HB 1610-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2024 SESSION
24-2405
02/08
HOUSE BILL 1610-FN
AN ACT relative to standardized assessment data for participants in education freedom accounts.
SPONSORS: Rep. Cascadden, Coos 5; Rep. Balboni, Rock. 38; Rep. Damon, Sull. 8
COMMITTEE: Education
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires all students to participate in standardized statewide assessments.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
24-2405
02/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
AN ACT relative to standardized assessment data for participants in education freedom accounts.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Assessment Required. Amend RSA 193-C:6 to read as follows:
193-C:6 Assessment Required. A statewide assessment shall be administered in all school districts, public, nonpublic, and all learning environments in the state once in an elementary school grade, once in a middle school grade, and one grade in high school, in English/language arts, reading, and mathematics at minimum. For those years in grades 3 through 8 in which the school district does not administer the statewide assessment, the school district, in consultation with the department and as part of the statewide education improvement and assessment program, shall develop and administer its own assessment or shall administer a standardized assessment that identifies a pupil's range of learning and yields objective data to use in improving instruction and learning. All public school students in the designated grades shall participate in the assessment, unless such student is exempted from taking the test by his or her parent or legal guardian, or provided that the commissioner of the department of education may, through an agreement with another state when such state and New Hampshire are parties to an interstate agreement, allow pupils to participate in that state's assessment program as an alternative to the assessment required under this chapter. Home educated students [may] shall contact their local school districts [if they wish] to participate in the statewide assessment. Private schools [may] shall contact the department of education to participate in the statewide assessment. The department may use the College Board SAT or ACT college readiness assessment to satisfy the high school assessment requirements of this chapter. The statewide assessment results of a student or the student's school district shall not be included as part of the student's transcript unless the student, if 18 years of age or older, or the student's parent or legal guardian if the student is under 18 years of age, consents. A school district shall not penalize any exempted student nor shall the department of education or the state board of education penalize any school district for a lower participation rate. A school district shall develop a form to be signed by the parent or legal guardian of any student exempted from the assessment. The school district shall provide an appropriate alternative educational activity for the time period during which the assessment is administered. The alternative activity shall be agreed upon by the school district and the parent or legal guardian of the student. The name of the parent or legal guardian and any specific reasons disclosed to school officials for the objection to the assessment shall not be public information and shall be excluded from access under RSA 91-A.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024.
24-2405
Revised 1/10/24
HB 1610-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to standardized assessment data for participants in education freedom accounts.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||
| FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | ||
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Revenue Fund(s) | None | |||||
Expenditures | $0 | $2,565,446 | $2,575,446 | $2,585,446 | ||
Funding Source(s) | General Fund | |||||
Appropriations | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Funding Source(s) | None | |||||
• Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] No • Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] No | ||||||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill would require all public, non-public, and all learning environments including home education and education freedom account students to participate in the state assessment system.
The Department of Education states, based on current enrollments, there are 11,208 non-public and home educated students eligible to take the state assessment, of which 9,047 students would be eligible for the NH Statewide Assessment System (NH SAS), at an average cost of $16 per student, for a total additional cost of $144,752 (9,047 students x $16). The remaining 2,161 students would be eligible for the SAT, at a cost of $54 per student, for a total additional cost of $116,694 (2,161 students x $54). In total, the cost of the examinations to the state would be $261,446 ($144,752 + $116,694) in each year, beginning in FY 2025.
The Department states it also provides substantial administrative, technical, and professional support to schools that administer the NH SAS and the SAT. Given that non-public schools have not traditionally administered the assessment, it is assumed they would likely need substantial support and training from the Department, including access to the assessment systems and the Department’s data systems. Students would also need unique pupil identifiers and school personnel would need to be trained on the use and protection of student data privacy relative to the Department systems and the vendor assessment systems. The Department states it would need to build out a data structure for non-public schools and home educated students to collect, store, and report the data at a student and parent level, a school level, and a state level. The Department estimates that three (3) new positions would be necessary to accommodate the training, data collection and structure, and technical assistance necessary to support all non-public schools accessing the state assessment; one (1) program specialist III (labor grade 23), one (1) education consultant III (labor grade 28), and one administrator I (labor grade 29). Based on hire dates of July 1, 2024, the total cost for these three positions is estimated to be approximately $304,000 in FY 2025, $314,000 in FY 2026, and $324,000 in FY 2027. This bill provides neither appropriation nor authorization for new personnel.
Lastly, the Department states an estimated $2,000,000 per year, beginning in FY 2025, would be needed for an outside contractor to modify the Department’s data collection and reporting structures to accommodate data collection for elements needed to implement the assessment as well as reporting structures needed to make assessment data available.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Education