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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, First Regular Session
charter
schools; financial requirements; revisions
(NOW: public schools; requirements; revisions)
Purpose
Modifies requirements for school districts, schools operated by a school district (district schools) and charter schools relating to posting, dyslexia training, the statutory handbook of parental rights and school records.
Background
Statutes governing school districts, district schools and charter schools include various requirements for posting policies and information on their websites, some of which specify that the information must be posted prominently or on the website homepage (A.R.S. Title 15).
School districts and charter schools must ensure that at least one kindergarten through third grade teacher receives training related to dyslexia. The State Board of Education (SBE) must develop dyslexia training opportunities that: 1) include designated knowledge and practice standards; 2) enable teachers to understand and recognize dyslexia; and 3) enable teachers to implement structured literacy instruction as outlined to meet the needs of students with dyslexia. SBE rules must allow teachers and administrators to count, as continuing education credits, training regarding students with reading impairments, including dyslexia (A.R.S. §§ 15-211 and 15-219).
The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) must establish and post on its website a statutory handbook of parental rights that consists of the statutory Parents' Bill of Rights, parents' rights regarding mask mandates and statutes relating to: 1) school district parental involvement policies; 2) the rights of students at public educational institutions; 3) the rights of parents of a student in a public educational institution regarding learning materials and activities; 4) parental consent for surveys soliciting personal information on specified topics; 5) district school councils; 6) school district approval of common school courses of study, units for credit, textbooks and supplemental materials; 7) school district approval of high school courses of study, units for credit, textbooks and supplemental materials; and 8) parental access to school district instructional materials (A.R.S. § 15-249.16).
Within five
school days after enrolling a transfer pupil from a private school or other
school district, a school must request a certified copy of the pupil's record
from the pupil's previous school. The requesting school must exercise due
diligence in obtaining the copy of the record (A.R.S.
§ 15-905).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
Posting requirements
1. Allows a school district, district school or a charter school to:
a) satisfy any statutory requirement to post, prominently display, make accessible or otherwise include specified information on its website by making a link to the information available on its homepage; and
b) consolidate, on a single webpage, the information that is statutorily-required to be posted, prominently displayed, made accessible or otherwise included on its website.
2. Specifies that information statutorily-required to be included on a school district's, district school's or charter school's website is not required to be posted on its home page.
3. Allows a school district and charter school to fulfill the dyslexia training requirement by ensuring that at least one literacy coach or literacy specialist in each school has received the dyslexia training.
4. Adds literacy coaches and literacy specialists to the individuals who SBE rules must allow to count, as continuing education credits, training regarding students with reading impairments, including dyslexia.
Statutory Handbook of Parental Rights
5. Bifurcates the requirement that ADE must develop a statutory handbook of parental rights into requirements that ADE must develop a statutory handbook of parental rights for parents of students in school districts and develop a separate handbook of parental rights for parents of students in charter schools.
6. Requires the charter school statutory handbook of parental rights to include the text of the statutory Parents' Bill of Rights and of statutes relating to:
a) parents' rights regarding mask mandates;
b) school district parental involvement policies;
c) the rights of students at public educational institutions;
d) the rights of parents of a student in a public educational institution regarding learning materials and activities; and
e) parental consent for surveys soliciting personal information on specified topics.
7. Specifies that the statutory handbook of parental rights for parents of children enrolled in school districts consists of the statutes prescribed for the current statutory handbook.
8. Removes, from the requirement that each school district and charter school must post a link to the statutory handbook of parental rights on its website, the specification that the link must be posted prominently.
School Records
9. Increases, from 5 to 10, the number of school days after enrolling a transfer pupil from a private school or other school district within which a school must request from the pupil's previous school a certified copy of the pupil's record.
10. Removes the requirement that the school requesting a copy of the transfer pupil's record must exercise due diligence in obtaining the copy.
Miscellaneous
11. Makes technical and conforming changes.
12. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
ED 2/14/23 DPA/SE 10-0-0-0
3rd Read 2/22/23 59-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 6, 2023
LB/KT/slp