13-42-27.   Pursuant to § 13-1-12.1, the Board of Education shall examine programs that prepare and certify school personnel, identify deficiencies, and establish revised standards designed to deliver more qualified staff to classrooms. The board's review shall identify ways to streamline the alternative certification process whereby persons holding a bachelor's degree or higher can be certified to teach in elementary and secondary schools. The board shall also establish revised standards for the alternative certification of career and technical education teachers to allow persons highly skilled in a particular area to teach in that particular area in accredited schools in the state on more than a provisional basis. "

     13-42-27.   Pursuant to § 13-1-12.1, the Board of Education shall examine programs that prepare and certify school personnel, identify deficiencies, and establish revised standards designed to deliver more qualified staff to classrooms. The board's review shall identify ways to streamline the alternative certification process whereby persons holding a bachelor's degree or higher can be

certified to teach in elementary and secondary schools. The board shall also establish revised standards for the alternative certification of career and technical education teachers to allow persons highly skilled in a particular area to teach in that particular area in accredited schools in the state on more than a provisional basis without having to complete education course work in pedagogy and other related fields. "

     13-42-27.   Pursuant to § 13-1-12.1, the Board of Education shall examine programs that prepare and certify school personnel, identify deficiencies, and establish revised standards designed to deliver more qualified staff to classrooms. The board's review shall identify ways to streamline the alternative certification process whereby persons holding a bachelor's degree or higher can be certified to teach in elementary and secondary schools. The board shall also establish revised standards for the alternative certification of career and technical education teachers to allow persons highly skilled in a particular area to teach in that particular area in accredited schools in the state on more than a provisional basis. "

the next within the system. For the purposes of this Act, a school service specialist is a school counselor, school library media education specialist, school psychologist, speech/language pathologist, school social worker, special education director, or curriculum director.

above the salary the teacher or school service specialist would have otherwise received for the current school fiscal year.

I teacher as defined in this Act;

     Section 15. The Board of Education shall promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26 establishing the criteria the school districts will use to evaluate school service specialists and to establish the criteria and the annual review process that the board will use to determine the national certifications that will be recognized to allow a teacher or school service specialist to progress to Level III.

     13-43-6.1.   A teacher may be terminated, by the school board, at any time for just cause, including breach of contract, poor performance, incompetency, gross immorality, unprofessional conduct, insubordination, neglect of duty, or the violation of any policy or regulation of the school district. A school district may nonrenew a teacher who is in or beyond the fourth consecutive term of employment as a teacher with the school district pursuant to § 13-43-6.3 for just cause, including breach of contract, poor performance, incompetency, gross immorality, unprofessional conduct, insubordination, neglect of duty, or the violation of any policy or regulation of the school district.

     13-43-6.2.   If nonrenewal of a teacher is contemplated under § 13-43-6.1, the superintendent or chief executive officer shall give written notice of an intention to recommend nonrenewal to the teacher and the school board; a written statement of the reasons for the recommendation; access to the employment records of the teacher; the opportunity to the teacher for a hearing before the school board to present reasons in person or in writing why the nonrenewal should not occur; and the opportunity to be represented. The teacher shall request the hearing as provided in § 13-43-6.9. The school board shall conduct the hearing not sooner than fourteen days, nor later than forty-five days, after receipt of the teacher's request for hearing. The parties may waive the time limitations provided for in this section.

     13-43-6.3.   Until a teacher is in or beyond the fourth consecutive term of employment as a teacher with the school district, a school board may or may not renew the teacher's contract. The superintendent or chief executive officer shall give written notice of nonrenewal by April fifteenth but is not required to give further process or a reason for nonrenewal.

     13-43-6.4.   Notwithstanding §§ 13-43-6.1 to 13-43-6.3, inclusive, if a teacher's contract is not renewed due to a reduction in staff, only written notice is required, which shall be provided by the school board to the teacher by April fifteenth.

     13-43-6.6.   Although a collective bargaining agreement between a district and its teachers may set forth specific additional grounds for termination or set forth provisions as to the procedure or notice, no agreement may limit the district's right to terminate a teacher for the grounds set forth in §§ 13-43-6.1 to 13-43-6.3, inclusive . No agreement may limit the protection afforded to a teacher under § 13-43-6.5.

     13-43-6.9.   Delivery of a written request for a hearing provided by § 13-43-6.2 or 13-43-6.7 shall be established by certified mail with return receipt signed by the superintendent, chief executive officer, or board member, or a person authorized to accept certified mail for the district, or personal delivery evidenced by a receipt signed by the superintendent, chief executive officer, or board member, or an affidavit of personal service upon the district made by a person authorized to effect personal service no later than fifteen days after receipt of the notice by the teacher.

