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TO PROVIDE SCHOOL ASSESSMENT FLEXIBILITY BY ALLOWING SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO ELECTRONICALLY PROVIDE 2010 SCHOOL AND DISTRICT REPORT CARDS, TO PROVIDE THAT WRITING ASSESSMENTS SHALL BE ADMINISTERED TO ONLY GRADES FIVE AND EIGHT, TO PROVIDE THAT A SCHOOL OR SCHOOL DISTRICT SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED TO PUBLISH SCHOOL AND DISTRICT REPORT CARDS IN A NEWSPAPER, TO PROVIDE THAT SCHOOLS MAY OFFER WORKKEYS TO TENTH GRADE STUDENTS USING FUNDS APPROPRIATED FOR PSAT AND PLAN ASSESSMENT, TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN SOUTH CAROLINA TEACHER LOAN RECIPIENTS MAY RECEIVE A ONE-YEAR GRACE PERIOD, TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN FUNDS MUST BE ALLOCATED ACCORDING TO THE EDUCATION FINANCE ACT, AND TO PROVIDE FOR A TASK FORCE THAT SHALL EXAMINE END-OF-COURSE ASSESSMENTS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 59-18-930, the State Department of Education shall not be required to provide printed copies of 2010 district and school report cards. The district or school shall email parents a link to the report cards if the school maintains parent email addresses in its student information system database. The district or school shall notify parents about the report cards through its newsletters and other regular communication channels. If a parent requests from the district or school a printed copy of the report card, the district or school shall provide that printed copy without cost to the parents.
SECTION 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 59-18-930(B), a school or district board shall not be required to inform the community of the school's or district's 2010 report card by advertising the results in at least one South Carolina daily newspaper of general circulation in the area. However, the results must be provided to the editor of a newspaper of general circulation in the school's or district's area.
SECTION 3. For the 2010-11 school year, the State Department of Education shall suspend the writing assessments in grades three, four, six, and seven. Writing assessments shall only be administered to students in grades five and eight. The writing assessments shall not be used in Education Accountability Act growth calculations.
SECTION 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 59-18-340, high schools may also offer state-funded WorkKeys to tenth grade students using funds appropriated for the assessment of PSAT or PLAN. The selection of the test for each student should be informed by the student's individual graduation plan, cluster selection, guidance counselor advisement, and parent or legal guardian consent.
SECTION 5. For Fiscal Year 2010-2011, any individual who received a South Carolina Teacher Loan pursuant to Section 59-26-20(j), who completed an undergraduate or graduate degree in education in calendar year 2009 or 2010, and who was not employed in a public school in South Carolina by September 1, 2010, or the 2010-11 school year, may elect to receive a one-year grace period allowing the individual to defer making loan repayments for one calendar year. Interest will be accrued during this deferral period. The South Carolina Student Loan Corporation will develop the forms and procedures to implement and monitor the grace period.
SECTION 6. The State Department of Education must allocate the funds from savings generated from the enactment of Sections 1 and 3 of this joint resolution to school districts based on the Education Finance Act formula.
SECTION 7. The State Department of Education, in collaboration with the Education Oversight Committee, shall convene a task force to include, but not be limited to, district level instructional and assessment personnel to examine the feasibility of shifting from the use of HSAP to end-of-course assessments for meeting federal assessment requirements. The task force shall, at a minimum, examine the utility of the HSAP and end-of-course assessment programs and the benefits and information each provides, as well as implementation considerations, cost factors, and appropriate transition timelines the State encounters in shifting from HSAP to end-of-course assessments for federal purposes. The task force shall submit its findings to the Senate Finance Committee, Senate Education Committee, House Ways and Means Committee, House Education and Public Works Committee, the State Board of Education, and the Education Oversight Committee by January 15, 2011.
SECTION 8. This joint resolution takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
This web page was last updated on April 13, 2010 at 3:52 PM