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REFERENCE TITLE: schools; dropout recovery programs |
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State of Arizona Senate Fiftieth Legislature First Regular Session 2011
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SB 1303 |
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Introduced by Senator Crandall
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AN ACT
AMENDING Title 15, chapter 9, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 15-901.06; relating to school finance.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 15, chapter 9, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-901.06, to read:
15-901.06. Dropout recovery programs; fund; written learning plan; requirements
A. Each school district and charter school that provides instruction to high school pupils, including schools that provide Arizona online instruction, may offer a dropout recovery program.
B. The state board of education shall prescribe standards and achievement testing requirements for dropout recovery programs that attempt to ensure that the programs are compatible with public school education goals and requirements.
C. The school district or charter school may establish a dropout recovery fund to provide financial support to the program. The dropout recovery fund for each program shall be funded at a rate of six hundred dollars per month for each high school pupil who participates in the program on a full‑time basis for up to a maximum of twelve months per fiscal year. The monthly amount shall be reduced proportionately for a pupil who participates in the program on a less than full-time basis. If a pupil attends both a school district or charter school and a dropout recovery program during the same fiscal year, the total amount of funding that the pupil may receive through the state equalization funding formula and dropout recovery program funding formula combined for the fiscal year shall be capped at the amount that would be provided for the pupil only under the equalization funding formula for the fiscal year as a 1.0 average daily membership student, and funding for the pupil shall be apportioned between the school district or charter school and the dropout recovery program on a pro rata basis. The uniform system of financial records shall include guidelines for the apportionment of funding in such situations. The monthly amount for each school district or charter school shall be funded with state general fund monies, subject to appropriation. The school district or charter school must submit claims for payments to the state superintendent of public instruction. The school district or charter school shall deposit the payments in the dropout recovery fund. No school district or charter school may count a pupil as being in attendance in that school district or charter school on a day that the pupil is counted for the purposes of this subsection.
D. Each pupil must have a Written Learning Plan, developed by the pupil's assigned mentor. The Written Learning Plan must include the following elements:
1. The start date and anticipated end date of the plan.
2. Courses to be completed by the pupil during the academic year.
3. Whether courses will be taken sequentially or concurrently.
4. State competency exams to be taken, as necessary.
5. Expectations for satisfactory monthly progress.
6. Expectations for contact with the pupil's assigned mentor.
E. The monthly participation in a school district's dropout recovery program shall be reported on or before the tenth school day of each month. Monthly participation calculations shall include:
1. Newly enrolled pupils who have a written learning plan on file on or before the first school day of the previous month.
2. Pupils who met the expectations for satisfactory monthly progress in the previous month.
3. Pupils who did not meet the expectations for satisfactory monthly progress in the previous month but did meet the expectations in the month before the previous month.
4. Pupils who met expectations for program reentry in the revised written learning plan in the previous month.
F. Pupils who do not meet expectations for monthly progress for two or more consecutive months shall not be reported for funding until the pupil meets the expectations for program reentry.
G. Because dropout recovery pupils are not expected to regularly attend classes at the district facilities, standard procedures for recording pupil attendance cannot be effectively applied to those students. For pupils participating in the district's dropout recovery program, pupils shall be counted as in full attendance if either:
1. A newly enrolled pupil completes the program orientation.
2. A pupil meets the expectations for satisfactory monthly progress for the month.
3. A pupil meets the expectations for program reentry in the revised written learning plan.
H. Pupils must be enrolled in teacher-facilitated courses in order for the course to count toward funding calculations.
I. School districts shall provide curriculum aligned to the academic standards adopted by the state board of education. Curriculum may be delivered online.
J. School districts shall ensure that dropout recovery programs provide standardized tests required by law.
K. Dropout recovery programs must make available appropriate and sufficient supports for pupils, including tutoring, career counseling and college counseling.
L. The school district governing board shall ensure that the dropout recovery program implemented by the school district complies with federal and state laws governing special education pupils and pupils with special needs.
M. School districts shall be responsible for tuition charges and fees related to pupil participation in the program, including course materials and access to technology for use with online courses.
N. School districts may contract with an educational management organization to provide a dropout recovery program. If contracting with an educational management organization, the school district shall ensure that all of the following requirements are met:
1. The educational management organization is accredited by a regional accrediting body.
2. Teachers provided by the educational management organization hold a current teaching license, and teachers of core subjects are highly qualified in the subjects to which they are assigned.
3. All dropout recovery programs provided by the education management organization meet state and local requirements for obtaining a diploma from the school district.
O. School districts shall allocate to dropout recovery programs at least the same expenditure on an average annualized basis that the pupil would earn at the pupil's traditional school, including federal, state and local monies.
P. Attendance, graduation and test scores from the school district's dropout recovery program shall be reported for the school district but shall not adversely affect the district's annual report card or average yearly progress measurements.