised extra curricular opportunities during the times when most middle school aged students are without supervision.

Extracurricular activities must be approved by SDE and may include the following: a competitive sport or other activity that supports academic, social, leadership or other skills and that provides opportunities for youth, including academic decathlon, cheerleading, drill team, chess, journalism, mock trial, music, science fair, speech, student council, and homework club.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

House Bill 74 appropriates $3,000.0 to SDE for expenditure in fiscal year 2001. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2001 shall revert to the general fund.

This bill requires SDE to distribute the funds to local school districts on an equal basis for each middle school and junior high school. Elementary schools with grade six and high schools with grade nine shall receive one-half of the amount distributed to middle schools and junior high schools.

According to SDE, there are 162 middle and junior high schools that would receive a distribution value of one each, approximately $10.0 each. Schools with sixth or ninth grades that are not part of a middle school or junior high, a total of 277, would receive a distribution value of one-half, approximately $5.0 each.

The funds distributed for extracurricular activities may be expended for materials and other costs associated with an activity and allows local school boards to set the limit or maximum amount of money that may be used to employ teachers and other supervisory personnel.

The appropriation contained in this bill is sufficient to carry out the provisions of the act.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

This bill will create additional programmatic and oversight responsibilities for SDE that include monitoring of extracurricular activity programs and verification through the budget and program review process to ensure that each eligible school is in compliance with the act.

DUPLICATION

This bill duplicates SB 79.

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