Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford

Filed: 3/30/2017

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1223

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1223 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5Accelerated Placement Act.
 
6    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
7    "Accelerated placement" means the placement of a student in
8an educational setting with curriculum that is usually reserved
9for students who are older or in higher grades than the
10student. "Accelerated placement" shall include, but need not be
11limited to, the following types of acceleration: early entrance
12to kindergarten or first grade, accelerating a student in a
13single subject, compacting curriculum, grade acceleration,
14grade telescoping, and early high school graduation.
15    "State Board" means the State Board of Education.
 

 

 

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1    Section 10. School district responsibilities.
2    (a) Each school district shall have a policy that allows
3for accelerated placement that includes, but need not be
4limited to, the following components:
5        (1) a requirement that participation in accelerated
6    placement is not limited to those students who have been
7    identified as gifted and talented, but rather is open to
8    all students who demonstrate high ability and who may
9    benefit from accelerated placement;
10        (2) a transparent process for informing all families
11    residing in the school district about the acceleration
12    policy;
13        (3) a process for referral that ensures the fair,
14    objective, and systematic evaluation of referred students
15    and allows for multiple referrers, including a student's
16    parents or legal guardians; other referrers may include a
17    teacher, an administrator, a gifted education specialist,
18    a guidance counselor, a school psychologist, the student
19    himself or herself with the written consent of a parent or
20    legal guardian, a peer through a district staff member who
21    has knowledge of the referred child's abilities, or, in the
22    case of possible early entrance, a preschool educator,
23    pediatrician, or psychologist who knows the child;
24        (4) an assessment process that includes multiple
25    valid, reliable indicators;
26        (5) a reasonable and transparent timeline for

 

 

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1    evaluation for possible accelerated placement;
2        (6) a decision-making process for accelerated
3    placement that involves multiple persons, including a
4    student's parents or legal guardians, rather than a sole
5    decision-maker; other individuals involved in the
6    decision-making process may include a superintendent's
7    designee, principal or assistant principal from the
8    child's current school, current teacher of the referred
9    student, teacher at the grade level from the school to
10    which the student may be accelerated, principal or
11    assistant principal from the child's future school, gifted
12    education specialist, gifted intervention specialist,
13    school psychologist, or guidance counselor;
14        (7) a reasonable and transparent timeline for
15    notifying parents and students about the results of an
16    accelerated placement evaluation;
17        (8) an appeals process for decisions related to
18    accelerated placement;
19        (9) a requirement that accelerated students and their
20    parents or legal guardians be provided a written plan, a
21    copy of which will be kept in the student's cumulative
22    file, which shall include the type of acceleration the
23    student will undergo and strategies to support a successful
24    transition;
25        (10) an appropriate transition period for accelerated
26    placement; and

 

 

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1        (11) a process for a parent or legal guardian of a
2    student to withdraw the student from accelerated placement
3    or request a revision of the accelerated placement.
4    (b) Each school district shall report to the State Board
5the following data annually:
6        (1) the number of students evaluated for accelerated
7    placement, disaggregated by race and income status;
8        (2) the number of students who qualified for
9    accelerated placement, disaggregated by race and income
10    status;
11        (3) the number of students evaluated for accelerated
12    placement by type of accelerated placement; and
13        (4) the number of students who qualified for
14    accelerated placement by type of accelerated placement.
 
15    Section 15. State Board Responsibilities.
16    (a) The State Board shall publish a report annually that
17includes:
18        (1) the number of students evaluated for accelerated
19    placement for each school district, disaggregated by race
20    and income status;
21        (2) the number of students who qualified for
22    accelerated placement for each school district,
23    disaggregated by race and income status;
24        (3) the number of students evaluated for accelerated
25    placement by type of accelerated placement for each school

 

 

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1    district; and
2        (4) the number of students who qualified for
3    accelerated placement by type of accelerated placement for
4    each school district.
5    (b) The State Board shall develop and disseminate guidance
6to school districts regarding State testing for accelerated
7students before January 1, 2018.
 
8    Section 20. Rules. The State Board may adopt rules to
9implement this Act.
 
10    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
11becoming law.".