DOVER, DE— Veterans with a 100 percent disability rating may be eligible for a tax credit against 100 percent of non-vocational school district property tax. House Bill 214 with House Amendment 1, which was signed into law by Governor John Carney on August 10^th, 2021, allows school districts to grant a Disabled Veterans School Property Tax Credit to eligible disabled veterans.

“Our veterans make sacrifices unfamiliar to most, and for those disabled veterans that sacrifice is even greater. We have a solemn obligation to make sure they are taken care of when they come back home,” said Governor John Carney. “House Bill 214 honors that sacrifice. Thanks to all the advocates and members of the General Assembly that championed this bill.”

“Many of our disabled veterans struggle physically, mentally, and financially. Providing them an exemption from school property taxes will alleviate a financial burden,” said Office of Veterans Services Director Josh Matticks. “We’re thankful for Governor Carney and all the members of the Delaware General Assembly who made this happen.”

Currently, all 16 Delaware non-vocational school districts have approved the school property tax credit. To qualify, applicants must:

• Receive 100% disability compensation due to service-connected, permanent, and total disability based on individual unemployability or a 100% disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (USDVA).
• Have held legal domicile in Delaware for the past 3 years.
• Pay their property tax bill in full by the end of each tax year in order to qualify for this credit in a subsequent property tax year.

Credit applications are due by April 30, 2022 tax year in order to receive the credit for the 2022 tax year. To apply, qualified disabled veterans must fill out an application found on the Delaware Department of Finance’s website at https://finance.delaware.gov/disabled-veterans/. Applicants must provide:

• A valid driver’s license or official state ID.
• Documentation of USDA disability.
• A copy of their Social Security Card.

For more information on the Disabled Veterans School Tax Credit, please visit https://finance.delaware.gov/disabled-veterans or visit the Disabled Veterans School Tax Credit Frequently Asked Questions page at https://finance.delaware.gov/disabled-veterans/disabled-veterans-school-tax-credit-faq/.

Individuals may also contact the County office in which they live at the following numbers:

New Castle County

(302) 395-5520

Kent County

(302) 744-2401

Sussex County

(302) 855-7871

New guidelines will help districts and charter schools create consistent anti-discrimination policies statewide
 
WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney announced on Tuesday that he has directed the Delaware Department of Education to develop specific guidelines – by regulation – for school districts and charter schools to use in developing policies that prohibit discrimination against students.

The guidelines will help districts and charters create consistent policies statewide that prohibit discrimination based on gender, race and/or ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic. The effort also will produce a model anti-discrimination policy that each district and charter could adopt, or tailor and adopt, to suit the needs of their students.

“These new guidelines will help ensure that districts and charter schools have the support they need to develop consistent, meaningful policies that prohibit discrimination against students,” said Governor Carney. “I expect Delaware’s school districts to ensure that every student can attend school comfortably and without fear of discrimination – now and in the future. At the state level, we’re making sure that state agencies follow a consistent, anti-discrimination policy. This will help our schools move in that same direction.”

The Department of Education will develop the guidelines with input from the public and school leaders. They will provide clear guidance to districts and charters to prohibit discrimination in educational programs, and activities for students, on the basis of any legally protected characteristic.

Governor Carney’s directive called for the new regulation to be published for public comment by November 1.

“Our students, staff, and families deserve schools that treat every student with dignity,” said Dr. Susan Bunting, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education. “It’s my job as Secretary to ensure that happens for Delaware’s nearly 137,000 students.”

Read Governor Carney’s memo to Secretary Bunting.

Related news:
Governor Carney Announces Selection to Lead DOE’s New Office of Improvement & Innovation
Governor Carney Releases Statewide Anti-Discrimination Policy
Governor Carney Signs Order Creating Uniform Anti-Discrimination Policy

Pilot Program Dramatically Reduced Late Hiring of Teachers and Improved Schools’ Ability to Compete With Surrounding States for Quality New Teachers

DOVER, DE– This afternoon, Governor Jack A. Markell signed H.B. 259 into law, which passed both the House and the Senate unanimously this week.

House Bill 259 makes permanent the pilot program originally created in 2011, which required the state’s Department of Education to estimate each school district’s enrollment for the following school year in May, and guarantee state funds to each district sufficient to cover 98% of the state’s share of hiring the teachers justified by that enrollment estimate.

The pilot program, created through legislation implementing the recommendations of a task force chaired by Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn and State Senator David Sokola, demonstrated extraordinary success in allowing Delaware school districts to better compete with surrounding states for new teachers and adequately train those new teachers before the start of the school year. Before this legislation, school districts were losing teaching candidates to other states that were making firm offers earlier in the year because districts couldn’t risk getting less state money than they expected and the state didn’t guarantee any funds until September 30th, when final student counts were done.

Under the pilot program, the state started estimating districts’ student population in May and guaranteeing the districts 98% of the state funds for the upcoming school year that would be generated by that estimated number of students. The change was dramatic – a 44% increase in the proportion of teachers hired before August.

“This bill improves our public schools,” said Lt. Governor Denn. “We are always trying to hire the best and brightest to teach our children and now we will hopefully be able to do more of that in a timely fashion. This is a win for students and teachers alike.”

