SB 304

Abstract

This Act makes changes to nonacademic training requirements for school district and charter school personnel to help ensure that mandatory trainings are relevant to student needs and based on best practices. While nonacademic mandatory trainings are essential to addressing critical issues facing Delaware students, school personnel have expressed concerns related to the time burden and relevance of required trainings. Streamlining and modernizing such trainings could enhance their effectiveness and allow school personnel to spend more time meeting the needs of students. To that end, this Act makes the following changes to nonacademic training requirements for school district and charter school personnel: (1) School bullying prevention and criminal youth gang detection training hours are reduced from 3 hours every 3 years to 1 hour every 3 years, and new employees must complete 1 hour of training within 1 year of employment. (2) Suicide prevention training hours are reduced from 4½ hours every 3 years to 3 hours every 3 years, and new employees must complete 1 hour of training within 1 year of employment. (3) Teen dating violence and sexual assault training hours for school administrators, nurses, and counselors serving students in grades 7 through 12 are reduced from 2 hours every 3 years to 1 hour every 3 years, and new employees must complete 1 hour of training within 1 year of employment. This Act also directs the entities that developed these trainings to work in collaboration with the Department of Education (“the Department”) to review mandatory training programs every 3 years, at a minimum, and update the programs as necessary to ensure that they are relevant to student needs and consistent with best practices. The Department is also responsible under the Act for developing regulations that create a schedule for all trainings under § 4162 of Title 14. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 304 differs from Senate Bill No. 304 in that it requires the entities that developed the trainings to work in collaboration with the Department to review and potentially update the trainings. In contrast, Senate Bill. No. 304 would require the Department to take the lead in revising and updating trainings in consultation with these other entities. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 304 also adds an effective date for § 4163 of Title 14 at line 31, to reflect a recent change to the effective date of the statute. Senate Substitute No. 1 for Senate Bill No. 304 makes minor technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.