§6214. School accountability system; annual reports

Beginning with the 2018-2019 school year, for public schools, public charter schools and private schools approved for tuition purposes that enroll at least 60% publicly funded students, the commissioner shall implement a school accountability system to measure school performance in facilitating students' achieving the knowledge and skills described in the parameters for essential instruction and graduation requirements established under section 6209, subsection 2 and that meets the reporting requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, 20 United States Code, Section 6311(h) and related regulations.   [PL 2017, c. 466, §13 (AMD).]

1.  Performance measures.  The measures of school performance for the school accountability system implemented under this section must include multiple measures of student achievement and:

A. Align with the components of the state accountability system required to ensure equity in educational opportunity by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, 20 United States Code, Section 6311(c) and related regulations;   [PL 2015, c. 500, §1 (NEW).]

B. [PL 2017, c. 466, §13 (RP).]

C. Use a 6-year adjusted cohort graduation rate as the broadest allowable time frame for high school graduation rates;   [PL 2015, c. 500, §1 (NEW).]

D. As available, use measures of postsecondary readiness, persistence and completion;   [PL 2015, c. 500, §1 (NEW).]

E. Establish a school administrative unit's eligibility and priority for targeted state funding for school improvement and support under section 15688-A, subsection 5 and other applicable targeted funds authorized under section 15688-A; and   [PL 2015, c. 500, §1 (NEW).]

F. May include, but are not limited to, the use of:

(1) Summative assessments aligned with the grade-level expectations of the parameters for essential instruction and graduation requirements established under section 6209, subsection 2;

(2) Interim assessments that measure student growth over time; and

(3) Information from the state assessment program under section 6204 on student achievement reported by the department in compliance with applicable federal statutes and regulations regarding student assessment.   [PL 2015, c. 500, §1 (NEW).]

[PL 2017, c. 466, §13 (AMD).]

2.  Annual reports.  As provided in the federal Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, 20 United States Code, Section 6311(h), the commissioner shall annually report the statewide and school-level results of the school accountability system implemented under this section with regard to the performance of schools in each of the State's elementary and secondary schools.

A. [PL 2017, c. 466, §13 (RP).]

B. When a report is made under this subsection for purposes of comparative analysis of elementary and secondary schools, the reporting mechanisms and the categories reported must be uniform for each school compared at the elementary level or the secondary level.   [PL 2015, c. 500, §1 (NEW).]

C. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the commissioner may not provide a report of the statewide or school-level results of the school accountability system until the final adoption of rules in accordance with subsection 3.   [PL 2015, c. 500, §1 (NEW).]

[PL 2017, c. 466, §13 (AMD).]

3.  Rules.  The department shall adopt rules to implement the school accountability system established pursuant to this section. The rules adopted by the department must specify the methods to be used as part of the annual assessment of the performance of elementary and secondary schools. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

[PL 2017, c. 466, §13 (AMD).]

Nothing in this section may be construed to prevent or inhibit the department from providing annual reports of the results of the state assessment program required by section 6204 to comply with the federal statutes and regulations pertaining to student assessment.   [PL 2015, c. 500, §1 (NEW).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 2015, c. 500, §1 (NEW). PL 2017, c. 466, §13 (AMD).