SB1208 - 561R

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

Section 1. Section 15-901.06, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE15-901.06. Dropout recovery programs; written learning plan; requirements; annual report; definitions

A. Each alternative school within a school district and each alternative charter school that provides instruction to high school pupils students may offer a dropout recovery program for eligible pupils students. An online course provider as defined in section 15-808 or an online school as defined in section 15-808 that provides arizona online instruction under section 15-808 may not provide 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. The standards shall require dropout recovery programs to do all of the following:

1. Provide curricula aligned to the academic standards adopted by the state board of education. The curricula may be delivered online. A provider of Arizona online instruction pursuant to section 15-808 may not also operate a dropout recovery program pursuant to this section. An alternative school within a school district or an alternative charter school with a unique entity number may provide a dropout recovery program pursuant to this section if the school is not also an online course provider as defined in section 15-808 or an online school as defined in section 15-808 that provides Arizona online instruction under section 15-808.

2. Provide standardized tests required by federal and state law.

3. Make available appropriate and sufficient supports for pupils students, including tutoring, career counseling and college counseling.

4. Comply with federal and state laws governing pupils students with disabilities.

5. Meet state requirements for high school graduation.

C. Each eligible pupil student who is enrolled in a dropout recovery program shall have a written learning plan developed by the pupil's student's assigned mentor. The written learning plan shall include the following elements:

1. The start date and anticipated end date of the plan.

2. Courses to be completed by the pupil student 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 student's assigned mentor.

7. Whether the student will receive wraparound services or support services as described in subsection O of this section that count toward the student's satisfactory monthly progress.

D. The monthly participation in a dropout recovery program shall be recorded on or before the tenth school day of each month and shall be reported to the department of education at the same time as other data required pursuant to section 15-1042. Monthly participation calculations shall include:

1. Newly enrolled pupils students who have a written learning plan on file on or before the first school day of the previous month.

2. Pupils students who met the expectations for satisfactory monthly progress in the previous month.

3. Pupils students 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 students who met expectations for program reentry in the revised written learning plan in the previous month.

E. Because dropout recovery pupils students are not expected to regularly attend classes at the school district or charter school facilities, standard procedures for recording pupil student attendance cannot be effectively applied to those students. For pupils students participating in a dropout recovery program, an eligible pupil student shall be counted as being in attendance in the school's average daily attendance calculations pursuant to subsection F of this section if the pupil student meets one of the following conditions:

1. Is in the first month of enrollment in the program and completes the program orientation during that month.

2. Is enrolled in teacher-facilitated courses and meets the expectations for satisfactory monthly progress for the current or previous month. A pupil student who does not meet expectations for monthly progress for two or more consecutive months shall not be reported counted as being in attendance until the pupil student meets the expectations for program reentry.

3. Meets the expectations for program reentry in the revised written learning plan.

F. If a pupil student is enrolled in a school district or charter school other than the school district or charter school that participates in the dropout recovery program and also participates in a dropout recovery program in the same fiscal year, the average daily membership as prescribed in section 15-901, subsection A, paragraph 1, subdivisions (a) and (b) for that pupil student in the school district or charter school and in a dropout recovery program shall not exceed 1.0, except that if the pupil student is enrolled in a dropout recovery program and a career technical education district, the average daily membership provisions of section 15-393 apply. If the pupil student is enrolled in both a school district or charter school and a dropout recovery program in the same fiscal year and the sum of the average daily membership and average daily attendance for that pupil student is greater than 1.0 or the amount prescribed in section 15-393 if the pupil student is enrolled in a career technical education district, the sum shall be reduced to 1.0 or to the amount specified in section 15-393 if the pupil student is enrolled in a career technical education district and shall be apportioned between the school district or charter school and the career technical education district, if applicable, and the dropout recovery program based on the proportionate shares of average daily membership in the school district or charter school and the average daily attendance in the dropout recovery program. The uniform system of financial records shall include guidelines for the apportionment of pupil apportioning student enrollment and attendance as provided in this subsection. Pupils Students in a dropout recovery program do not incur absences for purposes of this subsection and may generate average daily attendance for attendance during any hour of the day, during any day of the week and at any time between July 1 and June 30 of each fiscal year. The average daily attendance of a pupil student who participates in a dropout recovery program shall not exceed 1.0 or the amount prescribed in section 15-393 if the pupil student is enrolled in a career technical education district, and shall be calculated by fulfilling the requirements of subsection E of this section. Average daily membership shall not be calculated on the one hundredth day of instruction for the purposes of this section.

