Introduced Version
SENATE BILL No. 189
_____
DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
Citations Affected: IC 20-24.2.
Synopsis: Performance-qualified school districts. Establishes performance-qualified school districts to provide flexibility in administration and instruction to school corporations that meet certain performance criteria. Provides that a performance-qualified school district is exempt from most statutes, rules, and guidelines applicable to school boards or school corporations. Sets forth the performance criteria that must be met and the statutes and rules with which a performance-qualified school district must continue to comply.
Effective: July 1, 2013.
Delph, Kruse, Hershman
January 7, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Education and Career Development.
Introduced
First Regular Session 118th General Assembly (2013)
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SENATE BILL No. 189
A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning education.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
SOURCE: IC 20-24.2; (13)IN0189.1.1. –> SECTION 1. IC 20-24.2 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS A NEW ARTICLE TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2013]:
ARTICLE 24.2. PERFORMANCE-QUALIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Chapter 1. Definitions
Sec. 1. The definitions in this chapter apply throughout this article.
Sec. 2. “Data baseline” means the data elements established by the department set forth in IC 20-24.2-2-3.
Sec. 3. “District” refers to a performance-qualified school district.
Chapter 2. Establishment of Performance-Qualified School Districts
Sec. 1. Performance-qualified school districts are established to provide flexibility in administration and instruction to school corporations that meet certain established performance criteria so
that the school corporations may provide curriculum, instruction, programs, and educational innovations designed to engage students in achievement greater than the achievement required for the school corporations to be placed in the highest performance category or designation by the department under IC 20-31-8.
Sec. 2. (a) To be designated as a district, a school corporation must meet the following initial criteria:
(1) Meet or exceed each element of the data baseline established under section 3 of this chapter.
(2) Be placed in the highest performance category or designation by the department under IC 20-31-8.
(b) After a school corporation meets the criteria set forth in subsection (a), the department shall certify the school corporation as a district for a four (4) year period. The certification is effective beginning with the school year following the school year in which the district is certified.
(c) A district that has been certified is exempt from any or all of the statutes and rules that are not set forth in IC 20-24.2-4, as selected by the district.
Sec. 3. The department shall establish the data elements that comprise the data baseline. The data elements must demonstrate the curriculum and instruction of a school corporation to create academic performance at a high level through which students are college or career ready and globally competitive upon graduation from high school by achieving the following:
(1) At least twenty-five percent (25%) of students graduating each year in the school corporation:
(A) must earn a grade of 3, 4, or 5 on at least one (1) Advanced Placement examination; or
(B) must graduate with a technical honors diploma.
(2) The school corporation must have a graduation rate of at least ninety percent (90%).
(3) The composite SAT scores of the school corporation’s graduates must be higher than the state-wide average SAT scores.
(4) Other data elements the department determines are appropriate.
Sec. 4. During the period in which a school corporation is certified as a district, the district shall meet or exceed the following benchmarks each year for the district and for each school in the district:
(1) For the district as a whole, there must be participation in
performance-based measures determined jointly by the department and the district.
(2) For a high school, at least eighty-five percent (85%) of the students must achieve a passing score on end of course assessments in:
(A) Algebra I;
(B) English 10; or
(C) both Algebra I and English 10.
(3) For a middle school, at least eighty-five percent (85%) of the students in grades 6, 7, and 8 must achieve a passing score on ISTEP assessments in:
(A) English;
(B) mathematics; or
(C) both English and mathematics.
(4) For an elementary school:
(A) at least eighty-five percent (85%) of the students in grades 3, 4, and 5 must achieve a passing score on ISTEP assessments in:
(i) English;
(ii) mathematics; or
(iii) both English and mathematics; and
(B) at least eighty-five percent (85%) of the students in grade 3 must pass the I-READ assessment.
Sec. 5. A district shall report annually to the department the district’s performance concerning the criteria set forth in section 2(a) of this chapter and the benchmarks set forth in section 4 of this chapter.
Sec. 6. (a) After a school corporation has received certification as a district, the department shall conduct a status review of the district’s performance at the end of the third school year following the district’s certification.
