H. B. 4436
(By Delegates Shaver, M. Poling, Perry, Williams,
Ennis, Beach, Lawrence, Romine, Pethtel,
Paxton and Cann)
[Introduced
February 10, 2010
; referred to the
Committee on Education.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-2E-5 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to providing discretion to use
assessments and adopt instructional strategies and programs
that promote student learning to schools that make AYP;
requiring participation in certain required assessments;
providing for approval of school curriculum team with
concurrence of faculty senate for certain assessments
strategies and programs.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-2E-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2E. HIGH QUALITY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.
§18-2E-5. Process for improving education; education standards;
statewide assessment program; accountability
measures; Office of Education Performance Audits;
school accreditation and school system approval; intervention to correct low performance.
(a)
Legislative findings, purpose and intent. -- The
Legislature makes the following findings with respect to the
process for improving education and its purpose and intent in the
enactment of this section:
(1) The process for improving education includes four primary
elements, these being:
(A) Standards which set forth the knowledge and skills that
students should know and be able to do as the result of a thorough
and efficient education that prepares them for the twenty-first
century, including measurable criteria to evaluate student
performance and progress;
(B) Assessments of student performance and progress toward
meeting the standards;
(C) A system for holding schools and school systems
accountable for student performance and progress toward obtaining
the knowledge and skills intrinsic to a high quality education in
the twenty-first century which is delivered in an efficient manner;
and
(D) A method for building the capacity and improving the
efficiency of schools and school systems to improve student
performance and progress.
(2) As the constitutional body charged with the general
supervision of schools as provided by general law, the state board
has the authority and the responsibility to establish the standards, assess the performance and progress of students against
the standards, hold schools and school systems accountable and
assist schools and school systems to build capacity and improve
efficiency so that the standards are met, including, when
necessary, seeking additional resources in consultation with the
Legislature and the Governor.
(3) As the Constitutional body charged with providing for a
thorough and efficient system of schools, the Legislature has the
authority and the responsibility to establish and be engaged
constructively in the determination of the knowledge and skills
that students should know and be able to do as the result of a
thorough and efficient education. This determination is made by
using the process for improving education to determine when school
improvement is needed, by evaluating the results and the efficiency
of the system of schools, by ensuring accountability and by
providing for the necessary capacity and its efficient use.
(4) In consideration of these findings, the purpose of this
section is to establish a process for improving education that
includes the four primary elements as set forth in subdivision (1)
of this subsection to provide assurances that the high quality
standards are, at a minimum, being met and that a thorough and
efficient system of schools is being provided for all West Virginia
public school students on an equal education opportunity basis.
(5) The intent of the Legislature in enacting this section and
section five-c of this article is to establish a process through which the Legislature, the Governor and the state board can work in
the spirit of cooperation and collaboration intended in the process
for improving education to consult and examine the performance and
progress of students, schools and school systems and, when
necessary, to consider alternative measures to ensure that all
students continue to receive the thorough and efficient education
to which they are entitled. However, nothing in this section
requires any specific level of funding by the Legislature.
(b)
Electronic county and school strategic improvement plans.
-- The state board shall promulgate a rule consistent with the
provisions of this section and in accordance with article three-b,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code establishing an electronic county
strategic improvement plan for each county board and an electronic
school strategic improvement plan for each public school in this
state. Each respective plan shall be a five-year plan that includes
the mission and goals of the school or school system to improve
student, school or school system performance and progress, as
applicable. The strategic plan shall be revised annually in each
area in which the school or system is below the standard on the
annual performance measures. The revised annual plan also shall
identify any deficiency which is reported on the check lists
identified in paragraph (G), subdivision (5), subsection (l) of this
section including any deficit more than a casual deficit by the
county board. The plan shall be revised when required pursuant to
this section to include each annual performance measure upon which the school or school system fails to meet the standard for
performance and progress, the action to be taken to meet each
measure, a separate time line and a date certain for meeting each
measure, a cost estimate and, when applicable, the assistance to be
provided by the department and other education agencies to improve
student, school or school system performance and progress to meet
the annual performance measure.
The department shall make available to all public schools
through its website or the West Virginia Education Information
System an electronic school strategic improvement plan boilerplate
designed for use by all schools to develop an electronic school
strategic improvement plan which incorporates all required aspects
and satisfies all improvement plan requirements of the No Child Left
Behind Act.
(c)
High quality education standards and efficiency standards.
-- In accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code, the state board shall adopt and
periodically review and update high quality education standards for
student, school and school system performance and processes in the
following areas:
(1) Curriculum;
(2) Workplace readiness skills;
(3) Finance;
(4) Transportation;
(5) Special education;
(6) Facilities;
(7) Administrative practices;
(8) Training of county board members and administrators;
(9) Personnel qualifications;
(10) Professional development and evaluation;
(11) Student performance and progress;
(12) School and school system performance and progress;
(13) A code of conduct for students and employees;
(14) Indicators of efficiency; and
(15) Any other areas determined by the state board.
