Senate File 245 - Introduced
SENATE FILE
BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
(SUCCESSOR TO SF 46)
Passed Senate, Date Passed House, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to a secondary school core curriculum, including
2 requiring the state board of education to determine a model
3 core curriculum and set a statewide core curriculum completion
4 rate goal, and requiring school districts and schools to
5 report core curriculum completion percentages annually.
6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
7 TLSB 1549SV 81
8 kh/cf/24
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 256.7, subsection 21, unnumbered
1 2 paragraph 1, Code 2005, is amended to read as follows:
1 3 Develop and adopt rules incorporating accountability for,
1 4 and reporting of, student achievement into the standards and
1 5 accreditation process described in section 256.11. The state
1 6 board shall determine a model core curriculum, taking into
1 7 consideration the recommendations of the American college
1 8 testing program, inc. The state board shall set a goal of
1 9 increasing the number of students graduating from secondary
1 10 school who have successfully completed a core curriculum, by
1 11 July 1, 2009, to eighty percent of all students graduating
1 12 from secondary schools in this state. For purposes of this
1 13 subsection, "core curriculum" means the minimum number of
1 14 specific high school courses that a student needs to take in
1 15 preparation for advanced career and vocational purposes. The
1 16 rules shall provide for all of the following:
1 17 Sec. 2. Section 256.7, subsection 21, paragraph c, Code
1 18 2005, is amended to read as follows:
1 19 c. A requirement that all school districts and accredited
1 20 nonpublic schools annually report to the department and the
1 21 local community the district=wide progress made in attaining
1 22 student achievement goals on the academic and other core
1 23 indicators and the district=wide progress made in attaining
1 24 locally established student learning goals. The school
1 25 districts and accredited nonpublic schools shall demonstrate
1 26 the use of multiple assessment measures in determining student
1 27 achievement levels. The school districts and accredited
1 28 nonpublic schools shall also report the number of students who
1 29 enter ninth grade but do not graduate from the school or
1 30 school district; and the number of students who are tested and
1 31 the percentage of students who are so tested annually; and the
1 32 percentage of students who graduated during the prior school
1 33 year and completed a core curriculum. The board shall develop
1 34 and adopt uniform definitions consistent with the federal No
1 35 Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107=110 and any
2 1 federal regulations adopted pursuant to the federal Act. The
2 2 school districts and accredited nonpublic schools may report
2 3 on other locally determined factors influencing student
2 4 achievement. The school districts and accredited nonpublic
2 5 schools shall also report to the local community their results
2 6 by individual attendance center.
2 7 EXPLANATION
2 8 This bill requires the state board of education to
2 9 determine a model core curriculum based on the recommendations
2 10 of the American college testing program, inc., (ACT) and to
2 11 set a goal of reaching, by July 1, 2009, a minimum statewide
2 12 core curriculum completion rate of 80 percent of graduating
2 13 seniors. The bill also requires school districts and
2 14 accredited nonpublic schools to report to the department and
2 15 the local community the percentage of students who graduated
2 16 during the prior school year and completed a core curriculum.
2 17 Under the bill, a "core curriculum" consists of the minimum
2 18 number of high school courses that a student needs to take to
2 19 prepare for advanced career and vocational purposes.
2 20 Currently, ACT recommends four years of English and three
2 21 years each of mathematics, science, and social studies.
2 22 LSB 1549SV 81
2 23 kh:nh/cf/24