Bill Text - SB267 (2019)

Relative to the release of student assessment information and data.


Revision: April 9, 2019, 11:04 a.m.

SB 267 - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

 

03/27/2019   1135s

2019 SESSION

19-0832

06/10

 

SENATE BILL 267

 

AN ACT relative to the release of student assessment information and data.

 

SPONSORS: Sen. Kahn, Dist 10; Sen. Feltes, Dist 15; Sen. Watters, Dist 4

 

COMMITTEE: Education and Workforce Development

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill requires the department of education, for purposes of the statewide assessment program, to provide the testing entity with individual pupil names and unique pupil identifiers.  

 

This bill also requires the testing entity to maintain evaluative materials to measure and report individual student growth.

 

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

03/27/2019   1135s 19-0832

06/10

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nineteen

 

AN ACT relative to the release of student assessment information and data.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

1  New Section; Statewide Assessment Program; Pupil Assessment Information.  Amend RSA 193-C by inserting after section 11 the following new section:

193-C:12  Pupil Assessment Information.  The department shall provide the testing entity as defined in RSA 189:65, VIII, with individual pupil names and unique pupil identifiers.  The testing entity shall maintain the results, scores, or other evaluative materials for the purpose of measuring and reporting individual student growth.  The department may provide the assessment results and comparative data to a parent, a legal guardian, or the pupil's school as provided in RSA 193-C:11.  The department may collect student address information from the individual school districts solely for the purpose of effectuating the distribution of assessment results and comparative data as provided in this section.  The testing entity shall destroy all student data after reporting on students through grade 8 or when a student is no longer enrolled.

2  Statewide Assessment Program; Disclosure of Information.  Amend RSA 189:67 to read as follows:

II.(a)  A school or the department may disclose to a testing entity the student's name [or], unique pupil identifier, [but not both,] and birth date for the sole purpose of identifying the test taker.  Except when collected in conjunction with the SAT or ACT[,]:

(1) When such tests are used for the purpose of the state assessment as defined in RSA 193-C:6, the data shall be [destroyed] maintained by the testing entity [as soon as the testing entity has completed the verification of test takers,] in accordance with RSA 193-C:12.

(2)  The data shall not be disclosed by the testing entity to any other person, organization, entity, or government or any component thereof, other than the [district,] parent or guardian, the department, school or school district, and shall not be used by the testing entity for any other purpose [whatsoever, including but not limited to test-data analysis] except as provided in RSA 193-C:12.

(b)  Any person who knowingly violates the provisions of subparagraph (a) shall be guilty of a class B felony.

3  Statewide Assessment Program; Disclosure of Information.  Amend RSA 189:67, III to read as follows:

III.  Except as provided in RSA 193-C:12 or when collected in conjunction with the SAT or ACT, when such tests are used for the purpose of the state assessment as defined in RSA 193-C:6, neither a school nor the department shall disclose or permit the disclosure of student or teacher personally-identifiable data, the unique pupil identifier, or any other data listed in RSA 189:68, I to any testing entity performing test-data analysis.  The testing entity may perform the test analysis but shall not connect such data to other student data.

4  Statewide Assessment Program; Student Privacy.  Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 189:68, I to read as follows:

I.  Except as provided in RSA 193-C:12, the department shall not collect or maintain the following data in the SLDS:

5  Statewide Assessment Program; Unique Pupil Identification.  Amend RSA 193-E:5, I(a) to read as follows:

(a)  Except as provided in RSA 193-C:12, no personally identifiable information about a pupil including name and social security number, shall be collected or maintained by the state in such a manner as to allow such information to be connected with the unique pupil identifier.  Under no circumstances shall the department of education obtain or use a social security number as an identifier for any pupil.  The department shall not use unique pupil identifiers except in connection with the data warehouse and such use shall not be accessible to the public.

6  Statewide Assessment Program; Unique Pupil Identification.  Amend RSA 193-E:5, I(l) to read as follows:

(l)  Except as provided in RSA 193-C:12, the department of education shall provide no personally identifiable information collected pursuant to this chapter, including but not limited to name, date of birth, or social security number to any person or entity, other than an early childhood program, district, or postsecondary institution authorized to access this data, absent a court order.  Under no circumstances shall personally identifiable information or the unique pupil identifier be provided to any person or entity outside of New Hampshire.  Any person who knowingly violates this provision is guilty of a class B felony and may be subject to involuntary termination of employment.

7  New Paragraph; Statewide Assessment Program; Definitions; Testing Entity.  Amend RSA 193-C:2 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:

V.  "Testing entity" means any vendor contracted to provide the statewide assessment under RSA 193-C:6.

8  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

 

LBAO

19-0832

Amended 4/5/19

 

SB 267- FISCAL NOTE

AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE (AMENDMENT #2019-1135s)

 

AN ACT relative to the release of student assessment information and data.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [ X ] County               [    ] Local              [    ] None

 

 

 

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2022

FY 2023

   Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Funding Source:

  [ X ] General            [    ] Education            [    ] Highway           [    ] Other

 

 

 

 

 

COUNTY:

 

 

 

 

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

 

 

 

 

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill requires the Department of Education to provide individual pupil names and unique pupil identifiers to the testing entities implementing the statewide assessment program.  The testing entities are required to maintain the results of the assessment for the purpose of measuring and reporting individual student growth.  Once the student reach grade 8 or ceases enrollment, the testing entity is required to destroy all student data.  Any person who uses student data for purposes other than those established in this bill shall be guilty of a class B felony.  This bill will have no fiscal impact on the Department of Education.

 

This bill contains penalties that may have an impact on the New Hampshire judicial and correctional systems.  There is no method to determine how many charges would be brought as a result of the changes contained in this bill to determine the fiscal impact on expenditures.  However, the entities impacted have provided the potential costs associated with these penalties below.

 

Judicial Branch

FY 2020

FY 2021

Routine Criminal Felony Case

$481

$486

Appeals

Varies

Varies

 

 

 

It should be noted that average case cost estimates for FY 2020 and FY 2021 are based on data that is more than ten years old and does not reflect changes to the courts over that same period of time or the impact these changes may have on processing the various case types.  An unspecified misdemeanor can be either class A or class B, with the presumption being a class B misdemeanor.

Judicial Council

 

 

Public Defender Program

Has contract with State to provide services.

Has contract with State to provide services.

Contract Attorney – Felony

$825/Case

$825/Case

Assigned Counsel – Felony

$60/Hour up to $4,100

$60/Hour up to $4,100

It should be noted that a person needs to be found indigent and have the potential of being incarcerated to be eligible for indigent defense services. The majority of indigent cases (approximately 85%) are handled by the public defender program, with the remaining cases going to contract attorneys (14%) or assigned counsel (1%).

Department of Corrections

 

 

FY 2018 Average Cost of Incarcerating an Individual

$40,615

$40,615

FY 2018 Annual Marginal Cost of a General Population Inmate

$4,620

$4,620

FY 2018 Average Cost of Supervising an Individual on Parole/Probation

$571

$571

NH Association of Counties

 

 

County Prosecution Costs

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Estimated Average Daily Cost of Incarcerating an Individual

$105 to $120

$105 to $120

 

Many offenses are prosecuted by local and county prosecutors.  When the Department of Justice has investigative and prosecutorial responsibility or is involved in an appeal, the Department would likely absorb the cost within its existing budget.  If the Department needs to prosecute significantly more cases or handle more appeals, then costs may increase by an indeterminable amount.  

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Education, Judicial Branch, Departments of Corrections and Justice, Judicial Council, and New Hampshire Association of Counties