REFERENCE TITLE: schools; letter grades; absenteeism; illness

 

 

 

 

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-fourth Legislature

First Regular Session

2019

 

 

SB 1069

 

Introduced by

Senator Boyer

 

 

AN ACT

 

amending sections 15‑241 and 15‑346, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to the state board of education.

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 


Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1.  Section 15-241, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-241.  School, charter school and school district accountability; annual achievement profiles; classification; letter grade system; profiles; appeals process; failing schools tutoring fund; definition

A.  On or before November 1 of each year, the department of education shall compile for each public school and local education agency, and shall recommend to the state board of education, an annual achievement profile that consists of an educational dashboard that reflects the achievement for each public school and local education agency on the academic and educational performance indicators prescribed in subsection D of this section.  The department shall provide any technical assistance needed by the state board of education to make final adoption of the annual achievement profile.

B.  Each school, charter holder and school district shall submit to the department of education any data that is required and requested and that is necessary to compile the achievement profile.  A school or local education agency that fails to submit the information that is necessary is not eligible to receive monies from the classroom site fund established by section 15‑977.

C.  The annual achievement profile compiled by the department of education and recommended to the state board of education shall be used to determine a standard measurement of acceptable academic progress for each school and local education agency and a school and local education agency classification pursuant to subsection G of this section.  Any disclosure of educational records compiled by the department of education pursuant to this section shall comply with the family educational rights and privacy act of 1974 (20 United States Code section 1232g).

D.  The annual achievement profile for schools and local education agencies shall include, at a minimum, the following academic and educational performance indicators:

1.  Multiple measures of academic performance or other academically relevant indicators of school quality that are appropriate to assess the educational impact of a school during the academic year as determined by the state board of education.

2.  Academic progress on assessments adopted pursuant to sections 15‑741 and 15‑741.02 in English language arts and mathematics.

3.  Academic progress on the English language learner assessments administered pursuant to section 15‑756, subsection B and sections 15‑756.05 and 15‑756.06.

4.  Progress toward college and career readiness for all schools and local education agencies that offer instruction in any of grades nine through twelve.

5.  Academic progress on assessments administered pursuant to section 15‑741.02.

6.  Multiple measures of educational performance or other relevant indicators of school quality that assess a school's educational impact, such as graduation rates and attendance rates.

E.  If neither the school nor the school district meets the minimum student count as recommended by the department of education and approved by the state board of education for any of the performance indicators prescribed in subsection D of this section, then the performance indicator shall not be factored into the letter grade assigned pursuant to this section.

F.  Subject to final adoption by the state board of education, the department of education shall determine the criteria for each school and local education agency classification on each performance indicator of the annual achievement profile prescribed in subsection D of this section using a researched‑based methodology and shall recommend to the state board of education for final adoption the criteria for each school and local education agency classification.  The department of education shall develop the methodology developed in collaboration with a coalition of qualified technical and policy stakeholders appointed by the state board.  The department shall provide technical assistance and, upon on request, student or statewide performance indicator data needed to determine and calculate the methodology and final letter grades.  At a minimum, the methodology shall include the performance of pupils at all achievement levels, account for pupil mobility, account for the distribution of pupil achievement at each school and local education agency and include longitudinal indicators of academic performance.  For the purposes of this subsection, "researched‑based methodology" means the systematic and objective application of statistical and quantitative research principles to calculate the indicators used to determine A through F letter grades.

G.  The annual achievement profile shall use classifications based on an A through F letter grade system adopted by the state board of education in which a letter grade of A reflects an excellent level of performance and a letter grade of F reflects a failing level of performance.  The A through F letter grade system shall be applied to each performance indicator of the annual achievement profile prescribed in subsection D of this section, and the state board shall assign an overall letter grade for the public school or local education agency.  The A through F letter grade system shall indicate expected standards of performance for all schools on each performance indicator of the annual achievement profile prescribed in subsection D of this section and the manner in which schools may rise above or fall below those expected standards of performance.  The state board of education may also assign a school a letter grade of F on each performance indicator of the annual achievement profile prescribed in subsection D of this section if the state board determines that the school is among the persistently lowest‑achieving schools in the state on the majority of the performance indicators of the annual achievement profile under the federal school accountability requirements pursuant to section 1003(g) of the elementary and secondary education act (20 United States Code section 6303).

