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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, First Regular Session
AMENDED
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 literacy assessments and training, posting
statutorily-required information, including the statutory parental rights
handbook and school records.
Background
The State Board of Education (SBE) must provide for universal screening of students in preschool programs, kindergarten and grades one through three (K-3) to identify reading deficiencies. Beginning in school year 2022-2023, and if sufficient monies are appropriate, the SBE must adopt a statewide kindergarten entry evaluation tool (KEA tool) to administer to kindergarten pupils within the first 45 calendar days of the school year or a student's enrollment (A.R.S. § 15-701). In 2022, the SBE approved a KEA tool, which is currently paused by the Arizona Department of Education for revision of implementation and training (ADE).
School districts and charter schools must ensure that at least one K-3 teacher in each school receives training related to dyslexia. The SBE must develop dyslexia training opportunities that include knowledge and practice standards and enable teachers to recognize dyslexia and implement structured literacy instruction to meet the needs of students with dyslexia. Teachers and administrators may count, as continuing education credits, training regarding students with reading impairments, including dyslexia (A.R.S. §§ 15-211 and 15-219).
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). ADE must post a statutory handbook of parental rights on its website that consists of the statutory Parents' Bill of Rights and statutes relating to: 1) parents' rights regarding mask mandates, learning materials and activities and surveys soliciting certain personal information; 2) students' rights at public educational institutions; and 3) school district school councils, parental involvement policies and approval of courses of study, textbooks and supplemental materials (A.R.S. § 15-249.16).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
K-3 Literacy
1. Allows, rather than requires, school districts and charter schools to administer the SBE-adopted KEA tool.
2. Directs each school district governing board (governing board) and charter school governing body (governing body) to select appropriate kindergarten entry evaluation methods or assessments, or both, to identify kindergarten pupils with reading deficiencies and monitor student progress.
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.
5. Removes, from the requirement that school districts and charter schools must identify each pupil at risk of reading below grade level in kindergarten and grades one through three, that identification must be based on local or statewide assessments.
6. Removes the specification that the K-3 motivational assessment is defined by the SBE.
Posting Requirements
7. 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 and post a link to the webpage on their homepage.
8. 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.
9. 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 (district parental rights handbook) and develop a separate handbook of parental rights for parents of students in charter schools (charter school parental rights handbook).
10. Requires the charter school 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) the rights of students at public educational institutions;
c) the rights of parents of a student in a public educational institution regarding learning materials and activities; and
d) parental consent for surveys soliciting personal information on specified topics.
11. Specifies that the district handbook of parental rights consists of the statutes prescribed for the current parental rights handbook.
12. 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.
13. Requires a governing board or charter school to collect and maintain educational and teaching background and experience in a particular academic content subject area for the following, rather than keep the information in the personnel file:
a) each current and former district teacher; or
b) each current charter school teacher.
14. Removes the requirement that a school district or charter school must inform parents and guardians of the availability of the background and experience information.
15. Allows a school district or charter school to post teacher background and experience information on their website as an alternative to making the information available for inspection on request of parents and guardians of enrolled pupils.
16. 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.
17. Removes the requirement that the school requesting a copy of the transfer pupil's record must exercise due diligence in obtaining the copy.
Miscellaneous
18. Removes the requirement that the prescribed budget format for school districts must include a statement identifying the number of full-time equivalent certified employees.
19. Makes technical and conforming changes.
20. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee
1. Allows a governing board or governing body to select KEA evaluation methods or assessments to administer, rather than requiring administration of the SBE-adopted KEA.
2. Requires a governing board or governing body to collect and maintain teacher background and experience information rather than keep the information in each personnel file.
3. Removes the requirement that a school district or charter school must inform parents and guardians that the information is available and allows the information to be posted on the school district or charter school website.
4. Removes the requirement that the prescribed budget format for school districts must include a statement identifying the number of full-time equivalent certified employees.
5. Specifies that a school district or charter school that consolidates statutorily-required information on a single webpage must post a link to the webpage on its homepage.
6. Removes, from statutes that must be included in the charter school statutory handbook of parental rights, the statute governing school district school councils.
7. Makes technical and conforming changes.
House Action Senate Action
ED 2/14/23 DPA/SE 10-0-0-0 ED 3/8/23 DPA 7-0-0
3rd Read 2/22/23 59-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 10, 2023
LB/slp