99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB4380

 

Introduced , by Rep. David McSweeney

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
105 ILCS 5/2-3.64a-5

    Amends the School Code with respect to State goals and assessment. Provides that the provision requiring the State Board of Education to administer no more than 3 assessments, per student, of English language arts and mathematics for students in a secondary education program applies until the expiration of any contracts entered into before the effective date of the amendatory Act between the State Board and the company or companies that operate the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) tests. Provides that after the expiration of any such contracts, the State Board shall enter into 2 separate contracts to administer 2 college and career ready determination examinations, including, but not limited to, one that is accepted by all of this State's public and private institutions of higher education, for the purpose of student application or admissions consideration. Specifies that each student must be offered the opportunity to choose between the 2 examinations. Sets forth provisions providing that the State Board is required to cover all expenses for each student to take one of the 2 examinations for the purpose of college application or admissions consideration. Provides that no State assessments other than these 2 examinations may be administered to students in a secondary education program after the expiration of any contracts entered into before the effective date of the amendatory Act between the State Board and the company or companies that operate the PARCC tests. Effective July 1, 2016.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 1. Legislative intent. It is the intent of the
5General Assembly to set forth in law that:
6        (1) students ought to spend the maximum amount of time
7    learning;
8        (2) time spent getting tested or preparing for tests
9    threatens the ability of a school to perform as a place of
10    learning; and
11        (3) existing non-PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of
12    Readiness for College and Careers) standardized tests
13    administered in high schools, including without limitation
14    standardized tests used to test potential college
15    applicants, provide adequate information to policymakers
16    of the educational efficacy of each individual high school
17    and school district and make additional testing redundant
18    and unnecessary.
 
19    Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
202-3.64a-5 as follows:
 
21    (105 ILCS 5/2-3.64a-5)
22    Sec. 2-3.64a-5. State goals and assessment.

 

 

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1    (a) For the assessment and accountability purposes of this
2Section, "students" includes those students enrolled in a
3public or State-operated elementary school, secondary school,
4or cooperative or joint agreement with a governing body or
5board of control, a charter school operating in compliance with
6the Charter Schools Law, a school operated by a regional office
7of education under Section 13A-3 of this Code, or a public
8school administered by a local public agency or the Department
9of Human Services.
10    (b) The State Board of Education shall establish the
11academic standards that are to be applicable to students who
12are subject to State assessments under this Section. The State
13Board of Education shall not establish any such standards in
14final form without first providing opportunities for public
15participation and local input in the development of the final
16academic standards. Those opportunities shall include a
17well-publicized period of public comment and opportunities to
18file written comments.
19    (c) Beginning no later than the 2014-2015 school year, the
20State Board of Education shall annually assess all students
21enrolled in grades 3 through 8 in English language arts and
22mathematics.
23    Beginning no later than the 2017-2018 school year, the
24State Board of Education shall annually assess all students in
25science at one grade in grades 3 through 5, at one grade in
26grades 6 through 8, and at one grade in grades 9 through 12.

 

 

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1    The State Board of Education shall annually assess schools
2that operate a secondary education program, as defined in
3Section 22-22 of this Code, in English language arts and
4mathematics. The State Board of Education shall administer no
5more than 3 assessments, per student, of English language arts
6and mathematics for students in a secondary education program
7until the expiration of any contracts entered into before the
8effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General
9Assembly between the State Board of Education and the company
10or companies that operate the PARCC (Partnership for Assessment
11of Readiness for College and Careers) tests, with one . One of
12these assessments including shall include a college and career
13ready determination that shall be accepted by this State's
14public institutions of higher education, as defined in the
15Board of Higher Education Act, for the purpose of student
16application or admissions consideration. After the expiration
17of any contracts entered into before the effective date of this
18amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly between the State
19Board of Education and the company or companies that operate
20the PARCC tests, the State Board of Education shall enter into
212 separate contracts to administer 2 college and career ready
22determination examinations, including, but not limited to, one
23that is accepted by all of this State's public institutions of
24higher education, as defined under the Board of Higher
25Education Act, as well as all of this State's post-secondary
26educational institutions, as defined under the Private College

 

 

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1Act, for the purpose of student application or admissions
2consideration. Each student must be offered the opportunity to
3choose between the 2 examinations. Subject to appropriation,
4the State Board of Education is required to cover all expenses
5for each student to take one of the 2 examinations for the
6purpose of college application or admissions consideration. If
7the student chooses to take both examinations, the student or
8his or her parent or guardian is required to cover expenses for
9the other examination. No State assessments other than these 2
10examinations may be administered to students in a secondary
11education program after the expiration of any contracts entered
12into before the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
1399th General Assembly between the State Board of Education and
14the company or companies that operate the PARCC tests.
15    Students who are not assessed for college and career ready
16determinations may not receive a regular high school diploma
17unless the student is exempted from taking State assessments
18under subsection (d) of this Section because (i) the student's
19individualized educational program developed under Article 14
20of this Code identifies the State assessment as inappropriate
21for the student, (ii) the student is enrolled in a program of
22adult and continuing education, as defined in the Adult
23Education Act, (iii) the school district is not required to
24assess the individual student for purposes of accountability
25under federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requirements,
26(iv) the student has been determined to be an English learner

