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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, First Regular Session
dropout recovery programs; revisions
Purpose
Authorizes an alternative school within a school district (district school) or an alternative charter school with a unique entity number that is not an Arizona Online Instruction (AOI) provider to offer a dropout recovery program (DRP) and narrows the prohibition on AOI providers operating a DRP to apply to an AOI online course provider or an online school. Modifies DRP eligibility, administration and reporting requirements.
Background
A school district or charter school that provides high school instruction and is not also an AOI provider may offer a DRP to assist students who left the education system achieve a high school diploma in an alternative setting. The State Board of Education (SBE) must prescribe standards that require a DRP to: 1) provide curriculum aligned to academic standards, required standardized tests and support for students; and 2) meet the state graduation requirements. A school district or charter school may contract with an educational management organization (EMO) that meets prescribed requirements to provide a DRP and may provide curricula online. Schools that operate a DRP are classified as alternative schools.
For the purposes of calculating average daily membership (ADM), a DRP student is in attendance if: 1) in the first month, the student completes DRP orientation; 2) the student makes satisfactory monthly progress in teacher-facilitated courses for the current or previous month; or 3) meets the expectations for DRP reentry. A student who does not make satisfactory progress for two or more consecutive months may not be counted in ADM. Satisfactory monthly progress is progress measurable monthly that, if continued for 12 months would result in the same amount of academic credit awarded to the student as would be awarded to a student in a traditional education program who completes a full school year (A.R.S. §§ 15-241 and 15-901.06; ADE).
An alternative school is a school whose mission is to serve a specific population of at-risk students that will benefit from an alternative school setting. At least 70 percent of the school's enrolled students must be in at least one of the prescribed population categories (ADE).
If modifying the qualifications of schools who may offer a DRP or the definition of satisfactory monthly progress results in a change to ADM calculated for DRP providers, there may be change in Basic State Aid costs to the state General Fund.
Provisions
1. Authorizes each alternative district school and each alternative charter school, rather than a school district or charter school, that provides high school instruction to offer a DRP.
2. Narrows the prohibition on an AOI provider operating a DRP to apply only to an AOI:
a) online school which is a school that is selected to participate in AOI and provides at least four online academic courses or at least one online course for the equivalent of at least five hours each day for 180 school days; or
b) online course provider which is a school other than an online school that is selected to participate in AOI and provides at least one SBE-approved online academic course.
3. Specifies that, if the school is not an AOI online course provider or online school, an alternative district school or an alternative charter school with a unique entity number may provide a DRP.
4. Requires the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to create and maintain a list of alternative district schools and alternative charter schools that offer a DRP and the EMO, if any, that provides DRP services to each school.
5. Requires ADE to update the DRP schools and EMOs list on a quarterly basis.
6. Requires a school district or an alternative charter school, 30 days before an alternative district school or an alternative charter school begin DRP operations, to:
a) notify ADE that the school meets the prescribed DRP criteria; and
b) if applicable, identify the EMO contracted to operate a DRP in the notice.
7. Directs ADE, within 30 days after receiving the school's notice, to determine whether the DRP criteria are met and notify the school district or alternative charter school of the determination.
8. Provides the school district or alternative charter school 30 days to respond and appeal ADE's decision.
9. Allows an alternative school or alternative charter school that receives ADE-approval to start DRP operations 30 days after the school's initial notice to ADE.
10. Directs an alternative district school or alternative charter school that offers a DRP (DRP provider) to notify ADE within 30 days after entering or terminating a contract with an EMO for DRP services.
11. Authorizes a DRP provider to provide up to 2 months of fundable orientation and mentoring per student per 12-month period.
12. Deems that wraparound and support services, including social work sessions, trauma sessions and food and housing security sessions are fundable orientation and mentoring.
13. Adds, to the elements that must be included in a DRP student's written learning plan, whether the student will receive wraparound services or support services that count toward the student's satisfactory monthly progress.
14. Directs a DRP provider to identify monthly progress in the school's student information system using the following progress markers:
a) O for orientation;
b) S for satisfactory; and
c) U for unsatisfactory.
15. Requires, by July 31, each school and EMO that provides a DRP to annually report to ADE:
a) on-track-to-graduate data for the DRP;
b) the total number of credits earned by students in the DRP; and
c) the alternative college and career readiness indicator.
16. Requires ADE’s annual report to the Governor and Legislature to:
a) be submitted by October 1 and posted on ADE’s website; and
b) include compiled information submitted by DRP providers, rather than DRP outcomes including the number of participating students and the number of participating students who graduate.
17. Redefines eligible pupil as eligible student and modifies the definition by:
a) removing the criteria that the student must be eligible for placement in an alternative school; and
b) reducing, from 30 to 10, the number of days the student has been withdrawn from a school district or charter school.
18. Allows satisfactory monthly progress to include up to 2 months of fundable orientation and mentoring per student over a 12-month period, resulting in a lesser required amount of progress over the 12-month period, rather than including a lesser required amount of progress for a student's first 2 months of DRP participation.
19. Makes technical and conforming changes.
20. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
January 31, 2023
LB/slp