SB1449 - 532R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 15-741, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-741. Assessment of pupils

A. The state board of education shall:

1. Adopt rules for purposes of this article pursuant to title 41, chapter 6.

2. Adopt and implement a statewide assessment to measure pupil achievement of the state board adopted board‑adopted academic standards in reading, writing and mathematics in at least four grades designated by the state board. The state board shall determine the manner of implementation. The state board may administer assessments of the academic standards in social studies and science, except that a pupil shall not be required to meet or exceed the social studies or science standards measured by the statewide assessment.

3. Ensure that the tests prescribed in this section are uniform throughout the state.

4. Ensure that the tests prescribed in this section are able to be scored in an objective manner and that the tests are not intended to advocate any sectarian, partisan or denominational viewpoint.

5. Ensure that the tests prescribed in this article collect only types of pupil nontest data that are approved by the state board of education at a public meeting and published on the website of the state board of education pursuant to paragraph 7 of this subsection.

6. Include within its budget all costs pertaining to the tests prescribed in this article. If sufficient monies are appropriated, the state board may provide achievement test services to school districts that request assistance in testing pupils in grades additional to those required by this section.

7. Survey teachers, principals and superintendents on achievement‑related nontest indicators, including information on graduation rates by ethnicity and dropout rates by ethnicity for each grade level. Before the survey, the state board of education shall approve at a public meeting the nontest indicators on which data will be collected and shall post in a prominent position on the home page of the state board's website a link to the nontest indicators entitled "What nontest data does the state of Arizona collect about Arizona pupils?". The linked web page shall state the types of data collected, the reasons for the collection of the data and the entities with which the data is shared. In conducting the survey and collecting data, the state board of education shall not violate the provisions of the family educational rights and privacy act (P.L. 93‑380), as amended, nor or disclose personally identifiable information.

8. Establish a fair and consistent method and standard by which test scores from schools in a district may be evaluated taking into consideration demographic data. The state board shall establish intervention strategies to assist schools with scores below the acceptable standard. The state board shall annually review district and school scores and shall offer assistance to school districts in analyzing data and implementing intervention strategies. The state board shall use the adopted test and methods of data evaluation for a period of at least ten years.

9. Participate in other assessments that provide national comparisons as needed.

10. Require in the contract for the statewide assessment pursuant to this section that test scores and assessment data from the third grade reading portion of the statewide assessment adopted pursuant to this section be received by local education agencies on or before May 15 of each academic year and that the scores and assessment data from all other portions of the statewide assessment adopted pursuant to this section be received by local education agencies on or before May 25 of each academic year. The state board shall impose penalties on the contractor for scores received after these dates.

B. The achievement tests adopted by the state board as provided in subsection A of this section shall be given at least annually. Nontest indicator data and other information shall be collected at the same time as the collection of achievement test data.

C. Local school district governing boards shall:

1. Administer the tests prescribed in subsection A of this section.

2. Survey teachers, principals and superintendents on achievement related achievement‑related nontest indicator data as required by the state board, including information related to district graduation and dropout rates. In conducting the survey and collecting data, the governing board shall not violate the provisions of the family educational rights and privacy act (P.L. 93‑380), as amended, nor or disclose personally identifiable information.

D. Any additional assessments for high school pupils that are adopted by the state board of education after November 24, 2009 shall be designed to measure college and career readiness of pupils.

E. A test for penmanship shall not be required pursuant to this article.

F. On request, A school district or charter school may administer the statewide assessment in the form of a written test. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 15-741.02, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-741.02. Menu of locally procured achievement assessments; requirements; rules; definition

A. The state board of education shall adopt a menu of locally procured achievement assessments to measure pupil achievement of the state academic standards. Beginning in the 2018‑2019 school year, each local education agency that offers instruction in grades nine through twelve may select from that menu an achievement assessment that is locally procured to administer to the pupils in one or more schools in that local education agency instead of the test to measure pupil achievement adopted by the state board of education pursuant to section 15‑741. Beginning in the 2019‑2020 school year, each local education agency that offers instruction in grades three through eight may select from that menu an achievement assessment that is locally procured to administer to the pupils in that local education agency instead of the test to measure pupil achievement adopted by the state board of education pursuant to section 15‑741. The department of education shall provide adequate staff support for the state board to comply with this section.