 

 

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1and has been enrolled in schools in the United States for less
2than 12 months, or (v) the student is otherwise identified by
3the State Board of Education, through rules, as being exempt
4from the assessment.
5    The State Board of Education shall not assess students
6under this Section in subjects not required by this Section.
7    Districts shall inform their students of the timelines and
8procedures applicable to their participation in every yearly
9administration of the State assessments. The State Board of
10Education shall establish periods of time in each school year
11during which State assessments shall occur to meet the
12objectives of this Section.
13    (d) Every individualized educational program as described
14in Article 14 shall identify if the State assessment or
15components thereof are appropriate for the student. The State
16Board of Education shall develop rules governing the
17administration of an alternate assessment that may be available
18to students for whom participation in this State's regular
19assessments is not appropriate, even with accommodations as
20allowed under this Section.
21    Students receiving special education services whose
22individualized educational programs identify them as eligible
23for the alternative State assessments nevertheless shall have
24the option of taking this State's regular assessment that
25includes a college and career ready determination, which shall
26be administered in accordance with the eligible accommodations

 

 

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1appropriate for meeting these students' respective needs.
2    All students determined to be English learners shall
3participate in the State assessments, excepting those students
4who have been enrolled in schools in the United States for less
5than 12 months. Such students may be exempted from
6participation in one annual administration of the English
7language arts assessment. Any student determined to be an
8English learner shall receive appropriate assessment
9accommodations, including language supports, which shall be
10established by rule. Approved assessment accommodations must
11be provided until the student's English language skills develop
12to the extent that the student is no longer considered to be an
13English learner, as demonstrated through a State-identified
14English language proficiency assessment.
15    (e) The results or scores of each assessment taken under
16this Section shall be made available to the parents of each
17student.
18    In each school year, the scores attained by a student on
19the State assessment that includes a college and career ready
20determination must be placed in the student's permanent record
21and must be entered on the student's transcript pursuant to
22rules that the State Board of Education shall adopt for that
23purpose in accordance with Section 3 of the Illinois School
24Student Records Act. In each school year, the scores attained
25by a student on the State assessments administered in grades 3
26through 8 must be placed in the student's temporary record.

 

 

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1    (f) All schools shall administer an academic assessment of
2English language proficiency in oral language (listening and
3speaking) and reading and writing skills to all children
4determined to be English learners.
5    (g) All schools in this State that are part of the sample
6drawn by the National Center for Education Statistics, in
7collaboration with their school districts and the State Board
8of Education, shall administer the biennial academic
9assessments under the National Assessment of Educational
10Progress carried out under Section 411(b)(2) of the federal
11National Education Statistics Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 9010) if
12the U.S. Secretary of Education pays the costs of administering
13the assessments.
14    (h) Subject to available funds to this State for the
15purpose of student assessment, the State Board of Education
16shall provide additional assessments and assessment resources
17that may be used by school districts for local assessment
18purposes. The State Board of Education shall annually
19distribute a listing of these additional resources.
20    (i) For the purposes of this subsection (i), "academically
21based assessments" means assessments consisting of questions
22and answers that are measurable and quantifiable to measure the
23knowledge, skills, and ability of students in the subject
24matters covered by the assessments. All assessments
25administered pursuant to this Section must be academically
26based assessments. The scoring of academically based

 

 

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1assessments shall be reliable, valid, and fair and shall meet
2the guidelines for assessment development and use prescribed by
3the American Psychological Association, the National Council
4on Measurement in Education, and the American Educational
5Research Association.
6    The State Board of Education shall review the use of all
7assessment item types in order to ensure that they are valid
8and reliable indicators of student performance aligned to the
9learning standards being assessed and that the development,
10administration, and scoring of these item types are justifiable
11in terms of cost.
12    (j) The State Superintendent of Education shall appoint a
13committee of no more than 21 members, consisting of parents,
14teachers, school administrators, school board members,
15assessment experts, regional superintendents of schools, and
16citizens, to review the State assessments administered by the
17State Board of Education. The Committee shall select one of its
18members as its chairperson. The Committee shall meet on an
19ongoing basis to review the content and design of the
20assessments (including whether the requirements of subsection
21(i) of this Section have been met), the time and money expended
22at the local and State levels to prepare for and administer the
23assessments, the collective results of the assessments as
24measured against the stated purpose of assessing student
25performance, and other issues involving the assessments
26identified by the Committee. The Committee shall make periodic

 

 

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1recommendations to the State Superintendent of Education and
2the General Assembly concerning the assessments.
3    (k) The State Board of Education may adopt rules to
4implement this Section.
5(Source: P.A. 98-972, eff. 8-15-14; 99-30, eff. 7-10-15;
699-185, eff. 1-1-16; revised 10-16-15.)
 
7    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1,
82016.