S-3052

   Amend Senate File 431 as follows:
   1.  By striking everything after the enacting clause and inserting: 
   Section 1.  Section 256.7, subsection 21, paragraph b, subparagraphs (2) and (3), Code 2015, are amended to read as follows:
   (2)  Notwithstanding subparagraph (1), for the school year beginning July 1, 2016, and each succeeding school year, the rules shall provide that all students enrolled in school districts in grades three through eleven shall be administered an assessment during the last quarter of the school year that at a minimum assesses the core academic indicators identified in this paragraph “b”; is aligned with the Iowa common core standards in both content and rigor; accurately describes student achievement and growth for purposes of the school, the school district, and state accountability systems; and provides valid, reliable, and fair measures of student progress toward college or career readiness. 
   (3)  The director shall establish an assessment task force to review and make recommendations for a statewide assessment of student progress on the core academic indicators identified pursuant to this paragraph “b”. The task force shall recommend a statewide assessment that is aligned to the Iowa common core standards and is, at a minimum, valid, reliable, tested, and piloted in Iowa. In addition, in developing recommendations, the task force shall consider the costs to school districts and the state in providing and administering such an assessment and the technical support necessary to implement the assessment. The task force shall submit its recommendations in a report to the director, the state board, and the general assembly by January 1, 2015. The task force shall assist with the final development and implementation of the assessment administered pursuant to subparagraph (2). The task force members shall include but not be limited to teachers, school administrators, business leaders, representatives of state agencies, and members of the general public. This subparagraph is repealed July 1, 2020.
   Sec. 2.  Section 256.7, subsection 21, paragraph c, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   c.  A requirement that all school districts and accredited nonpublic schools annually report to the department and the local community the district-wide progress made in attaining student achievement goals on the academic and other core indicators and the district-wide progress made in attaining locally established student learning goals. The school districts and accredited nonpublic schools shall demonstrate the use of multiple assessment measures in determining student achievement levels. The school districts and accredited nonpublic schools shall also report the number of students who graduate; the number of students who drop out of school; the number of students who are tested and the percentage of students who are so tested annually; and the percentage of students who graduated during the prior school year and who completed a core curriculum. The board shall develop and adopt uniform definitions consistent with the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-110 and any federal regulations adopted pursuant to the federal Act. The school districts and accredited nonpublic schools may report on other locally determined factors influencing student achievement. The school districts and accredited nonpublic schools shall also report to the local community their results by individual attendance center.
   Sec. 3.  Section 256.7, subsection 26, paragraph a, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:

   Adopt rules that establish a core curriculum and high school graduation requirements for all students in school districts and accredited nonpublic schools that include at a minimum satisfactory completion of four years of English and language arts, three years of mathematics, three years of science, and three years of social studies.
   Sec. 4.  Section 256.7, subsection 26, paragraph a, subparagraph (3), Code 2015, is amended by striking the subparagraph.
   Sec. 5.  Section 256.7, subsection 26, paragraphs b and c, Code 2015, are amended by striking the paragraphs.
   Sec. 6.  Section 256.7, subsection 28, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   28.  Adopt a set of core content assessment standards applicable to all students in kindergarten through grade twelve in every school district and accredited nonpublic school. For purposes of this subsection, “core content “assessment standards” includes reading, mathematics, and science. The core content assessment standards shall be identical to the core content assessment standards included in Iowa’s approved 2006 standards and assessment system under Tit. I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. §6301 et seq., as amended by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-110. School districts and accredited nonpublic schools shall include, at a minimum, the core content assessment standards adopted pursuant to this subsection in any set of locally developed content standards. School districts and accredited nonpublic schools are strongly encouraged to set higher expectations in local standards. As changes in federal law or regulation occur, the state board is authorized to amend the core content assessment standards as appropriate.
   Sec. 7.  Section 256.9, subsection 53, paragraph a, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Develop and distribute, in collaboration with the area education agencies, core curriculum technical assistance and implementation strategies that school districts and accredited nonpublic schools shall utilize, including but not limited to the development and delivery of formative and end-of-course model assessments classroom teachers may use to measure student progress on the core curriculum adopted pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 26. The department shall, in collaboration with the advisory group convened in accordance with paragraph “b” and educational assessment providers, identify and make available to school districts end-of-course and additional model end-of-course and additional assessments to align with the expectations included in the Iowa core curriculum. The model assessments shall be suitable to meet the multiple assessment measures requirement specified in section 256.7, subsection 21, paragraph “c”.
   Sec. 8.  Section 256.9, subsection 54, Code 2015, is amended by striking the subsection.
   Sec. 9.  Section 256.40, subsection 2, paragraph e, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   e.  Integrate services provided through the program with other career exploration-related activities such as the student core curriculum graduation plan and the career information and decision-making system developed and administered under section 279.61, where appropriate.
   Sec. 10.  Section 256.42, subsection 6, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   6.  Coursework offered under the initiative shall be rigorous and high quality, and the department shall annually evaluate the quality of the courses and ensure that coursework is aligned with the state’s core curriculum and core content requirements and assessment standards adopted pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 28, as well as national standards of quality for online courses issued by an internationally recognized association for kindergarten through grade twelve online learning.
   Sec. 11.  Section 257.11, subsection 9, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   9.  Shared classes and curriculum standards.  A school district shall ensure that any course made available to a student through any sharing agreement between the school district and a community college or any other entity providing course programming pursuant to this section to students enrolled in the school district meets the expectations contained in the core curriculum adopted pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 26. The school district shall ensure that any course that has the capacity to generate college credit shall be equivalent to college-level work.
   Sec. 12.  Section 258.4, subsection 8, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   8.  Establish a minimum set of competencies and core curriculum for approval of a vocational program sequence that addresses the following:  new and emerging technologies; job-seeking, job-keeping, and other employment skills, including self-employment and entrepreneurial skills, that reflect current industry standards, leadership skills, entrepreneurial, and labor-market needs; and the strengthening of basic academic skills.
   Sec. 13.  Section 260C.14, subsection 22, paragraph b, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  Collaborate with the state board of regents to meet the requirements specified in section 262.9, subsection 33, including but not limited to developing a systematic process for expanding academic discipline and meetings between the community college faculty and faculty of the institutions of higher education governed by the state board of regents, developing criteria to prioritize core curriculum areas, promoting greater awareness of articulation-related activities, facilitating additional opportunities for individual institutions to pursue program articulation agreements for career and technical educational programs, and developing and implementing a process to examine a minimum of eight new associate of applied science degree programs for which articulation agreements would serve students’ continued academic success in those degree programs.
   Sec. 14.  Section 261E.4, subsection 4, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  A school district shall establish prerequisite coursework for each advanced placement course offered and shall describe the prerequisites in the course registration handbook, which shall be provided to every junior high school or middle school student prior to the development of a core curriculum graduation plan pursuant to section 279.61.
   Sec. 15.  Section 261E.6, subsection 2, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  Notification.  The availability and requirements of this program shall be included in each school district’s student registration handbook. Information about the program shall be provided to the student and the student’s parent or guardian prior to the development of the student’s core curriculum graduation plan under section 279.61. The school district shall establish a process by which students may indicate interest in and apply for enrollment in the program.
   Sec. 16.  Section 261E.8, subsection 1, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  A district-to-community college sharing or concurrent enrollment program is established to be administered by the department to promote rigorous academic or career and technical pursuits and to provide a wider variety of options to high school students to enroll part-time in eligible nonsectarian courses at or through community colleges established under chapter 260C. The program shall be made available to all resident students in grades nine through twelve. Notice of the availability of the program shall be included in a school district’s student registration handbook and the handbook shall identify which courses, if successfully completed, generate college credit under the program. A student and the student’s parent or legal guardian shall also be made aware of this program as a part of the development of the student’s core curriculum graduation plan in accordance with section 279.61.
   Sec. 17.  Section 261E.9, subsection 2, paragraph b, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   b.  A regional academy may include in its curriculum virtual or internet-based coursework and courses delivered via the Iowa communications network, career and technical courses, core curriculum coursework, courses required pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 26, or section 256.11, subsections 4 and 5, and asynchronous learning networks.
   Sec. 18.  Section 261E.9, subsection 4, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  Information regarding regional academies shall be provided to a student and the student’s parent or guardian prior to the development of the student’s core curriculum graduation plan under section 279.61.
   Sec. 19.  Section 261E.10, subsection 4, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  Information regarding career academies shall be provided by the school district to a student and the student’s parent or guardian prior to the development of the student’s core curriculum graduation plan under section 279.61.
   Sec. 20.  Section 262.9, subsection 33, paragraph c, Code 2015, is amended by striking the paragraph.
   Sec. 21.  Section 279.61, Code 2015, is amended to read as follows:
   279.61  Student plan for progress toward university admissions —— report.
   1.  For the school year beginning July 1, 2008, and each succeeding school year, the The board of directors of each school district shall cooperate with each student enrolled in grade eight to develop for the student a core curriculum plan to guide the student toward the goal of successfully completing, at a minimum, the core curriculum developed high school graduation requirements adopted by the state board of education pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 26, by the time the student graduates from high school. The plan shall include career options and shall identify the coursework needed in grades nine through twelve to support the student’s postsecondary education and career options. Additionally, the plan shall include a timeline for each student to successfully complete, prior to graduation, all components of the state-designated career information and decision-making system administered by the department in accordance with section 118 of the federal Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006, Pub. L. No. 109-270. The student’s parent or guardian shall sign the core curriculum graduation plan developed with the student and the signed plan shall be included in the student’s cumulative records.
   2.  For the school year beginning July 1, 2008, and each succeeding school year, the The board of directors of each school district shall report annually to each student enrolled in grades nine through twelve in the school district, and, if the student is under the age of eighteen, to each student’s parent or guardian, the student’s progress toward meeting the goal of successfully completing the core curriculum and high school graduation requirements adopted by the state board of education pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 26.
   Sec. 22.  Section 280.3, subsection 3, Code 2015, is amended by striking the subsection.>
   2.  Title page, by striking lines 1 through 3 and inserting <An Act relating to school core curriculum, core content standards, and high school graduation requirements.>

______________________________
BRAD ZAUN

______________________________
DAVID JOHNSON

______________________________
MARK SEGEBART

______________________________
JASON SCHULTZ

______________________________
JACK WHITVER

______________________________
MARK CHELGREN

______________________________
BILL ANDERSON

______________________________
TOM SHIPLEY

______________________________
TIM L. KAPUCIAN

______________________________
JAKE CHAPMAN

______________________________
DENNIS GUTH

______________________________
KEN ROZENBOOM

______________________________
RANDY FEENSTRA

______________________________
RICK BERTRAND