CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

Public Aid For Nonpublic Schools

Finance (art. 6).

SEC. 6.08. Limitation on loan of public money.—(a) No appropriation shall be made, and no bonds of this State issued or loaned, to any county, municipality, or corporation, except pursuant to an act of the General Assembly, passed upon the concurrence of three-fourths of all the members elected to each house.

(b) The credit of the State, by the guarantee or the endorsement of the bonds or other undertakings of any county, municipality, corporation, individual, firm, or association, shall not be pledged except pursuant to an act of the General Assembly, passed upon the concurrence of three-fourths of all the members elected to each house.

(c) No county or municipality shall pledge its credit or appropriate money to, or assume the debt of, or become a shareholder or joint owner in, or with, any private corporation or any individual or private association whatever, except pursuant to an act of the General Assembly, passed upon the concurrence of three-fourths of all the members elected to each house.

Education (art. 7).

SEC. 7.03. Prohibition against the use of public funds by certain schools.-No public funds shall be appropriated to, or used by, or in aid of any private, sectarian, church or denominational school.

Tax Exemptions For Nonpublic Schools

Finance (art. 6).

SEC. 6.01. Uniformity of taxes; collection under general laws; exemption for public welfare purposes.-All taxes shall be uniform upon the same calss of subjects within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax, and shall be levied and collected under general laws passed by the General Assembly. The governing bodies of each county or municipality are hereby authorized to exempt from taxation such property in their respective jurisdictions as in their opinion will best promote the public welfare. The local property tax exemption power created by this section shall be exercised only by general legislation, and shall affect only such property as is located within the jurisdiction of the governing body exercising such powers of tax exemption. Miscellaneous

Education (art. 7).

SEC. 7.01. Public education.-(a) The General Assembly shall provide for the establishment and maintenance of a general system of free public schools open to all children in this State.

(b) The General Assembly may provide for such other public educational institutions and services as may be necessary or desirable.

Corporations (art. 8).

SEC. 8.01. General corporation law.-No corporation shall hereafter be created, amended, renewed or revived by special act, but only by or under general law, nor shall any existing corporate charter be amended, renewed or revived by special act, but only by or under general law; but the foregoing provisions shall not apply to municipal corporations, banks or corporations for charitable, penal, reformatory, or educational purposes, sustained in whole or in part by the State. No general incorporation law, nor any special act of incorporation, shall be enacted or amended without the concurrence of two-thirds of all members elected to each house of the General Assembly. General Provisions (art. 9).

SEC. 9.09. Transportation of students.-The General Assembly, notwithstanding any other provisions of this Constitution, may provide by law for the transportation of students of nonpublic, elementary and secondary schools.

STATUTORY PROVISIONS

Education (title 14).

Approval/Supervision/Support

See COMPULSORY EDUCATION, Ch. 27, sec. 2703; CURRICULUM, Ch. 1, sec. 131; and RECORDS AND REPORTS, Ch. 27, sec. 2704.

Compulsory Education

School Attendance (ch. 27).

SEC. 2702. Public school compulsory attendance requirements. (a) Every parent, guardian, or other person in the State having control of a child between the ages of 6 and 16 shall send such child to a free public school, in the district of the residence of the parents, except as determined in accordance with chapter 6 of this title, and shall send him to that school each day of the minimum school term of 180 days beginning the first day of the school year in the calendar year in which the child reaches the age of 6, unless the local school authories determine that such beginning is not in the best interest of the child. In the event of parental objections to a decision of the local school authorities, an appeal may be made to the State Board of Education whose decision shall be final.

(b) The provisions of this section are subject to the exceptions set forth in sections 2703-2707 of this title.

SEC. 2703. Private school attendance or other educational instruction.—(a) Section 2702 of this Title (compulsory attendance in public school)

shall not apply if it can be shown, and witnessed by written endorsement, to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of a School District, and by a written examination, that a child is elsewhere receiving regular and thorough instruction in the subjects prescribed for the elementary schools of the State, in a manner suitable to children of the same age and stage of advancement.

Special Education

Exceptional Children (ch. 31).

SEC. 3101. Definitions.– As used in this chapter:

"Handicapped children" means children between the chronological ages of 4 and 21 who are physically handicapped, or maladjusted, or mentally handicapped.

"Educable mentally handicapped children" means children who, because of retarded intellectual development as determined by individual psychological examination, are incapable of being educated profitably and efficiently through the regular classroom program, but who may be expected to benefit from special educational facilities designed to make them economically useful and socially adjusted.

