21-22-106 and proper grant expenditures including program budget

21-22-106 and proper grant expenditures including program budget and evaluation.

(b) Each school district, either separately or in conjunction with another school district, shall be given the opportunity to submit a proposal for innovative program grants authorized under W.S. 21-22-106 at least once every five (5) years.

(c) For the purposes of this section, school districts shall be annually classified based upon average daily membership for the previous school year, as follows:

(i) Classification I, less than five hundred (500) average daily membership;

(ii) Classification II, five hundred (500) but less than one thousand (1,000) average daily membership;

(iii) Classification III, one thousand (1,000) but less than two thousand (2,000) average daily membership; and

(iv) Classification IV, two thousand (2,000) or greater average daily membership.

(d) The state department shall award a grant authorized under this section to at least one (1) district from each classification pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the state department from awarding grants to more than one (1) district under each classification or more than one (1) grant to the same school district under criteria established under W.S. 21-22-106.  (e) Subject to available funding, the state department shall select those proposals it determines best fulfill criteria established under W.S. 21-22-106 and promote excellence in public education. The state department may use available funds to support innovative program evaluation projects and may contract with the University of Wyoming to conduct program evaluations.

(f) In accordance with W.S. 21-22-106(a), the state department shall annually distribute funds to selected proposals on or before August 15. Innovative program grants received under this subsection shall only be used for the purposes for which the grant is awarded and shall not be expended for any other program, activity or purpose.

(g) Repealed by Laws 2019, ch. 102, § 2.

(h) Repealed By Laws 2014, Ch. 103, § 2.

21-22-108. Repealed By Laws 1997 Special Session, ch. 3, § 505.

21-22-109. Repealed By Laws 1997 Special Session, ch. 3, § 505.

CHAPTER 23 - WYOMING PUBLIC TELEVISION

21-23-101. Repealed by Laws 2022, ch. 55, § 2.

ARTICLE 2 - WYOMING PUBLIC TELEVISION ENDOWMENT ACCOUNT

21-23-201. Wyoming public television accounts.

(a) The Wyoming public television endowment account is created.

(b) The state treasurer shall invest amounts deposited within the Wyoming public television endowment account in accordance with law. All investment earnings shall be credited to the general fund. Notwithstanding W.S. 9-2-1008, 9-2-1012(e) and 9-4-207, other funds within the account shall not lapse or revert until and unless directed by the legislature and shall remain available for distribution as provided in this article.

21-23-202. Wyoming public television matching program; state treasurer to administer program accounts; matching payments; conditions; reversion of appropriations.  (a) The Wyoming public television matching funds account is created.

(b) The state treasurer shall administer the Wyoming public television endowment account and Wyoming public television matching funds account established under this article. The following shall apply:

(i) Funds from the Wyoming public television endowment account shall be transferred by the state treasurer to the Wyoming public television matching funds account to equally match each cash gift received by Wyoming public television and deposited to the matching funds account. A match shall be paid by the state treasurer from the Wyoming public television endowment account at the time any accumulated amounts actually deposited to the matching funds account total ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) or more;

(ii) The state treasurer shall make transfers to the Wyoming public television matching funds account not later than the end of the calendar quarter following the quarter during which deposits to the matching funds account total at least ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00). If gifts are made through a series of payments or transfers, no matching funds shall be transferred under this section until the total value of all payments or transfers actually received totals at least ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00);

(iii) Funds in the matching funds account shall remain inviolate and shall be invested by the state treasurer as authorized by law. Only the earnings from investments of the monies in the matching funds account may be distributed. The state treasurer shall distribute earnings from the matching funds account to the community college commission as provided in W.S. 9-4-108. The community college commission shall distribute these funds together with other appropriated funds to the central Wyoming community college district board for the operations and programming of Wyoming public television pursuant to W.S. 21-18-105(b).