H.  The classification on each performance indicator of the annual achievement profile for each school and the criteria used to determine classification pursuant to subsections F and G of this section shall be included on the school report card prescribed in section 15‑746.

I.  Subject to final adoption by the state board of education, the department of education shall use achievement profiles appropriately to assess the educational impact of accommodation schools, alternative schools and extremely small schools, may develop profiles for schools that participate in the board examination system prescribed in chapter 7, article 6 of this title and schools that participate in Arizona online instruction pursuant to section 15‑808 and may develop other exceptions as prescribed by the state board of education for the purposes of this section.

J.  The department of education shall establish a process, including a deadline for when requests must be submitted, for a school or local education agency to correct student data used to determine the school's or local education agency's annual achievement profile.  If a correction to student data is required, the department shall notify the school or local education agency of the data correction process and shall annually process student data correction requests.  The state board of education shall establish an appeals process to allow a school or local education agency to appeal the school's or local education agency's final letter grade, or a letter grade applied to a performance indicator prescribed in subsection D of this section, based on mitigating factors, including achievement profile designations based on incorrect data, identified by the department.

K.  The failing schools tutoring fund is established consisting of monies collected pursuant to section 42‑5029, subsection E and section 42‑5029.02, subsection A, paragraph 8 as designated for this purpose.  The department of education shall administer the fund.  The department of education may use monies from the fund to purchase materials designed to assist students to meet the Arizona academic standards and to achieve a passing score on assessments adopted by the state board of education.

L.  IF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION USES CHRONIC ABSENTEEISM AS A FACTOR IN DETERMINING ANNUAL ACHIEVEMENT PROFILES OR LETTER GRADE CLASSIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION, PUPILs with chronic health problems as defined in section 15-346 WHO are ABSENT DUE TO the CHRONIC HEALTH PROBLEM are NOT CONSIDERED CHRONICALLY ABSENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS DETERMINATION.

L.  M.  For the purposes of this section, "academic progress" means measures of both proficiency and academic gain. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2.  Section 15-346, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-346.  Policies and procedures; pupils with chronic health problems; definition

A.  The governing board shall adopt policies and procedures concerning pupils with chronic health problems in consultation with parents, teachers and at least one health professional.  The policies and procedures shall be designed to provide continuing learning for pupils with chronic health problems while they are absent from school and to provide for the integration of pupils with chronic health problems into the regular education program as much as possible.  The policies and procedures shall include provisions for:

1.  Homework availability to ensure that pupils with chronic health problems have the opportunity to keep up with assignments and avoid losing credit because of their absence from school.

2.  Flexibility in physical education activity requirements so that pupils with chronic health problems may participate in the regular physical education program to the extent that their health permits.

B.  Nothing in This section shall be construed to does not obstruct, interfere with or override the rights of parents or guardians concerning the education and health care of pupils with chronic health problems.  Nothing in This section shall be construed to does not authorize school personnel to either:

1.  Authorize absences from school for a pupil with a chronic health problem without the prior consent of the pupil's parent or guardian.

2.  Recommend, prescribe or provide medication to a pupil with a chronic health problem without the prior consent of the pupil's parent or guardian.

C.  For the purposes of this section, "pupils with chronic health problems" means:

1.  Pupils who are not homebound but who are unable to attend regular classes for intermittent periods of one or more consecutive days because of illness, including mental illness, disease, pregnancy complications or accident as certified by a health professional who is licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 7, 8, 13, 14, 17, or 19.1, 25 or 33 or a registered nurse practitioner who is licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 15.

2.  Pupils who suffer from a condition requiring management on a long‑term basis as certified by a health professional who is licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 7, 8, 13, 14, 17 or 25 or a registered nurse practitioner who is licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 15.

3.  Pupils who have an infant with a severe health problem as certified by a health professional who is licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 7, 8, 13, 14, 17 or 25 or a registered nurse practitioner who is licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 15. END_STATUTE