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Session of 2000
          HOUSE BILL No. 2794           By Committee on Education           2-2          

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  9             AN  ACT concerning education; providing for a Kansas mastery of basic
10             skills program and for recognition of schools that qualify for a basic
11             skills achievement award.
12      
13       Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
14             Section  1. As used in this act:
15             (a) "Board" means the board of education of any school district.
16             (b) "School district" means any public school district.
17             (c) "School" means any school maintaining kindergarten and any or
18       all of the grades one through three, whether or not other grades are
19       maintained in the school.
20             (d) "State board" means the state board of education.
21             (e) "Pupil" means any person who is regularly enrolled in kindergar-
22       ten or any of the grades one through three maintained in a school oper-
23       ated by a school district.
24             (f) "Kansas mastery of basic skills program" means a program based
25       upon the identification and specification of standards and outcomes of
26       mastery of reading, writing and mathematics, the attainment of which
27       standards and outcomes of mastery pupils in attendance at a school shall
28       demonstrate through a process defined by the school.
29             (g) "Basic skills achievement award" means an award made under
30       this act to recognize schools which certify that not less than 95% of the
31       pupils in attendance have attained the standards and outcomes of mastery
32       identified and specified under subsection (a)(2) of section 2, and amend-
33       ments thereto, by the end of grade level 3.
34             Sec.  2. (a) The state board shall adopt rules and regulations for ad-
35       ministration of the provisions of this act and shall:
36             (1) Prescribe a Kansas mastery of basic skills program to be main-
37       tained in every school each school year in every school district in the state;
38       and
39             (2) identify, specify and distribute to each board in the state standards
40       and outcomes of mastery of reading, writing and mathematics by fiscal
41       year 2001 for kindergarten and each of the grade levels one through three;
42             (3) require that schools, as a part of the accreditation process pro-
43       vided for in K.S.A. 72-6439, and amendments thereto, develop plans to

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  1       meet the standards and outcomes of mastery identified and specified
  2       under provision (2) of this subsection, and develop a process to certify
  3       that pupils meet such standards and outcomes at the kindergarten level
  4       and at each of the grade levels one through three. The plan and certifi-
  5       cation process must be filed with the state board of education and be
  6       available to parents and other interested parties; and
  7             (4) give technical advice and assistance and make recommendations
  8       to boards concerning maintenance of the Kansas mastery of basic skills
  9       program.
10             (b) Commencing with the 2001-02 school year, no pupil shall be pro-
11       moted to the next grade level unless the school has certified the pupil has
12       met the standards and outcomes of mastery identified and specified for
13       the pupil's grade level under provisions (2) of subsection (a).
14             (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b), no pupil be-
15       tween kindergarten and grade level three shall repeat kindergarten or any
16       grade level more than once.
17             Sec.  3. (a) Each school, with technical advice and assistance from the
18       state board, shall prepare a plan containing strategies, techniques and
19       procedures for enabling and assisting pupils at the kindergarten level and
20       each of the grade levels one through three to meet the standards and
21       outcomes of mastery identified and specified under subsection (a)(2) of
22       section 2, and amendments thereto. Each plan for grade levels one
23       through three shall include options for assisting pupils who initially fail
24       to meet the standards and outcomes of mastery identified and specified
25       under subsection (a)(2) of section 2, and amendments thereto, through
26       provision of alternative educational programs, including summer school
27       and after-school instruction.
28             (b) The state board shall provide a professional development se-
29       quence for primary grade teachers to enable such teachers to learn the
30       best practices for teaching basic skills.
31             (c) In the case of any pupil who does not demonstrate satisfactory
32       progress toward meeting the standards and outcomes of mastery of read-
33       ing, writing and mathematics identified and specified under subsection
34       (a)(2) of section 2, and amendments thereto, the school shall work with
35       the parents or a person acting as parent of the pupil, if available, to pre-
36       pare a plan to improve the pupil's progress. The plan may include, but
37       need not be limited to, a restructured school day, additional school days,
38       summer school and individualized instruction.
39             (d) Every school must have available after-school instruction and
40       summer school for pupils not meeting the standards and outcomes of
41       mastery of reading, writing and mathematics identified and specified un-
42       der subsection (a)(2) of section 2, and amendments thereto.
43             Sec.  4. (a) The provisions of this act do not apply to: (1) Any pupil

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  1       determined to be exceptional under the provisions of article 9 of chapter
  2       72 of Kansas Statutes Annotated if the special education program in which
  3       the pupil is enrolled provides only for nonacademic and nonvocational
  4       activities; (2) any pupil who, upon determination by mutual agreement of
  5       a school, in consultation with the teacher of the pupil, and the parent or
  6       person acting as parent of the pupil, is not able to benefit from assessment
  7       or effectively participate in the Kansas mastery of basic skills program; or
  8       (3) any pupil who has attained modal age for grade level 5, participated
  9       in the program and failed to qualify for a certificate of mastery after
10       making the best effort possible.
11             (b) Each board shall report to the state board the number of pupils
12       enrolled in the school district who are exempt under the provisions of
13       this section from participation in the Kansas mastery of basic skills pro-
14       gram. Such reports shall be made in the manner and at the times specified
15       by the state board.
16             Sec.  5. In each school year, each school that reaches the standard of
17       excellence in the statewide assessment of mathematics in fourth grade
18       and of reading in the fifth grade as prescribed under K.S.A. 72-6439, and
19       amendments thereto, shall be entitled to an award in an amount to be
20       determined by the state board by multiplying the amount of $10 by the
21       number of pupils in attendance at the school. The product is the amount
22       of the award to which the school is entitled. The amount of the award
23       shall be paid to the board having jurisdiction over the school, deposited
24       in the general fund of the school district and credited to the account of
25       the school. All amounts received by a school district and credited to the
26       account of a school may be expended whether the same have been budg-
27       eted or not and amounts so expended shall not be considered operating
28       expenses of the school district. The school site council of a school shall
29       determine the purposes for which the award shall be expended.
30             Sec.  6. (a) Periodically, but not less often than biennially, beginning
31       in 2006, the state board shall study, review and consider data and other
32       information collected by school districts in maintenance of the Kansas
33       mastery of basic skills program, including data regarding pupil perform-
34       ance on the statewide assessments provided for under K.S.A. 72-6439,
35       and amendments thereto, in order to determine whether 95% of the
36       pupils are demonstrating attainment of the standards and outcomes of
37       mastery of reading, writing and mathematics identified and specified un-
38       der subsection (a)(2) of section 2, and amendments thereto.
39             (b) Upon completion of each review conducted under subsection (a),
40       the state board shall disseminate appropriate information and summary
41       data concerning the Kansas mastery of basic skills program to boards, the
42       legislature, the governor and to other interested parties.
43             (c) If the percentage of pupils who are demonstrating attainment of

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  1       the standards and outcomes of mastery of reading, writing and mathe-
  2       matics is less than 95%, the state board shall establish a statewide im-
  3       provement plan to ensure attainment of the standards and outcomes of
  4       mastery of reading, writing and mathematics by not less than 95% of the
  5       pupils in attendance at school and shall make the statewide improvement
  6       plan an integral part of the accreditation process provided for in K.S.A.
  7       72-6439, and amendments thereto. 
  8        Sec.  7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
  9       publication in the statute book.