H 4370 General Bill, By McLeod

Similar(H 4369)
 A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 59-18-500, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
 1976, RELATING TO AN ACADEMIC PLAN FOR A STUDENT LACKING SKILLS TO PERFORM AT
 CURRENT GRADE LEVEL, SO AS TO DESIGNATE THAT A STUDENT REQUIRED TO ATTEND A
 COMPREHENSIVE REMEDIATION PROGRAM IS "AT RISK OF BEING RETAINED" INSTEAD OF
 "ON ACADEMIC PROBATION", TO PROVIDE FOR APPEAL OF A REQUIREMENT TO ATTEND A
 COMPREHENSIVE REMEDIATION PROGRAM LIKE APPEALS OF SUMMER SCHOOL OR RETENTION
 REQUIREMENTS, TO PROVIDE FOR REVIEW OF A STUDENT'S PROGRESS AND A RETENTION
 DECISION BASED ON CERTAIN WEIGHTED FACTORS INCLUDING A SIXTY PERCENT
 CONSIDERATION OF CLASSROOM PERFORMANCE AND A FIFTEEN PERCENT CONSIDERATION OF
 STATEWIDE STANDARDS-BASED ASSESSMENT SCORES, AND TO PROVIDE FOR ANNUAL REVIEWS
 OF PROGRESS AND FOR ASSISTANCE.

   06/04/03  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-67
   06/04/03  House  Referred to Committee on Education and Public
                     Works HJ-68

TO AMEND SECTION 59-18-500, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO AN ACADEMIC PLAN FOR A STUDENT LACKING SKILLS TO PERFORM AT CURRENT GRADE LEVEL, SO AS TO DESIGNATE THAT A STUDENT REQUIRED TO ATTEND A COMPREHENSIVE REMEDIATION PROGRAM IS "AT RISK OF BEING RETAINED" INSTEAD OF "ON ACADEMIC PROBATION", TO PROVIDE FOR APPEAL OF A REQUIREMENT TO ATTEND A COMPREHENSIVE REMEDIATION PROGRAM LIKE APPEALS OF SUMMER SCHOOL OR RETENTION REQUIREMENTS, TO PROVIDE FOR REVIEW OF A STUDENT'S PROGRESS AND A RETENTION DECISION BASED ON CERTAIN WEIGHTED FACTORS INCLUDING A SIXTY PERCENT CONSIDERATION OF CLASSROOM PERFORMANCE AND A FIFTEEN PERCENT CONSIDERATION OF STATEWIDE STANDARDS-BASED ASSESSMENT SCORES, AND TO PROVIDE FOR ANNUAL REVIEWS OF PROGRESS AND FOR ASSISTANCE.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 59-18-500 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 100 of 1999, is further amended to read:

"Section 59-18-500.    (A)    Beginning in 1998-99 and annually thereafter after that, at the beginning of each school year, the school must shall notify the parents of the need for a conference for each student in grades three through eight who lacks the skills to perform at his current grade level based on school work, assessment results, school work, or teacher judgment. At the conference, the student, parent, and appropriate school personnel will shall discuss the steps needed to ensure student success at the next grade level. An academic plan will must be developed to outline additional services the school and district will shall provide and the actions the student and the parents will shall undertake to further student success.

(B)    The participants in the conference will shall sign off on the academic plan, including any a requirement for summer school attendance. Should If a parent, after attempts by the school to schedule the conference at their convenience, does not attend the conference, the school will shall appoint a school mentor, either a teacher or adult volunteer, to work with the student and advocate for services. A copy of the academic plan will must be sent to the parents by certified mail.

(C)    At the end of the school year, the student's performance will must be reviewed by appropriate school personnel. If the student's work has not been at grade level or if the terms of the academic plan have not been met, the student may be retained, he may be required to attend summer school, or he may be required to attend a comprehensive remediation program the following year designed to address objectives outlined in the academic plan for promotion. Students required to participate the following year in a comprehensive remediation program must be considered on academic probation at risk of being retained. Comprehensive remediation programs established by the district shall must operate outside of the normal school day and must meet the guidelines established for these programs by the State Board of Education. If there is a compelling reason why the student should not be required to attend summer school or a comprehensive remediation program or be retained, the parent or student may appeal to a district review panel.

(D)    At the end of the school year, or summer school, if required, a district panel must shall review the student's progress and report to the parents whether the student's academic progress indicates readiness to achieve grade level standards for the next grade. If the student is not at grade level or the students assessment results show standards are not met based on factors in items (1) through (6), the student must be placed on academic probation. A conference of the student, parents, and appropriate school personnel must shall revise the academic plan to address academic difficulties. At the conference it must be stipulated that academic probation means if either school work is not up to grade level or if assessment results again show standards are not met, the student will be retained. At the conference it must be stipulated that academic probation means the student may be retained at the end of the probationary year pending a review of the student's performance. A review panel for retention decisions must be formed and must include, at a minimum, the student's primary teacher in the area or areas showing deficiency, a school administrator, and at least one other certified staff member who is familiar with the student's performance. Review panels must be conducted at the end of the probationary year for a student placed on academic probation. The following factors must be evaluated by the review panel and factored, as weighted, into a decision to place a student on academic probation or to retain a student:

(1)    classroom performance to be based on student's yearly averaged grades as recorded on the student's report card, sixty percent;

(2)    attendance record and review of historical data contained in the student's permanent record, ten percent;

(3)    parent or guardian input, five percent;

(4)    other data to include age of student, maturity level, or special circumstances, five percent;

(5)    statewide standards-based assessment scores, fifteen percent;

(6)    other standardized and diagnostic test performance, five percent.

A review of student performance must continue yearly, grades nine through eleven. Monitoring of performance at grade nine for those students warranting academic probation based on eighth grade factors is required. Subsequent end-of-year reviews must be conducted as needed, using exit exam, end-of-course data, and records of academic performance as the basis for the reviews.

Whether or not a student is retained or promoted at the conclusion of the probationary year, academic assistance must be provided to assist the student in improving performance. The district's appeals process remains in effect.

(E)    Each district board of trustees will shall establish policies on academic conferences, individual student academic plans, and district level reviews. Information on these policies must be given to every each student and parent. Each district is to shall monitor the implementation of academic plans as a part of the local accountability plan. Districts are to shall use Act 135 of 1993 academic assistance funds to carry out academic plans, including required summer school attendance. Districts' policies regarding retention of students in grades one and two to which PACT is not applicable remain in effect.

(F)    The State Board of Education, working with the Oversight Committee, will shall establish guidelines until regulations are promulgated to carry out this section. The State Board of Education, working with the Accountability Division, will shall promulgate regulations requiring the reporting of the number of students retained at each grade level, the number of students on probation, number of students retained after being on probation, and number of students removed from probation. This data will must be used as a performance indicator for accountability."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.