Signed by Governor Matt Bevin

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass with amendment a bill that amends state educational standards, including procedures for standards review.

Highlights:

• Requires each school district to develop and implement a personnel evaluation system aligned with the statewide framework for teaching that requires evaluations every three years (Sec. 1).

• Requires the Department of Education to implement a process for comprehensive review and revising of academic standards and corresponding assessments every 6 years (Sec. 4).

• Establishes 4 standards and assessments review and development committees for the core subjects, composed of public school teachers and representatives from higher education institutions, which shall make recommendations for changes to standards and assessments (Sec. 4).

• Requires statewide tests to be revised for alignment with any new standards developed by this review process, and specifies that statewide tests may not include any standards not approved by the Board of Education (Sec. 4).

• Requires the Board of Education to minimize the number of instructional days interrupted by testing and authorizes it to change the testing window to allow for innovating assessment systems (Sec. 4).

• Establishes standards review procedures for the arts, career studies, and foreign languages using the same model of review used for core subjects standards (Sec. 4).

• Establishes accountability systems for academic standards and a student assessment program, including an annual overall summative performance evaluation of each school and district (Sec. 5).

• Requires the Department of Education to promote administrative regulations establishing the monitoring and periodic review of the implementation of a school district’s turnaround plan (Sec. 9).

• Establishes regulations for identifying schools and districts in need of support and assistance or comprehensive support and assistance (Sec. 13).

• Establishes procedures for schools and districts that enter into a turnaround plan, including but not limited to audits, the hiring of a private entity for advisory purposes, the authority of the superintendent to reassign staff, and procedures for school that fail to exit this improvement status for more than 3 years (Sec. 13).

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends state educational standards, including procedures for standards review.

Highlights:

• Requires each school district to develop and implement a personnel evaluation system aligned with the statewide framework for teaching that requires evaluations every three years (Sec. 1).

• Requires the Department of Education to implement a process for comprehensive review and revising of academic standards and corresponding assessments every 6 years (Sec. 4).

• Establishes 4 standards and assessments review and development committees for the core subjects, composed of public school teachers and representatives from higher education institutions, which shall make recommendations for changes to standards and assessments (Sec. 4).

• Requires statewide tests to be revised for alignment with any new standards developed by this review process, and specifies that statewide tests may not include any standards not approved by the Board of Education (Sec. 4).

• Requires the Board of Education to minimize the number of instructional days interrupted by testing and authorizes it to change the testing window to allow for innovating assessment systems (Sec. 4).

• Establishes standards review procedures for the arts, career studies, and foreign languages using the same model of review used for core subjects standards (Sec. 4).

• Establishes accountability systems for academic standards and a student assessment program, including an annual overall summative performance evaluation of each school and district (Sec. 5).

• Requires the Department of Education to promote administrative regulations establishing the monitoring and periodic review of the implementation of a school district’s turnaround plan (Sec. 9).

• Establishes regulations for identifying schools and districts in need of support and assistance or comprehensive support and assistance (Sec. 13).

• Establishes procedures for schools and districts that enter into a turnaround plan, including but not limited to audits, the hiring of a private entity for advisory purposes, the authority of the superintendent to reassign staff, and procedures for school that fail to exit this improvement status for more than 3 years (Sec. 13).