(b) If the district demonstrates that it continues to meet the criteria set forth in section 2(a) of this chapter and the benchmarks set forth in section 4 of this chapter, the school corporation shall be recertified as a district for an additional four (4) year period.
(c) If the district fails to meet the criteria set forth in section 2(a) of this chapter, the benchmarks set forth in section 4 of this chapter, or both, the school corporation shall receive a temporary certification as a district for the fourth year of the certification period. If, at the end of the fourth year, the school corporation fails to meet the criteria set forth in section 2(a) of this chapter or the benchmarks set forth in section 4 of this chapter, or both, the
department shall remove the school corporation’s certification as a district.
(d) A school corporation that has lost certification as a district under subsection (c) may be recertified as a district when the school corporation meets the criteria set forth in section 2(a) of this chapter.
Chapter 3. Certificated Staff Evaluations and Funding
Sec. 1. The department shall give approval to any system of rubric-based certificated staff evaluations designed and implemented by a district.
Sec. 2. A school corporation may not receive a decrease in state funding based upon the school corporation’s status as a district, or because of the implementation of a waiver of a statute or rule that is allowed to be waived by a district.
Chapter 4. District Powers and Exemptions
Sec. 1. (a) A district is accountable for ensuring continued compliance with:
(1) applicable federal and state laws; and
(2) the Constitution of the State of Indiana.
(b) A district is subject to all federal and state laws and constitutional provisions that prohibit discrimination on the basis of the following:
(1) Disability.
(2) Race.
(3) Color.
(4) Gender.
(5) National origin.
(6) Religion.
(7) Ancestry.
Sec. 2. During each school year, a district shall provide at least:
(1) fifty-four thousand (54,000) minutes of instruction and learning for grades 1 through 6; and
(2) sixty-four thousand eight hundred (64,800) minutes of instruction and learning for grades 7 through 12.
However, the district is not required to provide at least one hundred eighty (180) student instructional days.
Sec. 3. Except as specifically provided in this article and the statutes listed in section 4 of this chapter, the following do not apply to a district:
(1) An Indiana statute applicable to a governing body or a school corporation.
(2) A rule or guideline adopted by the state board.
(3) A rule or guideline adopted by the state board concerning teachers, except for those rules that assist a teacher in gaining or renewing a standard or advanced license.
Sec. 4. The following statutes and rules and guidelines adopted under the following statutes apply to a district:
(1) IC 5-11-1-9 (required audits by the state board of accounts).
(2) IC 20-26 (school corporation general administrative provisions).
(3) IC 20-27 (school transportation).
(4) IC 20-28-6 (teacher contracts).
(5) IC 20-28-7.5 (cancellation of teacher contracts).
(6) IC 20-28-8 (contracts with school administrators).
(7) IC 20-28-9 (teacher salary and related payments).
(8) IC 20-28-10 (conditions of employment).
(9) IC 20-29 (collective bargaining for teachers).
(10) IC 20-30-3-2 and IC 20-30-3-4 (patriotic commemorative observances).
(11) IC 20-30-5-19 (personal financial responsibility instruction).
(12) IC 20-31 (accountability for school performance and improvement).
(13) IC 20-32-4, IC 20-32-5, and IC 20-32-8, or any other statute, rule, or guideline related to standardized assessments (accreditation, assessment, and remediation).
(14) IC 20-33 (students: general provisions).
(15) IC 20-34-3 (health and safety measures).
(16) IC 20-35 (special education).
(17) IC 20-39 (accounting procedures).
(18) IC 20-40 (government funds and accounts).
(19) IC 20-41 (extracurricular funds and accounts).
(20) IC 20-42.5 (allocation of expenditures to student instruction).
(21) IC 20-43 (state tuition support).
(22) IC 20-44 (property tax levies).
(23) IC 20-45 (general fund levies).
(24) IC 20-46 (levies other than general fund levies).
(25) IC 20-47 (related entities; holding companies; lease agreements).
(26) IC 20-48 (borrowing and bonds).
(27) IC 20-49 (state management of common school funds; state advances and loans).
(28) IC 20-50 (homeless children and foster care children).
Sec. 5. A district may display the words “Indiana Performance-Qualified School District” on the district’s correspondence, Internet web site, and any other communications representing the district.