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7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill amends and enacts provisions regarding a school's responsibility to provide
10 dropout prevention and recovery services.
11 Highlighted Provisions:
12 This bill:
13 ▸ defines terms; and
14 ▸ amends, repeals, and enacts provisions regarding a school's responsibility to provide
15 dropout prevention and recovery services, including provisions regarding:
16 • enrollment options;
17 • funding; and
18 • reporting.
19 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
20 None
21 Other Special Clauses:
22 None
23 Utah Code Sections Affected:
24 ENACTS:
25 53A-15-1701, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26 53A-15-1702, Utah Code Annotated 1953
27 53A-15-1703, Utah Code Annotated 1953
28 REPEALS:
29 53A-17a-172, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 472
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31 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
32 Section 1. Section 53A-15-1701 is enacted to read:
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34 53A-15-1701. Title.
35 This part is known as "Dropout Prevention and Recovery."
36 Section 2. Section 53A-15-1702 is enacted to read:
37 53A-15-1702. Definitions.
38 As used in this part:
39 (1) "Attainment goal" means earning:
40 (a) a high school diploma;
41 (b) a Utah High School Completion Diploma, as defined in State Board of Education
42 rule;
43 (c) an Adult Education Secondary Diploma, as defined in State Board of Education
44 rule; or
45 (d) an employer-recognized, industry-based certificate that is:
46 (i) likely to result in job placement; and
47 (ii) included in the State Board of Education's approved career and technical education
48 industry certification list.
49 (2) "Cohort" means a group of students, defined by the year in which the group enters
50 grade 9.
51 (3) "Designated student" means a student:
52 (a) (i) who has withdrawn from an LEA before earning a diploma;
53 (ii) who has been dropped from average daily membership; and
54 (iii) whose cohort has not yet graduated; or
55 (b) who is at risk of meeting the criteria described in Subsection (3)(a), as determined
56 by the student's LEA, using risk factors defined in rules made by the State Board of Education
57 in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
58 (4) "Graduation rate" means:
59 (a) for a school district or a charter school that includes grade 12, the graduation rate
60 calculated by the State Board of Education for federal accountability and reporting purposes; or
61 (b) for a charter school that does not include grade 12, a proxy graduation rate defined
62 in rules made by the State Board of Education in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah
63 Administrative Rulemaking Act.
64 (5) "Local education agency" or "LEA" means a school district or charter school that
65 serves students in grade 9, 10, 11, or 12.
66 (6) "Nontraditional program" means a program, as defined in rules made by the State
67 Board of Education under Subsection 53A-1-402(1)(e), in which a student receives instruction
68 through:
69 (a) distance learning;
70 (b) online learning;
71 (c) blended learning; or
72 (d) competency-based learning.
73 (7) "Statewide graduation rate" means:
74 (a) for a school district or a charter school that includes grade 12, the statewide
75 graduation rate, as annually calculated by the State Board of Education; or
76 (b) for a charter school that does not include grade 12, the average graduation rate for
77 all charter schools that do not include grade 12.
78 (8) "Third party" means:
79 (a) a private provider; or
80 (b) an LEA that does not meet the criteria described in Subsection 53A-15-1703(3).
81 Section 3. Section 53A-15-1703 is enacted to read:
82 53A-15-1703. Dropout prevention and recovery -- Flexible enrollment options --
83 Contracting -- Reporting.
84 (1) (a) Subject to Subsection (1)(b), an LEA shall provide dropout prevention and
85 recovery services to a designated student, including:
86 (i) engaging with or attempting to recover a designated student;
87 (ii) developing a learning plan, in consultation with a designated student, to identify:
88 (A) barriers to regular school attendance and achievement;
89 (B) an attainment goal; and
90 (C) a means for achieving the attainment goal through enrollment in one or more of the
91 programs described in Subsection (2);
92 (iii) monitoring a designated student's progress toward reaching the designated
93 student's attainment goal; and
94 (iv) providing tiered interventions for a designated student who is not making progress
95 toward reaching the student's attainment goal.
96 (b) An LEA shall provide the dropout prevention and recovery services described in
97 Subsection (1)(a):
98 (i) throughout the calendar year; and
99 (ii) except as provided in Subsection (1)(c)(i), for each designated student who
100 becomes a designated student while enrolled in the LEA.
