Rep. Sean Lynn

This Act changes the current evaluation system for all teachers from the former Delaware Performance Appraisal System II evaluation to a new Delaware Teacher Growth and Support System. The goal of this new evaluation system is to build a culture of professionalism and learning within every school by converting the evaluation system from a teacher-focused to a learning-focused system. It also increases accountability by requiring a beginning, middle and end of the year review of both the teacher’s professional learning goals and student improvement goals. All teachers (not just 4-8 testing subjects) will be held accountable for student growth. The new evaluation system will only apply to teachers. Specialists and administrators will continue to be evaluated under the Delaware Performance Appraisal System II. Under this Act the new evaluation system will be phased in with a minimum of 3 local education agencies participating in a pilot program for academic year 2021-2022, which will sunset on June 30, 2022. Under Section 2 and 3 of this Act, effective academic year 2022-2023, all teachers will fall under the Delaware Teacher Growth and Support System and all specialists and administrators will be evaluated under Delaware Performance Appraisal System II.

This Act would allow importers to take orders from retailers any day including Sundays and holidays and process them for delivery.

This Act provides increased funding for kindergarten through third grade students identified as eligible for basic special education services. Currently, basic special education is provided for students in fourth through twelfth grade who are identified as eligible for basic special education and related services; there is no additional unit funding for students in kindergarten through third grade who may be eligible for basic special education services. The Act adds a designation of “K-3 Basic Special Education (basic)” and over three years reduces the number of students comprising a unit from the current 16.2 to 8.4. This Act will increase the unit count funding for K-3 Basic Special Education (basic) students by School Year 2023-2024, Fiscal Year 2024, to be consistent with the 8.4 unit of pupils currently available to students in grades 4 through 12. Sections 1 through 3 of this Act change the funding chart currently in the Code to subsections and provides for a decrease in the ratio between the number of students enrolled and the unit count for basic special education from 16.2 currently to 12.2 in Fiscal Year 2022, 10.2 in Fiscal Year 2023, and 8.4 in Fiscal Year 2024. Section 4 of this Act delays the effect of each Section until the start of each new fiscal year in the 3-year cycle over which this Act’s changes are intended to occur.

This Act adds the Delaware Combined Campaign for Justice to the 21 charitable organizations listed on the Delaware personal income tax return to which Delaware tax payers may contribute, either through paying a portion of a refund owed, or an amount in addition to taxes owed through a check off. The Delaware Combined Campaign for Justice was established in 1999 as a partnership of the Delaware State Bar Association, Community Legal Aid Society, Inc., Delaware Volunteer Legal Services and Legal Services Corporation of Delaware. The partners joined to increase the availability of civil legal services to disadvantaged people in Delaware by increasing the resources available to fund legal services.

This Act leverages technological advances to allow Family Court the flexibility to permit litigants to publish through a legal notices website established by the Court. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including to ensure the consistency of language used throughout the provisions included in this Act.

This bill allows the Court to suspend an amount of the fine for uninsured driving if the defendant provides evidence that they have now secured insurance, demonstrating compliance with the law.

This bill will provide Delaware students with strong academic credentials and a demonstrated commitment to volunteer public service to receive scholarship monies sufficient to cover the full cost of tuition at Delaware State University. The intent of this bill is to increase the number of students in Delaware who not only attend the University but who successfully complete degree programs.

The purpose of this legislation is to promote sustained economic growth and stability by establishing a fund to provide grants, loans or other economic assistance to businesses or public entities that invest in constructing, renovating or improving infrastructure for sites that will attract new businesses or expand existing businesses within the State to initiate economic development opportunities that will create a significant number of direct, permanent, quality, full-time jobs. There is intense competition between the states to attract and to keep vital businesses that create and maintain these direct, quality employment opportunities. Therefore, it is critical to expand and sustain economic growth within the State to consistently maintain readily available commercial, industrial sites to attract new business, or expand existing businesses. The delay in converting completely undeveloped sites into sites that are fully capable of conducting business may result in the loss of significant business opportunities that benefit the public. The site readiness fund will provide economic assistance to qualified businesses or public entities to renovate, construct, or improve commercial, industrial sites that are readily available to new businesses, established businesses that are considering moving to the State or existing businesses within the State that need additional sites to remain or expand within the State. To ensure fiscal accountability that site readiness funds are expended for their intended purpose, the applications will be administered in accordance with the existing regulations that govern applications made to the Strategic Fund. The Council on Development Finance will review the applications and supporting financial information to make recommendations to the Director of the Division of Small Business concerning the viability of the proposed project and whether the project meets the criteria established by this legislation to award funding. The Director has the final authority to award funding based on the Council’s recommendations and the requirements imposed by this legislation. The Director shall administer any such award in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 87A of Title 29 of the Delaware Code and the existing Strategic Fund regulations. To protect the assets of the Fund, the Director may require recapture provisions in any contract agreements for grants, loans or other economic assistance that recover for any substantial or complete cessation of operations or failure to reach any employment or other benchmarks. The Director may require the applicant to report financial statements and project progress reports to determine that expenditures on the project are consistent with the purpose of the Fund.

This Act requires certain police officers and some certain employees of the Department of Correction and Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families to wear a body worn camera and to use the body worn camera to record interactions with a member of the public in accordance with the regulations to be established by the Council on Police Training. This Act requires state agencies to implement the statewide body worn camera program through the procurement of cameras, development of a central data storage program, and provision of necessary personnel as funding is available. This Act tasks the Council on Police Training with creating and promulgating regulations setting forth standards for body worn camera use by Delaware’s police officers and some certain employees of the Department of Correction and Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families with the goal of ensuring widespread and consistent use of body worn cameras in 2022. This Act also makes changes to the membership of the Council on Police Training by adding the following members to the Council: the Chairs of the House and Senate Public Safety Committees, 2 public members unaffiliated with law enforcement appointed by the Governor each for a 3-year term. This bill also changes the membership of the Council by changing two positions to be permanently held by mayors from Kent or Sussex County. The bill also changes the quorum from 7 to 9 members. The bill requires the Council to hold a minimum of two public meetings to solicit public input into the development of the regulations.

This bill provides for gradual increases in the Delaware minimum wage to $15 over a period of several years.