(1) To support communication and the ability of the state and of local education providers to learn from the efforts of the local education providers that choose to implement local accountability systems, before July 15, 2020, and on or before July 15 each year thereafter, the department shall convene a meeting with local education providers that implement local accountability systems, their accountability system partners, if any, and other members of the community who are involved in designing and implementing local accountability systems to review the implementation of local accountability systems. Individuals may participate in the meeting in-person or electronically.
(2) On or before January 15, 2021, and on or before January 15 each year thereafter, the department shall prepare and submit to the state board and the education committees of the house of representatives and the senate, or any successor committees, a report concerning the implementation of local accountability systems, including a report of the implementation of the grant program. The report must include, but need not be limited to:
Identification of the local education providers that are implementing local accountability systems, including identification of those that receive grants through the grant program and the amount of each grant awarded;
Identification of the accountability system partners, if any, that the local educationproviders work with;
A description of the measures and local performance indicators included in each local accountability system;
Evidence provided by local education providers, including input solicited from community members, concerning the effectiveness of each local accountability system in measuring the quality of the education provided by the local education provider that implements the local accountability system. To the extent possible for each local accountability system, in reporting performance on additional measures and local performance indicators, the department shall disaggregate the performance results by grade level and by student group, applying the same exclusions that apply to reporting performance results on the state performance indicators.
Identification of elements that are used in one or more local accountability systemsthat may be recommended for adoption by other local education providers; and
Any recommendations for changes in department procedures, state board rules, orstatute based on the implementation of the local accountability systems.
In preparing the report, the department shall solicit input from and collaborate withthe local education providers that implement local accountability systems and the accountability system partners, if any, that they work with.
The department shall post the report on its website for public review. Upon requestby a local education provider, the department shall provide information concerning the measures and local performance indicators implemented through local accountability systems, including a description of the measures, evidence of their effectiveness, and the manner in which they are used.
(a) In the third year of the grant program, the department shall contract with an external evaluator, which may be a state institution of higher education, to prepare a summary evaluation report of the implementation of the local accountability systems that receive grants. The evaluation must, at a minimum, include an evaluation of the success of each local accountability system in evaluating student success and the processes for ensuring a cycle of continuous improvement within the public schools of the participating local education providers. At the annual meeting held pursuant to subsection (1) of this section at the end of the first year of the grant program, the department, participating local education providers, and the accountability system partners shall identify the goals, tools, and measures to be addressed by the summary evaluation report. The data used for the summary evaluation report must include qualitative and quantitative measures.
For purposes of the summary evaluation report, the department shall provide to theexternal evaluator information concerning the scores attained by students enrolled by the participating local education providers on the statewide assessments administered pursuant to section 22-7-1006.3 and information concerning student longitudinal academic growth, student academic achievement, and student academic growth to standards for the students enrolled by the participating local education providers. The department shall provide the information in the aggregate by grade level and disaggregated by student group, as defined in section 22-11-103, compared to scores attained in previous school years and compared to the state average scores. The department shall provide the information to the external evaluator only to the extent allowable under federal and state law. Each local education provider that participates in the grant program shall provide any necessary data for purposes of the summary evaluation report described in subsection (5)(a) of this section that is not readily available to the department.
Beginning with the report that is submitted on or before January 15, 2023, and foreach report submitted thereafter, the department shall include in the report described in subsection (2) of this section the summary evaluation report described in this subsection (5).
The department may accept and expend gifts, grants, or donations to pay the costsincurred in preparing the summary evaluation report described in this subsection (5).
(6) Notwithstanding the requirement in section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), the requirement to submit the report specified in this section continues indefinitely.
Source: L. 2019: Entire part added, (SB 19-204), ch. 415, p. 3658, § 1, effective August 2.