101 (c) (i) A designated student's school district of residence shall provide dropout recovery
102 services if the designated student:
103 (A) was enrolled in a charter school that does not include grade 12; and
104 (B) becomes a designated student in the summer after the student completes academic
105 instruction at the charter school through the maximum grade level the charter school is eligible
106 to serve under the charter school's charter agreement as described in Section 53A-1a-508.
107 (ii) In accordance with Subsection (1)(c)(iii), a charter school that does not include
108 grade 12 shall notify each of the charter school's student's district of residence, as determined
109 under Section 53A-2-201, when the student completes academic instruction at the charter
110 school as described in Subsection (1)(c)(i)(B).
111 (iii) The notification described in Subsection (1)(c)(ii) shall include the student's name,
112 contact information, and student identification number.
113 (2) (a) An LEA shall provide flexible enrollment options for a designated student that:
114 (i) are tailored to the designated student's learning plan developed under Subsection
115 (1)(a)(ii); and
116 (ii) include two or more of the following:
117 (A) enrollment in the LEA in a traditional program;
118 (B) enrollment in the LEA in a nontraditional program;
119 (C) enrollment in a program offered by a private provider that has entered into a
120 contract with the LEA to provide educational services; or
121 (D) enrollment in a program offered by another LEA.
122 (b) A designated student may enroll in:
123 (i) a program offered by the LEA under Subsection (2)(a), in accordance with this Title
124 53A, State System of Public Education, rules established by the State Board of Education, and
125 policies established by the LEA;
126 (ii) the Electronic High School, in accordance with Part 10, Electronic High School
127 Act; or
128 (iii) the Statewide Online Education Program, in accordance with Part 12, Statewide
129 Online Education Program Act.
130 (c) An LEA shall make the LEA's best effort to accommodate a designated student's
131 choice of enrollment under Subsection (2)(b).
132 (3) Beginning with the 2017-18 school year and except as provided in Subsection (4),
133 an LEA shall enter into a contract with a third party to provide the dropout prevention and
134 recovery services described in Subsection (1)(a) for any school year in which the LEA meets
135 the following criteria:
136 (a) the LEA's graduation rate is lower than the statewide graduation rate; and
137 (b) (i) the LEA's graduation rate has not increased by at least 1% on average over the
138 previous three school years; or
139 (ii) during the previous calendar year, at least 10% of the LEA's designated students
140 have not:
141 (A) reached the students' attainment goals; or
142 (B) made a year's worth of progress toward the students' attainment goals.
143 (4) An LEA that is in the LEA's first three years of operation is not subject to the
144 requirement described in Subsection (3).
145 (5) An LEA described in Subsection (3) shall ensure that:
146 (a) a third party with whom the LEA enters into a contract under Subsection (3) has a
147 demonstrated record of effectiveness engaging with and recovering designated students; and
148 (b) a contract with a third party requires the third party to:
149 (i) provide the services described in Subsection (1)(a); and
150 (ii) regularly report progress to the LEA.
151 (6) An LEA shall annually submit a report to the State Board of Education on dropout
152 prevention and recovery services provided under this section, including:
153 (a) the methods the LEA or third party uses to engage with or attempt to recover
154 designated students under Subsection (1)(a)(i);
155 (b) the number of designated students who enroll in a program described in Subsection
156 (2) as a result of the efforts described in Subsection (6)(a);
157 (c) the number of designated students who reach the designated students' attainment
158 goals identified under Subsection (1)(a)(ii)(B); and
159 (d) funding allocated to provide dropout prevention and recovery services.
160 (7) The State Board of Education shall:
161 (a) ensure that an LEA described in Subsection (3) contracts with a third party to
162 provide dropout prevention and recovery services in accordance with Subsections (3) and (5);
163 and
164 (b) on or before October 30, 2017, and each year thereafter, report to the Education
165 Interim Committee on the provisions of this section, including a summary of the reports
166 submitted under Subsection (6).
167 Section 4. Repealer.
168 This bill repeals:
169 Section 53A-17a-172, Use of minimum school program funds for dropout recovery
170 services.