B. A locally procured achievement assessment in use by a local education agency that is not on the menu of assessments by March 1, 2018 may be added to the menu at the request of the local education agency and shall be approved by the state board of education if the assessment is nationally recognized, an early a qualifying college credit examination adopted pursuant to section 15‑249.06 or an assessment adopted pursuant to section 15‑792.03. The state board of education may approve all other assessments any other assessment if the assessment meets the requirements of subsection E of this section. The state board of education shall evaluate locally procured assessments that are not on the menu pursuant to this section annually and shall notify local education agencies of the results on or before May 1 of each year.

C. A local education agency that selects a locally procured achievement assessment pursuant to this section meets the requirements prescribed in section 15‑741. The local education agency shall include the name of the assessment it administers in the school report card required in section 15‑746 and administer the assessment for a minimum period of time prescribed by the state board of education.

D. The state board of education shall adopt rules and procedures for the approval of locally procured assessments to be administered by the superintendent of public instruction pursuant to this section. Any rule or procedure adopted pursuant to this subsection may not require a local education agency to receive additional approval from the state board of education or the department of education to select an assessment from the menu of assessments and may not require any additional requirements other than those required by subsection E of this section. A local education agency that adopts a locally procured achievement assessment pursuant to this section shall provide the necessary reasonable accommodations for a student who is an English language learner and the necessary accommodations and modifications for a student as required by the student's individualized education program team.

E. The state board of education shall require that the provider of a locally procured achievement assessment that is proposed for the menu of locally procured achievement assessments shall do all of the following:

1. Provide evidence that the assessment is a high quality assessment.

2. Demonstrate that the assessment meets or exceeds the level of rigor of the state board's adopted academic standards.

3. Demonstrate that the assessment scores can be scaled for state accountability programs including establishing comparable student performance levels for achievement profiles and letter grade classifications issued pursuant to section 15‑241.

4. Submit an evaluation from a third party approved by the state board of education that shows the assessment meets the requirements prescribed in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this subsection.

5. Provide a copy of assessment scores to the department of education when scores are provided to their the partnering local education agency.

F. A school district or charter school that offers an ASSESSMENT from the menu of assessments prescribed in this section shall receive the same amount of funding for assessments in the 2018-2019 school year as the school district or charter school received for assessments in the 2017‑2018 school year.

F. G. For the purposes of this section, "nationally recognized" means an assessment that is accepted by universities for the purposes of awarding college credit or admissions. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Title 15, chapter 7, article 3, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 15-741.03, to read:

START_STATUTE15-741.03. Statewide assessment; contracts; JLBC review

Notwithstanding any other law, the department of education may not renew any current contract for any portion of the statewide assessment adopted pursuant to section 15-741 or reestablish a new contract for any portion of the statewide assessment adopted pursuant to section 15-741 without a review by the joint legislative budget committee. END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Statewide assessment; contract information; submission to joint legislative budget committee; delayed repeal

A. On or before November 15, 2018, the department of education shall provide information to the joint legislative budget committee on each current contract for all portions of the statewide assessment adopted pursuant to section 15-741, Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by this act, including information on when that contract is set to expire.

B. This section is repealed from and after November 30, 2018.

Sec. 5. Request for proposal for new statewide assessment

On or before December 31, 2018, the state board of education shall direct the department of education to issue a request for proposals to contract with a provider for the purchase of a statewide assessment to measure pupil achievement pursuant to sections 15-741 and 15-741.02, Arizona Revised Statutes.