CHAPTER 24 - MILITARY STUDENTS AND STUDENTS OF MILITARY FAMILIES

ARTICLE 1 - INTERSTATE COMPACT ON STUDENTS OF MILITARY FAMILIES

21-24-101. Purpose.  (a) It is the purpose of this compact to remove barriers to educational success imposed on children of military families because of frequent moves and deployment of their parents by:

(i) Facilitating the timely enrollment of children of military families and ensuring that they are not placed at a disadvantage due to difficulty in the transfer of education records from the previous school district or variations in entrance-age requirements;

(ii) Facilitating the student placement process through which children of military families are not disadvantaged by variations in attendance requirements, scheduling, sequencing, grading, course content or assessment;

(iii) Facilitating the qualification and eligibility for enrollment, educational programs and participation in extracurricular academic, athletic and social activities;

(iv) Facilitating the on-time graduation of children of military families;

(v) Providing for the promulgation and enforcement of administrative rules implementing the provisions of this compact;

(vi) Providing for the uniform collection and sharing of information between and among member states, schools and military families under this compact;

(vii) Promoting coordination between this compact and other compacts affecting military children;

(viii) Promoting flexibility and cooperation between the educational system, parents and the student in order to achieve educational success for the student.

21-24-102. Definitions.

(a) As used in this compact, unless the context clearly requires a different construction:

(i) "Active duty" means full-time duty status in the active uniformed service of the United States, including members of the national guard and reserve on active duty orders pursuant to 10 U.S.C. chapters 1209 and 1211;  (ii) "Children of military families" means school- aged children, enrolled in kindergarten through twelfth grade, in the household of an active duty member;

(iii) "Compact commissioner" means the voting representative of each compacting state appointed pursuant to W.S. 21-24-108;

(iv) "Deployment" means the period one (1) month prior to the service members' departure from their home station on military orders though six (6) months after return to their home station;

(v) "Educational records" means those official records, files and data directly related to a student and maintained by the school or local education agency, including but not limited to records encompassing all the material kept in the student's cumulative folder such as general identifying data, records of attendance and of academic work completed, records of achievement and results of evaluative tests, health data, disciplinary status, test protocols and individualized education programs;

(vi) "Extracurricular activities" means a voluntary activity sponsored by the school or local education agency or an organization sanctioned by the local education agency. "Extracurricular activities" include, but are not limited to, preparation for and involvement in public performances, contests, athletic competitions, demonstrations, displays and club activities;

(vii) "Interstate commission on educational opportunity for military children" means the commission that is created under W.S. 21-24-109, which is generally referred to as interstate commission;

(viii) "Local education agency" means a public authority legally constituted by the state as an administrative agency to provide control of and direction for kindergarten through twelfth grade public educational institutions;

(ix) "Member state" means a state that has enacted this compact;

(x) "Military installation" means a base, camp, post, station, yard, center, homeport facility for any ship or other activity under the jurisdiction of the department of defense, including any leased facility, which is located within any of the several states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Marianas Islands and any other U.S. territory. The term does not include any facility used primarily for civil works, rivers and harbors projects or flood control projects;

(xi) "Nonmember state" means a state that has not enacted this compact;

(xii) "Receiving state" means the state to which a child of a military family is sent, brought or caused to be sent or brought;

(xiii) "Rule" means a written statement by the interstate commission promulgated pursuant to W.S. 21-24-112 that is of general applicability, implements, interprets or prescribes a policy or provision of the compact, or an organizational, procedural or practice requirement of the interstate commission, and includes the amendment, repeal or suspension of an existing rule;

(xiv) "Sending state" means the state from which a child of a military family is sent, brought or caused to be sent or brought;

(xv) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Marianas Islands and any other U.S. territory;

(xvi) "Student" means the child of a military family for whom the local education agency receives public funding and who is formally enrolled in kindergarten through twelfth grade;

(xvii) "Transition" means:

(A) The formal and physical process of transferring from school to school; or

(B) The period of time in which a student moves from one (1) school in the sending state to another school in the receiving state.

(xviii) "Uniformed service" means the army, navy, air force, marine corps, space force and coast guard including the commissioned corps of the national oceanic and atmospheric administration and public health services;

(xix) "Veteran" means a person who served in the uniformed services and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable.

21-24-103. Applicability.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, this compact shall apply to the children of:

(i) Active duty members of the uniformed services as defined in this compact, including members of the national guard and reserve on active duty orders pursuant to 10 U.S.C. chapters 1209 and 1211;

(ii) Members or veterans of the uniformed services who are severely injured and medically discharged or retired for a period of one (1) year after medical discharge or retirement; and

(iii) Members of the uniformed services who die on active duty or as a result of injuries sustained on active duty for a period of one (1) year after death.

