Capital School District

Board of Education
Legislative Priorities
FY 2017
1. Reinstate Funding for Services in the areas of Student Support and Teacher Development cut in FY 08:
Academic Excellence
$241,349
LEP
$47,653
Discipline
$372,514
Extra Time
$413,616
Professional Development
$66,157
Teacher Mentoring
$14,955
Tuition Reimbursement
$58,265
Teacher Cadre
$31,469
Transportation
$343,168
2. Create within the unit count formula funding for English Language Learners (ELL), counselor, and
library positions. Currently districts are attempting to absorb the cost of such positions through Division I
teacher allocations. Suggested formulas and costs are listed below:
ELL Teachers (3) (appropriate formula to be determined)
Guidance Counselors (3) (1 for 140 units)
Librarians (3) (1 for 140 units)
K-3 Basic (3)
Unit based on poverty (3)

$186,074
$186,074
$186,074
$186,074

3. Reinstate Reading Teacher positions

4. Fund School Resource Officers at every school or all Secondary Schools and School Safety Monitors at all
Elementary Schools
Amount varies by district
5. There are two pieces of legislation that provide an overwhelming challenge as well as an enormous
expense to school districts. Districts have sought relief from DOE either through assistance in writing a
more sensible legislation or that DOE bear the burden of this cost.
Burden of Proof
Delaware legislatively assigned the burden of proof in a due process hearing to the school districts,
regardless of who filed the due process hearing request. 14Del. C. 3140. Delawares law in this area should
reflect and be congruent with the ruling by the U. S. Supreme Court in Schaffer vs. Weast which provides that
the burden of proof in providing the effectiveness of a students IEP is allocated to the party challenging it.
Meaningful Education Progress
Federal law requires that a district has obligation to provide Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)
to a student with a disability. This is accomplished through providing a personalized educational program
to allow a student to derive an educational benefit from that instruction through a basic foundation of

education provided through IDEA. This basic foundation of education was reversed by legislation in
Delaware. Title 14, Section 3101(5) which requires school districts in Delaware to not only bear the burden
of proof in every case, but also provide every student beyond what is described as a basic foundation of
education provided through IDEA.
6. Repeal SB 50 from General Assembly Session 147.