SENATE BILL No. 729

 

 

September 24, 2003, Introduced by Senators CLARK-COLEMAN, BASHAM, BERNERO, SCHAUER, JACOBS, CHERRY, SWITALSKI, BRATER, CLARKE, PRUSI, SCOTT, OLSHOVE, BARCIA, EMERSON, JELINEK and GOSCHKA and referred to the Committee on Education.

 

 

        

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                 A bill to amend 1970 PA 38, entitled                                              

                                                                                

    "An act to provide for assessment and remedial assistance                   

    programs of students in reading, mathematics and vocational                 

    education,"                                                                 

                                                                                

    by amending sections 1, 2, and 6 (MCL 388.1081, 388.1082, and               

                                                                                

    388.1086).                                                                  

                                                                                

                THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:                      

                                                                                

1       Sec. 1.  A statewide program of assessment of educational                   

                                                                                

2   progress and remedial assistance in the basic skills of students            

                                                                                

3   in reading, mathematics, language arts,  and/or  or other general           

                                                                                

4   subject areas is established in the department of education.                

                                                                                

5   which  This program shall do all of the following:                         

                                                                                

6       (a) Establish meaningful achievement goals in the basic                     

                                                                                

7   skills for students, and identify those students with the                   

                                                                                

8   greatest educational need in these skills.                                  

                                                                                

9       (b) Provide the state with the information needed to                        

                                                                                


                                                                                

1   allocate state funds and professional services in a manner best             

                                                                                

2   calculated to equalize educational opportunities for students to            

                                                                                

3   achieve competence in  such  those basic skills.                            

                                                                                

4       (c) Provide school systems with strong incentives to                        

                                                                                

5   introduce educational programs to improve the education of                  

                                                                                

6   students in  such  those basic skills and model programs to raise           

                                                                                

7   the level of achievement of students.                                       

                                                                                

8       (d) Develop a system for educational self-renewal that would                

                                                                                

9   continuously evaluate the programs and by this means help each              

                                                                                

10  school to discover and introduce program changes that are most              

                                                                                

11  likely to improve the quality of education.                                 

                                                                                

12      (e) Provide the public periodically with information                        

                                                                                

13  concerning the progress of the state system of education.   Such            

                                                                                

14  programs  This program shall extend  current  other department of           

                                                                                

15  education efforts to conduct periodic and comprehensive                     

                                                                                

16  assessment of educational progress.                                         

                                                                                

17      Sec. 2.  (1) The statewide assessment program of educational                

                                                                                

18  progress shall cover all students annually  at two  in at least 2           

                                                                                

19  grade levels in public schools.                                             

                                                                                

20      (2) The department of education  , hereinafter referred to                  

                                                                                

21  as the department,  shall develop and conduct the program, and              

                                                                                

22  may utilize the assistance of appropriate testing organizations             

                                                                                

23  and/or  or testing  specialist  specialists The program shall           

                                                                                

24  expand the current basic skills testing inventory in grades 4 and           

                                                                                

25  7 coordinated by the department.                                            

                                                                                

26      (3) The program shall assess competencies in the basic                      

                                                                                

27  skills and collect and utilize other relevant information                   


                                                                                

1   essential to the assessment program.                                        

                                                                                

2       (4) Based on information from the program, students shall be                

                                                                                

3   identified who have extraordinary need for assistance to improve            

                                                                                

4   their competence in the basic skills.                                       

                                                                                

5       (5) Information from the program shall be given to each                     

                                                                                

6   school as soon as possible to assist it in its efforts to improve           

                                                                                

7   the achievement of students in the basic skills.                            

                                                                                

8       Sec. 6.  The department of education shall promulgate rules                 

                                                                                

9   necessary to carry out the provisions of this act  ,  in                    

                                                                                

10  accordance with  and subject to the provisions of Act No.  306 of           

                                                                                

11  the Public Acts of 1969, being sections 24.201 to 24.313 of the             

                                                                                

12  Compiled Laws of 1948  the administrative procedures act of 1969,           

                                                                                

13  1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328.                                          

                                                                                

14      Enacting section 1.  This amendatory act is intended to                     

                                                                                

15  return to the superintendent of public instruction, the                     

                                                                                

16  department of education, and the state board of education certain           

                                                                                

17  functions relating to state assessments transferred to the                  

                                                                                

18  department of treasury under Executive Reorganization Order                 

                                                                                

19  No. 1999-7, MCL 388.995.                                                    

                                                                                

20      Enacting section 2.  This amendatory act does not take                      

                                                                                

21  effect unless all of the following bills of the 92nd Legislature            

                                                                                

22  are enacted into law:                                                       

                                                                                

23      (a) Senate Bill No. 730.                                                    

                                                                                

24                                                                              

                                                                                

25      (b) Senate Bill No. 731.                                                    

                                                                                

26                                                                              

                                                                                

27      (c) Senate Bill No. 732.