Chief Patron: Governor McDonnell
Add Language for Opportunity Educational Institution (language only)

Item 134 #1g

Language
Page 107, after line 34, insert:
"C.1. Out of this appropriation, $600,926 the second year from the general fund is provided to the Department of Education to support implementation of the Opportunity Educational Institution.  The Institution shall be established to provide an appropriate education for children attending any public elementary or secondary school that has been transferred to the Institution pursuant to § 22.1-27.2, Code of Virginia.  The Institution shall be administered and supervised by the Opportunity Educational Institution Board, as established in § 22.1-27.1, Code of Virginia.  The Board, in administering and supervising the Institution, shall be vested with all of the powers and duties of a local school board that are set forth in the Constitution of Virginia and Code of Virginia.  
2. Any school that has been denied accreditation for the previous two school years shall be transferred to the Opportunity Educational Institution.
3. The Board shall supervise and operate schools in the Opportunity Educational Institution in whatever manner that it determines to be most likely to achieve full accreditation for each school in the Institution, including the utilization of charter schools and college partnership laboratory schools.
4. Each school transferred to the Opportunity Educational Institution shall be eligible to return to the local school division upon achieving full accreditation.
5. At the end of each school year, the Board shall make a report to the Governor and the General Assembly setting forth the status of each school in the Institution, the nature of its faculty and administration, the size of its student body, its organizational and management structure, and the levels of improvement in student academic performance.
6. No later than six months prior to the expiration of a school's fifth year in the Institution, the Board shall decide whether to retain the school in the Institution for a specified number of additional school years or transfer the school back to its previous local school division.
7. Each student enrolled in a school in the Institution shall have his state and local share of Standards of Quality per pupil funding transferred from the previous local school division of residence to the Institution. The per pupil funding transferred shall consist of (i) the Standards of Quality per pupil amounts of the previous local school division of residence that are distributed on the basis of March 31 average daily membership, (ii) all federal funds as set forth in § 22.1-88 directly associated with any student enrolled in a school in the Institution and apportioned to the previous local school division of residence, and (iii) all funds sufficient for the reasonable special expenses directly related to the individual educational plan of any special education student, which may be assessed from the previous local school division of residence and transferred to the Institution.  No other state funds or local share of funds from the local school division of residence shall be provided to the Institution.  The state share per pupil portion transferred shall be based on the previous local school division of residence's composite index and shall include the per child share of state sales tax funding in basic aid.  The local share per pupil portion transferred shall be based on the previous local school division of residence's composite index.
8. Students enrolled in a school transferred to the Institution shall not be counted in the March 31 average daily membership or fall membership of the previous local school division of residence. Such students shall not be counted in the required local effort of the local school division of residence required to meet actual need.
9. The state and local share Standards of Quality per pupil funding transferred from the previous local school division of residence shall be provided for eligible students based on their March 31 average daily membership in the school transferred to the Institution.  The Department of Education shall pay the state share per pupil funding directly to the Institution semimonthly. Such state share per pupil funding shall be based on the Standards of Quality per pupil funding enacted in the current appropriation act. The Board shall certify on a monthly basis each school year the number of students enrolled in each school in the Institution. Based upon such monthly certification, the Board shall invoice the affected local school divisions of residence on a monthly basis in order for a one-month portion of the local share per pupil amount to be transferred from the local school division of residence to the Institution. The local school division of residence shall transfer the certified monthly local share per pupil payment to the Institution within 30 calendar days of the receipt of the monthly invoice from the Institution. Such monthly local share per pupil funding shall be based on the Standards of Quality per pupil funding enacted in the current appropriation act."

Explanation
(This amendment details the implementation of the Opportunity Educational Institution, as proposed by House Bill 2096.)