(b) The provisions of this interstate compact shall only apply to local education agencies as defined in this compact.

(c) The provisions of this compact shall not apply to the children of:

(i) Inactive members of the national guard and military reserves;

(ii) Members of the uniformed services now retired, except as provided in subsection (a) of this section;

(iii) Veterans of the uniformed services, except as provided in subsection (a) of this section; and

(iv) Other United States department of defense personnel and other federal agency civilian and contract employees not defined as active duty members of the uniformed services.

21-24-104. Educational records and enrollment.  (a) In the event that official education records cannot be released to the parents for the purpose of transfer, the custodian of the records in the sending state shall prepare and furnish to the parent a complete set of unofficial educational records containing uniform information as determined by the interstate commission to the extent feasible. Upon receipt of the unofficial education records by a school in the receiving state, the school shall enroll and appropriately place the student based on the information provided in the unofficial records pending validation by the official records, as quickly as possible.

(b) Simultaneous with the enrollment and conditional placement of the student, the school in the receiving state shall request the student's official education record from the school in the sending state. Upon receipt of this request, the school in the sending state will process and furnish the official education records to the school in the receiving state within ten (10) days or within such time as is reasonably determined under the rules promulgated by the interstate commission.

(c) Compacting states shall give thirty (30) days from the date of entry, for students to obtain and provide proof of any immunization required by the receiving state. For a series of immunizations, initial vaccinations shall be obtained within thirty (30) days and the child shall be permitted to attend school while receiving continuing immunization if the school administrator receives notification or a waiver is granted in accordance with W.S. 21-4-309.

(d) Students shall be allowed to continue their enrollment at grade level in the receiving state commensurate with their grade level, including kindergarten, from a local education agency in the sending state at the time of transition with the exception of children that have not yet met the age requirements as required by W.S. 21-4-301 and 21-4-302. A student that has satisfactorily completed the prerequisite grade level in the local education agency in the sending state shall be eligible for enrollment in the next highest grade level in the receiving state. A student transferring after the start of the school year in the receiving state shall enter the school in the receiving state on their validated level from an accredited school in the sending state except where the child has not yet obtained the age as required by W.S. 21-4-301 and 21-4-302 for kindergarten and first grade.  21-24-105. Placement and attendance.

(a) When the student transfers before or during the school year, the receiving state school shall initially honor placement of the student in educational courses based on the student's enrollment in the sending state school and educational assessments conducted at the school in the sending state if the courses are offered and there is space available, as determined by the school district. Course placement includes but is not limited to honors, international baccalaureate, advanced placement, vocational, technical and career pathways courses. Continuing the student's academic program from the previous school and promoting placement in academically and career challenging courses should be paramount when considering placement. This subsection does not preclude the school in the receiving state from performing subsequent evaluations to ensure appropriate placement and continued enrollment of the student in the courses.

(b) The receiving state school shall initially honor placement of the student in educational programs based on current educational assessments conducted at the school in the sending state or participation-placement in like programs in the sending state, provided that the program exists in the school and there is space available, as determined by the school district. Such programs include, but are not limited to gifted and talented programs and English as a second language (ESL). This subsection does not preclude the school in the receiving state from performing subsequent evaluations to ensure appropriate placement of the student.

(c) In compliance with the federal requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C.A. section 1400 et seq., the receiving state shall initially provide comparable services to a student with disabilities based on his current individualized education program (IEP). In compliance with the requirements of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C.A. section 794, and with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C.A. sections 12131-12165, the receiving state shall make reasonable accommodations and modifications to address the needs of incoming students with disabilities, subject to an existing 504 or Title II Plan, to provide the student with equal access to education. This subsection does not preclude the school in the receiving state from performing subsequent evaluations to ensure appropriate placement of the student.  (d) Local education agency administrative officials shall have flexibility in waiving course-program prerequisites or other preconditions for placement in courses-programs offered under the jurisdiction of the local education agency.

(e) A student whose parent or legal guardian is an active duty member of the uniformed services, as defined by the compact and has been called to duty for, is on leave from or immediately returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat support posting, shall be granted additional excused absences at the discretion of the local education agency superintendent to visit with his parent or legal guardian relative to such leave or deployment of the parent or guardian.