The standards, as applicable, shall incorporate the state's
21st Century Skills Initiative and shall assure that graduates are
prepared for continuing post-secondary education, training and work
and that schools and school systems are making progress toward
achieving the education goals of the state.
(d)
Comprehensive statewide student assessment program. -- The
state board shall promulgate a rule in accordance with the
provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
establishing a comprehensive statewide student assessment program
to assess student performance and progress in grades three through
twelve. The state board may require that student proficiencies be
measured through the ACT EXPLORE and the ACT PLAN assessments or
other comparable assessments, which are approved by the state board
and provided by future vendors. The state board may require that
student proficiencies be measured through the West Virginia writing assessment at any of the grade levels four, seven and ten determined
by the state board to be appropriate:
Provided, That, effective
July 1, 2008, the state board may require that student proficiencies
be measured through the West Virginia writing assessment at any of
the grade levels four, seven and eleven determined by the state
board to be appropriate. The state board may provide through the
statewide assessment program other testing or assessment instruments
applicable to grade levels kindergarten through grade twelve which
may be used by each school upon approval by the school curriculum
team
with the concurrence of the faculty senate to promote student
achievement.
An individual school that makes adequate yearly
progress (AYP) for the previous year based on assessment results as
provided in this section may not be required by any state or county
policy to assess students using any specific assessment except the
WESTEST2, the Alternative Performance Task Assessment, the Online
Writing Assessment, and the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP); nor may it be required by any state or county
policy to employ any specific instructional strategy or program to
achieve the standards and objectives for courses required by the
state board except upon approval by the school curriculum team with
the concurrence of the faculty senate; nor may the failure to use
any specific assessment, instructional strategy or program except
as provided in this sentence be cited as a deficiency in any
accreditation review of the school. The school has the discretion
to use the assessments and implement the instructional strategies and programs, upon approval by the school curriculum team with the
concurrence of the faculty senate, that it determines best to
promote student achievement at the school. The use of assessment
results are subject to the following:
(1) The assessment results for grade levels three through eight
and eleven are the only assessment results which may be used for
determining whether any school or school system has made adequate
yearly progress (AYP);
(2) Only the assessment results in the subject areas of
reading/language arts and mathematics may be used for determining
whether a school or school system has made adequate yearly progress
(AYP);
(3) The results of the West Virginia writing assessment, the
ACT EXPLORE assessments and the ACT PLAN assessments may not be used
for determining whether a school or school system has made adequate
yearly progress (AYP);
(4) The results of testing or assessment instruments provided
by the state board for optional use by schools and school systems
to promote student achievement may not be used for determining
whether a school or school system has made adequate yearly progress
(AYP); and
(5) All assessment provisions of the comprehensive statewide
student assessment program in effect for the school year 2006-2007
shall remain in effect until replaced by the state board rule.
(e)
Annual performance measures for Public Law 107-110, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001). -- The standards shall include annual
measures of student, school and school system performance and
progress for the grade levels and the content areas defined by the
act. The following annual measures of student, school and school
system performance and progress shall be the only measures for
determining whether adequately yearly progress under the No Child
Left Behind Act has been achieved:
(1) The acquisition of student proficiencies as indicated by
student performance and progress on the required accountability
assessments at the grade levels and content areas as required by the
act subject to the limitations set forth in subsection (d) of this
section.
(2) The student participation rate in the uniform statewide
assessment must be at least ninety-five percent or the average of
the participation rate for the current and the preceding two years
is ninety-five percent for the school, county and state;
(3) Only for schools that do not include grade twelve, the
school attendance rate which shall be no less than ninety percent in
attendance for the school, county and state. The following absences
shall be excluded:
(A) Student absences excused in accordance with the state board
rule promulgated pursuant to section four, article eight of this
chapter;
(B) Students not in attendance due to disciplinary measures; and
(C) Absent students for whom the attendance director has
pursued judicial remedies compelling attendance to the extent of his
or her authority; and
(4) The high school graduation rate which shall be no less than
eighty percent for the school, county and state; or if the high
school graduation rate is less than eighty percent, the high school
graduation rate shall be higher than the high school graduation rate
of the preceding year as determined from information on the West
Virginia Education Information System on August 15.
(f)
State annual performance measures for school and school
system accreditation. -- The state board shall establish a system to
assess and weigh annual performance measures for state accreditation
of schools and school systems in a manner that gives credit or
points such as an index to prevent any one measure alone from
causing a school to achieve less than full accreditation status or
a school system from achieving less than full approval status:
Provided, That a school or school system that achieves adequate
yearly progress is eligible for no less than full accreditation or
approval status, as applicable, and the system established pursuant
to this subsection
shall only apply applies only to schools and
school systems that do not achieve adequate yearly progress.
