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1999 SESSION

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HB 1512 School accreditation; students with limited English proficiency.

Introduced by: Linda T. Puller | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

School accreditation; students with limited English proficiency. Provides that the test scores of 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 five years shall not be included in any school accreditation requirements.

The 1997 revisions to the Standards of Accreditation (SOA) set forth new criteria and processes for individual school accreditation, and clearly state that schools shall be accredited “primarily” based on pupil achievement, as evidenced by scores on the Standards of Learning tests and other assessments. In the elementary grades, accreditation will be based on the percentage of eligible students in grades three and five achieving passing scores on the SOL tests in the four core subject areas; in middle schools, Standards of Learning (SOL) tests in the four core subjects for eighth graders and end-of-course tests “where applicable” will determine accreditation. End-of-course SOL test scores will support secondary school accreditation. The SOA define “eligible students,” for accreditation purposes, as the total number of students enrolled in the school at the grade level for the SOL tests, with the exception of those pupils whose individualized education plan (IEP), 504 Plan, or limited English proficiency (LEP) committee excludes them from test participation. Beginning with academic year 2001-02, the achievement of students who do not participate in the SOL tests will be evaluated on the basis of an alternative assessment prescribed by the Board.

While test scores are deemed a “primary” consideration in school evaluation and accreditation, the SOA contemplate some flexibility, as individual schools’ annual improvement toward specified passing rates during the initial years of the implementation will be “considered.” In addition, “additional accommodations” may be afforded those schools with high percentages of transient or non-English-speaking immigrant pupils.


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