Legislation

Read summaries for all the key education bills

HB 7345: An Act Concerning Great Schools for All

Read the full "Great Schools for All" legislation

Summary

1. Expanding Access to High-Quality Preschool

• Increases Funding for New Preschool Slots
  Increases the number of preschool slots for low-income families from 7,000 to 11,100.
• Connects Preschool Assessments to K-12 system
  Requires the Department of Education to integrate the data collected on students in preschool programs into the K-12 unique student identifier system for tracking student progress.

2. Creating Innovative New Public Schools

• Creates Pilot Schools
  Provides the State Department of Education with $7.5 million over two years for a competitive grant program to facilitate the creation of “Pilot Schools” in high-needs districts.
  Defines Pilot Schools as public schools approved by the local or regional board of education that have autonomy over budget, staffing, governance, curriculum, and the school calendar; are exempt from district policies and mandates; and whose teachers participate voluntarily in a bargaining agreement with modified work rules, while still receiving union salary, benefits, and accrual of seniority within the district.
• Encourages Smaller High Schools
  Provides the State Department of Education with $7.5 million over two years for a competitive grant program to facilitate the creation of small high schools and smaller learning environments within existing high schools in high-needs districts.

3. Recruiting Teacher and Principal All-Stars in Our Urban Districts

• Supports an All-Stars Grant Program
  Provides the State Department of Education with $7.5 million over two years for a competitive grant program to facilitate the creation of programs for recruiting teacher and principal all stars in high-needs districts and alternative pathways to certification.
  Provides the Commissioner of Education with authority to waive or otherwise modify teacher and principal certification requirements to facilitate these programs.

4. Helping Districts Implement Proven School Improvement Models

• Supports a District Improvement Grant Program
  Provides the State Department of Education with $6.5 million over two years for a competitive grant program to facilitate the implementation of district-wide improvement plans grounded in comprehensive models, best-practices, and formative assessments.

5. Ensuring Transparency and Public Accountability for Results

• Creates a PK-16 School Data System
  Requires the State Department of Education to create and implement a data system for tracking individual student progress that makes use of unique student identifiers by November 30, 2007.
  Requires that the data from this system be made public while protecting the identity of individual students.
  Requires that state colleges and universities extend student tracking through grade 16 by October 1, 2008.
• Creates a Rating System for Public Schools
  Requires the State Department of Education to implement a public rating system based on annual grades of A-F for student achievement gains and annual scores of 1-5 for the preconditions to learning.
• Creates an Enhanced Accountability System Integrated with NCLB
  Provides schools in high-needs districts with a score of A-1 on this annual review a bonus of $500 per student to promote best practices within their district and pioneer new approaches to raising student achievement.
  Places schools with a D-4 or below for two consecutive years on probation and allows these schools to request a consultant from the State Department of Education, assistance in developing a school improvement plan, a review of curricula, and professional development assistance.
  Allows the State Board of Education to seek corrective actions for underperforming school districts, including 1) requiring operational audits, 2) consulting with local bargaining units to direct the transfer of teachers, 3) requiring additional training of teachers, principals and staff, 4) requiring the implementation of proven curriculum, and 5) providing funds to allow students in failing districts to attend public school in a neighboring district.
  If schools do not improve, provides the Commissioner of Education with authority to intervene in schools and districts to raise performance by 1) reconstituting schools into charter schools, pilot schools, or other district management, 2) replacing school leadership, including boards of education, superintendents, principals and teachers, 3) redirecting funding so that students can attend schools in another district, and 4) taking over a school or district with approval from the Governor and the General Assembly.