The following types of measures, as may be appropriate at the
various programmatic levels, may be approved by the state board for
the school and school system accreditation:
(1) The acquisition of student proficiencies as indicated by
student performance and progress on the uniform statewide assessment
program at the grade levels as provided in subsection (d) of this
section. The state board may approve providing bonus points or
credits for students scoring at or above mastery and distinguished
levels;
(2) Writing assessment results in grades tested;
(3) School attendance rates;
(4) Percentage of courses taught by highly qualified teachers;
(5) Percentage of students scoring at benchmarks on the
currently tested ACT EXPLORE and ACT PLAN assessments or other
comparable assessments, which are approved by the state board and
provided by future vendors;
(6) Graduation rates;
(7) Job placement rates for vocational programs;
(8) Percent of students passing end-of-course career/technical
tests;
(9) Percent of students not requiring college remediation
classes; and
(10) Bonus points or credits for subgroup improvement, advanced
placement percentages, dual credit completers and international
baccalaureate completers.
(g)
Indicators of exemplary performance and progress. -- The
standards shall include indicators of exemplary student, school and
school system performance and progress. The indicators of exemplary student, school and school system performance and progress shall be
used only as indicators for determining whether accredited and
approved schools and school systems should be granted exemplary
status. These indicators shall include, but are not limited to, the
following:
(1) The percentage of graduates who declare their intent to
enroll in college and other post-secondary education and training
following high school graduation;
(2) The percentage of graduates who receive additional
certification of their skills, competence and readiness for college,
other post-secondary education or employment above the level required
for graduation; and
(3) The percentage of students who successfully complete
advanced placement, dual credit and honors classes.
(h)
Indicators of efficiency. -- In accordance with the
provisions of article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code,
the state board shall adopt by rule and periodically review and
update indicators of efficiency for use by the appropriate divisions
within the department to ensure efficient management and use of
resources in the public schools in the following areas:
(1) Curriculum delivery including, but not limited to, the use
of distance learning;
(2) Transportation;
(3) Facilities;
(4) Administrative practices;
(5) Personnel;
(6) Use of regional educational service agency programs and
services, including programs and services that may be established by
their assigned regional educational service agency or other regional
services that may be initiated between and among participating county
boards; and
(7) Any other indicators as determined by the state board.
(i)
Assessment and accountability of school and school system
performance and processes. -- In accordance with the provisions of
article three-b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, the state board
shall establish by rule a system of education performance audits
which measures the quality of education and the preparation of
students based on the annual measures of student, school and school
system performance and progress. The system of education performance
audits shall provide information to the state board, the Legislature
and the Governor, individually and collectively as the Process for
Improving Education Council, upon which they may determine whether
a thorough and efficient system of schools is being provided. The
system of education performance audits shall include:
(1) The assessment of student, school and school system
performance and progress based on the annual measures set forth in
subsection (d) of this section;
(2) The evaluation of records, reports and other information
collected by the department upon which the quality of education and
compliance with statutes, policies and standards may be determined;
(3) The review of school and school system electronic strategic
improvement plans; and
(4) The on-site review of the processes in place in schools and
school systems to enable school and school system performance and
progress and compliance with the standards.
(j)
Uses of school and school system assessment information. --
The state board and the Process for Improving Education Council
established pursuant to section five-c of this article shall use
information from the system of education performance audits to assist
them in ensuring that a thorough and efficient system of schools is
being provided and to improve student, school and school system
performance and progress. Information from the system of education
performance audits further shall be used by the state board for these
purposes, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) Determining school accreditation and school system approval
status;
(2) Holding schools and school systems accountable for the
efficient use of existing resources to meet or exceed the standards;
and
(3) Targeting additional resources when necessary to improve
performance and progress.
The state board shall make accreditation information available
to the Legislature, the Governor, the general public and to any
individual who requests the information, subject to the provisions
of any act or rule restricting the release of information.
(k)
Early detection and intervention programs. -- Based on the
assessment of student, school and school system performance and
progress, the state board shall establish early detection and
intervention programs using the available resources of the Department
of Education, the regional educational service agencies, the Center
for Professional Development and the Principals Academy, as
appropriate, to assist underachieving schools and school systems to
improve performance before conditions become so grave as to warrant
more substantive state intervention. Assistance shall include, but
is not limited to, providing additional technical assistance and
programmatic, professional staff development, providing monetary,
staffing and other resources where appropriate, and, if necessary,
making appropriate recommendations to the Process for Improving
Education Council.