"Trainable mentally handicapped children" means children who are incapable of being educated or trained properly as determined by individual psychological examination in special classes for educable mentally handicapped children in public schools and state institutions but who may be expected to benefit from training in a group setting designed to further their social adjustment and economic usefulness in their homes or in a sheltered environment.

"Physically handicapped children" means children who suffer from any physical disability making it impracticable or impossible for them to benefit from or participate in the regular classroom program of the public schools and whose proper education requires a modification of the regular classroom program.

"Socially or emotionally maladjusted children" means children whose behavioral disorders are such that it is impossible for them to be educated profitably and efficiently through a regular classroom program, and who may, upon recommendation of the chief administrative officer of a school district, or of a state institution (if committed to its care or under direction) be assigned to such classes in accordance with policies set forth by the State Department of Public Instruction for their establishment and operation.

"Learning disability" means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological or physiological processes involved in understanding and in using spoken or written languages. These may be manifested in disorders of listening, thinking, talking, reading, writing, spelling, or arithmetic. They include, but are not limited to, conditions which have been referred to as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and/or development asphasia. They do not include learning problems which are due primarily to visual, hearing, or orthopedic handicaps, to emotional disturbance if these are provided for elsewhere, or to mental retardation, or to environmental disadvantage.

"Gifted children" means children between the chronological ages of 4 and 21 who are endowed by nature with high intellectual capacity. “Gifted children" are those children who have the native capacity for high potential intellectual attainment and scholastic achievement.

"Talented children” means children between the chronological ages of 4 and 21 who have demonstrated superior talents, aptitudes, or abilities. "Talented children" are those children who have demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities and abilities, or whose performance is consistently remarkable in mechanics, manipulative skills, the art of expression of ideas, orally or written, music, art, human relations or any other worthwhile line of human achievement.

SEC. 3102. Rules and regulations.-The State Board of Education shall make and adopt rules and regulations for the education, training, and transportation of handicapped, gifted, and talented children.

SEC. 3103. Special classes and facilities.-The State Board of Education and the local school boards shall provide and maintain, under appropriate regulations, special classes and facilities wherever possible to meet the needs of all handicapped, gifted, and talented children recommended for special education or training who come from any geographical area within the State that can be served by such special facilities.

SEC. 3105. Report and examination of handicapped, gifted and talented children not being properly educated and trained.-The principals, superintendents, teachers, and visiting teachers in every school district, in accordance with the rules of procedure prescribed by the State Board of Education, shall secure information and report to the State Board of Education, as it may direct, on or before the 15th day of May of each year, and thereafter throughout the year as new cases are discovered, every child within any school district between the chronological ages of 4 and 21, who, because of apparent exceptional physical or mental condition, is not now being properly educated and trained, and thereafter the State Board of Education as it may direct, with the aid of cooperating agencies, shall examine such child and report whether the child is a fit subject for special education and training.

SEC. 3106. Special duties regarding deaf persons.-The State Board of Education is designated as the agency for the care and education of deaf persons of the State. Its duties in this connection shall be in addition to any other duties which it may have in regard to deaf persons.

SEC. 3107. Trustee for deaf persons; payment of board and tuition; limitation.-The State Board of Education is the trustee for deaf persons who may be maintained and instructed in any institutions in this State or elsewhere. It shall pay the institutions for the board, maintenance and instruction of such deaf persons but the amount so paid shall not be greater than the sum paid by or for other persons in the same institution.

SEC. 3108. Advisory committee.-The Governor shall appoint an advisory committee on the needs of exceptional children to serve in an advisory capacity to the State Board of Education and the Board of Trustees of The Delaware State Hospital at Farnhurst.

SEC. 3109. Educational services for institutionalized handicapped children.-The State Board of Education may enter into agreements with any local school district whereby the Board will reimburse the district for part or all of the cost of educating handicapped children who are institutionalized.

Curriculum

State Board of Education (ch. 1).

SEC. 122. Rules and regulations. (b) The Board shall prescribe rules and regulations:

(5) Determining the minimum courses of study for all public elementary schools and all public high schools of the State, including provisions that all elementary school subjects be taught in the English language in all schools in the State,***

(18) Providing for instruction in Driver Education during the summer months beyond the period usually designated as the school term. Rules and regulations shall provide for a comprehensive program including at least that:

(a) The program presented is in cooperation with the State Highway Department and the Delaware Safety Council and shall use dual controlled vehicles and follow procedures provided in Section 2708(c), Chapter 27, Title 21, Delaware Code.

