S.B. 257 Enrolled

             1     

PARENT REVIEW OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND

             2     
CURRICULUM

             3     
2014 GENERAL SESSION

             4     
STATE OF UTAH

             5     
Chief Sponsor: Howard A. Stephenson

             6     
House Sponsor: Gregory H. Hughes

             7     
             8      LONG TITLE
             9      General Description:
             10          This bill provides for review by a committee of parents or guardians of a complaint
             11      related to curriculum or instructional materials.
             12      Highlighted Provisions:
             13          This bill:
             14          .    expands the duties of a committee of parents responsible to review computer
             15      adaptive test questions to include the review of a complaint submitted by a parent or
             16      guardian of a public school student related to curriculum or instructional materials;
             17          .    requires the State Board of Education to prepare, and publish on the State Board of
             18      Education's website, a report containing information about complaints related to
             19      curriculum and instructional materials; and
             20          .    makes technical changes.
             21      Money Appropriated in this Bill:
             22          None
             23      Other Special Clauses:
             24          None
             25      Utah Code Sections Affected:
             26      AMENDS:
             27           53A-1-603 , as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 161
             28     
             29      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:


             30          Section 1. Section 53A-1-603 is amended to read:
             31           53A-1-603. Duties of State Board of Education.
             32          (1) The State Board of Education shall:
             33          (a) require each school district and charter school to implement the Utah Performance
             34      Assessment System for Students, hereafter referred to as U-PASS;
             35          (b) require the state superintendent of public instruction to submit and recommend
             36      criterion-referenced achievement tests or online computer adaptive tests, college readiness
             37      assessments, an online writing assessment for grades 5 and 8, and a test for students in grade 3
             38      to measure reading grade level to the board for approval and adoption and distribution to each
             39      school district and charter school by the state superintendent;
             40          (c) develop an assessment method to uniformly measure statewide performance, school
             41      district performance, and school performance of students in grades 3 through 12 in mastering
             42      basic skills courses; and
             43          (d) provide for the state to participate in the National Assessment of Educational
             44      Progress state-by-state comparison testing program.
             45          (2) Except as provided in Subsection (3) and Subsection 53A-1-611 [(3)](4), under
             46      U-PASS, the State Board of Education shall annually require each school district and charter
             47      school, as applicable, to administer:
             48          (a) as determined by the State Board of Education, statewide criterion-referenced tests
             49      or online computer adaptive tests in grades 3 through 12 and courses in basic skill areas of the
             50      core curriculum;
             51          (b) an online writing assessment to all students in grades 5 and 8;
             52          (c) college readiness assessments as detailed in Section 53A-1-611 ; and
             53          (d) a test to all students in grade 3 to measure reading grade level.
             54          (3) Beginning with the 2014-15 school year, the State Board of Education shall
             55      annually require each school district and charter school, as applicable, to administer a computer
             56      adaptive assessment system that is:
             57          (a) adopted by the State Board of Education; and


             58          (b) aligned to Utah's common core.
             59          (4) The board shall adopt rules for the conduct and administration of U-PASS to
             60      include the following:
             61          (a) the computation of student performance based on information that is disaggregated
             62      with respect to race, ethnicity, gender, limited English proficiency, and those students who
             63      qualify for free or reduced price school lunch;
             64          (b) security features to maintain the integrity of the system, which could include
             65      statewide uniform testing dates, multiple test forms, and test administration protocols;
             66          (c) the exemption of student test scores, by exemption category, such as limited
             67      English proficiency, mobility, and students with disabilities, with the percent or number of
             68      student test scores exempted being publically reported at a district level;
             69          (d) compiling of criterion-referenced, online computer adaptive, and online writing test
             70      scores and test score averages at the classroom level to allow for:
             71          (i) an annual review of those scores by parents of students and professional and other
             72      appropriate staff at the classroom level at the earliest point in time;
             73          (ii) the assessment of year-to-year student progress in specific classes, courses, and
             74      subjects;
             75          (iii) a teacher to review, prior to the beginning of a new school year, test scores from
             76      the previous school year of students who have been assigned to the teacher's class for the new
             77      school year;
             78          (e) allowing a school district or charter school to have its tests administered and scored
             79      electronically to accelerate the review of test scores and their usefulness to parents and
             80      educators under Subsection (4)(d), without violating the integrity of U-PASS; and
             81          (f) providing that scores on the tests and assessments required under Subsection (2)(a)
             82      and Subsection (3) shall be considered in determining a student's academic grade for the
             83      appropriate course and whether a student shall advance to the next grade level.
             84          (5) (a) A school district or charter school, as applicable, is encouraged to administer an
             85      online writing assessment to students in grade 11.


             86          (b) The State Board of Education may award a grant to a school district or charter
             87      school to pay for an online writing assessment and instruction program that may be used to
             88      assess the writing of students in grade 11.
             89          (6) The State Board of Education shall make rules:
             90          (a) establishing procedures for applying for and awarding money for computer adaptive
             91      tests;
             92          (b) specifying how money for computer adaptive tests shall be allocated among school
             93      districts and charter schools that qualify to receive the money; and
             94          (c) requiring reporting of the expenditure of money awarded for computer adaptive
             95      testing and evidence that the money was used to implement computer adaptive testing.
             96          (7) The State Board of Education shall assure that computer adaptive tests are
             97      administered in compliance with the requirements of Chapter 13, Part 3, Utah Family
             98      Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
             99          (8) (a) The State Board of Education shall establish a committee consisting of 15
             100      parents or guardians of Utah public education students to review:
             101          (i) all computer adaptive test questions[.]; and
             102          (ii) a complaint submitted by a parent or guardian of a public school student related to
             103      curriculum or instructional materials.
             104          (b) The committee established in Subsection (8)(a) shall include the following parent
             105      or guardian members:
             106          (i) five members appointed by the chair of the State Board of Education;
             107          (ii) five members appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; and
             108          (iii) five members appointed by the president of the Senate.
             109          (c) The State Board of Education shall provide staff support to the parent or guardian
             110      committee.
             111          (d) The term of office of each member appointed in Subsection (8)(b) is four years.
             112          (e) The chair of the State Board of Education, the speaker of the House of
             113      Representatives, and the president of the Senate shall adjust the length of terms to stagger the


             114      terms of committee members so that approximately 1/2 of the committee members are
             115      appointed every two years.
             116          (f) No member may receive compensation or benefits for the member's service on the
             117      committee.
             118          (g) (i) The State Board of Education shall prepare, and publish on the State Board of
             119      Education's website, a report on complaints related to curriculum and instructional materials,
             120      including:
             121          (A) a complaint of a factual or other error;
             122          (B) a complaint of bias; or
             123          (C) a complaint made for another reason.
             124          (ii) The report shall include the number of complaints categorized by:
             125          (A) grade level and course;
             126          (B) reason identified; and
             127          (C) action taken by the state school board, a school district, or school with respect to a
             128      complaint.
             129          (9) (a) School districts and charter schools shall require each licensed employee to
             130      complete two hours of professional development on youth suicide prevention within their
             131      license cycle in accordance with Section 53A-6-104 .
             132          (b) The State Board of Education shall develop or adopt sample materials to be used by
             133      a school district or charter school for professional development training on youth suicide
             134      prevention.
             135          (c) The training required by this Subsection (9) shall be incorporated into professional
             136      development training required by rule in accordance with Section 53A-6-104 .


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