CSHB 206(EDC): "An Act establishing a career assessment requirement in public schools; and relating to secondary school competency testing; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 206(EDC) 01 "An Act establishing a career assessment requirement in public schools; and relating to 02 secondary school competency testing; and providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 14.03 is amended by adding a new section to read: 05 Sec. 14.03.073. Secondary student career assessment. (a) Each school 06 district in the state shall require students in grade 11 to complete a career preparedness 07 assessment as described in (b) of this section. 08 (b) The commissioner shall select for use in the state an assessment designed 09 to measure a student's level of preparedness to make the transition to work or college. 10 The assessment must assess a student's career aptitude and readiness for postsecondary 11 education or training in the areas of 12 (1) applied mathematics; 13 (2) reading for information; and 14 (3) locating information.
01 (c) Subject to the availability of appropriations, the department shall 02 (1) obtain a license that enables school districts to administer the 03 assessment described in (b) of this section with no charge assessed to the district by 04 the vendor of the assessment; 05 (2) provide districts with training and support in administering the 06 assessment; 07 (3) provide a report to each student on the results of the student's 08 assessment, based on nationally recognized criteria for evaluating a student's 09 preparedness to make the transition to work or college; and 10 (4) provide to the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary Education 11 information needed to determine a student's eligibility for financial assistance. 12 (d) The highest level results of a student's career preparedness assessment 13 shall be displayed in summary form on the student's high school transcript. 14 * Sec. 2. AS 14.03.075 is repealed and reenacted to read: 15 Sec. 14.03.075. Secondary student competency testing. (a) Each public 16 secondary school in the state shall require students to take a competency examination 17 in the areas of reading, English, and mathematics. The department shall determine the 18 timing, form, and contents of the examination and shall score completed examinations. 19 The contents of the examination must conform to state performance standards and 20 measure college readiness. The results of the competency testing shall be included in 21 the student's transcript. 22 (b) A student who fails the examination required under this section shall be 23 retested at least once during a school year on those portions of the examination that the 24 student has not passed. A student who passes any portion of the test may not retake 25 that portion of the test. This subsection does not apply to a student who is a child with 26 a disability if the student's individualized education program team recommends that 27 the student not be retested. 28 (c) A student who is a child with a disability and who does not achieve a 29 passing score on the examination required under (a) of this section, with or without 30 accommodation, may complete an alternative assessment program required by the 31 student's individualized education program or required in the education plan
01 developed for the student under 29 U.S.C. 794. An alternative assessment program 02 must, to the maximum extent possible, conform to state performance standards 03 established for the competency examination required under (a) of this section. This 04 subsection does not apply to a student unless the department determines that the 05 student has taken and failed to pass the competency examination with or without 06 accommodations and the department approves the student's alternative assessment 07 program described under this subsection. 08 (d) The department shall by regulation establish uniform standards for 09 (1) pre-examination study materials; and 10 (2) procedures to be followed during administration of an examination. 11 (e) The department shall by regulation establish uniform standards for an 12 alternative assessment program required under (c) of this section. The alternative 13 assessment program required under (c) of this section applicable to an individual 14 student may not be changed after February 1 of the student's junior year of study. 15 (f) In this section, 16 (1) "child with a disability" has the meaning given in AS 14.30.350; 17 (2) "individualized education program team" means a group of people 18 that translates child assessment information regarding a child into a practical plan for 19 specially designed instruction and delivery of services for the child, consisting of the 20 persons necessary to qualify the team under appropriate federal regulations applicable 21 to a child with a disability who is eligible for special education services under 22 AS 14.30. 23 * Sec. 3. AS 14.03.120(d) is amended to read: 24 (d) Annually, before the date set by the district under (e) of this section, each 25 public school shall deliver to the department for posting on the department's Internet 26 website and provide, in a public meeting of parents, students, and community 27 members, a report on the school's performance and the performance of the school's 28 students. The report shall be prepared on a form prescribed by the department and 29 must include 30 (1) information on accreditation; 31 (2) results of norm-referenced achievement tests;
01 (3) results of state standards-based assessments in reading, writing, and 02 mathematics; 03 (4) a description, including quantitative and qualitative measures, of 04 student, parent, community, and business involvement in student learning; 05 (5) a description of the school's attendance, retention, dropout, and 06 graduation rates, [INCLUDING THE NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF 07 STUDENTS WHO RECEIVED A DIPLOMA UNDER A WAIVER FROM THE 08 COMPETENCY EXAMINATION REQUIRED UNDER AS 14.03.075(a),] as 09 specified by the state board; 10 (6) the annual percent of enrollment change, regardless of reason, and 11 the annual percent of enrollment change due to student transfers into and out of the 12 school district; 13 (7) if Native language education is provided, a summary and 14 evaluation of the curriculum described in AS 14.30.420; 15 (8) the number and percentage of students in each school who take and 16 who successfully complete an alternative assessment program in reading, English, or 17 mathematics; and the number and percentage of pupils in each school who 18 successfully complete the alternative assessment program but who do not reach the 19 state performance standards at the competency exam level in reading, English, or 20 mathematics; a school may not report results under this paragraph unless the school 21 complies with the family educational rights and privacy requirements of 34 C.F.R. 99; 22 (9) the performance designation assigned the school under 23 AS 14.03.123 and the methodology used to assign the performance designation, 24 including the measures used and their relative weights; and 25 (10) other information concerning school performance and the 26 performance of the school's students as required by the state board in regulation. 27 * Sec. 4. AS 14.07.165 is amended to read: 28 Sec. 14.07.165. Duties. The board shall adopt 29 (1) statewide goals and require each governing body to adopt written 30 goals that are consistent with local needs; 31 (2) regulations regarding the application for and award of grants under
01 AS 14.03.125; 02 (3) regulations implementing provisions of AS 14.11.014(b); 03 (4) regulations requiring approval by the board before a charter school, 04 state boarding school, or a public school may provide domiciliary services; 05 (5) regulations implementing the secondary school student competency 06 examination provisions of AS 14.03.075 [, INCLUDING THE CRITERIA AND 07 PROCEDURE UNDER WHICH A GOVERNING BODY USES A WAIVER TO 08 GRANT A DIPLOMA TO A STUDENT; CRITERIA REGARDING GRANTING A 09 WAIVER MUST INCLUDE PROVISIONS THAT A WAIVER MAY ONLY BE 10 GRANTED FOR STUDENTS WHO ENTER THE SYSTEM LATE OR HAVE 11 RARE OR UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES MERITING A WAIVER]. 12 * Sec. 5. Sections 2 - 4 of this Act take effect July, 1 2012.