HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

152nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 66

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DELAWARE PUBLIC EDUCATION PROFILES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend § 124A, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 124A. Education Profile reports.

(a) On or before August 15, 2003, and on or before August 1 of each subsequent year, the Department of Education (Department) shall issue Delaware Public Education Profiles (Education Profiles) on all Delaware public schools, including charter schools, reorganized and vocational-technical school districts, and the State (hereinafter in this section referred to as “Education Profiles”). Such State. Education Profiles shall report on the state of Delaware’s State’s public education system and the progress toward achieving the educational goals established by the General Assembly, State, and the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), 20 U.S.C. § 6301 et seq.

(b) (1) The purpose of the Education Profiles shall be is to monitor progress and trends toward the achievement of the State’s educational goals, to provide parents and citizens with information they can use to make good choices for their children children, and to hold the public educational system accountable for its performance and cost-effective use of public funds. The Education Profiles shall must be in a user-friendly form that permits educationally meaningful comparisons among schools and school districts, based on accurate, reliable reliable, and normalized data. The Department must put a link to the Education Profiles on all of the following:

a. The home page of the Department’s website.

b. The school choice website under § 401 of this title.

(2)a. Education Profiles shall must compare data for all Delaware public schools, including charter schools, school districts, and the state to the data required under this section by each school, school district, and at the statewide level. The Department’s Education Profiles website must provide side-by-side comparisons of this data for different schools and school districts so that data for multiple entities can be reviewed at the same time.

b. If informative and practicable to do so, Education Profiles must also compare the data required under paragraph (b)(2)a. of this section to similar data at national, regional and statewide data where informative and practicable to do so. the national and regional level and for other states.

(c) The Education Profiles shall contain, but need not be limited to, information such as the following to be reported on a state, district and school-specific basis: required under this section must contain all of the following:

(1) Information pertaining to student testing, student achievement testing and achievement, including proficiency rates, and educational outcomes as measured against the State’s standards and other relevant indicators; indicators.

(2) Information pertaining to school, and/or district, and state accountability; accountability.

(3) Information pertaining to school safety and discipline and student attendance and truancy; attendance, including truancy.

(4) Information pertaining to school district administrator-student ratios, school teacher-student ratios ratios, and other staffing ratios; ratios.

(5) Information pertaining to pupil and staff population demographics; demographics.

(6) Information pertaining to school district revenues, expenditures, tax rates and wealth; rates, and wealth.

(7) Information pertaining to school curricular offerings; offerings, including the career pathways offered in high schools.

(8) Information pertaining to parent and community involvement in the school and school district; district.

(9) Information pertaining to the school district or school supplied by the school district or school to include in the Education Profile pertaining to pertaining to the criteria specified in this subsection; required under this subsection (c).

(10) Information pertaining to the role of the Title IX Coordinator, which shall include their contact information; and Coordinator, including the Title IX Coordinator’s contact information.

(11) Such All other information as the Department, after consultation with the State Board, finds will serve the purposes set forth in under subsection (b) of this section.

Section 2. Amend § 401, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 401. Establishment; School District Enrollment Choice Program; Establishment; statement of purpose. purpose; application.

(d) (1) The forms prescribed and policies adopted pursuant to this chapter under this chapter, including the online application, shall be available on the websites of the all of the following:

a. Each reorganized school districts, district.

b. Each vocational-technical school districts, charter schools, and the district.

c. Each charter school.

d. The Department of Education, and the online application. Education.

(2) The Department of Education’s school choice website must contain a link to the website with the Delaware Public Education Profiles under § 124A of this title.

Section 3. Section 1 of this Act takes effect immediately and must be implemented by the next date the Delaware Public Education Profiles (Education Profiles) are due under § 124A(a) of Title 14, if that date is 6 months or more from the date of enactment. If the next date the Education Profiles are due under § 124A(a) of Title 14 is less than 6 months from

the date of enactment, Section 1 of this Act must be implemented no later than the following year’s issuance of the Education Profiles.

SYNOPSIS

Each year, the Department of Education (Department) issues Delaware Public Education Profiles (Education Profiles), which are available on the Department’s website as the Delaware Report Card. The Delaware Report Card website provides data for all Delaware public schools, including charter schools, but can be viewed only on the basis of a selected school or school district. This Act ensures that parents and guardians can easily access and use this data to compare schools and school districts by requiring all of the following:

1. The ability to generate side-by-side comparisons of the Education Profiles for multiple schools or school districts so that data for multiple entities can be reviewed at the same time.

2. A link to the Education Profiles on both the home page of the Department’s website and the school choice website.

3. That the Education Profiles include a list of a career pathways offered at a high school and must continue to include proficiency rates.

The changes to the Delaware Report Card under this Act must by implemented by the next date the Education Profiles are due, if that date is 6 months or more from enactment. If the next date the Education Profiles are due is less than 6 months from enactment, these changes must be implemented no later than in the following year’s Education Profiles.

This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual which includes revisions to clarify repetitive, confusing or contradictory language.