CHAPTER 362
FORMERLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 393
AS AMENDED BY
HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 1
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MAXIMUM STUDENT INSTRUCTOR RATIO REQUIREMENTS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
WHEREAS, Chapter 17 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code establishes a maximum student-instructor ratio requirement for Kindergarten through Grade 3; and
WHEREAS, school districts may apply for an annual waiver from the maximum student-instructor ratio requirement; and
WHEREAS, calculations for Division I school appropriations are based on a unit count of pupils; and
WHEREAS, many school districts must allocate staff based on this formula which forces districts to decide between allocating staff for classroom instruction in core subjects versus staff for other subjects such as music and art; and
WHEREAS, substantial research has demonstrated that smaller class sizes raise student achievement;
NOW, THEREFORE:
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend Chapter 17 of Title 14 of the Delaware Code by adding a new section thereto, which shall read as follows:
Ҥ 1705B. Required reporting regarding maximum student-instructor ratio.
(1) The Department of Education shall collect and report data, on an annual basis, in a uniform manner regarding compliance with the student-instructor ratio set forth in § 1705A(a) of this Chapter by local school districts and charter schools. This data shall include waivers required by the school districts and charter schools, and the disposition thereof.
(2) Local school districts and charter schools shall report the above-referenced compliance data using individual classrooms and schools as the basic units of information.
(3) The above-referenced compliance data shall be reported by December 31 of each calendar year to ensure that such data is available to be considered in the event of a proposed waiver of the maximum class size provisions required under § 1705A(a) of this Chapter.
(4) The compliance data shall be published on the website of the Department of Education as well as that of each school district and each charter school.”