Revision: Dec. 14, 2015, midnight
\t \t\tHB 1239 - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
\t16-2153
\t04/05
HOUSE BILL\t1239
AN ACT\trelative to certain terminology in the education statutes.
SPONSORS:\tRep. Ladd, Graf. 4; Rep. Myler, Merr. 10; Rep. Balcom, Hills. 21; Rep. Gorman, Hills. 31; Rep. Gile, Merr. 27; Rep. Grenier, Sull. 7; Rep. Cordelli, Carr. 4
COMMITTEE:\tEducation
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ANALYSIS
\tThis bill amends certain references to "curriculum standards' and "curriculum frameworks" in the education statutes.
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Explanation:\tMatter added to current law appears in bold italics.
\t\tMatter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t16-2153
\t04/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\trelative to certain terminology in the education statutes.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 State Board of Education; Rulemaking Authority. Amend RSA 186:8 to read as follows:
\t186:8 Rulemaking Authority; Standards; Employee Qualifications. The state board of education shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, relative to:
\t\tI. Academic standards for all grades of the public schools.
\t\tII. Minimum [curriculum and educational] public school approval standards for all grades of the public schools.
\t\t[II.] III. Qualifications and duties for school superintendents, principals, school administrative unit professionals and other public school employees.
\t\t[III.] IV. Certification standards for educational personnel, including those listed in RSA 21-N:9, II(s), provided that the commissioner of the department of education may, through an agreement with another state when such state and New Hampshire are parties to an interstate agreement, provide for recertification based on another state's procedures if the other state's professional development plan is approved by the New Hampshire department of education.
\t\t[IV.] V. Establishing requirements for teachers and teacher preparation programs to ensure that all teachers are prepared to teach to a broad range of students' needs, including, but not limited to, the needs of exceptional learners.
\t\t[V.] VI. Certification standards for advanced teaching credentials, including administering the master teacher credential as provided in RSA 189:14-f.
\t\t[VI.] VII. Appeals from a school board on the matter of nonrenewal of teacher contracts, providing that the appeal to the state board of education shall be limited to the record developed at the school board hearing, except where the state board of education determines that new evidence is available which could not have been reasonably discovered at the time of the school board hearing and that such evidence may have materially affected the outcome of the school board hearing. In such cases, the state board of education shall render a final decision in the matter or remand it to the school board for a new hearing.
\t\t[VII.] VIII. Requiring a high school pupil to attain competency in mathematics for each year in which he or she is in high school through graduation to ensure career and college readiness. A pupil may meet this requirement either by satisfactorily completing a minimum of 4 courses in mathematics or by satisfactorily completing a minimum of 3 mathematics courses and one non-mathematics content area course in which mathematics knowledge and skills are embedded and applied, as may be approved by the school board. The rules shall be implemented in the 2015-16 school year.
\t2 Duties of the State Board of Education. Amend RSA 186:11, IX(a) to read as follows:
\t\t\t(a) Direct the department to develop curriculum frameworks to serve as a guide and reference in health, physiology, and hygiene as they relate to the effects of alcohol and other drugs, child abuse, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and sexually transmitted diseases on the human system, and which are designed to help students lead longer, healthier lives.
\t3 Statewide Education and Improvement and Assessment Program; Statement of Purpose. Amend RSA 193-C:1, II-III to read as follows:
\t\tII. A statewide education improvement and assessment program built upon the establishment of [educational] academic standards specifying what students should know and be able to do is an important element in educational improvement. Such a program also serves as an effective measure of accountability and student performance when the assessment exercises or tasks are valid and appropriate representations of the [curriculum standards] knowledge and skills that students are expected to achieve.
\t\tIII. Widespread participation in the establishment of a statewide education improvement and assessment program is essential. Consultation with educators at all levels, business people, government officials, community representatives, and parents must occur in the development of [educational] academic standards. In turn, widespread dissemination of those standards, once established, must occur. Teachers, administrators, and school board members must be fully apprised of these state-developed standards. They must, in turn, communicate these expectations to students and parents, and find and implement methods to enable students to acquire and apply the requisite knowledge and skills.
