This bill requires the department of education to create and develop a five-year school turnaround pilot program for district schools that are in need of intervention. Under this bill, the department will select 20 schools in need of intervention that are diverse geographically, including rural and urban schools and schools in different regions of the state, and diverse in grade levels for the pilot program. From the 20 schools in need of intervention selected for the pilot program, the department will randomly select 10 schools to be a control group and 10 schools to participate in a school turnaround group. The department will operate and administer the school turnaround pilot program for five school years beginning with the 2021-2022 school year.
Under this bill, in the 2021-2022 school year:
(1) Schools in need of intervention that are assigned to the control group must develop school improvement plans that address the respective school's weaknesses that resulted in the department designating the school as a school in need of intervention; and
(2) Schools in need of intervention that are assigned to the school turnaround group must develop a school turnaround plan.
In the four school years from the 2022-2023 school year through the 2025-2026 school year, each school in need of intervention must implement the school's respective school improvement plan or school turnaround plan. At the end of the 2024-2025 school year, the department will evaluate the progress of each school in need of intervention assigned to the school turnaround group to determine whether the school meets the performance criteria established by the department. If the school does not meet the performance criteria by the end of the 2024-2025 school year, then the school must be reevaluated by the department at the end of the 2025-2026 school year to determine whether the school meets the performance criteria.
By August 1, following the end of each school year in which the school turnaround pilot program is in effect and at the end of the pilot program, the department will file with the education committees of the senate and the house a report evaluating the progress of the school turnaround pilot program. The report must address the effectiveness of the school improvement plans implemented by the control group and the school turnaround plans implemented by the school turnaround group in correcting the weaknesses that resulted in the department designating the schools as in need of intervention. The final report must:
(1) Compare the outcomes for the schools in need of intervention assigned to the control group and the school turnaround group;
(2) Compare the outcomes for each of the schools in need of intervention assigned to the school turnaround group, identifying specific information, as set out in this bill;
(3) Make recommendations as to whether the school turnaround plans developed as part of the school turnaround pilot program should be replicated in other schools in need of intervention.
This bill requires the department to use the same outcomes-based performance goals and measures used to assign schools to the achievement school district to set the criteria to designate district schools as schools in need of intervention for purposes of the pilot program. The performance goals and measures must include, at a minimum, student achievement, student growth, and other appropriate indicators of performance. Before the department designates a district school as a school in need of intervention, the department must develop:
(1) A model school turnaround plan for local boards of education, school turnaround committees, and independent school turnaround experts to reference when creating school turnaround plans for schools in need of intervention assigned to the school turnaround group; and
(2) Performance criteria that a school in need of intervention assigned to the school turnaround group is expected to meet after implementing a school turnaround plan for the three consecutive school years and for the 2025-2026 school year, if the school does not meet the performance criteria developed by the department by the end of the 2024-2025 school year.
This bill directs local boards of education to require a district school to participate in the school turnaround pilot program if the department designates the school as a school in need of intervention and selects the school to participate in the pilot program. By August 1, 2021, the department must assign district schools designated as schools in need of intervention to participate in the pilot program, and assign each school in need of intervention selected to the control group or school turnaround group. A school in need of intervention that is required to participate in the pilot program must remain in the pilot program until the conclusion of the pilot program.
By September 15, 2021, a local board of education with a district school in the school turnaround pilot program's school turnaround group must establish a school turnaround committee for each school in the LEA assigned to the school turnaround group. The school turnaround committee will make recommendations concerning the school turnaround plan to the local board of education. The school turnaround committee must be composed of the following members:
(1) The local school board member who represents the voting district in which the school is located;
(2) The principal of the school;
(3) Three parents of students enrolled in the school, to be appointed by the director of schools;
(4) Two teachers at the school, to be appointed by the local board of education; and
(5) Two teachers at the school, to be appointed by the director of schools.
This bill requires, by October 15, 2021, the local board of education to contract with an independent school turnaround expert, certified by the department, who will develop a school turnaround plan in collaboration with the school turnaround committee. This bill sets out in detail the requirements of the plan. By March 1, 2022, the school turnaround committee must submit the recommended school turnaround plan to the local board of education. The local board of education may recommend changes to the school turnaround committee for the school turnaround plan, but the school turnaround committee and the local board of education must agree on a final school turnaround plan. The local board of education must submit the final school turnaround plan to the department for approval by April 1, 2022. This bill sets out in detail the action to be taken by the department in regard to the submitted plans and what will occur if the local board of education and the school turnaround committee do not agree on the final school turnaround plan before April 1, 2022.
This bill requires the department to develop a process to certify at least two independent school turnaround experts, and sets out certain minimum requirements for such expert. A local board of education that has a district school in the school turnaround group must contract with an independent school turnaround expert who is certified by the department. This bill sets out in detail the duties of the expert and requirements for the contract, including requirements governing payments to the expert.
Under this bill, subject to appropriation, the department will provide grants to local boards of education with schools in need of intervention that are assigned to the school turnaround group of the pilot program to facilitate the implementation of interventions identified in an approved school turnaround plan, including the funding of contracts with highly qualified independent school turnaround experts.
