2015 -- H 6285

========

LC002730

========

     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

____________

A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE RHODE ISLAND BOARD OF EDUCATION ACT

     Introduced By: Representatives McNamara, Amore, Lancia, Ruggiero, and Morin

     Date Introduced: June 05, 2015

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Chapter 16-97 of the General Laws entitled "The Rhode Island Board of

Education Act" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections:

     16-97-9. State assessment program. -- (a) The state department of elementary and

secondary education shall develop a state assessment program with the goal of offering a variety

of competency-based and age-appropriate assessments to students, which assessments shall also

have local school district input. In furtherance of this program, by July 1, 2016, the department of

elementary and secondary education, in collaboration with local school districts, shall develop a

set of competency-based assessments in the instructional areas of language arts, mathematics, and

science. The assessments shall be conducted after the prohibition period contained in § 16-97-8,

and no sooner than the 2017-2018 school year.

     (b) The department shall administer a state assessment in English language arts and a

state assessment in mathematics to all students enrolled in grades three (3) through nine (9) in

public schools throughout the state.

     (c) The department shall administer a state assessment in science to students enrolled in

public elementary, middle, and high schools throughout the state. The department shall select the

specific grades to administer the state science assessment, ensuring that students take the state

science assessment once in grades one through six (6), once in grades seven (7) through eight (8),

and once in grades nine (9) through eleven (11).

     (d) The department of education, in collaboration with local education providers, shall

administer the state assessments on a schedule that the department annually establishes. Such

schedule shall include alternate and make-up dates for students.

     (e) The department shall review and update the assessment administration and security

policies as necessary to maintain the integrity of the system.

     (f) Except as otherwise provided, each student enrolled in a public school shall be

required to take the state assessments administered pursuant to this section at the student's grade

level, as determined by the local school district; provided, a district which is participating in a

pilot program with an alternative assessment as provided for in § 16-97-14, may administer the

alternative assessment to selected students as provided for in § 16-97-14 in lieu of the assessment

developed pursuant to this section.

     (g) A child who is enrolled in a nonpublic school or participating in a nonpublic home-

based educational program shall not be required to take a state assessment administered pursuant

to this section. Provided, a parent or guardian may elect to have his or her child or ward take such

assessment.

     16-97-10. Literacy assessments. -- No students in public schools in grades kindergarten

through grade three (K-3) shall be required to take a state assessment in literacy, either through

assessments prepared by the partnership for assessment of readiness for college and careers,

commonly known as "PARCC" tests, or a similar test aligned to common core standards.

     16-97-11. "PARCC" to be eliminated for upper high school grades. -- (a) No

assessments prepared by the partnership for assessment of readiness for college and careers,

commonly known as "PARCC" tests, or a similar test aligned to common core standards shall be

administered to students in grades eleven (11) and twelve (12) as part of the state assessment

program. Instead, school districts shall administer an assessment that is administered throughout

the United States and relied upon by institutions of higher education, referred to in this section as

a "curriculum-based achievement college exam." The curriculum-based achievement college

exam shall be considered part of the state assessment program established in § 16-97-9. The

department shall identify which tests shall qualify as curriculum-based achievement college

exams. Provided, representative samples of such tests include, but are not limited to, the

following:

     (1) SAT and SAT subject tests;

     (2) PSAT/NMSQT tests; and

     (3) ACT tests.

     (b) The department of elementary and secondary education shall pay the costs of

administering the curriculum-based achievement college exam. Provided, the department shall be

LC002730 - Page 2 of 5

responsible only for the administration of one test to a student during either grade eleven (11) or

grade twelve (12). The provisions of this section shall not prohibit a student from taking

additional tests or retaking a test, and using such test results, but the department shall not be

responsible for the costs of such retesting.

     16-97-12. Option to take paper tests. -- If any portion of a state assessment required as

part of this chapter requires a student to use a computer to take the assessment, an option shall be

provided for the student to take the assessment in a format that a student may complete using

pencil and paper. This option of taking the assessment with pencil and paper or a computer

format shall be with the student. This option shall apply to a PARCC test, and a similar test

subsequently adopted by the department of education, a test developed either by the department

of education and/or a local school district to be used as, or any other test that is part of the state

assessment program required by this chapter.

     16-97-13. Waiver application. -- As soon as practicable after the effective date of this

act, the Rhode Island department of elementary and secondary education shall apply to the United

States Department of Education and any other applicable entity as necessary, for a waiver of

federal statutory and regulatory requirements that the state department of education determines

are necessary in order to effectuate the provisions of this chapter.

     16-97-14. Pilot program -- Alternative assessment. -- (a) There is hereby authorized

and established a pilot program ("pilot program") to allow local school districts and education

providers to create or select assessments which the local school district may administer to provide

the validity and reliability for the assessments and the comparability of their local assessments

with the state assessments. The goals of the pilot program shall be to provide more timely and

relevant data to educators in order to provide instruction throughout the school year, while

continuing to provide comparative data for state accountability purposes.

     (b) For a local school district to participate in the pilot program as described in subsection

(a) of this section, the local school board or committee or other governing body must first adopt a

written resolution that authorizes the local school district to participate in the pilot program. If so

authorized, a local school district, individually or in combination with one or more local

education providers, may participate in the pilot program by creating or selecting assessments that

meet the requirements specified in § 16-97-9 and administering those assessment for at least two

(2) school years to a portion of the students enrolled in at least one elementary grade, one middle

school or junior high grade, and one high school grade. After administering the assessments for

two (2) school years, the school district must submit to the department of elementary and

secondary education the assessment results for each year in which the alternative assessments

LC002730 - Page 3 of 5

were administered. The school district must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department that

the results of the alternative assessments are comparable to the results obtained on the state

assessments administered in the same school years.

     (c) Based on the assessment data submitted pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the

department shall make recommendations to the council on elementary and secondary education

on the use of local assessments in lieu of the state assessments. The council shall review the data

submitted and any recommendations made by the department, and after hearing thereon, shall

select which districts, if any, may use their local assessments in lieu of the assessment developed

by the department. Districts which are so selected by the council may substitute their locally-

developed assessment for the assessment developed by the department. Provided, that the

department may authorize a school department to continue to develop its local school-district

assessment while still utilizing the assessment developed by the department.

     (d) Any school district electing to develop its own assessments pursuant to the provisions

of this section shall fund all costs associated with developing said assessments, except for any

costs incurred by the department of elementary or secondary education or the council in regard to

reviewing the assessment.

     16-97-15. Teacher discretion. -- Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit the

academic freedom and academic integrity of a teacher or of the teacher's judgment. A teacher

may administer a particular test or assessment mechanism to a student in his or her class which

the teacher determines would be in furtherance of the teacher's instruction, but such assessment

shall not be deemed to be a state assessment.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

========

LC002730

========

LC002730 - Page 4 of 5

EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION -- THE RHODE ISLAND BOARD OF EDUCATION ACT

***

     This act would amend the implementation of state assessments in Rhode Island public

schools. The act would direct the department of elementary and secondary education to develop

its own state assessment for use in public schools beginning in the 2017-2018 school year. School

districts would also be given the option to develop their own assessments to use in lieu of the

department's assessment, but such assessments would need to be approved by the council on

elementary and secondary education. PARCC testing would be phased out of use for grades 11

and 12, and instead other assessments such as the SAT would be used. The department of

elementary and secondary education would be directed to apply for any waivers necessary as a

result of the provisions of this chapter.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

========

LC002730

========

LC002730 - Page 5 of 5