SB280ENGROSSED
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SB280
DGQ1WHH-2
By Senators Orr, Chesteen, Waggoner, Barfoot, Elliott, Stutts,
Chambliss, Kitchens, Shelnutt, Hovey, Kelley, Bell, Melson,
Sessions, Livingston, Gudger, Weaver, Givhan, Allen, Jones
RFD: Finance and Taxation Education
First Read: 01-Apr-25
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First Read: 01-Apr-25
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to public K-12 education; to create the
Alabama Teacher Paperwork Streamlining Act; to require the
State Department of Education to develop a unified digital
platform and a system of data sharing that consolidates
documentation required by the Alabama Literacy Act, the
Alabama Numeracy Act, individualized education programs,
Section 504 Plans, and other educational programs; to provide
for a statewide teacher advisory committee; to require
compliance, and to repeal Section 16-6B-11, Code of Alabama
1975, providing for the creation and operation of the
Paperwork Reduction Committee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. (a) This section shall be known and may be
cited as the Alabama Teacher Paperwork Streamlining Act.
(b) The purpose of this section is to accomplish all of
the following:
(1) Streamline and reduce the paperwork burdens placed
on Alabama teachers related to the required documentation for
the Alabama Literacy Act, the Alabama Numeracy Act,
individualized education Programs, plans developed under
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individualized education Programs, plans developed under
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. ยง794
(Section 504 Plans), and other educational programs.
(2) Improve teacher morale and retention by reducing
noninstructional administrative burdens.
(c) The State Department of Education shall do all of
the following:
(1) Work with local boards of education to create a
unified digital platform that consolidates the required
documentation for the Alabama Literacy Act, Alabama Numeracy
Act, individualized education programs, Section 504 Plans, and
other relevant educational programs into a single,
user-friendly system.
(2) Collaborate with stakeholders including, but not
limited to, teachers, administrators, and legal experts, to:
a. Eliminate redundant documentation requirements
across different programs;
b. Standardize forms and reporting formats to reduce
complexity and time spent on paperwork; and
c. Ensure that documentation requirements align with
state and federal rules and regulations, while reducing
unnecessary paperwork.
(3) Develop and implement, beginning with the 2026-2027
school year, a system of data sharing among the Alabama
Literacy Act, the Alabama Numeracy Act, individualized
education programs, Section 504 Plans, and other educational
programs to ensure that information entered once is able to be
used across multiple documentation platforms to reduce
repetitive input by teachers.
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repetitive input by teachers.
(4) Annually review and audit all paperwork
requirements to assess if further streamlining is necessary.
The department shall actively solicit input from teachers
during the annual review process.
(d)(1) The Alabama Public Education Paperwork Reduction
Committee is created. The committee shall consist of teachers
representing all grade levels and as many subject matters as
practicable. The committee shall include one principal, one
curriculum director, one special education coordinator, one
instructional coach, and one interventionist. Not less than 75
percent of the membership of the committee shall consist of
nonadministrative teachers actively engaged in full-time
classroom instruction.
(2)a. The organizational meeting of the committee shall
be held no later than September 1, 2025. At the organizational
meeting, and annually thereafter, the membership of the
committee shall elect a chair from among its membership. The
committee shall meet quarterly to assess the effectiveness of
paperwork streamlining measures, offer recommendations for
further improvement, and ensure that teachers' needs are being
met in the areas of paperwork reduction. If more than 100 days
have elapsed since the last meeting of the committee, a
meeting may be called by the chair or by written petition of a
majority of the membership of the committee.
b. Members of the committee may participate in a
meeting of the committee by means of telephone conference,
video conference, or similar communications equipment by means
of which all members participating in the meeting may hear
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of which all members participating in the meeting may hear
each other at the same time. Participation by such means shall
constitute presence in person at a meeting for all purposes,
including constituting a quorum.
(3) The State Superintendent of Education shall solicit
applications from teachers to serve on the committee. From
those applications, the state superintendent shall submit
recommendations to the State Board of Education for
appointment to a two-year term. The nominating and appointing
authorities shall coordinate their nominations and
appointments to assure the committee membership is inclusive
and reflects the racial, gender, geographic, urban, rural, and
economic diversity of the state. Vacancies shall be filled in
a like manner.
(4) The committee shall submit a report to the State
Superintendent of Education after each meeting. The report
shall include recommendations for reducing paperwork
requirements for public school teachers and an overview
detailing the effectiveness of existing measures. The State
Superintendent of Education shall respond, in writing, to the
recommendations of the committee and shall submit each report,
with his or her response, to the State Board of Education for
discussion during the next board meeting. No additional
required paperwork mandate shall be implemented by the State
Department of Education or State Board of Education without
first vetting the requirement with and receiving approval from
the committee.
(5) Members of the committee shall not be compensated
for their service but may be reimbursed their actual expenses
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for their service but may be reimbursed their actual expenses
for attending committee meetings. A local board of education
shall provide any teacher appointed to the committee with
permission to attend committee meetings and may not deduct
from that teacher's leave or pay for his or her attendance of
committee meetings.
(e)(1) All local boards of education shall comply with
this section and the requirements developed by the department
regarding the use of the streamlined paperwork system. The
State Department of Education shall conduct annual audits to
ensure compliance with these requirements.
(2) Any local board of education failing to implement
the streamlined documentation system shall face corrective
action including, but not limited to, retraining of
administrators or other measures to ensure compliance with
this section.
(f) The Legislature shall allocate necessary funding to
the State Department of Education to support the development
and maintenance of the unified digital platform, training for
teachers, and support for local boards of education in
streamlining paperwork.
Section 2. Section 16-6B-11, Code of Alabama 1975,
providing for the creation and operation of the Paperwork
Reduction Committee, is repealed.
Section 3. This act shall become effective on June 1,
2025.
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2025.
Senate
Read for the first time and referred
to the Senate committee on Finance
and Taxation Education
................01-Apr-25
Read for the second time and placed
on the calendar:
0 amendments
................03-Apr-25
Read for the third time and passed
as amended
Yeas 29
Nays 0
Abstains 0
................15-Apr-25
Patrick Harris,
Secretary.
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