(l)
Office of Education Performance Audits. --
(1) To assist the state board and the Process for Improving
Education Council in the operation of a system of education
performance audits, the state board shall establish an Office of
Education Performance Audits consistent with the provisions of this
section. The Office of Education Performance Audits shall be
operated under the direction of the state board independently of the
functions and supervision of the State Department of Education and
state superintendent. The Office of Education Performance Audits
shall report directly to and be responsible to the state board and
the Process for Improving Education Council created in section five-c of this article in carrying out its duties under the provisions of
this section.
(2) The office shall be headed by a director who shall be
appointed by the state board and who shall serve at the will and
pleasure of the state board. The annual salary of the director shall
be set by the state board and may not exceed eighty percent of the
salary cap of the State Superintendent of Schools.
(3) The state board shall organize and sufficiently staff the
office to fulfill the duties assigned to it by law and by the state
board. Employees of the State Department of Education who are
transferred to the Office of Education Performance Audits shall
retain their benefits and seniority status with the Department of
Education.
(4) Under the direction of the state board, the Office of
Education Performance Audits shall receive from the West Virginia
education information system staff research and analysis data on the
performance and progress of students, schools and school systems, and
shall receive assistance, as determined by the state board, from
staff at the State Department of Education, the regional education
service agencies, the Center for Professional Development, the
Principals Academy and the School Building Authority to carry out the
duties assigned to the office.
(5) In addition to other duties which may be assigned to it by
the state board or by statute, the Office of Education Performance
Audits also shall:
(A) Assure that all statewide assessments of student performance
used as annual performance measures are secure as required in section
one-a of this article;
(B) Administer all accountability measures as assigned by the
state board, including, but not limited to, the following:
(i) Processes for the accreditation of schools and the approval
of school systems; and
(ii) Recommendations to the state board on appropriate action,
including, but not limited to, accreditation and approval action;
(C) Determine, in conjunction with the assessment and
accountability processes, what capacity may be needed by schools and
school systems to meet the standards established by the state board
and recommend to the state board and the Process for Improving
Education Council plans to establish those needed capacities;
(D) Determine, in conjunction with the assessment and
accountability processes, whether statewide system deficiencies exist
in the capacity of schools and school systems to meet the standards
established by the state board, including the identification of
trends and the need for continuing improvements in education, and
report those deficiencies and trends to the state board and the
Process for Improving Education Council;
(E) Determine, in conjunction with the assessment and
accountability processes, staff development needs of schools and
school systems to meet the standards established by the state board
and make recommendations to the state board, the Process for Improving Education Council, the Center for Professional Development,
the regional educational service agencies, the Higher Education
Policy Commission and the county boards;
(F) Identify, in conjunction with the assessment and
accountability processes, exemplary schools and school systems and
best practices that improve student, school and school system
performance and make recommendations to the state board and the
Process for Improving Education Council for recognizing and rewarding
exemplary schools and school systems and promoting the use of best
practices. The state board shall provide information on best
practices to county school systems and shall use information
identified through the assessment and accountability processes to
select schools of excellence; and
(G) Develop reporting formats, such as check lists, which shall
be used by the appropriate administrative personnel in schools and
school systems to document compliance with various of the applicable
laws, policies and process standards as considered appropriate and
approved by the state board, including, but not limited to, the
following:
(i) The use of a policy for the evaluation of all school
personnel that meets the requirements of sections twelve and twelve-
a, article two, chapter eighteen-a of this code;
(ii) The participation of students in appropriate physical
assessments as determined by the state board, which assessment may
not be used as a part of the assessment and accountability system;
(iii) The appropriate licensure of school personnel; and
(iv) The school provides multicultural activities.
Information contained in the reporting formats is subject to
examination during an on-site review to determine compliance with
laws, policies and standards. Intentional and grossly negligent
reporting of false information are grounds for dismissal.
(m)
On-site reviews. --
(1) The system of education performance audits shall include on-
site reviews of schools and school systems which shall be conducted
only at the specific direction of the state board upon its
determination that the performance and progress of the school or
school system are persistently below standard or that other
circumstances exist that warrant an on-site review. Any discussion
by the state board of schools to be subject to an on-site review or
dates for which on-site reviews will be conducted may be held in
executive session and is not subject to the provisions of article
nine-a, chapter six of this code relating to open governmental
proceedings. An on-site review shall be conducted by the Office of
Education Performance Audits of a school or school system for the
purpose of investigating the reasons for performance and progress
that are persistently below standard and making recommendations to
the school and school system, as appropriate, and to the state board
on such measures as it considers necessary to improve performance and
progress to meet the standard. The investigation may include, but
is not limited to, the following:
(A) Verifying data reported by the school or county board;
(B) Examining compliance with the laws and policies affecting
student, school and school system performance and progress;
(C) Evaluating the effectiveness and implementation status of
school and school system electronic strategic improvement plans;
(D) Investigating official complaints submitted to the state
board that allege serious impairments in the quality of education in
schools or school systems;
(E) Investigating official complaints submitted to the state
board that allege that a school or county board is in violation of
policies or laws under which schools and county boards operate; and
(F) Determining and reporting whether required reviews and
inspections have been conducted by the appropriate agencies,
including, but not limited to, the State Fire Marshal, the Health
Department, the School Building Authority and the responsible
divisions within the Department of Education, and whether noted
deficiencies have been or are in the process of being corrected. The
Office of Education Performance Audits may not conduct a duplicate
review or inspection of any compliance reviews or inspections
conducted by the department or its agents or other duly authorized
agencies of the state, nor may it mandate more stringent compliance
measures.