ON MAY 4, 2021, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENTS # 2 AND 3, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 122, AS AMENDED.
AMENDMENT #2 rewrites multiple provisions of the program, so that the program will be as described below.
Under this amendment, the department will create and develop a four-year school turnaround pilot program for priority schools. The department will select five priority schools that are diverse geographically and diverse in grade levels to participate in the pilot program. The department will operate and administer the pilot program for four school years beginning with the 2021-2022 school year. In the 2021-2022 school year, schools in need of intervention must develop a school turnaround plan.
In the three school years from the 2022-2023 school year through the 2024-2025 school year, each school in need of intervention must implement the school's respective school turnaround plan. The department will evaluate the progress of each school in need of intervention to determine whether the school meets the priority school exit criteria established by the state's federally approved Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan at the end of each school year of the pilot program. The department will begin the department's evaluations of schools in need of intervention following the 2022-2023 school year and will conclude its evaluations at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. By October 1, following the end of each school year in which the school turnaround pilot program is in effect, and at the end of the pilot program, the department will file with the education committees of the senate and the house a report evaluating the progress of the pilot program. The report must address the implementation and effectiveness of comprehensive support and improvement plans implemented by non-pilot schools and school turnaround plans implemented by schools in need of intervention in addressing the prioritized needs of the respective school that resulted in the school's designation as a priority school. The final report must:
(1) Compare the student performance outcomes for the schools in need of intervention and for the non-pilot schools;
(2) Compare the outcomes for each of the schools in need of intervention, identifying: how the school turnaround plans developed by the schools in need of intervention that met the priority school exit criteria during the pilot program differ from the schools in need of intervention that did not meet the priority school exit criteria during the pilot program; and how the schools in need of intervention that did not meet the priority school exit criteria during the pilot program improved, if at all, during the pilot program; and
(3) Make recommendations as to whether the school turnaround plans developed as part of the pilot program should be replicated in non-pilot schools.
This amendment requires the department to use the same outcomes-based performance measures used in the state's accountability model to designate priority schools as schools in need of intervention for purposes of the school turnaround pilot program. Before the department designates a priority school as a school in need of intervention, the department must develop a model school turnaround plan for local boards of education, school turnaround committees, and independent school turnaround experts to reference when creating school turnaround plans for schools in need of intervention.
Under this amendment, a local board of education must require a priority school to participate in the school turnaround pilot program if the department designates the school as a school in need of intervention. By September 1, 2021, the department must identify priority schools designated as schools in need of intervention to participate in the pilot program. A school in need of intervention that is required to participate in the pilot program must remain in the pilot program until the conclusion of the pilot program. By September 30, 2021, the local board of education for a priority school that the department has designated as a school in need of intervention must establish a school turnaround committee for each school in the LEA that is participating in the school turnaround pilot program. The school turnaround committee will make recommendations concerning the school turnaround plan to the local board of education. The school turnaround committee will be composed of the members described above in the bill summary.
By November 30, 2021, the local board of education will contract with an independent school turnaround expert from a list of qualified experts provided by the department who will develop a school turnaround plan in collaboration with the school turnaround committee. This amendment sets out in detail the requirements of the plan.
By March 1, 2022, the school turnaround committee will submit the recommended school turnaround plan to the local board of education. The local board of education may recommend changes to the school turnaround committee for the school turnaround plan, but the school turnaround committee and the local board of education must agree on a final school turnaround plan. The local board of education shall submit the final school turnaround plan to the department for approval by April 1, 2022. If the local board of education and the school turnaround committee do not agree on the final school turnaround plan before April 1, 2022, then the local board of education and the school turnaround committee may independently submit a proposed school turnaround plan to the department for approval. The department may make any necessary changes to a proposed school turnaround plan submitted to the department, but must approve one of the proposed school turnaround plans for the school in need of intervention. This amendment sets out in detail the action to be taken by the department upon receipt of a school turnaround plan.
This amendment requires the department to establish the minimum qualifications required for independent school turnaround experts and provide LEAs with a list of at least two qualified independent school turnaround experts. The list of qualified experts must be procured competitively and in compliance with all state laws and rules regarding the procurement of goods and services by state agencies. In establishing the minimum qualifications required for independent school turnaround experts, the department shall ensure that each qualified independent school turnaround expert meets certain criteria, as specified in this amendment.
The local board of education for a school in need of intervention will select and contract with an independent school turnaround expert identified on the list of qualified independent school turnaround experts provided by the department to perform certain duties as specified in the amendment. This amendment also sets out the structure of the contract payments to the independent school turnaround expert
Under this amendment, subject to available funds, the department may develop a program to incentivize independent school turnaround experts, and the schools in need of intervention to which they are providing services, to meet the priority school exit criteria prior to the 2024-2025 school year. Also, subject to available funds, the department will provide grants to local boards of education with schools in need of intervention to facilitate the implementation of interventions identified in an approved school turnaround plan, including the funding of contracts with qualified independent school turnaround experts.
AMENDMENT #3 adds a requirement that the department select at least one priority school from each grand division of this state to ensure that the priority schools selected to participate in the pilot program are geographically diverse.