G. Notwithstanding section 15-901, subsection A, paragraph 1, the average daily membership for pupils students who are enrolled in a dropout recovery program shall equal the average daily attendance of the pupils students.

H. School districts and charter schools shall be responsible for tuition charges and fees related to pupil student participation in a dropout recovery program, including course materials and access to technology for use with online courses.

I. School districts and charter schools may contract with an educational management organization to provide a dropout recovery program services. If contracting with an educational management organization, the school district or charter school 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 from any state and a valid Arizona fingerprint clearance card pursuant to section 15-534, and teachers of core subjects are highly qualified in the subjects to which they are assigned.

J. The department of education shall create and maintain a list of alternative schools within a school district and alternative charter schools that offer a dropout recovery program and the educational management organization, if any, that provides dropout recovery program services to each school. The department shall update the list described in this subsection on a quarterly basis.

K. Thirty days before an alternative school within a school district or an alternative charter school begins operating a dropout recovery program, the school district or alternative charter school shall notify the department of education that it meets the criteria prescribed in this section to operate a dropout recovery program. Notwithstanding subsection L of this section, if the school district or alternative charter school contracts with an educational management organization to provide the dropout recovery program, the school district or alternative charter school shall identify the educational management organization in the notice REQUIRED under this subsection. The department shall determine whether the alternative school or alternative charter school meets the criteria prescribed in this section and notify the school district or alternative charter school of the determination within thirty days after receiving the notice. The school district or alternative charter school may respond to and appeal the department's determination within thirty days. If the department determines that the dropout recovery program meets the criteria prescribed in this section, the alternative school or alternative charter school may begin operating the dropout recovery program thirty days after the date on which the school notified the department pursuant to this subsection.

L. An alternative school within a school district or an alternative charter school that offers a dropout recovery program pursuant to this section shall notify the department of education within thirty days after entering or terminating a contract with an educational management organization for dropout recovery program services.

J. M. Dropout recovery programs shall be classified as alternative schools and shall be are subject to the accountability provisions of section 15-241.

K. N. Entities that are contracted to provide dropout recovery programs may conduct outreach to encourage pupils students who are not currently enrolled in a school district or charter school in this state to return to school. Entities that are contracted to provide dropout recovery programs shall not conduct advertising or marketing campaigns directed at pupils students who are currently enrolled in a school district or charter school, or undertake any other activity that encourages pupils students who are currently enrolled in a school district or charter school to stop attending school in order to qualify for a dropout recovery program.

L. The department of education shall submit an annual report to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives that details the outcomes of dropout recovery programs, including the number of pupils who participate in the programs and the number of pupils who participate in the programs and who graduate from high school. The department shall provide a copy of the annual report to the secretary of state.

O. An alternative school within a school district or an alternative charter school that operates a dropout recovery program may provide up to two months of fundable orientation and mentoring per student per twelve-month period. For the purposes of this subsection, wraparound and support services, including social work sessions, trauma sessions and food and housing security sessions, are fundable orientation and mentoring. The school shall use the following progress markers in the school's student information system to identify monthly progress:

1. "O" for orientation.

2. "S" for satisfactory.

3. "U" for unsatisfactory.

P. On or before July 31 of each year, each school and educational management organization that provides a dropout recovery program shall report to the department of education the following:

1. The on-track-to-graduate data for the dropout recovery program.

2. The total number of credits earned by students in the dropout recovery program.

3. The alternative college and career readiness indicator.

Q. On or before October 1 of each year, the department of education shall compile the information received under subsection P of this section in a report and distribute the report as follows:

1. Submit the report to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives.

2. Submit a copy of the report to the secretary of state.

3. Post the report on the department's website.

M. R. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Eligible pupil student" means a pupil student who, if enrolled, would be eligible for placement in an alternative school but who is not currently enrolled in a school district or charter school and who has been withdrawn from a school district or charter school for at least thirty ten days, unless the school district or alternative charter school determines that the student is unable to participate in other school district or charter school programs.

2. "Satisfactory monthly progress":

(a) Means an amount of progress that is measurable on a monthly basis and that, if continued for twelve months, would result in the same amount of academic credit being awarded to the pupil student as would be awarded to a pupil student in a traditional education program who completes a full school year. Satisfactory monthly progress may include a lesser required amount of progress for the first two months that a pupil participates in the program.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of this paragraph, may include up to two months of fundable orientation and mentoring per student over the twelve-month period described in subdivision (a) of this paragraph, resulting in a lesser required amount of progress over the twelve-month period than that prescribed in subdivision (a) of this paragraph. END_STATUTE