(2) The Director of the Office of Education Performance Audits
shall notify the county superintendent of schools five school days
prior to commencing an on-site review of the county school system and shall notify both the county superintendent and the principal five
school days
prior to before commencing an on-site review of an
individual school:
Provided, That the state board may direct the
Office of Education Performance Audits to conduct an unannounced on-
site review of a school or school system if the state board believes
circumstances warrant an unannounced on-site review.
(3) The Office of Education Performance Audits shall conduct on-
site reviews which are limited in scope to specific areas in which
performance and progress are persistently below standard as
determined by the state board unless specifically directed by the
state board to conduct a review which covers additional areas.
(4) An on-site review of a school or school system shall include
a person or persons from the Department of Education or a public
education agency in the state who has expert knowledge and experience
in the area or areas to be reviewed and who has been trained and
designated by the state board to perform such functions. If the size
of the school or school system and issues being reviewed necessitate
the use of an on-site review team or teams, the person or persons
designated by the state board shall advise and assist the director
to appoint the team or teams. The person or persons designated by
the state board shall be the team leaders.
The persons designated by the state board shall be responsible
for completing the report on the findings and recommendations of the
on-site review in their area of expertise. It is the intent of the
Legislature that the persons designated by the state board participate in all on-site reviews that involve their area of
expertise, to the extent practicable, so that the on-site review
process will evaluate compliance with the standards in a uniform,
consistent and expert manner.
(5) The Office of Education Performance Audits shall reimburse
a county board for the costs of substitutes required to replace
county board employees while they are serving on a review team.
(6) At the conclusion of an on-site review of a school system,
the director and team leaders shall hold an exit conference with the
superintendent and shall provide an opportunity for principals to be
present for at least the portion of the conference pertaining to
their respective schools. In the case of an on-site review of a
school, the exit conference shall be held with the principal and
curriculum team of the school and the superintendent shall be
provided the opportunity to be present. The purpose of the exit
conference is to review the initial findings of the on-site review,
clarify and correct any inaccuracies and allow the opportunity for
dialogue between the reviewers and the school or school system to
promote a better understanding of the findings.
(7) The Office of Education Performance Audits shall report the
findings of an on-site review to the county superintendent and the
principals whose schools were reviewed within thirty days following
the conclusion of the on-site review. The Office of Education
Performance Audits shall report the findings of the on-site review
to the state board within forty-five days after the conclusion of the on-site review. A copy of the report shall be provided to the
Process for Improving Education Council at its request. A school or
county that believes one or more findings of a review are clearly
inaccurate, incomplete or misleading, misrepresent or fail to reflect
the true quality of education in the school or county, or address
issues unrelated to the health, safety and welfare of students and
the quality of education, may appeal to the state board for removal
of the findings. The state board shall establish a process for it
to receive, review and act upon the appeals. The state board shall
report to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Education
Accountability during its July interim meetings, or as soon
thereafter as practical, on each appeal during the preceding school
year.
(8) The Legislature finds that the accountability and oversight
of the following activities and programmatic areas in the public
schools is controlled through other mechanisms and that additional
accountability and oversight are not only unnecessary but
counterproductive in distracting necessary resources from teaching
and learning. Therefore, notwithstanding any other provision of this
section to the contrary, the following activities and programmatic
areas are not subject to review by the Office of Education
Performance Audits:
(A) Work-based learning;
(B) Use of advisory councils;
(C) Program accreditation and student credentials;
(D) Student transition plans;
(E) Graduate assessment form;
(F) Casual deficit;
(G) Accounting practices;
(H) Transportation services;
(I) Special education services;
(J) Safe, healthy and accessible facilities;
(K) Health services;
(L) Attendance director;
(M) Business/community partnerships;
(N) Pupil-teacher ratio/split grade classes;
(O) Local school improvement council, faculty senate, student
assistance team and curriculum team;
(P) Planning and lunch periods;
(Q) Skill improvement program;
(R) Certificate of proficiency;
(S) Training of county board members;
(T) Excellence in job performance;
(U) Staff development; and
(V) Preventive discipline, character education and student and
parental involvement.
