2012 -- H 7108

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LC00107

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2012

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A N A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - THE COLLEGE AND CAREER SUCCESS FOR ALL

STUDENTS ACT

     Introduced By: Representatives McNamara, Jacquard, and Malik

     Date Introduced: January 12, 2012

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled "EDUCATION" is hereby amended

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by adding thereto the following chapter:

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     CHAPTER 96

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THE COLLEGE AND CAREER SUCCESS FOR ALL STUDENTS ACT

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     16-96-1. Short title. -- This act shall be known and may be cited as "The College and

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Career Success For All Students Act."

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     16-96-2. Purpose. -- The purpose of this chapter shall be to ensure that each Rhode

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Island student has a sufficient education for success after high school and that all students have

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equal access to a substantive and rigorous curriculum that is designed to challenge their minds,

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enhance their knowledge and skills, and prepare them for success in college and work.

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     16-96-3. Definitions. -- As used in this chapter:

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     (1) "Advanced Placement course" means a course sponsored by the college board and

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offered for college credit at the high school level.

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     (2) "Advanced Placement teacher" means a teacher of an advanced placement course.

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     (3) "Pre-Advanced Placement" means set professional development resources and

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services that equip all middle and high school teachers with the strategies and tools they need to

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engage their students in active, high-level learning, thereby ensuring that every middle and high

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school student develops the skills, habits of mind, and concepts they need to succeed in advanced

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placement courses.

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     (4) "Board of regents" means the board of regents for elementary and secondary

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education.

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     (5) "Vertical team" means a group of teachers and educators from different grade levels

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in a given discipline who work cooperatively to develop and implement a vertically aligned

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program aimed at helping students from diverse backgrounds acquire the academic skills

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necessary for success in advanced placement courses and other challenging courses.

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     16-96-4. Teacher training. -- (a) Subject to appropriation, a teacher of an advanced

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placement course must obtain appropriate training. Subject to appropriation, the state board of

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education shall establish clear, specific, and challenging training guidelines that require teachers

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of advanced placement courses to obtain recognized advanced placement training endorsed by the

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college board.

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     (b) Advanced placement and pre-advanced placement training to teachers in Rhode

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Island high schools must do all of the following:

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     (1) Provide teachers of advanced placement and teachers in courses that lead to advanced

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placement with the necessary content knowledge and instructional skills to prepare students for

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success in advanced placement courses and examinations and other advanced course

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examinations and mastery of postsecondary course content.

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     (2) Provide administrators, including principals and counselors, with professional

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development that will be enable them to create strong and effective advanced placement

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programs in their schools.

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     (3) Provide middle grade, junior high, and high school teachers with advanced placement

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vertical team training and other pre-advanced placement professional development that prepares

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students for success in advanced placement courses.

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     (4) Support the implementation of an instructional program for students in grades 6

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through 12 that provides an integrated set of instructional materials, diagnostic assessments, and

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teacher professional development in reading, writing, and mathematics that prepares all students

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for enrollment and success in advanced placement courses and in college.

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     16-96-5. Duties of the state board of regents. -- (a) In order to fulfill the purposes of

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this act, the state board of regents shall encourage school districts to offer rigorous courses in

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grades 6 through 11 that prepare students for the demands of advanced placement course work.

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The state board of regents shall also encourage school districts to make it a goal that all 10th

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graders take the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholars Qualifying Test

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(PSAT/NMSQT) so that test results will provide each high school with a database of student

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assessment data that guidance counselors and teachers will be able to use to identify students who

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are prepared or who need additional work to be prepared to enroll and be successful in advanced

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placement courses, using a research-based advanced placement identification program provided

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by the college board.

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     (b) The state board of regents shall do all of the following:

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     (1) Seek federal funding through the advanced placement incentive program and the

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Math-Science partnership program and use it to support advanced placement and pre-advanced

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placement teacher professional development and to support the implementation of an integrated

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instructional program for students in grades 6 through 12 in reading, writing, and mathematics

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that prepares all students for enrollment and success in advanced placement courses and in

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college.

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     (2) Focus state and federal funding with the intent to carry-out activities that target school

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districts serving high concentrations of low-income students.

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     (3) Subject to appropriation, provide a plan of communication that includes, without

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limitation, disseminating to parents materials that emphasize the importance of advanced

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placement or other advanced courses to a student's ability to gain access to, and to succeed in,

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postsecondary education and materials that emphasize the importance of the Preliminary

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Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholars Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), which

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provides diagnostic feedback on skills and relates students’ scores to the probability of success in

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advanced placement courses and examinations, and disseminating this information to students,

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teachers, counselors, administrators, school districts, public community colleges, and state

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universities.

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     (4) Subject to appropriation, annually evaluate the impact of this act on rates of student

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enrollment and success in advanced placement courses, on high school graduation rates, and on

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college enrollment rates.

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     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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LC00107

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION - THE COLLEGE AND CAREER SUCCESS FOR ALL

STUDENTS ACT

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     This act would require the establishment of clear training guidelines for teachers who will

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teach advanced placement classes in Rhode Island public schools.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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LC00107

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