ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fifty-fifth Legislature

First Regular Session

 

HB 2174: project rocket pilot program; appropriations

Sponsor: Representative Udall, LD 25

Committee on Education

Overview

Establishes the Project Rocket Pilot Program (Program) and the Project Rocket Fund (Fund).

History

By November 1 annually, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) must compile for each public school and local education agency (LEA), and recommend to the State Board of Education (SBE), an annual achievement profile. This annual achievement profile consists of an educational dashboard that reflects the achievement for each public school and LEA and includes, at a minimum, the following academic and educational indicators:

1)    Multiple measures of academic performance or other academic indicators as determined by SBE;

2)    Academic progress on the statewide assessments in English language arts and math;

3)    Academic progress on English language learner assessments;

4)    Progress towards college and career readiness for all schools and local education agencies that offer instruction in grades 9-12;

5)    Academic progress on menu of achievement assessments administered; and

6)    Multiple measures of educational performance or other relevant indicators of school quality that assess a school's educational impact, such as graduation and attendance rates.

Statute requires that the annual achievement profile use classifications based on an A-F letter grade system adopted by SBE. This A-F letter grade system is applied to each performance indicator of the annual achievement profile. SBE must then assign an overall grade for the public school or LEA (A.R.S. § 15-241).

Provisions

Program and Fund

1.    ☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal NoteEstablishes the Program to improve academic outcomes for all students in eligible schools. (Sec. 1)

2.    Requires schools that receive funding to prioritize resources to implement evidence-based, proven strategies to increase academic gain and graduation rates for students who are struggling academically due to socioeconomic factors. (Sec. 1)

3.    Creates the Fund and specifies that it consists of legislative appropriations, gifts, grants, donations and any other monies. (Sec. 1)

4.    Directs ADE to administer the Fund at the direction of SBE. (Sec. 1)

5.    Stipulates that Fund monies are continuously appropriated and exempt from lapsing. (Sec. 1)

Fund Distributions

6.    Instructs ADE to distribute Fund monies to school districts and charter schools for FYs 2022, 2023 and 2024 as follows:

a)    $150 per student for schools that received a C letter grade during the prior fiscal year and that have least 60% of students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch or an equivalent measure; and

b)    $150 per student for schools that received a D or F letter grade the prior fiscal year. (Sec. 1)

7.    Allows schools that did not receive a letter grade during the prior fiscal year to receive $150 per student if the school it feeds into receives Fund monies. (Sec. 1)

8.    Requires an eligible school to file a notice of intent to participate with SBE by July 1, 2021. (Sec. 1)

9.    Outlines how Fund monies are to be disbursed to eligible schools in FY 2022. (Sec. 1)

Improvement Plans

10.  Requires a school district or charter holder of a school that received a C or D letter grade to submit an improvement plan to SBE by October 1, 2021. (Sec. 1)

11.  Specifies that the improvement plan of a C or D letter grade school must also identify a mentor who can assist with academic achievement and that must:

a)    Be a current or former school leader with a demonstrable record of leading a successful school improvement effort; and

b)    Commit to providing regular check-ins and advice to the Project Rocket school leader (Sec. 1)

12.  Allows the school district or charter holder of a C or D letter grade school to partner with an approved independent school improvement expert from the partner network list instead of identifying a mentor. (Sec. 1)

13.  Requires the school district governing board or the charter school governing body of a school that received an F letter grade to establish a Project Rocket Committee (Committee). (Sec. 1)

14.  Outlines required Committee members. (Sec. 1)

15.  Provides that a Committee must submit an improvement plan to SBE by October 1, 2021. (Sec. 1)

16.  Requires a Committee to partner with an approved independent school improvement expert from the partner network list to implement the improvement plan. (Sec. 1)

17.  Requires SBE to review all improvement plans submitted within 90 days after submission. (Sec. 1)

18.  Stipulates a school district must attempt to align with or expand its improvement plan with any existing improvement plan it may already have. (Sec. 1) 

19.  Allows SBE to adopt rules to establish an appeals process for a school that does not receive approval of its improvement plan. (Sec. 1)

20.  Permits SBE to withhold monies if an improvement plan or report is not submitted. (Sec. 1)

Independent School Improvement Experts

21.  Instructs SBE to identify two or more approved independent school improvement experts to be included on a partner network list by August 30, 2021. (Sec. 1)

22.  Specifies a state agency or any other subsidiary of the state agency is eligible for inclusion on the partner network list. (Sec. 1)

23.  Outlines the requirements an independent school improvement expert must meet to be awarded a contract by SBE. (Sec. 1)

24.  Details the types of ongoing support an independent school improvement expert must provide to a school. (Sec. 1)  

25.  Allows a school to submit a request to SBE to cancel a contract with an independent school improvement expert and select a different independent school improvement expert if the school is not demonstrating academic growth or is dissatisfied with the services. (Sec. 1)

Reporting

26.  Requires each school that received monies to submit a report, by June 1 annually, to SBE that describes how the improvement plan has improved academic improvement. (Sec. 1)

27.  Instructs SBE to compile schools' reports and provide that information, by October 1, 2022 and October 1, 2023, to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC), the Governor's Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting (OSBP) and the chairpersons of the Education Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate. (Sec. 1)

28.  Directs SBE to submit a final report with outlined requirements on the Program to the Governor, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, JLBC and OSPB by December 1, 2024. (Sec. 1)

29.  Allows SBE to request additional reports as needed to assess a school's progress. (Sec. 1)

Funding

30.  States that the SBE must direct ADE to provide payments to schools on July 1 of each year, except as otherwise outlined in FY 2022. (Sec. 1)

31.  Specifies that if the appropriated amount is not sufficient to fully pay each school, ADE must proportionately allocate the funding per student. (Sec. 1)

32.  Appropriates $44,567,968 from the state General Fund (GF) in FYs 2022, 2023 and 2024 to the Fund. (Sec. 2)

33.  Appropriates $1,000,000 and seven FTEs from the state GF in FYs 2022, 2023 and 2024 to SBE to administer the Program. (Sec. 3)

Miscellaneous

34.  Repeals the Program and Fund on January 1, 2024. (Sec. 1)

35.  Contains a retroactivity clause of July 1, 2021. (Sec. 3)

 

 

 

 

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                  HB 2174

Initials CH Page 0 Education

 

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