(n)
School accreditation. -- The state board annually shall
review the information from the system of education performance
audits submitted for each school and shall issue to every school one
of the following approval levels: Exemplary accreditation status, distinction accreditation status, full accreditation status,
temporary accreditation status, conditional accreditation status, or
low performing accreditation status.
(1) Full accreditation status shall be given to a school when
the school's performance and progress meet or exceed the standards
adopted by the state board pursuant to subsection (e) or (f), as
applicable, of this section and it does not have any deficiencies
which would endanger student health or safety or other extraordinary
circumstances as defined by the state board. A school that meets or
exceeds the performance and progress standards but has the other
deficiencies shall remain on full accreditation status for the
remainder of the accreditation period and shall have an opportunity
to correct those deficiencies, notwithstanding other provisions of
this subsection.
(2) Temporary accreditation status shall be given to a school
when the school's performance and progress are below the level
required for full accreditation status. Whenever a school is given
temporary accreditation status, the county board shall ensure that
the school's electronic strategic improvement plan is revised in
accordance with subsection (b) of this section to increase the
performance and progress of the school to a full accreditation status
level. The revised plan shall be submitted to the state board for
approval.
(3) Conditional accreditation status shall be given to a school
when the school's performance and progress are below the level required for full accreditation, but the school's electronic
strategic improvement plan meets the following criteria:
(A) The plan has been revised to improve performance and
progress on the standard or standards by a date or dates certain;
(B) The plan has been approved by the state board; and
(C) The school is meeting the objectives and time line specified
in the revised plan.
(4) Exemplary accreditation status shall be given to a school
when the school's performance and progress substantially exceed the
standards adopted by the state board pursuant to subsections (f) and
(g) of this section. The state board shall promulgate legislative
rules in accordance with the provisions of article three-b, chapter
twenty-nine-a of this code designated to establish standards of
performance and progress to identify exemplary schools.
(5) Distinction accreditation status shall be given to a school
when the school's performance and progress exceed the standards
adopted by the state board. The state board shall promulgate
legislative rules in accordance with the provisions of article three-
b, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code establishing standards of
performance and progress to identify schools of distinction.
(6) Low-performing accreditation status shall be given to a
school whenever extraordinary circumstances exist as defined by the
state board.
(A) These circumstances shall include, but are not limited to,
the following:
(i) The failure of a school on temporary accreditation status
to obtain approval of its revised electronic school strategic
improvement plan within a reasonable time period as defined by the
state board;
(ii) The failure of a school on conditional accreditation status
to meet the objectives and time line of its revised electronic school
strategic improvement plan; or
(iii) The failure of a school to meet a standard by the date
specified in the revised plan.
(B) Whenever the state board determines that the quality of
education in a school is low performing, the state board shall
appoint a team of improvement consultants to make recommendations
within sixty days of appointment for correction of the low
performance. When the state board approves the recommendations, they
shall be communicated to the county board. If progress in correcting
the low performance as determined by the state board is not made
within six months from the time the county board receives the
recommendations, the state board shall place the county board on
temporary approval status and provide consultation and assistance to
the county board to assist it in the following areas:
(i) Improving personnel management;
(ii) Establishing more efficient financial management practices;
(iii) Improving instructional programs and rules; or
(iv) Making any other improvements that are necessary to correct
the low performance.
