Purpose

Authorizes an alternative school within a school district or an alternative charter school to offer a dropout recovery program (DRP) and narrows the prohibition on an Arizona Online Instruction (AOI) provider operating a DRP to apply to an AOI online course provider or an online school. Modifies DRP eligibility, administration and reporting requirements.

Background

A school district or charter school that provides high school instruction and is not also an AOI provider may offer a DRP to assist pupils who left the education system achieve a high school diploma in an alternative setting. The State Board of Education (SBE) must prescribe standards that require a DRP to: 1) provide curriculum aligned to academic standards, required standardized tests and support for pupils; and 2) meet the state graduation requirements. A school district or charter school may contract with an educational management organization (EMO) that meets prescribed requirements to provide a DRP and may provide curricula online. Schools that operate a DRP are classified as alternative schools.

For the purposes of calculating average daily membership (ADM), a DRP pupil is in attendance if: 1) in the first month, the pupil completes DRP orientation; 2) the student makes satisfactory monthly progress in teacher-facilitated courses for the current or previous month; or 3) meets the expectations for DRP reentry. A pupil who does not make satisfactory progress for two or more consecutive months may not be counted in ADM (A.R.S. §§ 15-241 and 15-901.06; ADE).

An alternative school is a school whose mission is to serve a specific population of at-risk students that will benefit from an alternative school setting. At least 70 percent of the school's enrolled students must be in at least one of the prescribed population categories (ADE).

If modifying the qualifications of schools who may offer a DRP or the definition of satisfactory monthly progress results in a change to ADM calculated for DRP providers, there may be change in Basic State Aid costs to the state General Fund.

Provisions

1. Authorizes an alternative school within a school district or an alternative charter school, rather than a school district or charter school, that provides high school instruction to offer a DRP.

2. Narrows the prohibition on an AOI provider operating a DRP to apply to an AOI:

a) online school which is a school that is selected to participate in AOI and provides at least four online academic courses or at least one online course for the equivalent of at least five hours each day for 180 school days; or

b) online course provider which is a school other than an online school that is selected to participate in AOI and provides at least one SBE-approved online academic course.

3. Stipulates that, if the school is not an AOI online course provider or online school, an alternative charter school with a unique entity number or an alternative school within a school district may operate a DRP.

4. Requires the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to create, and update on a quarterly basis, a master list of EMOs providing DRP services that includes who each EMO serves.

5. Requires, 30 days before beginning DRP operations, an alternative school within a school district or an alternative charter school to:

a) notify ADE that the school meets prescribed criteria; and

b) if applicable, identify the EMO contracted to operate a DRP in the notice.

6. Directs ADE, within 30 days after receiving the school's notice, to determine whether the DRP criteria are met and notify the school.

7. Provides the school 30 days to respond and appeal ADE's decision.

8. Allows a school that receives ADE-approval to start DRP operations 30 days after the school's initial notice to ADE.

9. Authorizes a school that offers a DRP (DRP provider) to provide up to 2 months of fundable orientation and mentoring per student per 12-month period.

10. Directs a DRP provider to identify monthly progress in the school's student information system using the following progress markers:

a) O for orientation;

b) S for satisfactory; and

c) U for unsatisfactory.

11. Requires, by July 31, each DRP provider and each EMO contracted by a DRP provider to annually report to ADE:

a) on-track to graduate data;

b) the total number of credits earned by pupils in the DRP; and

c) the alternative college and career readiness indicator.

12. Requires ADE’s annual report to the Governor and Legislature to:

a) be submitted by July 31 and posted on ADE’s website; and

b) include compiled information submitted by DRP providers, rather than DRP outcomes including the number of participating pupils and the number of participating pupils who graduate.

13. Modifies the definition of eligible pupil by:

a) removing the criteria that the pupil must be eligible for placement in an alternative school; and

b) reducing, from 30 to 10, the number of days the pupil has been withdrawn from a school district or charter school.

14. Allows satisfactory monthly progress to include up to 2 months of fundable orientation and mentoring per student over a 12-month period, resulting in a lesser required amount of progress over the 12-month period, rather than a lesser required amount of progress for the first 2 months of a pupil's participation.

15. Makes technical and conforming changes.

16. Becomes effective on the general effective date.