Session of 1999
SENATE BILL No. 53
By Committee on Education
1-14
9 AN ACT concerning school districts; affecting the core academic areas
10 subject to assessment under the school performance accreditation sys-
11 tem; amending K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 72-6439 and repealing the existing
12 section.
13
14 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
15 Section 1. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 72-6439 is hereby amended to read as
16 follows: 72-6439. (a) In order to accomplish the mission for Kansas ed-
17 ucation, the state board of education shall design and adopt a school
18 performance accreditation system based upon improvement in perform-
19 ance that reflects high academic standards and is measurable.
20 (b) The state board of education shall provide for assessments in the
21 core academic areas of mathematics, science, reading, writing, and social
22 studies United States government and civics, United States history, United
23 States geography, world history, world geography, and economics, and
24 shall establish curriculum standards for such core academic areas. The
25 assessments shall be administered at three grade levels, as determined by
26 the state board. The curriculum standards shall be equal to the best stan-
27 dards of excellence and shall be reviewed at least every three years. The
28 state board shall ensure compatibility between the statewide assessments
29 and the curriculum standards. Nothing in this subsection shall be con-
30 strued in any manner so as to impinge upon any district's authority to
31 determine its own curriculum.
32 (c) The state board of education shall determine performance levels
33 on the statewide assessments, the achievement of which represents ex-
34 cellence in the academic area at the grade level to which the assessment
35 applies. The state board should specify the measure of excellence both
36 for individual performance and school performance on the assessments.
37 (d) Each school in every district shall establish a school site council
38 composed of the principal and representatives of teachers and other
39 school personnel, parents of pupils attending the school, the business
40 community, and other community groups. School site councils shall be
41 responsible for providing advice and counsel in evaluating state, school
42 district, and school site performance goals and objectives and in deter-
43 mining the methods that should be employed at the school site to meet
44 these goals and objectives.
45 (e) On or before January 1, 1997 In each school year, the state board
46 of education shall prepare a public education performance report card
47 consisting of statewide aggregated data pertaining to performance on
48 statewide assessments and other measurable performance indicators
49 specified by the state board as part of the accreditation system. The report
50 card shall be designed to show comparative data over multiple years, as
51 determined by the state board. In addition to the public education per-
52 formance report card, the state board shall prepare a school building
53 report card for each school building operated by a district and shall pro-
54 vide the board of each district with information showing the statewide
55 data and school building data, including multiple year data.
56 (f) Under the direction of Kansas, Inc., and subject to appropriations
57 therefor, a study evaluating changes in pupil performance attributable to
58 the school accreditation system shall be conducted between July 1 and
59 November 30, 1997. The main purpose of the study shall be to ascertain,
60 through evaluation of the 48 school districts that began implementation
61 of the school performance accreditation process in the 1991-92 school
62 year, the extent of the change in pupil academic performance under the
63 system and to provide an explanation of the factors that have contributed
64 materially to the changes that have occurred. The study shall be based
65 on data for the 1996-97 school year. The results of the study shall be
66 reported to the legislature at the commencement of the 1998 session.
67 Kansas, Inc. shall convene an advisory committee for assistance in de-
68 signing the study, providing direction for the conducting of research, an-
69 alyzing research findings, and preparing the report of the results of the
70 study. The advisory committee shall consist of not less than seven and
71 not more than 11 members and shall be representative of the state board
72 of education, teachers, school administrators, boards of education, busi-
73 ness, and the public. Members of the advisory committee attending meet-
74 ings of the committee or subcommittee meetings authorized by Kansas,
75 Inc. shall be paid amounts provided for in subsection (e) of K.S.A. 75-
76 3223, and amendments thereto.
77 Sec. 2. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 72-6439 is hereby repealed.
78 Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
79 publication in the statute book.