This House Resolution emphasizes the importance of middle school years and the need for additional investment in programs that serve middle school youth.
This House Substitute bill eliminates any reference to § 4137 in Title 11 since it will remain as a separate section in the Delaware Code. This House Substitute requires all public schools to offer only students who qualify for a reduced-price meal, under the federal School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program, a free breakfast and lunch every school day. This House Substitute also eliminates a requirement that all schools and local education agencies, who qualify, must participate in the federal Community Eligibility Provision, under 42 U.S.C. §1759a (a)(1)(F) since there is no such federal mandate. This Act also removes the requirement that a parent or guardian for each student complete a household income form since that requirement is already set forth in this title. This Substitute bill also removes the delayed effective date. This Act will take effect beginning the school year following its enactment.
This Concurrent Resolution reaffirms the State of Delaware’s commitment to fostering an inclusive and participatory democracy where the voices of young people are valued, respected, and heard.
This Act codifies the Equity Ombudsman program, the purpose of which is to provide students and families encountering inequity in the school system with non-lawyer advocates to assist them. The Educational Equity Council, as a stakeholder council, provides oversight to the Equity Ombudsman program, to provide broad review, analysis and recommendations, for the improvement of student equity and outcomes in Delaware’s public education system.
This Act requires a referral to a school-based mental or behavioral health specialist for any student after their second unduplicated infraction resulting in out-of-school suspension in a semester. This Substitute bill clarifies that the referral is to a school-based mental or behavioral health specialist rather than the school-based problem-solving team and the referral occurs after 2 unduplicated disciplinary violations, in a semester, result in an out-of-school suspension rather than 2 out-of-school suspensions.
Currently school employees must use their accumulated sick leave to take off for a religious holiday that is not a State recognized religious holiday. This Act allows for 2 floating holidays per school year that would not fall within a State recognized religious holiday. The 2 floating holidays are not to be considered part of the employee's sick leave and cannot be accumulated. The building administrator must approve the request to be absent for a floating holiday but cannot ask the reason for the request. A request may only be denied if school operational requirements cannot be met.
This Concurrent Resolution commends the 2023 Delaware Educational Support Professional of the Year, Heather Hitchens, and all of the District/Charter Network Educational Support Professionals of the Year.
This Act caps the amount that an individual, group, or State employee plan may charge for diabetes equipment and supplies, other than insulin, at $35 per month. This cap does not apply to accident-only, specified disease, hospital indemnity, Medicare supplement, long-term care, disability income, or other limited benefit health insurance policies.
This Act provides nationally certified occupational therapists with a salary supplement for receiving national certification. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing language to the standards of the Delaware Drafting Manual.
This Act requires the Department of Education to conduct an annual workforce study of early childhood professionals to support the development of a plan and implementation of a system of supports to grow and deepen the early childhood workforce. The first study is due by November 15, 2022, the plan by January 31, 2023, and implementation of the system should be in place by September 1, 2023. The COVID pandemic revealed and heightened an existing difficulty in attracting and maintaining well qualified professionals in child care jobs, which are frequently low-paying compared to K-12 jobs. Since reliable, widely available, high quality child care options are a foundation for the whole workforce, and because the early childhood years are so important to childhood development and school readiness, it is a priority for the State that this crisis be addressed in a systematic, holistic fashion. The Department of Education is tasked with leading this rethinking and prioritization of early childhood careers – through the development of reliable data systems which can help bring living wages, financial and other support for academic and credential attainment, and coordination with CTE programs and institutions of higher education to uplift the profession and support individuals seeking to make a career in early childhood education.