(C) If the low performance is not corrected by a date certain
as set by the state board:
(i) The state board shall appoint a monitor who shall be paid
at county expense to cause improvements to be made at the school to
bring it to full accreditation status within a reasonable time period
as determined by the state board. The monitor's work location shall
be at the school and the monitor shall work collaboratively with the
principal. The monitor shall, at a minimum, report monthly to the
state board on the measures being taken to improve the school's
performance and the progress being made. The reports may include
requests for additional assistance and recommendations required in
the judgment of the monitor to improve the school's performance,
including, but not limited to, the need for targeting resources
strategically to eliminate deficiencies;
(ii) The state board may make a determination, in its sole
judgment, that the improvements necessary to provide a thorough and
efficient education to the students at the school cannot be made
without additional targeted resources, in which case it shall
establish a plan in consultation with the county board that includes
targeted resources from sources under the control of the state board
and the county board to accomplish the needed improvements. Nothing
in this subsection shall be construed to allow a change in personnel
at the school to improve school performance and progress, except as
provided by law;
(iii) If the low performance is not corrected within one year after the appointment of a monitor, the state board may make a
determination, in its sole judgment, that continuing a monitor
arrangement is not sufficient to correct the low performance and may
intervene in the operation of the school to cause improvements to be
made that will provide assurances that a thorough and efficient
system of schools will be provided. This intervention may include,
but is not limited to, establishing instructional programs, taking
such direct action as may be necessary to correct the low
performance, declaring the position of principal is vacant and
assigning a principal for the school who shall serve at the will and
pleasure of and, under the sole supervision of, the state board:
Provided, That prior to declaring that the position of the principal
is vacant, the state board must make a determination that all other
resources needed to correct the low performance are present at the
school. If the principal who was removed elects not to remain an
employee of the county board, then the principal assigned by the
state board shall be paid by the county board. If the principal who
was removed elects to remain an employee of the county board, then
the following procedure applies:
(I) The principal assigned by the state board shall be paid by
the state board until the next school term, at which time the
principal assigned by the state board shall be paid by the county
board;
(II) The principal who was removed shall be eligible for all
positions in the county, including teaching positions, for which the principal is certified, by either being placed on the transfer list
in accordance with section seven, article two, chapter eighteen-a of
this code, or by being placed on the preferred recall list in
accordance with section seven-a, article four, chapter eighteen-a of
this code; and
(III) The principal who was removed shall be paid by the county
board and may be assigned to administrative duties, without the
county board being required to post that position until the end of
the school term.
(6) The county board shall take no action nor refuse any action
if the effect would be to impair further the school in which the
state board has intervened.
(7) The state board may appoint a monitor pursuant to the
provisions of this subsection to assist the school principal after
intervention in the operation of a school is completed.
(o)
Transfers from low-performing schools. -- Whenever a school
is determined to be low performing and fails to improve its status
within one year, following state intervention in the operation of the
school to correct the low performance, any student attending the
school may transfer once to the nearest fully accredited school in
the county, subject to approval of the fully accredited school and
at the expense of the school from which the student transferred.
(p)
School system approval. -- The state board annually shall
review the information submitted for each school system from the
system of education performance audits and issue one of the following approval levels to each county board: Full approval, temporary
approval, conditional approval or nonapproval.
(1) Full approval shall be given to a county board whose schools
have all been given full, temporary or conditional accreditation
status and which does not have any deficiencies which would endanger
student health or safety or other extraordinary circumstances as
defined by the state board. A fully approved school system in which
other deficiencies are discovered shall remain on full accreditation
status for the remainder of the approval period and shall have an
opportunity to correct those deficiencies, notwithstanding other
provisions of this subsection.
(2) Temporary approval shall be given to a county board whose
education system is below the level required for full approval.
Whenever a county board is given temporary approval status, the
county board shall revise its electronic county strategic improvement
plan in accordance with subsection (b) of this section to increase
the performance and progress of the school system to a full approval
status level. The revised plan shall be submitted to the state board
for approval.
(3) Conditional approval shall be given to a county board whose
education system is below the level required for full approval, but
whose electronic county strategic improvement plan meets the
following criteria:
(i) The plan has been revised in accordance with subsection (b)
of this section;
(ii) The plan has been approved by the state board; and
(iii) The county board is meeting the objectives and time line
specified in the revised plan.
(4) Nonapproval status shall be given to a county board which
fails to submit and gain approval for its electronic county strategic
improvement plan or revised electronic county strategic improvement
plan within a reasonable time period as defined by the state board
or which fails to meet the objectives and time line of its revised
electronic county strategic improvement plan or fails to achieve full
approval by the date specified in the revised plan.
(A) The state board shall establish and adopt additional
standards to identify school systems in which the program may be
nonapproved and the state board may issue nonapproval status whenever
extraordinary circumstances exist as defined by the state board.
(B) Whenever a county board has more than a casual deficit, as
defined in section one, article one of this chapter, the county board
shall submit a plan to the state board specifying the county board's
strategy for eliminating the casual deficit. The state board either
shall approve or reject the plan. If the plan is rejected, the state
board shall communicate to the county board the reason or reasons for
the rejection of the plan. The county board may resubmit the plan
any number of times. However, any county board that fails to submit
a plan and gain approval for the plan from the state board before the
end of the fiscal year after a deficit greater than a casual deficit
occurred or any county board which, in the opinion of the state board, fails to comply with an approved plan may be designated as
having nonapproval status.
