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H.B. 144

             1     

RECOGNITION OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

             2     
PILOT PROGRAM

             3     
1999 GENERAL SESSION

             4     
STATE OF UTAH

             5     
Sponsor: Tammy J. Rowan

             6      AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC EDUCATION; ESTABLISHING A RECOGNITION OF
             7      ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL REWARDS TO
             8      EDUCATORS IN SCHOOLS DEMONSTRATING ENHANCED ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE;
             9      PROVIDING AN APPLICATION PROCESS FOR PARTICIPATION; PROVIDING
             10      REQUIREMENTS; ESTABLISHING CRITERIA FOR AWARDS; PROVIDING FOR AN
             11      ANNUAL ASSESSMENT REPORT; PROVIDING A $1,000,000 APPROPRIATION; AND
             12      PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
             13      This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
             14      ENACTS:
             15          53A-1a-601, Utah Code Annotated 1953
             16      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             17          Section 1. Section 53A-1a-601 is enacted to read:
             18     
Part 6. Recognition of Academic Excellence

             19          53A-1a-601. Recognition of Academic Excellence Pilot Program -- Purpose --
             20      Termination date -- Application process -- Requirements -- Report.
             21          (1) (a) There is established a Recognition of Academic Excellence Pilot Program to
             22      provide financial rewards to educators in schools demonstrating enhanced academic excellence
             23      as provided in this part.
             24          (b) The pilot program shall last for three years and terminate on June 30, 2002 unless
             25      continued by the Legislature.
             26          (2) (a) The State Board of Education, through the state superintendent of public
             27      instruction, shall:


             28          (i) establish application deadlines for schools to participate in the pilot program; and
             29          (ii) select a representative sample of schools with regard to socioeconomic status and other
             30      factors it considers significant.
             31          (b) The local school board of the district in which the applicant school is located shall
             32      review and approve the school's application prior to its submission to the state board.
             33          (c) The application process shall allow for individual schools to participate in the pilot
             34      program, but total participation in the pilot program may not exceed 50,000 students and a single
             35      district's participation may not exceed 10,000 students.
             36          (d) Charter schools and schools with less than 15 students per grade are not eligible for
             37      the pilot program.
             38          (3) Participation in the pilot program is on a voluntary basis and subject to the following
             39      requirements:
             40          (a) current usage of and agreement to the annual administration of end-of-level
             41      criterion-referenced tests to students at the participant school;
             42          (b) a commitment by the school districts in which participant schools are located to a
             43      dollar for dollar match of money allocated by the state according to each district's percentage of
             44      students initially in the pilot program;
             45          (c) agreement to assistance by an intervention team of highly effective teachers from the
             46      district in which the school is located if a school, grade, or grades are consistently performing
             47      below established expectations under the program; and
             48          (d) agreement by the district in which the school is located to provide press announcements
             49      of schools given awards under this section or reaching other benchmarks of excellence established
             50      by the State Board of Education.
             51          (4) The State Board of Education shall structure the pilot program to provide for the
             52      following:
             53          (a) alignment of tests given under Subsection (3)(a) with the state core curriculum;
             54          (b) use of end-of-level test scores to give equal financial recognition to each teacher in a
             55      given grade at a participant school based on:
             56          (i) a progress recognition award that recognizes the extent by which the grade's median
             57      score on the end-of-level criterion-referenced tests exceeded the average of the two previous years,
             58      except that the first-year awards for the school year ending in 2000 may be based upon


             59      improvement of the median score from the previous school year if the school has only been using
             60      those tests for a single year;
             61          (ii) an excellence recognition award based on how much the median score exceeded the
             62      expected score; and
             63          (iii) weighting of excellence awards under Subsection (4)(b)(ii) so that 67% of the money
             64      awarded under the pilot program is for these awards;
             65          (c) calculation of expected scores under Subsection (4)(b)(ii) by the State Office of
             66      Education which takes into account such proven factors as student mobility, socioeconomic status,
             67      limited English proficiency, and the overall nature or status of the school, such as alternative
             68      schools or magnet schools; and
             69          (d) financial recognition awards for the school's principal and assistant principals equal
             70      to the average award given to teachers at the school.
             71          (5) The state superintendent of public instruction shall provide a report to the Education
             72      Interim Committee on the progress made under the pilot program by September 1 of each year, the
             73      first report due by September 1, 2000.
             74          (6) (a) Except as provided in H.B. 4, Appropriations Coordination Act, there is
             75      appropriated from the Uniform School Fund for the fiscal year 1999-2000, $1,000,000 to the State
             76      Board of Education to fund the pilot program established under this section.
             77          (b) The board shall establish a distribution formula for the appropriation to include at least
             78      the following considerations:
             79          (i) the number of educators, including principals and assistant principals, who are involved
             80      in the pilot program; and
             81          (ii) the nature and weighting of the awards as referred to in Subsections (4)(b) and (d).
             82          (c) The appropriation is nonlapsing.
             83          (d) The appropriation for the second and third year of the pilot program shall include
             84      funding for intervention teams referred to in Subsection (3)(c).
             85          Section 2. Effective date.
             86          This act takes effect on July 1, 1999.





Legislative Review Note
    as of 1-27-99 10:43 AM


A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel


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