HB 1390 – AS INTRODUCED

2008 SESSION

08-2622

04/05

HOUSE BILL 1390

AN ACT relative to educational improvement and accountability.

SPONSORS: Rep. Rous, Straf 7; Sen. Kelly, Dist 10

COMMITTEE: Education

ANALYSIS

This bill integrates elements of the department of education’s Follow the Child initiative into the statewide education improvement and assessment program. The bill also revises the procedure for determining whether a school or school district is meeting statewide performance targets.

This bill is a request of the department of education.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

08-2622

04/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight

AN ACT relative to educational improvement and accountability.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Statewide Education Improvement and Assessment Program; Statement of Purpose. Amend RSA 193-C:1, III-V to read as follows:

III. Widespread participation in the establishment of a statewide education improvement and assessment program is essential. Consultation with educators at all levels, business people, government officials, community representatives, and parents must occur in the development of educational standards. In turn, widespread dissemination of those standards, once established, must occur. Teachers, administrators, and school board members must be fully apprised of these state-developed standards. They must, in turn, communicate these expectations to students and parents, and find and implement methods [to] that will personalize education and enable [students] each student to acquire and apply the requisite knowledge and skills.

IV. In addition, the assessment results with specific growth targets [must] shall be reported to students, parents, teachers, administrators, school board members, and to all other citizens of New Hampshire in order that informed decisions can be made concerning curriculum, in-service education, instructional improvement, teacher training, resource allocation, and staffing.

V. A critical part of this program is the local education improvement and assessment plan. In order for an academic assessment program to give an accurate picture of student performance, it must include more than a one-time measure. Local school districts should devise and implement multiple measures which focus on the continuing growth of individual students, and report the academic results to parents along with [those obtained from the state-developed tool] the state assessment results. In addition to an academic assessment program that includes individual growth targets, schools and school districts shall address aspects of a student’s physical, personal, and social progress.

2 Statewide Education Improvement and Assessment Program; Definitions. Amend RSA 193-C:2 to read as follows:

193-C:2 Definitions. In this chapter:

I. “Commissioner’’ means the commissioner of the department of education.

II. “Committee’’ means the legislative oversight committee established to review the statewide education improvement and assessment program.

III. “Department’’ means the department of education.

IV. “Follow the Child” means an initiative to personalize education for each student in New Hampshire.

V. “New Hampshire growth model” means the system that annually produces individual academic targets for New Hampshire students based on state assessment scores.

VI. “Program’’ means the New Hampshire statewide education improvement and assessment program.

3 Statewide Education Improvement and Assessment Program; Program Established. Amend RSA 193-C:3, I to read as follows:

I. The aims of this program shall be to:

(a) Define what students should know and be able to do.

(b) Develop and implement methods for assessing that learning and its application.

(c) Support the continuous growth of each student over time.

(d) Report assessment results to all citizens of New Hampshire.

[(d)] (e) Help to provide accountability at all levels.

[(e)] (f) Use the results, at both the state and local levels, to improve instruction and advance student learning.

4 Statewide Education Improvement and Assessment Program; Areas of Assessment. Amend RSA 193-C:5 to read as follows:

193-C:5 Areas of Assessment. The academic areas to be assessed shall include, but not be limited to: reading and language arts, mathematics, science, history, geography, civics, and economics. The local school district shall be responsible for assessing the physical, personal, and social areas.

5 School Performance and Accountability; Statewide Performance Targets. Amend RSA 193-H:2, I to read as follows:

I. [On or before the 2013-2014 school year,] Schools shall ensure that all pupils are performing at the [basic] proficient level or above on the statewide assessment as established in RSA 193-C and that each student is meeting growth targets under the New Hampshire model.

6 School Performance and Accountability; Identification and Public Disclosure of Schools in Need of Improvement. Amend RSA 193-H:3 to read as follows:

193-H:3 Identification and Public Disclosure of Schools in Need of Improvement.