     Section 2. That § 10-12-31.1 be amended to read as follows:

     10-12-31.1.   Notwithstanding other provision of law, when applying the levies for school purposes for taxes payable in 2010 and each year thereafter , the county director of equalization of each county shall adjust the level of assessment in that district so that the level of assessment as indicated by the most recent assessment to sales ratio as provided for in § 10-11-55 in that district

are equal to eighty-five percent of market value and the most recent assessment to full agricultural land value ratio as provided for in § 10-11-57 in that district are equal to eighty-five eighty-four percent of market value. The Department of Revenue and Regulation shall provide the director of equalization of each county all of the factors of adjustment necessary for the computations required in this section.

     Section 3. That § 10-13-37 be amended to read as follows:

     10-13-37.   Property For taxes payable in 2010 and each year thereafter, property taxes shall be levied on valuations where the median level of assessment represents eighty-five percent of the market value as determined by the Department of Revenue and Regulation. However, for any property classified as agricultural property, the director of equalization shall make the necessary adjustments, so that the median level of assessment represents eighty-four percent of the market value as determined by the Department of Revenue and Regulation.

     Section 4. That chapter 10-6 be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read as follows:

     Section 5. That chapter 10-6 be amended by adding thereto a NEW SECTION to read as follows:

     Section 6. That § §  10-6-33.14 to 10-6-33.18, inclusive, be repealed.

     Section 7. That § 10-6-31.3 be amended to read as follows:

     10-6-31.3.   For tax purposes, land is agricultural land if it meets two of the following three criteria:

is derived from the pursuit of agriculture as defined in subdivision (2) of this section or it is a state-owned public shooting area or a state-owned game production area as identified in § 41-4-8 and it is owned and managed by the Department of Game, Fish and Parks;

     Section 8. That § 13-11-10 be amended to read as follows:

     13-11-10.   In implementing the terms of § 13-11-9, a separate weighted average tax levy of the receiving districts shall be calculated for agricultural property, nonagricultural acreage property, owner-occupied single-family dwelling property, and for nonagricultural property for each sending school district as follows:

inclusive, for each class of property; and

     Section 9. That § 10-12-42 be amended to read as follows:

     10-12-42.   For taxes payable in 2008 2009 and each year thereafter, the levy for the general fund of a school district shall be as follows:

maximum levies in this section. The school district may elect to tax at less than the maximum amounts set forth in this section.

     Section 10. That § 10-6-33.24 be amended to read as follows:

     10-6-33.24.   Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 10-6, the board of county commissioners may, by ordinance or resolution, require that any property classified as agricultural land may within in the county shall be assessed based on its agricultural income value if there are less than fifteen arms-length transactions of agricultural land during the three preceding assessment years . The agricultural income value of agricultural land shall be determined on the basis of the capitalized annual cash rent of the agricultural land. The capitalized annual cash rent shall be based on data collected and analyzed pursuant to § 10-6-33.25. For the purposes of this section, arms-length transactions do not include any agricultural land sales subject to the provisions of § 10-6-33.14, 10- 6-33.20, or 10-6-74.

     Section 11 That § 10-6-33.25 be amended to read as follows:

     10-6-33.25.   For the purposes of § 10-6-33.24, the agricultural income value shall be determined using capitalized annual cash rent. The annual cash rent is the annual cash rent, excluding the per acre tax on agricultural land, determined through an analysis of arms-length rental agreements collected within the county in the three years prior to the year for which the agricultural income value is being determined. The agricultural income value of cropland shall be based on average rents over a three-year period for cropland under natural conditions. The agricultural income value of noncropland shall be based on average rents over a three-year period for noncropland under natural conditions. However, no arms-length rental agreements for irrigated land may be used to determine the annual cash rent pursuant to this section. The annual cash rent shall be capitalized at seven and three-fourths four percent.

     Section 12. Any agricultural land, as defined in § 10-6-31.3, that is sold and the assessor determines such agricultural land will have a change in use and will be transferred to another classification of property, may not be used for the purpose of valuing agricultural land. The sale of any agricultural land that is not used for purpose of valuing agricultural property pursuant to this section may not be used in any sales ratio study.

     Section 13. That § 13-37-16 be amended to read as follows:

     13-37-16.   For taxes payable in 1997, and each year thereafter, the school board shall levy no more than one dollar and forty cents per thousand dollars of taxable valuation, as a special levy in

addition to all other levies authorized by law for the amount so determined to be necessary, and such levy shall be spread against all of the taxable property of the district. The proceeds derived from such levy shall constitute a school district special education fund of the district for the payment of costs for the special education of all children in need of special education or special education and related services who reside within the district pursuant to the provisions of §§ 13-37-8.2 to 13-37-8.10, inclusive. The levy in this section shall be based on valuations such that the median level of assessment represents 85% of market value as determined by the Department of Revenue and Regulation. The total amount of taxes that would be generated at the levy pursuant to this section shall be considered local effort. Money in the special education fund may be expended for the purchase or lease of any assistive technology that is directly related to special education and specified in a student's individualized education plan. This section does not apply to real property improvements.

     Section 14. That §   10-6-74 be repealed on July 1, 2013.

     Section 15. The provisions of sections 1, 4, and 5 of this Act are repealed on July 1, 2015."

Jeanette Black