South Carolina General Assembly
118th Session, 2009-2010

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Bill 4823


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A JOINT RESOLUTION

TO SUSPEND THE REQUIREMENT THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PROVIDE PRINTED COPIES OF DISTRICT AND SCHOOL REPORT CARDS; TO REQUIRE A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR SCHOOL WITHIN THE DISTRICT TO PROVIDE PARENTS WITH A LINK TO THE REPORT CARDS VIA EMAIL OR OTHER COMMUNICATION METHODS UPON CERTAIN CONDITIONS; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO SUSPEND WRITING ASSESSMENTS FOR CERTAIN GRADES, AND TO PROVIDE THAT WRITING ASSESSMENTS MAY NOT BE USED IN GROWTH CALCULATIONS; TO SUSPEND THE REQUIREMENT THAT SCHOOLS ADVERTISE THE DISTRICT AND SCHOOL 2010 REPORT CARD, BUT TO REQUIRE RESULTS TO BE PROVIDED TO AN AREA NEWSPAPER OF GENERAL CIRCULATION; TO ALLOW HIGH SCHOOLS TO OFFER STATE-FUNDED WORKKEYS TO CERTAIN STUDENTS; TO PROVIDE FOR A ONE-YEAR GRACE PERIOD FOR CERTAIN RECIPIENTS OF A SOUTH CAROLINA TEACHER LOAN, AND TO REQUIRE THE SOUTH CAROLINA STUDENT LOAN CORPORATION TO DEVELOP FORMS AND PROCEDURES TO IMPLEMENT THE GRACE PERIOD; TO DIRECT SAVINGS FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO CONSIDER END-OF-COURSE ASSESSMENTS FOR FEDERAL ASSESSMENT PURPOSES.

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

SECTION    1.    Notwithstanding Section 59-18-930, the State Department of Education is not 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 a printed copy without cost to the parents.

SECTION    2.    Notwithstanding Section 59-18-930(B), a public school or district board is not required to inform the community of the school's and 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 2010-2011 school year, the State Department of Education shall suspend the writing assessments in grades three, four, six, and seven. Writing assessments may be administered only to students in grades five and eight. The writing assessments may not be used in Education Accountability Act growth calculations.

SECTION    4.    Notwithstanding Section 59-18-340, high schools also may 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, an 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 2010-2011 school year may elect to receive a one-year grace period that allows the individual to defer making loan repayments for one calendar year. Interest must be accrued during this deferral period. The South Carolina Student Loan Corporation shall develop the forms and procedures to implement and monitor the grace period.

SECTION    6.    The State Department of Education shall 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, costs 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.

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This web page was last updated on April 13, 2010 at 2:48 PM