(a) An effectively functioning Department of Education should serve as a critical support structure for the entire Public Education system. In order to meet this challenge, the Department shall fully implement its leadership and service missions by committing itself to high standards of quality assurance and quality management practices. In order to ensure that the Department will remain focused on the principles of continuous quality improvement and client service and that it will do so in accordance with recognized national and/or international standards, the Secretary shall commission an independent entity to conduct and publish an annual customer satisfaction report to determine the level of satisfaction among education constituencies dependent on Department of Education services and policies. Such survey shall seek the views of local school boards, school administrators, teachers, parent organizations, the business community and other relevant constituencies. To further improve the performance of the Department of Education, the Secretary shall pursue the active involvement of the business community in reviewing management practices in the Department, such as the Department's success in deregulation, the quality of Department's strategic plan and the Department's success in meeting its strategic objectives, and the quality and cost-effectiveness of the technical assistance provided by the Department to local school districts. The report shall be submitted to the Governor 45 days before public distribution so that the Governor may take appropriate action based on its recommendations.
(b) The Department shall provide each school and school district high-quality diagnostic data analyzing the specific strengths and weaknesses of student performance within the school district, which is both user-friendly and timely in accordance with the timelines specific in this subchapter for the commencement of school and district improvement activities.
(c) Beginning in the year 2001, the Secretary of Education shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly each year an annual education outcome report. The report must be based on the unit count taken in September of the school year immediately preceding the annual reporting date and must contain the following information:
(1) The number of students enrolled in twelfth grade, based on the September unit count;
(2) The number of those students still enrolled at the close of the school year who receive a high school diploma and the type of diploma received;
(3) The number of those students still enrolled at the close of the school year who complete twelfth grade, but do not receive a high school diploma;
(4) The number of those students who, by the close of the school year, have dropped out of school; and
(5) The number of those students who, by the close of the school year, transferred to other schools.
(d) Each year the Secretary shall conduct a graduate follow-up study of students who completed the twelfth grade during the preceding school year to determine the educational and employment status of each student. The survey shall request information regarding the postsecondary education enrollment status and the employment status of students and shall, at a minimum, include the following questions:
(1) a. Is the student presently enrolled in a postsecondary educational institution of any type?
b. Is the student enrolled full-time or part-time?
c. What is the student's major area of study?
d. What is the name of the institution in which the student is enrolled?
(2) a. Is the student presently employed?
b. Is the student employed full-time or part-time?
c. The name and address of the student's employer?
d. In what industry is the student employed?
e. What position does the student hold?
f. What is the student's hourly/weekly/annual salary?
(3) What is the student's perception of the value of that student's own secondary education in terms of preparation for postsecondary education or employment?
(e) For the purpose of performing a comparative longitudinal analysis of the information collected for an annual educational outcome report, the Secretary shall compile similar information about students who graduated in 1998 and 1999, and shall use the 1998 information as the basis for all comparisons. The goal of educational outcome accountability is to decrease the 2.9% 1998 Delaware public school dropout rate for grade 12, as published in the Department of Education report entitled Delaware Dropouts, 1997-1998 Summary Statistics, December 1998.
(f) Nothing in this section prohibits the Department of Education from conducting a more comprehensive survey and/or evaluation for the annual educational outcome report.