Source: http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?981+ful+CHAP0627
Timestamp: 2018-06-21 12:00:30
Document Index: 2409135

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 9', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 9', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 22', '§ 22']

CHAPTER 627 An Act to amend and reenact §§ 22.1-199.2, 22.1-209.1:4, 22.1-253.13:1, 22.1-253.13:3, 22.1-253.13:4, and 22.1-254.01 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Literacy Passport Test. [S 120] Approved April 15, 1998
1. That §§ 22.1-253.13:3 and 22.1-253.13:4 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 22.1-253.13:4. Standard 4. Literacy Passports, diplomas and certificates.
A. The General Assembly and the Board of Education recognize the need to reduce the illiteracy rate in the Commonwealth and the need to prescribe requirements for completion of high school programs. To this end, the General Assembly and the Board hereby establish the requirement for a Literacy Passport for all students prior to grade nine and criteria for diplomas and certificates. All school boards are encouraged to utilize the pre-test for fourth graders.
B. Each local school board shall award Literacy Passports to all students, including students with disabilities, who achieve passing scores on the literacy tests established by the Board of Education. Reasonable accommodation to take the literacy tests shall be provided as needed for students with disabilities. In order to be classified as ninth graders or above, students shall be required to obtain a Literacy Passport, except for those (i) students who are identified as disabled pursuant to Board regulations governing special education programs for students with disabilities in Virginia and (ii) students for whom English is not the first or native language who have been identified as having limited English proficiency and who have been enrolled in a public school in the Commonwealth for less than three years. To remain classified as ninth graders or above, such students identified as having limited English proficiency must achieve passing scores on the first literacy tests administered after three years of enrollment in a public school in the Commonwealth.
To meet the goal of this subsection, each school board shall analyze its pass/fail rates and evaluate the needs of students who do not pass the tests required to obtain the Literacy Passport. The analysis and evaluation shall be used to design the remediation programs required in subsection C of § 22.1-253.13:1.
C. Each local school board shall award diplomas to all secondary school students, including students who transfer from nonpublic schools or from home instruction, who earn the units of credit prescribed by the Board of Education, pass the prescribed literacy tests, and meet such other requirements as may be prescribed by the local school board and approved by the Board of Education. Provisions shall be made for students who transfer between secondary schools and from nonpublic schools or from home instruction as outlined in the standards for accreditation. Further, reasonable accommodation to meet the requirements for diplomas shall be provided for otherwise qualified students with disabilities as needed.
D. Students identified as disabled who complete the requirements of their individualized education programs shall be awarded special diplomas by local school boards.
E. Students who have completed a prescribed course of study as defined by the local school board shall be awarded certificates by local school boards if they do not qualify for diplomas.
2. That §§ 22.1-199.2, 22.1-209.1:4, 22.1-253.13:1, 22.1-253.13:3, 22.1-253.13:4, and 22.1-254.01 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 22.1-199.2. Standards for remedial summer school programs established; reporting required.
A. The Board of Education shall establish standards for remedial summer school programs, which shall be designed to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of such programs in increasing the scholastic achievement of students with academic deficiencies. Such standards shall require (i) an evaluation of the remedial summer school program offered by the school division to assess such students' educational needs and program effectiveness, and (ii) that school divisions report, on such forms as may be required by the Board for such purpose, data pertaining to the demographic and educational characteristics of students who have been identified for remediation pursuant to subsection C of § 22.1-253.13:1, or subsection E of § 22.1-254, and § 22.1-254.01. Data submitted to the Board shall include, but not be limited to, the number of students failing the Literacy Passport Test, any or all components, for each administration of the test; a demographic profile of the students attending such programs; the academic status of each such student; the types of instruction offered, the length of the program, and the local costs of the program; and the number of ungraded and disabled students, and those with limited English proficiency (ESL); and the number of students failing the literacy tests who attend remedial summer school.
B. The Board of Education shall cause the collection, compilation, and analysis of the data required to be reported by local school divisions in subsection A of this section to accomplish a statewide review and evaluation of remedial summer school programs. The Board shall report its analysis of the data submitted by school divisions and a statewide assessment of remedial summer school programs, and any recommendations, to the Governor and the General Assembly annually, beginning on December 1, 1997.
A. With such funds as may be appropriated for this purpose, the Board of Education shall establish the Virginia Innovative Remedial Education Pilot Program (the "Program") to explore innovative options and instructional approaches for the remediation of students with academic deficiencies. On and after July 1, 1997, the Program shall consist of up to ten pilot projects located in regions throughout the Commonwealth to provide equitable geographical distribution of such projects. Grants for all such projects shall be awarded on a competitive basis to applicants responding to requests for proposals, giving priority to applicant school divisions that propose to explore creative alternatives and new, pedagogically sound instructional methods to address the following: (i) the educational needs of students who are educationally at risk or who have failed the Literacy Passport Test; (ii) students who have been identified for remediation pursuant to §§ 22.1-253.13:1, 22.1-254, and 22.1-254.01; or (iii) barriers to effective remediation of students with academic deficiencies. The Board of Education shall promulgate regulations for the implementation of the Program. The Board shall promulgate such regulations to be effective in 280 days or less of the enactment of this section.
