(a) On or before August 15, 2003, and on or before August 1 of each subsequent year, the Department of Education shall issue Delaware Public 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 Education Profiles shall report on the state of Delaware'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) The purpose of the Education Profiles shall be 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 and to hold the public educational system accountable for its performance and cost-effective use of public funds. The Education Profiles shall be in a user-friendly form that permits educationally meaningful comparisons among schools and school districts, based on accurate, reliable and normalized data. The Education Profiles shall compare data for all Delaware public schools, including charter schools, school districts, and the state to national, regional and statewide data where informative and practicable to do so.
(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:
(1) Information pertaining to student testing, student achievement and educational outcomes as measured against the State's standards and other relevant indicators;
(2) Information pertaining to school, and/or district, and state accountability;
(3) Information pertaining to school safety and discipline and student attendance and truancy;
(4) Information pertaining to school district administrator-student ratios, school teacher-student ratios and other staffing ratios;
(5) Information pertaining to pupil and staff population demographics;
(6) Information pertaining to school district revenues, expenditures, tax rates and wealth;
(7) Information pertaining to school curricular offerings;
(8) Information pertaining to parent and community involvement in the school and school 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 the criteria specified in this subsection;
(10) Information pertaining to the role of the Title IX Coordinator, which shall include their contact information; and
(11) Such other information as the Department, after consultation with the State Board, finds will serve the purposes set forth in subsection (b) of this section.
(d) With the goal of encouraging the replication of effective educational policies and practices, the Education Profiles shall also highlight examples of exemplary programs, successful teaching, school climate or disciplinary strategies and other developments that may be of value in improving the performance of Delaware's students and public schools.
(e) The Department shall require public school districts to file district reports containing the data necessary to prepare the Education Profiles and shall prescribe a uniform format for such district reports. To the extent that the information required for the district reports must be filed by districts with the State pursuant to a separate section of this Code or Department regulation, the Department shall not require a duplicative report.
(f) The Education Profiles will be published, subject to an annual appropriation in the annual state budget act, at the expense of the State. Said profiles will be printed by the Department of Education in sufficient quantity and supplied to local school districts in sufficient quantity for distribution to district staff, parents and the community at large.
(g) The Department of Education with the consent of the State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this section.