H97 - 2015 Appropriations Act, Sec. 8A.3: Class Size in Kindergarten Through Third Grade (SL 2015-241)

Overview: Sec. 8A.3 of S.L. 2015-241 prohibits waivers to class size requirements in kindergarten through third grade (K-3) except under the following circumstances:

• Emergencies or acts of God impacting availability of classroom space or facilities.
• Unanticipated increases in student population of individual schools in excess of 2% of the average daily membership (ADM).
• Organizational problems in geographically isolated local school administrative units in which the ADM is less than one and one half per square mile.
• Classes organized for a solitary curricular area.
• Charter school closures.

The State Board of Education (SBE) is authorized to allot additional positions at any grade level within funds available when exceptions to class size requirements for K-3 or significant increases in class size at other grade levels are reported.

If the SBE determines that a local superintendent has willfully failed to comply with the statutory requirements for allocation of teachers and class size, no State funds can be allocated to pay that superintendent's salary while in noncompliance. The local board of education remains responsible for the terms of the superintendent's contract.

This section became effective July 1, 2015. The changes to class size requirements for K-3 do not apply to the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years.