SB2330 Summary

• Creates the "Empowered Schools and School Districts Act" allowing public schools, zones, or districts to submit empowerment plans to their school district boards for approval within 60 days.

• Empowerment plans must include mission statements, proposed innovations (staffing, curriculum, scheduling, compensation), required waivers of statutes/rules, expected academic improvements, and evidence of majority approval from both administrators and teachers via secret ballot.

• State Board of Education must approve plans within 60 days unless it concludes the plan would decrease academic achievement or is fiscally infeasible; State Board must waive specified statutes/rules but cannot waive teacher retirement system requirements, state testing programs, academic standards, accountability systems, or federal "No Child Left Behind" requirements.

• Collective bargaining agreements for empowered schools must allow waivers of provisions identified in the empowerment plan, requiring 60% approval from bargaining unit members via secret ballot; employees may request transfers to other district schools.

• State Board must submit annual reports by March 1 to legislative leadership detailing empowered districts, schools, innovations implemented, academic performance comparisons, and legislative recommendations; school district boards must review empowered school performance every three years and may revoke empowered status if academic improvement is insufficient.