Senate File 46 - Introduced
SENATE FILE
BY BRUNKHORST
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 set a statewide core
3 curriculum completion rate goal and requiring school districts
4 and schools to report core curriculum completion percentages
5 annually.
6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
7 TLSB 1549SS 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 set a goal of increasing the number of students
1 7 graduating from secondary school who have successfully
1 8 completed a core curriculum, by July 1, 2009, to eighty
1 9 percent of all students graduating from secondary schools in
1 10 this state. For purposes of this subsection, "core
1 11 curriculum" means the minimum number of specific high school
1 12 courses that the American college testing program, inc.,
1 13 recommends a student take in preparation for career and
1 14 vocational purposes. The rules shall provide for all of the
1 15 following:
1 16 Sec. 2. Section 256.7, subsection 21, paragraph c, Code
1 17 2005, is amended to read as follows:
1 18 c. A requirement that all school districts and accredited
1 19 nonpublic schools annually report to the department and the
1 20 local community the district=wide progress made in attaining
1 21 student achievement goals on the academic and other core
1 22 indicators and the district=wide progress made in attaining
1 23 locally established student learning goals. The school
1 24 districts and accredited nonpublic schools shall demonstrate
1 25 the use of multiple assessment measures in determining student
1 26 achievement levels. The school districts and accredited
1 27 nonpublic schools shall also report the number of students who
1 28 enter ninth grade but do not graduate from the school or
1 29 school district; and the number of students who are tested and
1 30 the percentage of students who are so tested annually; and the
1 31 percentage of students who graduated during the prior school
1 32 year and completed a core curriculum. The board shall develop
1 33 and adopt uniform definitions consistent with the federal No
1 34 Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107=110 and any
1 35 federal regulations adopted pursuant to the federal Act. The
2 1 school districts and accredited nonpublic schools may report
2 2 on other locally determined factors influencing student
2 3 achievement. The school districts and accredited nonpublic
2 4 schools shall also report to the local community their results
2 5 by individual attendance center.
2 6 EXPLANATION
2 7 This bill requires the state board of education to set a
2 8 goal of reaching, by July 1, 2009, a minimum statewide core
2 9 curriculum completion rate of 80 percent of graduating
2 10 seniors. The bill also requires school districts and
2 11 accredited nonpublic schools to report to the department and
2 12 the local community the percentage of students who graduated
2 13 during the prior school year and completed a core curriculum.
2 14 Under the bill, a "core curriculum" consists of the minimum
2 15 number of high school courses the American college of testing
2 16 programs, inc., (ACT) recommends a student take to prepare for
2 17 career and vocational purposes. Currently, ACT recommends
2 18 four years of English and three years each of mathematics,
2 19 science, and social studies.
2 20 LSB 1549SS 81
2 21 kh:nh/cf/24.1