Sen. Marie Pinkney

It has been the case for several decades that when a juvenile is arrested or charged with certain crimes, the child's school is notified with an "Attorney General's letter" regardless of whether the crime occurred on school property or had anything at all to do with school. Children can then face disciplinary consequences in school, including being placed in an alternative setting, or even expelled. Since they face consequences in the justice system, this creates the possibility of double punishment. This Act codifies the notification process, limiting notifications to violent felonies, crimes that occur on school property or at a school event, or where the alleged victim attends the same school. It also requires that when an Attorney General’s report is sent, the Attorney General must send a follow-up report within 2 business days letting the school know how the case was resolved. Under this Act, schools may not take disciplinary action against a child while the charge is pending, and may take disciplinary action after case resolution only where it is necessary to protect the health and safety of the school community. Children who are separated from the school environment unnecessarily are likely to become more involved with the justice system. Schools may offer or require counseling or other services for students who are the subject of an Attorney General’s report. When the alleged victim is at the same school, the school may take safety steps as appropriate. The Act specifies that when a child has an IEP or 504 plan, their disability must be considered in the course of any disciplinary proceedings. Finally, the Act requires Attorney General’s reports be handled confidentially and retained past the case resolution only in specified circumstances.

This resolution honors USO Delaware for their important and inspiring work supporting military members and their families.

This Act requires private and public employers in the State to give any employee who is a resident of Delaware and scheduled to work at least 7.5 hours on an election day 2 hours of paid leave in order for the employee to exercise the right to vote in person. The Act excludes federal employees, individuals engaged in activities for education, charitable, religious, or nonprofit organizations when the employment relationship does not exist or where services are rendered to such organizations gratuitously, and employees who are party to a collective bargaining agreement in which paid time off to vote has been waived. Employees must give employers 2 working days’ notice in advance of an election that the employee intends to use paid time off to vote. Employers must post notice of the rights created in the Act. Enforcement of the Act is through the Department of Labor. Employers who violate the Act are subject to civil penalties ranging from $500-$1,000 and from $1,000-$5,000 if found to have retaliated against an employee for exercising the rights created by this Act. Employees may bring a civil lawsuit for equitable relief and monetary damages. A prevailing employee may also recover costs and attorney’s fees.

This Act requires all employers in the State to provide employees with a minimum of 1 hour of earned sick time and safety leave for every 30 hours worked. For employers with fewer than 10 employees, the time may be unpaid, job-protected time instead of paid time. Accrued earned sick time and safety leave may be used by the employee for time off with pay at the employee’s regular wage and benefit rate to deal with the mental and physical health needs of either the employee or an employee’s family member and other specified purposes. Earned sick time and safety leave may also be used to address the consequences of domestic violence for such things as meeting with lawyers, obtaining services from victim service organizations, temporary relocation and the like. Employers may cap the number of hours earned per year at 40, the carryover from one year to the next at 40 hours, and the maximum earned sick and safety leave at 80 hours. Employers may require employees to have been employed at least 90 days before they may take earned sick leave and safety time. Employers whose benefits packages already meet the minimum requirements of this Act are not required to offer anything additional. The Department of Labor will promulgate regulations governing operation of the Act and will enforce the provisions of the Act. Employers who violate the Act are subject to civil penalty of no less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000. Employers are prohibited from discriminating against an employee who complains to the Department that an employer has violated the Act.

This Act, the Healthy Delaware Families Act, creates a statewide paid family and medical leave insurance program. Delaware employees can access up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave through the State's paid leave trust fund for a qualifying event, including for the following: (1) To address a worker's own serious health condition. (2) To care for a family member with a serious health condition. (3) To bond and care for a new child. (4) To address the impact of a family member's military deployment. This Substitute to Senate Bill No. 1 differs from Senate Bill No. 1 with regard to the eligibility determination process, covered relationships, length of leave, forms of leave covered, cumulative leave, eligibility criteria, implementation timeline, appeal process, departmental powers, and not requiring participation from certain smaller businesses. This Substitute differs from Senate Substitute No. 1 to Senate Bill No. 1 by making technical corrections, clarifying intent and providing greater statutory detail with regard to appeals, coordination of benefits, definitions, private plans, and departmental powers, and providing temporary flexibility regarding implementation.

This Act repeals the ability of a charter school to give preference in student admissions to students residing within a 5-mile radius of the school. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes the month of May 2022 as Mental Health Awareness Month.

This act prohibits the inclusion of confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements resolving certain civil claims, including claims related to workplace harassment and discrimination, retaliation for reporting workplace harassment and discrimination, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, and sexual exploitation of a minor. The act permits provisions in such settlement agreements that shield the identity of the claimant.

The Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF) is charged with providing transitional and independent living services for youth ages 14 to 21. The Division of Family Services (DFS) contracts for case management services for youth ages 16 to 21, with services designed to promote self-sufficiency and responsible living for young adults who are aging out of foster care. Participants receive life skills training and personal development, mentoring, tuition assistance, and support with transitional housing. Participants may also qualify to receive needs-based stipends through ASSIST (Achieving Self Sufficiency & Independence through Supported Transition) to help with living expenses. DFS recently changed the name of the Independent Living Program to the “Transitional and Independent Living Program” to better reflect the comprehensive nature of services offered to youth. This bill updates references to the program to include “transitional” and independent living services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government provided additional funding to support young adults who were eligible for independent living services until age 27. The intent was to provide additional support for youth and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on their housing and employment status. DFS exercised this additional funding authority via a mandatory directive from the DFS Director. While the mandatory directive provision expanding services expired in October 2021, DFS decided it would continue providing independent living services for youth until age 23 because of the success observed on behalf of youth. This mandatory directive provision will expire in September 2022, and this bill will grant DFS the statutory authority to continue providing transitional and independent living services for youth until age 23. Expanding independent and transitional living services from age 21 to age 23 better aligns with case management requirements of housing assistance programs, will support youth with transitioning from post-secondary education programs into the workforce, and will help maintain a longer connection to youth required to complete federal reporting for DFS.

This Act responds to the promulgation of final federal regulations, 85 FR 74010, for state-sponsored savings programs under section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code, the Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2014 (“ABLE”), through which contributions may be made to the account of an eligible individual with a disability to meet qualified disability expenses. The federal regulations, among other things, resolve questions related to who may establish and exercise signature authority over an ABLE account. The final regulations clarify that an eligible individual with legal capacity may delegate signature authority to any other person and provide a hierarchy of persons who may establish or exercise signature authority over an ABLE account for an individual without legal capacity. The final regulations also clarify that expenses incurred at a time when a designated beneficiary is neither disabled nor blind are not qualified disability expenses. The Act makes changes to Chapter 96A of Title 16 of the Delaware Code for the sole purpose of conforming the Code to these aspects of the final regulations.