1. Specific, measurable goals and objectives and an evaluation component to determine the effectiveness of such innovative pilot projects in accelerating the academic achievement of participating students, reducing the need for remediation, increasing the number of students who pass the Literacy Passport Test, and reducing problems associated with poor student academic performance.
B. The Board of Education shall establish educational objectives to implement the development of the skills that are necessary for success in school and for preparation for life in the years beyond. The current educational objectives, known as the Standards of Learning, shall not be construed to be regulations as defined in § 9-6.14:4; however, the Board of Education may, from time to time, revise these educational objectives. In order to provide appropriate opportunity for input from the general public, teachers, and local school boards, the Board of Education shall conduct public hearings prior to establishing new educational objectives. Thirty days prior to conducting such hearings, the Board shall give written notice by mail of the date, time, and place of the hearings to all local school boards and any other persons requesting to be notified of the hearings and publish notice of its intention to revise these educational objectives in the Virginia Register of Regulations. Interested parties shall be given reasonable opportunity to be heard and present information prior to final adoption of any revisions of these educational objectives.
Local school boards shall also develop and implement programs of prevention, intervention, or remediation for students who are educationally at risk including, but not limited to, those whose scores are in the bottom national quartile on Virginia State Assessment Program Tests, or who do not pass the literacy tests prescribed by the Board of Education. Such programs shall include summer school or other forms of remediation. Division superintendents shall require such students to take special programs of prevention, intervention, or remediation which may include attendance in public summer school programs, in accordance with subsection E of § 22.1-254 and § 22.1-254.01. The requirement for remediation may, however, be satisfied by the student's attendance in a program of prevention, intervention or remediation which has been selected by his parent and is either (i) conducted by an accredited private school or (ii) a special program which has been determined to be comparable to the required public school remediation program by the division superintendent. The costs of such private school remediation program or other special remediation program shall be borne by the student's parent. Students required to attend such summer school programs or to participate in another form of remediation shall not be charged tuition by the local school division. Based on the number of students attending and the Commonwealth's share of the per pupil costs, additional state funds shall be provided for summer and other remediation programs as set forth in the appropriation act. Any student who does not pass the literacy tests shall be required to attend a summer school program or participate in another form of remediation. Such summer school program or other form of remediation shall be chosen by the school division to be appropriate to the academic needs of the student. State funds shall be provided, as set forth in the appropriation act, for the attendance in remediation programs conducted by local school divisions for those students who do not pass the literacy tests beginning with the 1997-1998 fiscal year.
Such remediation programs shall include, when applicable, a procedure for early identification of students who are at risk of academic failure of the literacy tests. The identified students shall be provided appropriate remediation activities.
F. In addition to the positions supported by basic aid and in support of regular school year remedial programs, state funding, pursuant to the appropriation act, shall be provided to fund certain full-time equivalent instructional positions for each 1,000 students in grades K through 12 estimated to score in the bottom national quartile on Virginia State Assessment Program Tests and those who fail the literacy tests prescribed by the Board and those who fail the literary tests Standards of Learning Assessments prescribed by the Board. State funding for remedial programs provided pursuant to this subsection and the appropriation act may be used to support programs for educationally at-risk students as identified by the local school boards. The Board of Education shall establish criteria for identification of educationally at-risk students, which shall not be construed to be regulations as defined in § 9-6.14:4; however, the Board of Education may, from time to time, revise these identification criteria. In order to provide appropriate opportunity for input from the general public, teachers, and local school boards, the Board of Education shall conduct public hearings prior to establishing or revising such identification criteria. Thirty days prior to conducting such hearings, the Board shall give written notice by mail of the date, time, and place of the hearings to all local school boards and any other persons requesting to be notified of the hearings and publish notice of its intention to establish or revise such identification criteria in the Virginia Register of Regulations. Interested parties shall be given reasonable opportunity to be heard and present information prior to final adoption of any such identification criteria or revisions thereto.
E. In order to assess the educational progress of students, the Board of Education shall also (i) develop appropriate assessments which may include criterion-referenced tests and alternative assessment instruments which may be used by classroom teachers; and (ii) prescribe and provide measures, which may include nationally normed tests, to be designated as the Virginia State Assessment Program, which shall be used to identify students who score in the bottom quartile at selected grade levels; and (iii) prescribe and provide literacy tests in reading, writing and mathematics which shall be administered to students in grade six and to students who have not successfully passed them in grades seven and eight.