\t4 Statewide Education Improvement and Assessment Program; Program Established. Amend RSA 193-C:3, III(a)-(b) to read as follows:
\t\t\t(a) [Educational] Academic standards specifying what students should know and be able to do shall be clearly defined before assessment procedures and exercises are developed.
\t\t\t(b) The assessment exercises or tasks shall be valid and appropriate representations of the academic standards the students are expected to achieve.
\t5 Statewide Education Improvement and Assessment Program; Program Established. Amend RSA 193-C:3, IV(a) to read as follows:
\t\t\t(a) At the student level, by students, parents, and teachers, to determine what the student knows and is able to do in relationship to the state-established academic standards.
\t6 Adequate Public Education; Policy and Purpose. Amend RSA 193-E:1 to read as follows:
\t193-E:1 Policy and Purpose.
\t\tI. It is the policy of the state of New Hampshire that public elementary and secondary education shall provide all students with the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to prepare them for successful participation in the social, economic, scientific, technological, and political systems of a free government, now and in the years to come; an education that is consistent with the [curriculum] academic standards [and student proficiency standards] specified in state school approval rules and New Hampshire school district or school curriculum [frameworks].
\t\tII. Respecting New Hampshire's long tradition of community involvement, it is the purpose of this chapter to ensure that appropriate means are established to provide an adequate education through an integrated system of shared responsibility between state and local government. In this system, the state establishes[, through] minimum public school approval standards, [and student proficiency standards] and [curriculum guidelines,] academic standards [the framework] for [the] inclusion and delivery of educational services at the local level. School districts then have responsibility and flexibility in implementing diverse educational approaches to instruction and curriculum tailored to meet student needs.
\t7 Adequate Public Education; Substantive Educational Content of an Adequate Education. Amend RSA 193-E:2-a, IV-VI to read as follows:
\t\tIV. The school approval standards for the areas identified in paragraph I shall constitute the opportunity for the delivery of an adequate education. The general court shall periodically, but not less frequently than every 10 years, review, revise, and update, as necessary, the standards identified in paragraph I and shall ensure that the high quality of the academic standards in each area of education identified in paragraph I is maintained. Changes made by the board of education to the school approval standards through rulemaking after the effective date of this section shall not be included within the standards that constitute the opportunity for the delivery of an adequate education without prior adoption by the general court. The board of education shall provide written notice to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, and the chairs of the house and senate education committees of any changes to the school approval standards adopted pursuant to RSA 541-A.
\t\tV. [The general court requires the state board of education and the department of education to institute procedures for maintaining, updating, improving, and refining curriculum frameworks for each area of education identified in paragraph I.] Each school district shall be responsible for maintaining, updating, improving, and refining curriculum. The curriculum [frameworks] shall present educational goals, broad pedagogical approaches and strategies for assisting students in the development of the skills, competencies, and knowledge called for by the academic standards for each area of education identified in paragraph I. [The curriculum frameworks shall serve as a guide and reference to what New Hampshire students should know and be able to do in each area of education. The frameworks do not establish a statewide curriculum.] It is the responsibility of local teachers, administrators, and school boards to identify and implement approaches best suited for the students in their communities to acquire the skills and knowledge included in the [frameworks] curriculum, to determine the scope, organization, and sequence of course offerings, and to choose the methods of instruction, the activities, and the materials to be used.
\t\tVI. In this section[,]:
\t\t\t(a) "School approval standards'' [shall mean] mean the applicable criteria that public schools and public academies shall meet in order to be an approved school, as adopted by the state board of education through administrative rules.
\t\t\t(b) "Academic standard" means what a student should know and be able to do.
\t\t\t(c) "Curriculum" means the lessons and academic content taught in school or in a specific course or program.
\t8 Adequate Public Education; Accountability. Amend RSA 193-E:3-c, III(a) to read as follows:
\t\t\t(a) Performance on state tests administered pursuant to RSA 193-C and, upon the prior approval of the department, other assessments administered at local option that are consistent with the state's [curriculum] academic standards.
\t9 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.