A. Each year by June 30, every school district that serves students in grades seven through twelve as outlined in this section shall conduct and report to the State Department of Education a needs assessment to identify those students who are most at risk of not completing a high school education for a reason other than that identified in Section 13-101 of this title, including students under the age of nineteen (19) who reside in the district and have dropped out of school or are or have been suspended from school. The results of the needs assessments shall be reported to the Department in a format specified by the Department.
B. Every school district as specified in subsection A of this section shall develop and submit to the Department by September 1 of each year a proposed plan approved by the district board of education, for meeting the needs of the students at risk of not completing a high school education as identified through the needs assessment required in subsection A of this section by establishing, continuing or expanding alternative education programs. The district shall include parents, students, teachers, law enforcement representatives, judicial system representatives, social service representatives, technology center school district representatives, and others deemed appropriate by the board of education in the development of the proposed plan. If the school district overlaps a technology center school district or districts, the plan shall be coordinated with the board of education of each overlapped technology center school district.
C. The proposed plan shall be placed on file at the office of the school district superintendent where it shall be made available to the public on request.
D. The annual needs assessment data shall be incorporated by the State Board of Education into an annual report which shall be made available on the State Department of Education website. The report shall include a listing by school district of the number of students funded and the reported number of students served in an alternative education program.
Added by Laws 1994, c. 290, § 65, eff. July 1, 1994. Amended by Laws 2001, c. 33, § 135, eff. July 1, 2001; Laws 2001, c. 364, § 3, eff. July 1, 2001; Laws 2019, c. 412, § 1, eff. July 1, 2019.