(C) Whenever nonapproval status is given to a school system, the
state board shall declare a state of emergency in the school system
and shall appoint a team of improvement consultants to make
recommendations within sixty days of appointment for correcting the
emergency. When the state board approves the recommendations, they
shall be communicated to the county board. If progress in correcting
the emergency, as determined by the state board, is not made within
six months from the time the county board receives the
recommendations, the state board shall intervene in the operation of
the school system to cause improvements to be made that will provide
assurances that a thorough and efficient system of schools will be
provided. This intervention may include, but is not limited to, the
following:
(i) Limiting the authority of the county superintendent and
county board as to the expenditure of funds, the employment and
dismissal of personnel, the establishment and operation of the school
calendar, the establishment of instructional programs and rules and
any other areas designated by the state board by rule, which may
include delegating decision-making authority regarding these matters
to the state superintendent;
(ii) Declaring that the office of the county superintendent is
vacant;
(iii) Delegating to the state superintendent both the authority to conduct hearings on personnel matters and school closure or
consolidation matters and, subsequently, to render the resulting
decisions and the authority to appoint a designee for the limited
purpose of conducting hearings while reserving to the state
superintendent the authority to render the resulting decisions;
(iv) Functioning in lieu of the county board of education in a
transfer, sale, purchase or other transaction regarding real
property; and
(v) Taking any direct action necessary to correct the emergency
including, but not limited to, the following:
(I) Delegating to the state superintendent the authority to
replace administrators and principals in low performing schools and
to transfer them into alternate professional positions within the
county at his or her discretion; and
(II) Delegating to the state superintendent the authority to
fill positions of administrators and principals with individuals
determined by the state superintendent to be the most qualified for
the positions. Any authority related to intervention in the
operation of a county board granted under this paragraph is not
subject to the provisions of article four, chapter eighteen-a of this
code;
(q) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
state board may intervene immediately in the operation of the county
school system with all the powers, duties and responsibilities
contained in subsection (p) of this section, if the state board finds the following:
(1) That the conditions precedent to intervention exist as
provided in this section; and that delaying intervention for any
period of time would not be in the best interests of the students of
the county school system; or
(2) That the conditions precedent to intervention exist as
provided in this section and that the state board had previously
intervened in the operation of the same school system and had
concluded that intervention within the preceding five years.
(r)
Capacity. -- The process for improving education includes
a process for targeting resources strategically to improve the
teaching and learning process. Development of electronic school and
school system strategic improvement plans, pursuant to subsection (b)
of this section, is intended, in part, to provide mechanisms to
target resources strategically to the teaching and learning process
to improve student, school and school system performance. When
deficiencies are detected through the assessment and accountability
processes, the revision and approval of school and school system
electronic strategic improvement plans shall ensure that schools and
school systems are efficiently using existing resources to correct
the deficiencies. When the state board determines that schools and
school systems do not have the capacity to correct deficiencies, the
state board shall work with the county board to develop or secure the
resources necessary to increase the capacity of schools and school
systems to meet the standards and, when necessary, seek additional resources in consultation with the Legislature and the Governor.
The state board shall recommend to the appropriate body
including, but not limited to, the Process for Improving Education
Council, the Legislature, county boards, schools and communities
methods for targeting resources strategically to eliminate
deficiencies identified in the assessment and accountability
processes. When making determinations on recommendations, the state
board shall include, but is not limited to, the following methods:
(1) Examining reports and electronic strategic improvement plans
regarding the performance and progress of students, schools and
school systems relative to the standards and identifying the areas
in which improvement is needed;
(2) Determining the areas of weakness and of ineffectiveness
that appear to have contributed to the substandard performance and
progress of students or the deficiencies of the school or school
system;
(3) Determining the areas of strength that appear to have
contributed to exceptional student, school and school system
performance and progress and promoting their emulation throughout the
system;
(4) Requesting technical assistance from the School Building
Authority in assessing or designing comprehensive educational
facilities plans;
(5) Recommending priority funding from the School Building
Authority based on identified needs;
(6) Requesting special staff development programs from the
Center for Professional Development, the Principals Academy, higher
education, regional educational service agencies and county boards
based on identified needs;
(7) Submitting requests to the Legislature for appropriations
to meet the identified needs for improving education;
(8) Directing county boards to target their funds strategically
toward alleviating deficiencies;
(9) Ensuring that the need for facilities in counties with
increased enrollment are appropriately reflected and recommended for
funding;
(10) Ensuring that the appropriate person or entity is held
accountable for eliminating deficiencies; and
(11) Ensuring that the needed capacity is available from the
state and local level to assist the school or school system in
achieving the standards and alleviating the deficiencies.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide discretion to
schools that make AYP to use assessments and adopt instructional
strategies and programs that promote student learning. Except for
the WESTEST2, the Alternative Performance Task Assessment, the Online
Writing assessment and the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP), the school may not be required by any state or
county policy to employ any specific instructional strategy or
program to achieve the standards and objectives for courses required
by the state board except upon approval by the school curriculum team
with the concurrence of the faculty senate. Also, the failure to use
any specific assessment, instructional strategy or program may not
be cited as a deficiency in any accreditation review of the school.
Strike-throughs indicate existing language that would be
removed, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.