Senate File 245 - Reprinted
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, requiring school districts to report student core
5 curriculum progress annually, requiring school districts and
6 schools to report core curriculum completion percentages
7 annually, and providing for the coordination of an educational
8 data definitions working group.
9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
10 SF 245
11 kh/cc/26
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 256.7, Code 2005, is amended by adding
1 2 the following new subsection:
1 3 NEW SUBSECTION. 26. Develop a model core curriculum,
1 4 taking into consideration the recommendations of the American
1 5 college testing program, inc. The state board shall set a
1 6 goal of increasing the number of students graduating from
1 7 secondary school who have successfully completed a core
1 8 curriculum, by July 1, 2009, to eighty percent of all students
1 9 graduating from secondary schools in this state except that
1 10 the goal shall be exclusive of students who have special or
1 11 alternative means for satisfying graduation requirements under
1 12 individualized educational plans developed for the students.
1 13 For purposes of this section, "core curriculum" means the
1 14 minimum number of specific high school courses that a student
1 15 needs to take in preparation for advanced career and
1 16 vocational purposes.
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 who completed a core curriculum. The board shall
1 34 develop and adopt uniform definitions consistent with the
1 35 federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107=110
2 1 and any federal regulations adopted pursuant to the federal
2 2 Act. The school districts and accredited nonpublic schools
2 3 may report on other locally determined factors influencing
2 4 student achievement. The school districts and accredited
2 5 nonpublic schools shall also report to the local community
2 6 their results by individual attendance center.
2 7 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 279.60 STUDENT PROGRESS TOWARD
2 8 UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS REPORT.
2 9 For the school year beginning July 1, 2006, and each
2 10 succeeding school year, the board of directors of each school
2 11 district shall report annually to each student enrolled in
2 12 grades nine through twelve in the school district, and to each
2 13 student's parent or guardian, the student's progress toward
2 14 meeting the goal of successfully completing the model core
2 15 curriculum developed by the state board of education pursuant
2 16 to section 256.7, subsection 26.
2 17 Sec. 4. EDUCATIONAL DATA DEFINITIONS WORKING GROUP.
2 18 1. FINDINGS. The general assembly finds that individuals
2 19 whose educational endeavors end without the receipt of a high
2 20 school diploma have a much higher rate of unemployment and are
2 21 much more likely to need welfare or other forms of government
2 22 assistance. The economic implications of students' failure to
2 23 earn at a minimum a high school diploma are staggering, and
2 24 increasingly so as our economy becomes more dependent on the
2 25 service and information industries. To understand the current
2 26 state of educational achievement and future likelihood of
2 27 success for Iowa's students, it is vital that state and local
2 28 school district data on graduation rates be collectively
2 29 understood and accurate.
2 30 2. The department of education shall coordinate a working
2 31 group to develop clear, accurate, meaningful, and unambiguous
2 32 definitions for the key data areas relating to, but not
2 33 limited to, attrition, completion, and attendance rates, which
2 34 school districts shall use in compiling state and local report
2 35 cards. The working group shall determine the baseline data
3 1 necessary to report on these terms and shall develop a
3 2 strategy to contact school districts to ensure that the school
3 3 districts are applying the definitions and consistently
3 4 submitting data in accordance with the definitions. The
3 5 working group shall consist of the following members:
3 6 a. Two senators appointed by the president of the senate
3 7 after consultation with the majority leader and the minority
3 8 leader of the senate.
3 9 b. Two representatives appointed by the speaker of the
3 10 house after consultation with the minority leader of the
3 11 house.
3 12 c. Members representing minority populations.
3 13 d. A member representing the largest school district in
3 14 Iowa.
3 15 e. A member representing a school district with an
3 16 enrollment of more than one thousand one hundred ninety=nine
3 17 students but not more than four thousand seven hundred fifty
3 18 students.
3 19 f. A member representing a school district with an
3 20 enrollment of one thousand one hundred ninety=nine students or
3 21 less.
3 22 g. Other members representing the education community as
3 23 needed.
3 24 3. The working group shall submit its findings and
3 25 recommendations to the department of education and the
3 26 chairpersons and members of the committees on education in the
3 27 senate and the house of representatives not later than January
3 28 15, 2006.
3 29 SF 245
3 30 kh:nh/cc/26