HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 29

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DELAWARE PUBLIC EDUCATION PROFILES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend § 124A, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and redesignating accordingly:

§ 124A. Education Profile reports Education-related data; school performance; reporting.

(a) (1) The Department of Education (Department) shall collect and release education-related data relating to student progress in Delaware schools. Education-related data includes reports and resources for topics such as student enrollment, educational staff, school and student performance, and student health and wellness.

(2) 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 reports on all Delaware public schools, including information for charter schools, reorganized and vocational-technical school districts, and the State (hereinafter in this section referred to as “Education Profiles”). Such statewide. Education Profiles The information provided under this paragraph (a)(2) shall report on the state of Delaware’s this State’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) (1) The purpose of the Education Profiles shall be education-related data is to monitor progress and trends toward the achievement of the State’s educational goals, to provide parents educators, families, and citizens with information they can use to make good choices for their children children, and to hold the public educational system accountable for its performance and cost-effective use of public funds. The Education Profiles shall be Education-related data must be provided in a user-friendly form that permits educationally meaningful comparisons among schools and school districts, based on accurate, reliable reliable, and normalized data. The Department must put a link to the reports required under paragraph (a)(2) of this section on all of the following:

a. The home page of the Department’s website.

b. The school choice website under § 401 of this title.

(2)a. Education Profiles shall Reports must compare data for all Delaware public schools, including charter schools, school districts, and the state to the data required under this section by each school, school district, and at the statewide level.

b. If informative and practicable to do so, reports must also compare the data required under this section to similar data at national, regional and statewide data where informative and practicable to do so. the national and regional level and for other states.

(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: reports required under paragraph (a)(2) of this section must contain all of the following:

(1) Information pertaining to student testing, student achievement testing and achievement, including proficiency rates, and educational outcomes as measured against the State’s standards and other relevant indicators; indicators.

(2) Information pertaining to school, and/or district, and state accountability; accountability.

(3) Information pertaining to school safety and discipline and student attendance and truancy; attendance, including truancy.

(4) Information pertaining to school district administrator-student ratios, school teacher-student ratios ratios, and other staffing ratios; ratios.

(5) Information pertaining to pupil and staff population demographics; demographics.

(6) Information pertaining to school district revenues, expenditures, tax rates and wealth; rates, and wealth.

(7) Information pertaining to school curricular offerings; offerings, including the career pathways offered at a high school.

(8) Information pertaining to parent and community involvement in the school and school district; 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 pertaining to the criteria specified in this subsection; required under this subsection.

(10) Information pertaining to the role of the Title IX Coordinator, which shall include their contact information; and Coordinator, including the Title IX Coordinator’s contact information.

(11) Such All other information as the Department, after consultation with the State Board, finds will serve the purposes set forth in under subsection (b) of this section.

Section 2. Amend § 401, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 401. Establishment; School District Enrollment Choice Program; establishment; statement of purpose. purpose; application.

(d) (1) The forms prescribed and policies adopted pursuant to this chapter under this chapter, including the online application, shall be available on the websites of the all of the following:

a. Each reorganized school districts, district.

b. Each vocational-technical school districts, charter schools, and the district.

c. Each charter school.

d. The Department of Education, and the online application. Education.

(2) The Department of Education’s school choice website must contain a link to the website with the reports under § 124A(a)(2) of this title.

SYNOPSIS

Each year, the Department of Education (Department) publishes data regarding all Delaware public schools, currently known as School Performance Data Reports (reports). These reports are available on the Department’s website as the Delaware Report Card.

This Act revises current law to correspond with and codify current Department practices regarding these reports as follows:

• Changes the term “Education Profile” to “education-related data” to reflect the broad range of data that the Department publishes, in addition to the annual reports required under existing State and federal law.

• Requires that there is a link to these reports on the school choice website.

• Requires that these reports continue to include proficiency rates.

In addition, this Act requires that the Department do all of the following:

• Provide a link to these reports on the home page of the Department’s website.

• Include a list of a career pathways offered at a high school in these reports.

This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual which includes revisions to clarify repetitive, confusing, or contradictory language.