Text: SF00385 Text: SF00387 Text: SF00300 - SF00399 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. SMALLER LEARNING COMMUNITIES. There is
1 2 appropriated from the general fund of the state to the
1 3 department of education for the fiscal year beginning July 1,
1 4 2001, and ending June 30, 2002, the following amount, or so
1 5 much thereof as is necessary, to be used for the purposes
1 6 designated:
1 7 For purposes of smaller learning communities pilot program
1 8 grants to school districts for activities related to
1 9 establishing smaller learning communities in high schools:
1 10 .................................................. $ 500,000
1 11 1. Funds allocated for purposes of the smaller learning
1 12 communities pilot program shall be used to award grants to
1 13 eligible school districts. A school district shall be
1 14 eligible for a grant under the program if the school district
1 15 submits an application to the department of education, along
1 16 with any information required by the department, that
1 17 describes the following:
1 18 a. Strategies and methods the school district will use to
1 19 create the smaller learning community or communities in one or
1 20 more high schools.
1 21 b. Curriculum and instructional practices, including any
1 22 particular themes or emphases, to be used in the learning
1 23 environment.
1 24 c. The extent of involvement of teachers and other school
1 25 personnel in investigating, designing, implementing, and
1 26 sustaining the smaller learning community or communities.
1 27 d. The process to be used for involving students, parents,
1 28 and other stakeholders in the development and implementation
1 29 of the smaller learning community or communities.
1 30 e. Any cooperation or collaboration among community
1 31 agencies, organizations, businesses, and others to develop or
1 32 implement a plan to create the smaller learning community or
1 33 communities.
1 34 f. The training and professional development activities
1 35 that will be offered to teachers and others involved in the
2 1 activities assisted with grant moneys.
2 2 g. The goals and objectives of the activities assisted
2 3 under this section, including a description of how such
2 4 activities will better enable all students in the school
2 5 district to achieve challenging student performance standards
2 6 adopted by the school district.
2 7 h. The methods by which the school district will assess
2 8 progress in meeting its goals and objectives.
2 9 i. The relationship of a smaller learning community to the
2 10 rest of the school, if the smaller learning community exists
2 11 as a school-within-a-school, including but not limited to
2 12 governance and administration.
2 13 j. The administrative and managerial relationship between
2 14 the school district and the smaller learning community or
2 15 communities, including how the school district will
2 16 demonstrate a commitment to the continuity of the smaller
2 17 learning community or communities, including the continuity of
2 18 student and teacher assignment to a particular smaller
2 19 learning community.
2 20 k. How the school district will coordinate or use grant
2 21 moneys received pursuant to this subsection with other
2 22 private, local, state, or federal assistance.
2 23 l. Grade levels or ages of students who will participate
2 24 in the smaller learning community or communities.
2 25 m. The method of determining placement of students in the
2 26 smaller learning community or communities. Students shall not
2 27 be placed according to ability, performance, or any other
2 28 measure, but shall instead be placed at random or by their own
2 29 choice, not pursuant to testing or other judgments.
2 30 2. Funds received by a school district to establish a
2 31 smaller learning community or communities shall be used to do
2 32 the following:
2 33 a. Study the feasibility of creating a smaller learning
2 34 community or communities as well as effective and innovative
2 35 organizational and instructional strategies that will be used
3 1 in the smaller learning community or communities.
3 2 b. Research, develop, and implement strategies for
3 3 creating smaller learning community or communities, as well as
3 4 effective and innovative changes in curriculum and
3 5 instruction, geared to the school district's comprehensive
3 6 school improvement plan as required under section 256.7,
3 7 subsection 21.
3 8 c. Provide professional development for school staff in
3 9 innovative teaching methods that challenge and engage students
3 10 in the smaller learning community or communities.
3 11 d. Develop and implement strategies to include parents,
3 12 business representatives, local institutions of higher
3 13 education, community-based organizations, and other community
3 14 members in the smaller learning communities, as facilitators
3 15 of activities that enable teachers to participate in
3 16 professional development activities, as well as to provide
3 17 links between students and their community.
3 18 EXPLANATION
3 19 This bill appropriates $50,000 from the general fund of the
3 20 state to the department of education for fiscal year 2001-2002
3 21 for purposes of smaller learning communities pilot program
3 22 grants to school districts for activities related to
3 23 establishing smaller learning communities in high schools.
3 24 The bill is based on a federal program of the same name
3 25 (section 10105 of part A of title X of the Elementary and
3 26 Secondary Education Act of 1965). To be eligible under the
3 27 program, a school district must submit an application to the
3 28 department of education that describes its strategies and
3 29 methods for creating the smaller learning community,
3 30 curriculum and instructional practices, the extent of and
3 31 process of involving staff in investigating, designing,
3 32 implementing and sustaining the smaller learning community,
3 33 any cooperation or collaboration among community entities, the
3 34 training and professional development activities that will be
3 35 offered, the goals and objectives of the activities, program
4 1 assessment methods, the smaller learning community's
4 2 relationship to the rest of the school, the administrative and
4 3 managerial relationship between the school district and the
4 4 smaller learning community, including how the school district
4 5 will demonstrate a commitment to the continuity of the smaller
4 6 learning community, including the continuity of student and
4 7 teacher assignment to a particular smaller learning community,
4 8 how the school district will coordinate funding streams, the
4 9 grade levels or ages of participating students, and the method
4 10 of placing students.
4 11 Funds must be used by the school district to study the
4 12 feasibility of creating the smaller learning community or
4 13 communities; research, develop, and implement strategies for
4 14 creating the smaller learning community or communities;
4 15 provide innovative professional development; and develop and
4 16 implement strategies to include community members in the
4 17 smaller learning communities.
4 18 LSB 2815XS 79
4 19 kh/gg/8
Text: SF00385 Text: SF00387 Text: SF00300 - SF00399 Text: SF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
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