(b) The program will be available to any pupil who is a resident of the school district in which the program is offered or in which the program is offered in cooperation with other school districts, who has been enrolled in or is eligible for enrollment in the tenth grade or who is enrolled in grades eleven or twelve or who has reached his fifteenth birthday on or before July 15.

(c) Teachers shall be assigned on a ratio of 140 qualified pupils, or one-fifth of a teacher assignment may be made for each 28 qualified pupils, except as said ratio shall be modified by other sections of this Title enacted after July 1, 1967.

(d) Instruction is available to qualified pupils without charge to said pupils. (e) Teachers shall be regularly certified to teach Driver Education.

(f) Salaries paid to teachers assigned to the program shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 13 of this Title.

SEC. 131. Driver education instruction in nonpublic high schools.-The State Board of Education shall make rules and regulations concerning instruction in Driver Education in nonpublic high schools. Such rules and regulations shall provide for at least the following:

(a) The qualification of teachers for Driver Education in nonpublic high schools shall be the same as the qualification for teachers in the public high schools. (b) Unless modified by other statutes enacted after July 1, 1967, the ratio of teachers to pupils for assignment of Drivers Education teachers in nonpublic high schools shall be based upon one teacher for each 140 tenth grade pupils enrolled in the nonpublic high school; or one-fifth of a teacher assignment for each full 28 tenth grade pupils.

(c) General supervision for the program of instruction in Driver Education in nonpublic high schools shall be under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Education or as this supervision may be assigned to a local public school district.

(d) Assignment of teachers to nonpublic high schools shall be by authority of the State Board of Education and the Board shall have the authority to require from the nonpublic high schools a statement of certified enrollment on such date and in such form as the Board may require for making the decision relative to assignment.

(e) Salary for teachers in nonpublic high schools, when paid from funds of the State of Delaware, shall be in accord with the regularly adopted salary schedule set forth in Chapter 13 of this Title.

(f) Any local salary supplement paid to Driver Education teachers assigned to nonpublic high schools may be paid by the public school district to which such teacher is assigned.

(g) For purposes of administration and supervision, the teachers of Driver Education in nonpublic high schools shall be assigned to the faculty of a public high school. The State Board of Education shall be responsible for designating such assignment. The assignment of a teacher to a public high school for purposes of driving instruction in a nonpublic high school shall be made as an assignment in addition to any assignment authorized to that public high school in accord with the unit program set forth in Chapter 17 or any other portion of this Title.

(h) Funds of the payment of the State portion of any salary due to teachers of Driver Education in nonpublic high schools shall be appropriated to a contingency fund to be administered by the Budget Director for the State of Delaware and to be paid in accord with appropriate fiscal documents presented by the public school district to which the teacher has been assigned.

(i) A teacher of Driver Education may be assigned to several nonpublic or nonpublic and public high schools in accord with the ratio for assignment as set forth in this section.

Pupil Transportation

Transportation of Pupils (ch. 29).

SEC. 2905. Transportation of students of nonpublic, nonprofit elementary and high schools.-The State Board of Education shall make rules and

regulations concerning the transportation of pupils in nonpublic, nonprofit elementary and secondary (high) schools in the State of Delaware. Such rules and regulations shall provide for at least the following:

(a) All rules and regulations relative to pupil transportation to nonpublic, nonprofit schools shall be the same as those applicable to public schools. (b) Such rules and regulations shall limit transportation of pupils in nonpublic, nonprofit schools to the elementary and secondary schools, except as provisions of this title may assign such transportation responsibility to the State Board of Education in behalf of pupils enrolled at other levels in a public school system.

(c) It shall not be the obligation of the State of Delaware to transport pupils enrolled in nonpublic, nonprofit schools as herein described across public school district lines. Transportation of these pupils shall be restricted to transportation within the described boundaries of a public school district.

Transportation Rules and Regulations for the School Year 1974-75

Section 7 of House Bill No. 750, signed by the Governor on June 27, 1974, states in part:

"The rules and regulations adopted by the State Board of Education concerning the transportation of pupils in nonpublic, nonprofit elementary and secondary schools in this State for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1972 and ending June 30, 1973 shall remain in effect and be applicable without modification for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1974 and ending June 30, 1975 notwithstanding any laws of the State to the contrary."

Compiler's Note: See also MISCELLANEOUS, General Provisions (art. 9), Sec. 9.09 of CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS.

Records and Reports

School Attendance (ch. 27).

