10 LC 33
3495
House
Bill 1132
By:
Representatives Benfield of the
85th,
Henson of the
87th,
Dobbs of the
53rd,
Morgan of the
39th,
and Drenner of the
86th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to the "Quality Basic Education Act," so as to eliminate
criterion-referenced competency tests in grades one and two; to revise
provisions for purposes of conformity; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to "Quality Basic Education Act," is amended by revising subsection (a) of Code
Section 20-2-281, relating to the assessment of effectiveness of educational
programs, as follows:
"(a)
The State Board of Education shall adopt a student assessment program consisting
of instruments, procedures, and policies necessary to implement the program and
shall fund all costs of providing and scoring such instruments, subject to
appropriation by the General Assembly. Each local school system may elect to
administer, with state funding, nationally norm-referenced instruments in
reading, mathematics, science, or social studies in grade three, four, or five
and in grade six, seven, or eight, subject to available appropriations, with
assistance to such school systems by the State Board of Education with regard to
administration guidance, scoring, and reporting of such assessments. The State
Board of Education shall review, revise, and upgrade the quality core
curriculum. Following the adoption of this revised curriculum, the State Board
of Education shall contract for development of criterion-referenced competency
tests to measure the quality core curriculum. Such tests in English and
language arts, mathematics,
and
reading,
shall be
administered annually to students in grades one through eight, and such tests
in
science,
and social studies shall be administered annually to students in grades three
through eight. This action shall be completed according to a schedule
established by the State Board of Education. A
curriculum-based
curriculum
based assessment shall be administered in
grade 11 for graduation purposes. Writing assessments shall be administered to
students in grades three, five, eight, and 11. The writing assessments shall
provide students and their parents with performance outcome measures resulting
from the administration of such tests."
SECTION
2.
Said
article is further amended in Code Section 20-2-153, relating to early
intervention program for students at risk of not reaching or maintaining
academic grade level, by revising subsection (b) as follows:
"(b)
The early intervention program shall serve students who are at risk of not
reaching or maintaining academic grade level, including but not limited to
students who are identified through the first grade readiness assessment
required by Code Sections 20-2-151 and 20-2-281 and students with identified
academic performance below grade levels defined by the Office of Student
Achievement in Code Section 20-14-31 for any criterion-referenced assessment
administered in accordance with Code Section 20-2-281 for grades
one
three
through five. Local school systems shall devise a process for the identification
of such students at the beginning of each school year and also during the school
year as a continuous process of early identification and monitoring. School
systems may use indicators such as but not limited to the student's scores on
previous assessments, the student's classroom performance in the same or
previous years, and other reliable indicators to identify such students. A
student shall be assigned to the early intervention program as soon as is
practicable after the student is identified as at risk or after the results of
the first-grade readiness assessment, the criterion-referenced assessment, or
other indicators are known. The school shall provide timely notice and an
opportunity for a conference with the student and his or her parents or
guardians to discuss the student's academic performance and the role of the
early intervention program."
SECTION
3.
Said
article is further amended in Code Section 20-2-284, relating to criteria for
local boards of education and model placement and promotion policy, by revising
subsection (b) as follows:
"(b)
Except for those criterion-referenced assessments specified in Code Section
20-2-283, the placement and promotion policy as developed and adopted by each
local board of education shall state how the criterion-referenced competency
tests administered under Code Section 20-2-281 for grades
one
three
through eight will be weighted or otherwise utilized by the school principal or
the principal's designee in determining the overall academic achievement of a
student and an appropriate plan of accelerated, differentiated, or additional
instruction, placement, promotion, or retention of a student."
SECTION
4.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.