Governor Markell said, “I’d like to thank Lt. Governor Denn, Senator Sokola, and Representative Scott for their work on getting this important piece of legislation passed. This will allow us to offer attractive jobs to new teachers on par with our surrounding states and supports our ongoing effort to recruit and retain talented educators.”

The University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration, in its ninth annual Delaware Teacher and Administrator Supply and Demand Survey Analysis Report, quantified the change in early teacher hiring caused by the pilot program: the percentage of school district teachers who were hired after July 31st dropped from 64.3% in the 2010-2011 school year, to 48.6% in 2011-2012 and 46.5% in 2012-2013 (Delaware Teacher and Administrator Supply and Demand Survey Analysis Report, June 2013, at p. 12). The report can be found online at http://www.ipa.udel.edu/publications/teacher_supply13.pdf

This significant drop in the percentage of late-hired teachers was directly attributed by the University of Delaware to the pilot early teacher hiring program:

What has led to the reduction in later teacher hiring in Delaware? The most obvious answer is Senate Bill 164 with House Amendment 1, the extension of SB 16. SB 16 requires that projections of enrollment be made by April 15 and that the State will guarantee that school districts receive funds equivalent to 98 percent of these projections. This bill was aimed at decreasing late teacher hiring, and it appears to have had the desired effect. (Delaware Teacher and Administrator Supply and Demand Survey Analysis Report at p. 50).

State Representative Darryl Scott, prime sponsor of House Bill 259 and one of the original sponsors of the 2011 pilot program, said, “We want to hire the very best teachers and make sure they’re ready to start strong on the first day of school. We’ve seen conclusive evidence that tells us early unit counts are helping our districts achieve that goal, and I am glad we have now made that policy permanent.”

Senator Sokola, the Senate sponsor of House Bill 259 and the original sponsor Senate Bill 16, added, “In my work, I understand the importance of testing and validating data. I’m pleased that the data have validated this experiment in giving our schools more flexibility in hiring top-quality teachers and that it is permanent.”

Other original sponsors of Senate Bill 16 who co-sponsored the legislation making it permanent are Representative Debra Heffernan and Representative Earl Jaques.

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR AND STATE LEGISLATORS PROPOSE TO MAKE EARLY TEACHER HIRING PROGRAM PERMANENT

The original sponsors of Delaware’s pilot program to allow school districts to make earlier hiring offers to new teachers have introduced legislation to make the pilot program a permanent one. The pilot program has demonstrated extraordinary success in allowing Delaware school districts to better compete with surrounding states for new teachers and adequately train those new teachers before the start of the school year.

House Bill 259 will make permanent the pilot program originally created in 2011, which required the state’s Department of Education to estimate each school district’s enrollment for the following school year in May, and guarantee state funds to each district sufficient to cover 98% of the state’s share of hiring the teachers justified by that enrollment estimate. The pilot program was created through legislation implementing the recommendations of a task force chaired by Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn and State Senator David Sokola.

“Our task force findings were very straightforward,” said Lieutenant Governor Denn. “The school districts told us that they were holding back on early hiring because they couldn’t risk getting less state money than they expected. And the consequence was that they were losing teaching candidates to other states that were making firm offers earlier in the year. Our solution was to guarantee the districts the vast majority of their money in May, and the results have been striking.”

The University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration, in its ninth annual Delaware Teacher and Administrator Supply and Demand Survey Analysis Report[1], quantified the change in early teacher hiring caused by the pilot program: the percentage of school district teachers who were hired after July 31st dropped from 64.3% in the 2010-2011 school year, to 48.6% in 2011-2012 and 46.5% in 2012-2013. Delaware Teacher and Administrator Supply and Demand Survey Analysis Report, June 2013, at p. 12. This significant drop in the percentage of late-hired teachers was directly attributed by the University of Delaware to the pilot early teacher hiring program:

What has led to the reduction in later teacher hiring in Delaware? The most obvious answer is Senate Bill 164 with House Amendment 1, the extension of SB 16. SB 16 requires that projections of enrollment be made by April 15 and that the State will guarantee that school districts receive funds equivalent to 98 percent of these projections. This bill was aimed at decreasing late teacher hiring, and it appears to have had the desired effect.

(Delaware Teacher and Administrator Supply and Demand Survey Analysis Report at p. 50).

State Representative Darryl Scott, prime sponsor of House Bill 259 and one of the original sponsors of the 2011 pilot program, said, “Our goal is to hire the very best teachers and have them prepared to start the first day of school. Early unit counts have proven to be an effective tool for our school districts in accomplishing this goal and removing the sunset provision keeps this tool available to our school districts.”

Senator Sokola, the Senate sponsor of House Bill 259 and the original sponsor Senate Bill 16, added, “In my work, I understand the importance of testing and validating data. I’m pleased that the data have validated this experiment in giving our schools more flexibility in hiring top-quality teachers and that we’re making it permanent.”

Other original sponsors of Senate Bill 16 who are co-sponsoring the legislation making it permanent are Representative Debra Heffernan and Representative Earl Jaques.

[1] The report can be found on-line at http://www.ipa.udel.edu/publications/teacher_supply13.pdf.