AN ACT to amend and reenact sections 15.1-09.1-02.1 and 54-44.4-02 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to regional education associations.
Summary
SB 2353 amends North Dakota law governing regional education associations and state procurement. On the education side, it revises section 15.1-09.1-02.1 to state that, in order to be eligible for state funding, a regional education association must offer specified services to member districts. Those services include professional development for teachers and administrators, technology support, help with school improvement goals, assistance with student achievement data analysis, and support for expanding and enriching curricular offerings. The bill also preserves the ability of these associations to offer additional services, including to nonmember districts, and allows them to contract with the superintendent of public instruction to provide services.
The procurement portion adds contracts by the Department of Public Instruction with a regional education association to the list of purchases and services exempt from the Office of Management and Budget’s general procurement requirements under chapter 54-44.4. In practical terms, this creates a specific statutory procurement exception for these education-association contracts, placing them alongside other enumerated exemptions such as certain professional services, emergency purchases, and specialized agency contracts.
Impact
The bill affects two areas of the Century Code: education service delivery and state purchasing rules. It conditions state funding eligibility for regional education associations on offering a defined set of services and explicitly authorizes the Department of Public Instruction to contract with such associations outside the ordinary procurement process. The change is likely to standardize expectations for regional education associations while also making it easier for DPI to procure their services without following the full competitive procurement framework.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad support. It passed the Senate unanimously, 47-0, and the House by a strong margin, 75-9. The vote pattern suggests general agreement that regional education associations play a useful role in supporting school districts and that the procurement exception is a practical administrative change rather than a controversial policy shift.
Contention
The main point of potential contention is the procurement exemption. Some lawmakers may have been concerned about carving out a specific exception from the state’s general purchasing rules, which can reduce competitive bidding requirements and oversight. Another possible area of concern is the funding eligibility language, because it ties state support to a mandatory service package and could be seen as limiting flexibility for regional education associations. However, the recorded votes indicate that any objections were limited and did not prevent passage.
AN ACT to amend and reenact sections 54-44.4-02 and 54-44.6-02 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to procurement exemptions and an exemption from forms management requirements for the North Dakota center for distance education.
AN ACT to create and enact two new sections to chapter 54-44.4 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to purchases by state officials and employees and multiple award vendor pool contracts; and to amend and reenact subsection 6 of section 44-04-18.4, sections 54-44.4-01, 54-44.4-02, 54-44.4-05, subsection 1 of section 54-44.4-07, subsection 1 of section 54-44.4-09, sections 54-44.4-09.1, 54-44.4-12, 54-44.4-13, and 54-44.4-14 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to state purchasing practices.
AN ACT to amend and reenact sections 25-01.1-07, 25-02-01.1, and 25-02-03 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the North Dakota state hospital.