00 HOUSE BILL NO. 151 01 "An Act establishing a public school and school district grading system for purposes of 02 improving accountability and transparency; providing for Alaska strategic educators in 03 public schools; and providing for an effective date." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05  * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 06 to read: 07 SHORT TITLE. This Act may be known as the Parental Education Information Act. 08  * Sec. 2. AS 14.03.123(a) is amended to read: 09 (a) By July [SEPTEMBER] 1 of each year, the department shall assign a 10 performance designation to each public school, including charter schools and  11 boarding schools, to each [AND] school district, and to the state public school 12 system in accordance with (f) of this section and AS 14.03.124. 13  * Sec. 3. AS 14.03.123(c) is amended to read: 14 (c) The state board shall adopt regulations implementing this section, 01 providing for a statewide student assessment system, and providing for the process of 02 assigning a designation under (a) of this section, including 03 (1) the method [METHODOLOGY] used to assign the performance 04 designation, including the measures used and their relative weights; 05 (2) high performance and low performance designations that are based 06 on the accountability system under this section and AS 14.03.124; 07 (3) a procedure for appealing a designation that may be used by the 08 principal of a public school or by the superintendent of a public school district; 09 (4) additional measures that may be progressively implemented by the 10 commissioner to assist schools or districts to improve performance in accordance with 11 this section and with federal law; to the extent necessary to conform to federal law, the 12 additional measures may be unique to a certain school or district if that school or 13 district receives federal funding that is not available to all schools or districts in the 14 state. 15  * Sec. 4. AS 14.03.123(f) is amended to read: 16 (f) In the accountability system for schools and districts required by this 17 section, the department shall 18 (1) implement 20 U.S.C. 6301 - 7941 (Elementary and Secondary 19 Education Act of 1965), as amended; 20 (2) implement state criteria and priorities for accountability including 21 the use of 22 (A) measures of student performance on statewide standards- 23 based assessments in reading, writing, [AND] mathematics, and science, 24 including competency tests required under AS 14.03.075; 25 (B) measures of student improvement; and 26 (C) indicators of school progress, including  27 (i) a comparison of student performance over  28 sequential years in each grade level at each school;  29 (ii) gains in individual student learning for the  30 lowest performing 25 percent of students [OTHER MEASURES 31 IDENTIFIED THAT ARE INDICATORS OF STUDENT SUCCESS 01 AND ACHIEVEMENT]; and 02 (3) to the extent practicable, minimize the administrative burden on 03 districts. 04  * Sec. 5. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 05 Sec. 14.03.124. Public school and school district grading system. (a) Except 06 as provided in (d) of this section, the department shall annually assign to each public 07 school, including charter schools and boarding schools, and to each school district a 08 performance designation as provided under this section for the purpose of improving 09 accountability and transparency of public school progress in the state. The 10 performance designation shall be based on the accountability system established under 11 AS 14.03.123(f) and the measurements provided in this section. 12 (b) The department shall establish by regulation the criteria that accounts for 13 improvement in student achievement for assigning annual performance designations as 14 follows: 15 (1) "A" for a school making excellent progress; 16 (2) "B" for a school making above average progress; 17 (3) "C" for a school making satisfactory progress; 18 (4) "D" for a school making less than satisfactory progress; 19 (5) "F" for a school failing to make adequate progress. 20 (c) The department shall assign a performance designation based on two years 21 of data collected under AS 14.03.123(f) as follows: 22 (1) 50 percent on combined student achievement data; 23 (2) 25 percent on the individual learning gains of all students; and 24 (3) 25 percent on the individual learning gains in reading and 25 mathematics, if any, achieved by students who scored at or below the 25th percentile 26 on the statewide standards-based assessment in reading or mathematics. 27 (d) A school that has fewer than 20 full-time equivalent students is exempt 28 from this section. 29 (e) The department shall adopt regulations to implement this section and 30 provide annual incentives, including increased autonomy, to a district, to the extent 31 authorized by law, for making improvements in school and student performance in at 01 least two grade levels and for a grade of "A." 02 (f) The department shall assign to each school district a performance 03 designation that is based on the combined accountability data for all schools operated 04 by the district as provided under this section. 05 (g) Each school shall prominently display the performance designation 06 assigned each year under this section on the main entrance of the school and on the 07 Internet website for the school. 08 (h) A school principal, a school district, and the department shall identify as 09 an Alaska Strategic Educator a teacher who volunteers to be assigned and is assigned 10 to teach in a classroom in a school for the school year immediately after a school year 11 for which that school earned a designation of "D" or "F" under this section. 12  * Sec. 6. This Act takes effect July 1, 2014.