SB 1021 - Under this act, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education shall, by November 1 of each year, publish on the Department's website a list of schools in the state that have been performing within the bottom 5% of schools for more than three years, and shall designate any such school as a "persistently failing school". Any school district with more than two schools falling into the bottom 5% of schools for more than two years shall be classified as provisionally accredited by the State Board of Education.
School districts with any school falling in the bottom 5% of schools for three years over a five year period beginning in 2018, shall:
· Close the school and transfer students attending such school to a higher performing school in the district;
· Develop a partnership with a nonprofit school operator to create an in-district charter school; or
· Reimburse any district or charter school, that will allow students to transfer, an amount equal to the average per-pupil expenditure for the district.
Any school district that has more than 20% of students attending persistently failing schools shall work with an external partner to develop a district plan to reduce the number of students in such schools by 5% each year, and shall establish a charter authorizing office, or partner with an eligible public four-year college or university to review any charter petitions for the district, approve such charter petitions, and submit such petitions to the Board of Education for a vote.
JOSIE BUTLER