(A) The State Board of Education, through the Department of Education and in consultation with the Education Oversight Committee, shall develop and implement regulations requiring that beginning in school year 1993-94 and by school year 1994-95, each school district, in coordination with its schools, and each school in the district shall design a comprehensive, long-range plan with annual updates to carry out the purposes of this chapter. To that end, the plans shall:
(1) establish an early childhood initiative which integrates the planning and direction of the half-day program for four-year-olds established in Section 59-5-65, the parenting program established in Section 59-1-450, the early childhood assistance program established in Section 59-139-20, school practices in kindergarten through grade three, and any other federal, state, or district programs for preschool children in the district in order to better focus on the needs of this student population;
(2) develop an academic assistance initiative to support students with academic difficulties in grades four through twelve so they are able to progress academically and move through school with their peers; and
(3) provide staff training, upon appropriation of funds by the General Assembly for this purpose, to prepare and train teachers and administrators in the teaching techniques and strategies needed to implement the district and school plan.
(B) The State Board of Education, through the Department of Education, shall establish criteria by regulation for the comprehensive plan and the annual updates to be prepared by each district and school so that the plans address, but are not limited to, the interrelationship of the various components of the early child development initiative and the academic assistance initiative, strategies to be implemented for expanding and improving early child development activities, plans for accelerating the performance of students performing below their peers, methods of assessing the efficacy of these strategies, and the coordination of the strategies with federally-funded programs. However, in every instance, district and school plans should be derived from strategies found to be effective in education research.
The plans must contain performance goals, interim performance goals, and time lines for progress. The methods of assessing the efficacy of the strategies must provide data regarding the impact of the strategies and whether they should be continued, modified, or terminated.
(C) The design for the early child development initiative must include:
(1) the formation and implementation of the parenting/family literacy component which addresses, but is not limited to, collaboration in each district with health and human service agencies, and adult education programs, as well as the other components of the early child development initiative;
(2) the development and implementation of a developmentally appropriate curriculum from early childhood education through grade three. Options available to districts and schools in designing the early childhood assistance component include:
(a) expanded kindergarten day;
(b) reduction in kindergarten pupil-teacher ratio;
(c) floating teachers in grades one through three assigned to work with students with academic difficulties;
(d) multiage grouping for four and five-year-olds;
(e) multiage grouping in the primary grades;
(f) extended day and/or weekend programs, or summer programs;
(g) additional slots in the half-day program for four-year-olds, and programs for three-year-olds; and
(h) alternatives to the listed options; and
(3) the establishment of activities for assisting children and their parents with the transitions between the various levels of schooling and phases of education.
(D) The design for the academic assistance component must address alternatives to year-long and pull-out remediation of students. Options available to districts and schools include:
(1) extended day and/or weekend programs;
(2) extended school year;
(3) tutorial programs;
(4) floating teachers assigned to work with students with academic difficulties;
(5) tutorials;
(6) class acceleration; and
(7) alternatives to the listed options.
(E) Districts and schools may choose to target resources in certain grade levels or areas of learning but must have academic assistance plans both for preschool through grade three and for grades four through twelve.
(F) If alternatives to the listed options are chosen, it should be based on the needs assessment performed as a part of the district and school improvement plans and on strategies found to be effective in research.
(G) The school improvement council established in Section 59-20-60 shall assist in the development of the school plan required by this section and the plan and the annual updates must be a part of the school improvement report.
(H) Prior to implementation in 1994-95, the plan must be submitted to the State Department of Education to be subjected to a peer review process. The department shall implement a process whereby groups of peers are selected and provided appropriate reviewer training. Teams of peers must be convened for the purpose of reviewing the plans.
The peer review committee may approve, provisionally approve upon revisions of the plan in accordance with recommendations, or disapprove the plans. If the peer review committee disapproves the plan, the committee, in consultation with the State Department of Education staff, shall return the plan with specific recommendations and identify resources for technical assistance. Schools under deregulated status are exempt from the peer review process.
(I) Districts desiring to use the funds available to begin implementing an early childhood initiative and the academic assistance initiative for school year 1993-94 may request approval from the State Board of Education and for needed waivers from regulation, if the district has implemented a planning process consistent with the intent of this chapter and the district plan meets the criteria established for this section.
HISTORY: 1993 Act No. 135, Section 2; 1998 Act No. 400, Section 15.