SEC. 2704. Report of private schools to State Boards. (a) All persons conducting private schools, and all private educational associations, corporations, or institutions shall report to the State Board of Education annually on or before the 31st of July, as to enrollment, age of pupils and attendance. (b) Such persons shall also submit annually a statement of enrollment as of the last school day in September. This report shall be submitted on such forms and in such manner as may from time to time be prescribed by the State Board of Education.

Compiler's Note: See also CURRICULUM, Ch. 1, Sec. 131. Teacher Certification

See CURRICULUM, Ch. 1, Sec. 131.

Health and Safety

Eye Protection Devices (ch. 83).

SEC. 8301. Definitions.— As used in this chapter:

"Eye protection areas" means vocational or industrial art shops, science or other school laboratories, or school of institutional facilities in which activities take place involving:

1. Hot molten metals;

2. Milling, sawing, turning, shaping, cutting, grinding, or stamping of any solid materials;

3. Heat treatment, tampering or kiln firing of any metal or other materials; 4. Gas or electric arc welding;

5. Repair or servicing of any vehicle or mechanical equipment;

6. Corrosive or explosive materials;

7. Custodial or other service activity potentially hazardous to the eye; or

8. Any other activity or operation involving mechanical or manual work in any area that is potentially hazardous to the eye. [Added 55 Del. Laws, Ch. 450, eff. July 21, 1966.]

SEC. 8302. Eye protection devices required in schools.-Every person shall wear eye protection devices when entering, participating in, observing or performing any function in connection with, any courses or activities taking place in eye protection areas of any school, college, university or other public or private educational institution in this State. Persons covered in this section include, without limitation, any student or teacher in, staff member or other employee of, or visitor to, any of the foregoing educational institutions. [Added 55 Del. Laws, Ch. 450, eff. July 21, 1966.]

SEC. 8303. Eye protection devices standards.-Eye protection devices, which shall include safety spectacles, plastic face shields or goggles, shall comply with the American Standards Association safety code for Head, Eye and Respiratory Protection. [Added 55 Del. Laws, Ch. 450, eff. July 21, 1966.]

SEC. 8304. Instructions for compliance.-The State Department of Public Instruction shall prepare and circulate to each public or private educational institution in this State, a manual containing instructions and recommendations for the guidance of such institution in implementing the eye safety provision of this chapter. [Added 55 Del. Laws, Ch. 450, eff. July 21, 1966.]

Federal Aid

Vocational Education and Vocational Rehabilitation (ch. 33).

SEC. 3307. Acceptance of federal Vocational Rehabilitation Act; cooperation with federal agencies.-The State of Delaware accepts the provisions and benefits of the Act of Congress popularly known as the "Vocational Rehabilitation Act," approved June 2, 1920, as amended. The State Treasurer shall be the custodian of all moneys received by the State from appropriations made by the Congress of the United States for vocational rehabilitation of persons disabled in industry or otherwise and the State Treasurer may make disbursements therefrom upon the order of the Department of Labor. The Department shall cooperate with the Department of Health, Education, and

Welfare, or other Federal agency authorized by Congress, in carrying out the provisions of the national Vocational Rehabilitation Act and amendments thereto.

SEC. 3308. Acceptance of federal vocational education acts.-The State of Delaware accepts the benefits of the Smith-Hughes Vocational Education Act, passed by Congress, and approved February 23, 1917 (chapter 114, 39 Stat. 929), and amendments thereto, and of the Vocational Education Act of 1946, also known as the George-Barden Act, passed by Congress, and approved August 1, 1946 (chapter 725, 60 Stat. 775). In accepting such benefits, the State of Delaware will observe and comply with the requirements of such Acts and amendments thereto. The State Treasurer shall be the custodian of any funds accruing to the State from the aforesaid acts and shall make disbursements therefrom upon the order of the State Board for Vocational Education.

SEC. 3309. Cooperation with U.S. Office of Education.—The State Board for Vocational Education shall cooperate with the U.S. Office of Education in the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of the provisions of this chapter.

Miscellaneous

State Board of Education (ch. 1).

SEC. 133. Educational television. (c) The Board may contract with other public or nonpublic agencies, institutions, organizations, or groups, to make its facilities available for a fee to be determined by the Board which shall not be less than the cost of the services and facilities provided.

General Regulatory Provisions (ch. 41).

SEC. 4108. General election day--Closing of schools.-(a) Every day on which a general election is held in this State, shall be a legal holiday for all school purposes, and all schools, colleges and other institutions of learning shall be closed during the whole of such day.

(b) Whoever, having the control of any school, college or other institution of learning, causes or permits the same to be open and instruction given on such day shall be fined not less than $10 nor more than $100.