HF 2049 (LSB 5372YH (5) 83)

HOUSE FILE 2049

BY  MAY

A BILL FOR

An Act requiring the administering of end-of-course examinations for certain secondary school subject areas.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 256.7, Code Supplement 2009, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  30.  Adopt rules by July 1, 2011, to require school districts and accredited nonpublic schools to administer the end-of-course examinations developed by the director pursuant to section 256.9, subsection 59, to students as a condition of graduation. The rules shall provide for a timeline for the implementation of the end-of-course examinations by school districts and accredited nonpublic schools.
    Sec. 2.  Section 256.9, subsection 52, paragraph a, Code Supplement 2009, 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, in addition to the end-of-course examinations administered in accordance with section 256.7, subsection 30. 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. 3.  Section 256.9, Code Supplement 2009, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  59.  a.  Develop, in consultation with kindergarten through grade sixteen education stakeholders, at least one end-of-course examination in each of the following core curriculum subject areas at the secondary school level: mathematics, language arts, and science. The end-of-course examinations shall be aligned with the core content standards developed for the subject areas pursuant to section 256.7, subsection 28.
   b.  In developing the end-of-course examinations, the director shall convene a task force to identify best practices for the adoption of end-of-course examinations, determine the levels of support necessary to prepare teachers and students for the examinations, and identify the costs of administering end-of-course examinations in mathematics, language arts, and science at the secondary school level. The task force shall review the end-of-course examination requirements of other states and the advantages and disadvantages other states have realized in developing, implementing, and administering end-of-course examinations, including but not limited to the costs of preparing students for the examinations and of developing, implementing, and administering the examinations; and the purposes and goals other states have established for the examinations. The task force shall be comprised of kindergarten through grade sixteen education stakeholders. The task force shall submit its findings and recommendations in a report to the state board of education, the governor, and the general assembly by January 17, 2011. This paragraph is repealed on July 1, 2011.
    Sec. 4.  STATE MANDATE FUNDING SPECIFIED.  In accordance with section 25B.2, subsection 3, the state cost of requiring compliance with any state mandate included in this Act shall be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid received by the school district under section 257.16. This specification of the payment of the state cost shall be deemed to meet all of the state funding-related requirements of section 25B.2, subsection 3, and no additional state funding shall be necessary for the full implementation of this Act by and enforcement of this Act against all affected school districts.
EXPLANATION
   This bill directs the director of the department of education to develop, in consultation with a task force of kindergarten through grade 16 education stakeholders, at least one end-of-course examination in each of the following core curriculum subject areas at the secondary school level: mathematics, language arts, and science. The task force must submit its findings and recommendations to the state board of education, the governor, and the general assembly by January 17, 2011. The state board of education is required to adopt rules by July 1, 2011, to require school districts and accredited nonpublic schools to administer the end-of-course examinations to students as a condition of graduation. The rules shall provide for a timeline for the implementation of the end-of-course examinations by school districts and accredited nonpublic schools. The bill includes a conforming amendment.
   The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code section 25B.3. The bill requires that the state cost of any state mandate included in the bill be paid by a school district from state school foundation aid received by the school district under section 257.16. The specification is deemed to constitute state compliance with any state mandate funding-related requirements of Code section 25B.2. The inclusion of this specification is intended to reinstate the requirement of political subdivisions to comply with any state mandates included in the bill.