H. In order to assess the educational progress of students as individuals and as groups, each local school board shall require the administration of appropriate assessments, which may include criterion-referenced tests, teacher-made tests and alternative assessment instruments and shall include the Virginia State Assessment Program, the Virginia State Literacy Testing Program, the Standards of Learning Assessments, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress state-by-state assessment. Each school board shall analyze and report annually, in compliance with any criteria which may be established by the Board of Education, the results from the Virginia State Assessment Program and the Virginia State Literacy Testing Program Standards of Learning Assessments to the public.
§ 22.1-253.13:4. Standard 4. Diplomas and certificates.
D. B. Students identified as disabled who complete the requirements of their individualized education programs shall be awarded special diplomas by local school boards.
E. C. Students who have completed a prescribed course of study as defined by the local school board shall be awarded certificates by local school boards if they do not qualify for diplomas.
In the event that a student is required to take a special program of prevention, intervention, or remediation in a public summer school program or to participate in another form of remediation as provided in subsection C of § 22.1-253.13:1 and in accordance with subsection E of § 22.1-254, and the division superintendent determines that remediation of the student's poor academic performance, or passage of the literacy passport test Standards of Learning Assessments, or promotion is directly related to the student's attendance in such summer school program or participation in another form of remediation, and after a reasonable effort to seek the student's attendance in such session has failed, including direct notification of the parents or guardians of such student of the attendance requirement and failure of the parents or guardians to secure the student's attendance, the division superintendent may seek immediate compliance with the compulsory school attendance law as set forth in § 22.1-254.
3. That the provisions of the second enactment shall be effective July 1, 2003.
4. That effective July 1, 1998, the Literacy Passport Tests administered as described in clause (iii) of subsection E of § 22.1-253.13:3 shall be phased out as follows: in school year 1997-1998, the Literacy Passport shall be administered to students in grades six, seven, and eight, and to graded students and ungraded students, as applicable, in grades nine, ten, eleven, and twelve, and to adults and students returning to upgrade a certificate of completion or special diploma to a standard or advanced studies diploma. For students in grade six in school year 1997-1998, the test results shall be for informational purposes only and shall not be used as a graduation requirement or for classification as a ninth grader but shall be used for remediation purposes. In school year 1998-1999, the Literacy Passport shall be administered to students in grade eight, and to graded students and ungraded students, as applicable, in grades nine, ten, eleven, and twelve, and to adults and students returning to upgrade a certificate of completion or special diploma to a standard or advanced studies diploma. In school year 1999-2000, the Literacy Passport shall be administered to graded students and ungraded students, as applicable, in grades nine, ten, eleven, and twelve, and to adults and students returning to upgrade a certificate of completion or special diploma to a standard or advanced studies diploma. In school year 2000-2001, the Literacy Passport shall be administered to graded students and ungraded students, as applicable, in grades ten, eleven, and twelve, and to adults and students returning to upgrade a certificate of completion or special diploma to a standard or advanced studies diploma. In school year 2001-2002, the Literacy Passport shall be administered to graded students and ungraded students, as applicable, in grades eleven and twelve, and to adults and students returning to upgrade a certificate of completion or special diploma to a standard or advanced studies diploma. In school year 2002-2003, 2003-2004, and 2004-2005, the Literacy Passport shall be administered to graded students and ungraded students, as applicable, in grade twelve, and to adults and students returning to upgrade a certificate of completion or special diploma to a standard or advanced studies diploma. After school year 2004-2005, the Literacy Passport shall be administered to adults and students returning to upgrade a certificate of completion or special diploma to a standard or advanced studies diploma. Each local school board shall award Literacy Passports to individuals, including individuals with disabilities, who achieve passing scores on the Literacy Passport Tests administered pursuant to this schedule. Reasonable accommodation to take these tests shall be provided as needed for individuals with disabilities.
5. That for the purpose of determining the future fiscal impact of requiring remediation for those students failing the Standards of Learning (SOL) Assessments, the Board of Education shall, following the 1998 and 1999 administrations of the SOL Assessments, determine the degree to which the current funding mechanisms are sufficient to address the remedial needs of those students failing the SOL Assessments. The Board shall provide to the Governor and Chairmen of the House Committees on Appropriations and Education and the Senate Committees on Finance and Education and Health, by December 1, 1998, an interim report addressing their initial findings, and by December 1, 1999, a final report on the findings for both years and any recommendations to the current remedial and at-risk funding programs, for the 2000-2002 biennial budget, to ensure access to remedial services for those students failing the SOL Assessments.