21-24-106. Eligibility.

(a) Eligibility for enrollment shall be as follows:

(i) Special power of attorney, relative to the guardianship of a child of a military family and executed under applicable law shall be sufficient for the purposes of enrollment and all other actions requiring parental participation and consent;

(ii) A local education agency shall be prohibited from charging local tuition to a transitioning military child placed in the care of a noncustodial parent or other person standing in loco parentis who lives in a jurisdiction other than that of the custodial parent;

(iii) A transitioning military child, placed in the care of a noncustodial parent or other person standing in loco parentis who lives in a jurisdiction other than that of the custodial parent, may continue to attend the school in which he was enrolled while residing with the custodial parent.

(b) State and local education agencies shall facilitate the opportunity for transitioning military children's inclusion in extracurricular activities, regardless of application deadlines, to the extent they are otherwise qualified.

21-24-107. Graduation.

(a) In order to facilitate the on-time graduation of children of military families, states and local education agencies shall adhere to W.S. 21-2-304(a)(iii) and paragraph (iv) of this subsection and any applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder and to the extent possible incorporate the following procedures:

(i) Local education agency administrative officials shall use best efforts to waive specific courses required for graduation if similar course work has been satisfactorily completed in another local education agency or shall provide reasonable justification for denial. Should a waiver not be granted to a student who would qualify to graduate from the sending school, the local education agency shall use best efforts to provide an alternative means of acquiring required coursework so that graduation may occur on time;

(ii) States shall accept:

(A) Exit or end-of-course exams required for graduation from the sending state;

(B) National norm-referenced achievement tests; or

(C) Alternative testing, in lieu of testing requirements for graduation in the receiving state. In the event the above alternatives cannot be accommodated by the receiving state for a student transferring in his senior year, then the provisions of W.S. 21-24-107(a)(iii) shall apply.

(iii) Should a military student transferring at the beginning or during his senior year be ineligible to graduate from the receiving local education agency after all alternatives have been considered, the sending and receiving local education agencies shall to the extent possible ensure the receipt of a diploma from the sending local education agency, if the student meets the graduation requirements of the sending local education agency. In the event that one (1) of the states in question is not a member of this compact, the member state shall use best efforts to facilitate the on-time graduation of the student in accordance with paragraphs (a)(i) and (ii) of this subsection.

21-24-108. State coordination.

(a) Each member state shall, through the creation of a state council or use of an existing body or board, provide for the coordination among its agencies of government, local education agencies and military installations concerning the state's participation in, and compliance with, this compact and interstate commission activities. While each member state may determine the membership of its own state council, its membership must include at least: the state superintendent of education, superintendent of a school district with a high concentration of military children, a representative from a military installation, one (1) representative each from the legislative and executive branches of government and other offices and stakeholder groups the state council deems appropriate. A member state that does not have a school district deemed to contain a high concentration of military children may appoint a superintendent from another school district to represent local education agencies on the state council.

(b) The state council of each member state shall appoint or designate a military family education liaison to assist military families and the state in facilitating the implementation of this compact.

(c) The compact commissioner responsible for the administration and management of the state's participation in the compact shall be appointed by the governor or as otherwise determined by each member state.

(d) The compact commissioner and the military family education liaison designated herein shall be ex-officio members of the state council, unless either is already a full voting member of the state council.

21-24-109. Interstate commission on educational opportunity for military children.

(a) The member states hereby create the "Interstate Commission on Educational Opportunity for Military Children." The activities of the interstate commission are the formation of public policy and are a discretionary state function.

(b) The interstate commission shall:

(i) Be a body corporate and joint agency of the member states and shall have all the responsibilities, powers and duties set forth herein, and such additional powers as may be conferred upon it by a subsequent concurrent action of the respective legislatures of the member states in accordance with the terms of this compact;  (ii) Consist of one (1) interstate commission voting representative from each member state who shall be that state's compact commissioner subject to the following:

(A) Each member state represented at a meeting of the interstate commission is entitled to one (1) vote;

(B) A majority of the total member states shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, unless a larger quorum is required by the bylaws of the interstate commission;

(C) A representative shall not delegate a vote to another member state. In the event the compact commissioner is unable to attend a meeting of the interstate commission, the governor or state council may delegate voting authority to another person from their state for a specified meeting;

(D) The bylaws may provide for meetings of the interstate commission to be conducted by telecommunication or electronic communication.