I. The commissioner shall annually compile and disseminate to the governor and council, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, local school boards, superintendents of schools, and the public, and shall make available on the department [website] Internet site, a list of schools and school districts [that are] not meeting the statewide performance targets established in RSA 193-H:2.

II. [A school or school district designated by the commissioner as not meeting statewide performance targets shall have 30 days from the date of the report to appeal such designation to the state board of education.] A school or school district not meeting the same state performance target for 2 consecutive years shall be designated as a school or school district in need of improvement. A school or school district shall have 30 days from the date of the designation to appeal such designation to the commissioner.

III. A school or school district that disputes the commissioner’s decision may appeal to the state board of education pursuant to the policy adopted by the department.

IV. The designation as a school or school district in need of improvement shall be removed once the school or school district has met, for 2 consecutive years, the statewide performance targets causing the original designation.

7 School Performance and Accountability; School and District Improvement Plans. RSA 193-H:4 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

193-H:4 School and School District Improvement Plans.

I. A school or school district designated as in need of improvement shall create an improvement plan to remedy problems and areas of concern identified at the local level. At a minimum, the improvement plan shall:

(a) Address areas in which the school or school district did not meet, for 2 consecutive years, statewide performance targets established under RSA 193-H:2, resulting in the designation as a school or school district in need of improvement;

(b) Use results of local and state student assessments to develop and implement personalized learning strategies for all students that include extra support for students not attaining proficiency in the designated subject area;

(c) Describe research-based interventions and instructional strategies proven to be effective in improving student achievement, together with opportunities for staff to acquire the requisite skills and knowledge needed to implement such strategies effectively; and

(d) Include procedures for evaluating the results and effectiveness of the proposed strategies in addressing the identified problem areas.

II. The plan shall be submitted to the state board of education within 90 days of the date that the school or school district was designated as in need of improvement. The state board of education shall review plans within 30 days of the date received by the state board of education. The state board of education, or its designee, shall develop criteria to determine if the improvement plan meets the requirements set forth in paragraph I. If the plan is approved, it shall be in effect for a period of 2 years. If the plan does not meet the criteria, the state board of education shall not approve the plan. If an improvement plan is not approved, the state board of education, or its designee, shall work with the school or school district to revise the plan to meet the criteria for state board of education approval.

III. At the end of the first year of an approved improvement plan, the state board of education, or its designee, shall review the progress or lack thereof made by the school or school district in implementing the plan, and in meeting the statewide performance targets causing the designation as a school or school district in need of improvement. The designee shall compile the results of this review and deliver a status report to the state board of education. If the state board of education finds that the school or school district is not making satisfactory progress in implementing its plan or in meeting the statewide performance targets causing the designation as a school or school district in need of improvement, the commissioner shall advise the school or school district of available technical assistance including, but not limited to, the technical assistance activities established under 193-C:9.

IV. At the end of the second year of an approved improvement plan, if the school or school district has not, at any time during the 2-year period in which the plan was in effect, made adequate yearly progress in the statewide performance targets causing the designation as a school or school district in need of improvement, the state board of education, or its designee, shall notify the school or school district to initiate an assessment of current instructional, managerial, and organizational practices. In response to these findings, the school or school district shall prepare, in consultation with the department, a corrective action plan which shall be submitted within 90 days to the commissioner for approval. At a minimum, the corrective action plan shall:

(a) Identify evidence of frequent communication of school performance, student progress, personalized learning strategies as adopted by the local school board, and academic opportunities, using both print and online formats;

(b) Address areas in which the school or school district did not meet, for 2 consecutive years, statewide performance targets established under RSA 193-H:2, resulting in the designation as a school or school district in need of improvement;

(c) Use results of local and state student assessments to focus the plan on support for students not attaining proficiency in the designated subject areas;

(d) Describe research-based interventions and instructional strategies proven to be effective in improving student achievement, together with opportunities for staff to acquire the requisite skills and knowledge needed to implement such strategies effectively;

(e) Identify both formal and informal opportunities to support tangible evidence of student performance, in order to assure that each student is meeting growth targets established under the New Hampshire growth model;

(f) Include procedures for evaluating the results and effectiveness of the proposed strategies in addressing the identified problem areas; and

(g) Describe how the school district’s budget will support the proposed plan.