(iii) Consist of ex-officio, nonvoting representatives who are members of interested organizations. Such ex-officio members, as defined in the bylaws, may include but not be limited to, members of the representative organizations of military family advocates, local education agency officials, parent and teacher groups, the United States department of defense, the education commission of the states, the interstate agreement on the qualification of educational personnel and other interstate compacts affecting the education of children of military members;

(iv) Meet at least once each calendar year. The chairperson may call additional meetings and, upon the request of a simple majority of the member states, shall call additional meetings;

(v) Establish an executive committee whose members shall include the officers of the interstate commission and such other members of the interstate commission as determined by the bylaws. Members of the executive committee shall serve a one (1) year term. Members of the executive committee shall be entitled to one (1) vote each. The executive committee shall have the power to act on behalf of the interstate commission, with the exception of rulemaking, during periods when the interstate commission is not in session. The executive committee shall oversee the day-to-day activities of the administration of the compact including enforcement and compliance with the provisions of the compact, its bylaws and rules and other such duties as deemed necessary. The United States department of defense shall serve as an ex-officio, nonvoting member of the executive committee;

(vi) Establish bylaws and rules that provide for conditions and procedures under which the interstate commission shall make its information and official records available to the public for inspection or copying. The interstate commission may exempt from disclosure information or official records to the extent they would adversely affect personal privacy rights or proprietary interests;

(vii) Give public notice of all meetings and all meetings shall be open to the public, except as set forth in the rules or as otherwise provided in the compact. The interstate commission and its committees may close a meeting, or portion thereof, where it determines by two-thirds (2/3) vote that an open meeting would be likely to:

(A) Relate solely to the interstate commission's internal personnel practices and procedures;

(B) Disclose matters specifically exempted from disclosure by federal and state statute;

(C) Disclose trade secrets or commercial or financial information which is privileged or confidential;

(D) Involve accusing a person of a crime, or formally censuring a person;

(E) Disclose information of a personal nature where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(F) Disclose investigative records compiled for law enforcement purposes; or

(G) Specifically relate to the interstate commission's participation in a civil action or other legal proceeding.

(viii) Shall cause its legal counsel or designee to certify that a meeting may be closed and shall reference each relevant exemptible provision for any meeting, or portion of a meeting, which is closed pursuant to this provision. The interstate commission shall keep minutes which shall fully and clearly describe all matters discussed in a meeting and shall provide a full and accurate summary of actions taken, and the reasons therefore, including a description of the views expressed and the record of a roll call vote. All documents considered in connection with an action shall be identified in such minutes. All minutes and documents of a closed meeting shall remain under seal, subject to release by a majority vote of the interstate commission;

(ix) Shall collect standardized data concerning the educational transition of the children of military families under this compact as directed through its rules which shall specify the data to be collected, the means of collection and data exchange and reporting requirements. Such methods of data collection, exchange and reporting shall, in so far as is reasonably possible, conform to current technology and coordinate its information functions with the appropriate custodian of records as identified in the bylaws and rules;

(x) Shall create a process that permits military officials, education officials and parents to inform the interstate commission if and when there are alleged violations of the compact or its rules or when issues subject to the jurisdiction of the compact or its rules are not addressed by the state or local education agency. This section shall not be construed to create a private right of action against the interstate commission or any member state.

21-24-110. Powers and duties of the interstate commission.

(a) The interstate commission shall have the following powers:

(i) To provide for dispute resolution among member states;

(ii) To promulgate rules and take all necessary actions to effect the goals, purposes and obligations as enumerated in this compact;

(iii) To issue, upon request of a member state, advisory opinions concerning the meaning or interpretation of the interstate compact, its bylaws, rules and actions;  (iv) To enforce compliance with the compact provisions, the rules promulgated by the interstate commission, and the bylaws, using all necessary and proper means, including but not limited to the use of judicial process;

(v) To establish and maintain offices which shall be located within one (1) or more of the member states;

(vi) To purchase and maintain insurance and bonds;

(vii) To borrow, accept, hire or contract for services of personnel;

(viii) To establish and appoint committees including, but not limited to, an executive committee as required by W.S.