V.(a) Plans shall be reviewed within 30 days of the date received by the commissioner. The state board of education, or its designee, shall develop criteria to determine if the corrective action plan meets the requirements under paragraph IV. If a plan does not meet the requirements, the state board of education shall not approve the plan. If a plan is not approved, the state board of education, or its designee, shall work with the school or school district to revise the plan to meet the requirements for state board of education approval.

(b) An approved corrective action plan shall be in effect for a period of 2 years.

(c) At the end of the first year of an approved plan, the state board of education, or its designee, shall conduct a progress review of the school or school district’s implementation of the plan and progress toward the statewide performance targets causing the designation as a school or school district in need of improvement. The review shall be conducted in cooperation with local officials, with a report on the findings and recommendations submitted to the state board of education and to local officials within 30 days of the review. If the state board of education finds that the school or school district is not making satisfactory progress in implementing the corrective action plan, nor is meeting statewide performance targets in the areas causing the designation as a school or district in need of improvement, the state board of education may request the commissioner to establish a technical assistance team to work in cooperation with local officials to monitor implementation of the plan.

VI. At the end of the second year of an approved plan, if the school or school district has not made adequate yearly progress towards the statewide performance targets causing the designation at any time during the 2 years in which the corrective action plan has been in effect, the state board of education shall direct the commissioner to initiate the following process:

(a) The commissioner shall establish a technical assistance team to review the school or school district’s educational programming and resulting effectiveness in meeting statewide performance targets.

(b) In cooperation with local officials, the team shall prepare and present its findings and recommendations at a regularly scheduled public meeting of the local school board and to the state board of education. This report shall be delivered within 30 days of the team’s review.

(c) Upon the state board of education’s adoption of the technical assistance team’s recommendations, the commissioner shall provide notice to the school or school district to prepare and submit, within 90 days of receiving said notice, a new corrective action plan to the state board of education for approval. The new plan shall incorporate the recommendations adopted by the state board of education as well as the required elements for corrective action plans established in paragraph IV.

(d) Upon approval by the state board of education, the plan shall be monitored, in cooperation with local officials, by the technical assistance team, and shall remain in effect until such time as the school or school district has met the criteria established in RSA 193-H:2, resulting in the removal of the designation as a school or school district in need of improvement.

(e) Once approved, any subsequent substantive amendments to the plan proposed by the designated school or school district, or the commissioner, shall require approval of the state board of education.

VII. The state board of education shall not approve a corrective action plan which does not sufficiently address the findings and recommendations of the technical assistance team, as adopted by the state board of education. If a plan is not approved, the school or school district shall revise and resubmit the plan to the state board of education within 30 days of receiving notice that the plan is not approved. If the school or school district does not revise the plan within the 30 days, or the state board of education does not approve the revised plan, the commissioner shall within 30 days file a corrective action plan, including methods for implementing such plan, to the state board of education for approval. The state board of education shall direct the local school board to implement the plan filed by the commissioner. The plan shall be in effect until such time as the school or school district has met the criteria established in RSA 193-H:2, resulting in the removal of the designation as a school or school district in need of improvement. Once approved, any subsequent substantive amendments to the commissioner’s plan shall require approval of the state board of education.

VIII. A school or school district designated as in need of improvement may request technical assistance from the department at any time during the time period the school or school district is designated as a school or school district in need of improvement. The department shall provide technical assistance pursuant to 193-C:9, contingent upon the availability of funding from the local education improvement fund established in RSA 193-C:9, I. The priority for the use of any state funds shall be given to lower-performing non-Title I schools.

8 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.