(1) The state board
shall adopt rules to establish accreditation categories that include, but are not
limited to:
(a) Accredited with distinction, meaning a school district or the institute
meets or exceeds the statewide targets or targets annually set by the school
district or the institute or exceeds statewide attainment on the performance
indicators and is required to adopt and implement a performance plan as described
in section 22-11-303;
(b) Accredited, meaning a school district or the institute meets statewide
attainment on the performance indicators and is required to adopt and implement a
performance plan as described in section 22-11-303;
(c) Accredited with improvement plan, meaning the school district or the
institute is required to adopt and implement an improvement plan as provided in
section 22-11-304;
(d) Accredited with priority improvement plan, meaning the school district
or the institute is required to adopt and implement a priority improvement plan as
provided in section 22-11-305; or
(e) Accredited with turnaround plan, meaning the school district or the
institute is required to adopt, with the commissioner's approval, and implement a
turnaround plan as provided in section 22-11-306.
(2) The state board shall adopt rules establishing objective, measurable
criteria that the department shall apply in determining the appropriate
accreditation category for each school district and the institute, placing the
greatest emphasis on attainment of the performance indicators. At a minimum, the
rules must take into consideration:
(a) A school district's or the institute's level of attainment of the statewide
targets on the performance indicators, including successfully completing the
following to earn an accredited with distinction plan:
(I) Successfully meeting the accredited with distinction plan thresholds on
the district performance frameworks or the institute performance frameworks;
(II) Reporting that at least eighty-five percent of students participate in and
complete state assessments;
(III) Reporting that the all-student group is at least meeting expectations for
academic growth;
(IV) Reporting that no individual student group has received a does not meet
expectation rating for academic growth; and
(V) Reporting that the all-student group is at least approaching performance
expectations for academic achievement.
(b) A school district's or the institute's level of attainment of the
performance indicators compared with statewide attainment of the performance
indicators;
(c) to (f) Repealed.
(g) The performance of students enrolled in the school district's or institute's
alternative education campuses, taking into account the unique purposes of the
campuses and the unique circumstances of and challenges posed by students
enrolled in the campuses; and
(h) The school district's or the institute's compliance with the other
requirements specified in the accreditation contract.
(2.5) (a) The department shall notify each school district and the institute of
its initial accreditation assignment. If a school district or the institute disagrees
with the department's initial accreditation assignment, the school district or
institute may submit to the department a request for reconsideration. The state
board shall promulgate rules specifying the information the department must take
into account in determining the school district's or institute's final accreditation
category, which may include:
(I) The length of time during which the school district or institute has been
unable to meet the statewide targets;
(II) The improvements, changes, and interventions the school district or
institute has implemented and is implementing to improve its performance if it is
not meeting the statewide targets;
(III) The progress the school district or institute is making in improving its
performance and in approaching achievement of the statewide targets and the
degree to which the school district or institute is not achieving the statewide
targets;
(IV) The pupil enrollment of the school district as it may affect the reliability
of the assessment data;
(V) The percentages of students enrolled in high schools of the school
district, or institute charter high schools for purposes of the institute, who, based on
attainment of course credits or demonstrated competencies, are on schedule to
graduate within four, five, six, or seven years; and
(VI) Any supplemental data for grade levels for which there are not
statewide assessments that indicate the school district or institute is meeting the
statewide targets on the performance indicators, if the department determines the
supplemental data is valid and reliable and derived from assessments that are
aligned with the state standards adopted pursuant to section 22-7-1005.
(b) The department shall notify each school district and the institute of its
final accreditation category within the time frames adopted by rule of the state
board.
(c) When the department notifies a school district and the institute of its
initial accreditation assignment and final accreditation category pursuant to
subsections (2.5)(a) and (2.5)(b) of this section, the department shall notify the
school district or institute if it did not receive an accredited with distinction plan as
a result of low student participation in state assessments. If a district meets the
criteria described in subsections (2)(a)(I), (2)(a)(III), (2)(a)(IV), and (2)(a)(V) of this
section but does not meet the criteria described in subsection (2)(a)(II) of this
section, the district may submit to the department a request for reconsideration of
its initial accreditation assignment if the district reports that at least seventy-five
percent of students participate in and complete state assessments and
demonstrates that the students tested are representative of the district's overall
student population. A small rural district, as defined in section 22-54-103, that
meets the criteria described in subsections (2)(a)(I), (2)(a)(III), (2)(a)(IV), and (2)(a)(V)
of this section but does not meet the criteria described in subsection (2)(a)(II) of this
section may use the criteria outlined in state board rule for the reconsideration of
its initial accreditation assignment.
(3) In promulgating rules pursuant to this section, the state board shall use
clear, understandable language to describe the accreditation categories and the
levels of attainment of the performance indicators, with the goal of providing a high
degree of transparency in the accreditation process.
(4) (a) If a school district or the institute performs at a level that results in
being accredited with priority improvement plan or lower for two consecutive years
followed by three consecutive or nonconsecutive years, resulting in a total of five
years of performance at such a level, the school district or the institute shall submit
a pathway plan to the state board for approval and the state board shall require the
school district or institute to take significant action as provided in section 22-11-209; except that, before the five years have accumulated, if the school district or
institute performs for at least two consecutive years at a level that results in being
accredited with improvement plan or higher, the five years stop accumulating
unless the school district or institute again performs at a level that results in being
accredited with priority improvement plan or lower for two consecutive years, at
which time the school district or institute is again in the first two of the five years.
For the time during which the five years of performance are accumulating, a school
district or the institute is on performance watch. The department shall monitor
progress on the implementation of the actions ordered by the state board pursuant
to section 22-11-209. The department shall provide periodic updates to the state
board.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection (4), for
purposes of calculating whether a school district or the institute is accredited with
priority improvement plan or below for longer than a total of five consecutive
school years, the department shall exclude the 2015-16 school year, during which
the department does not assign accreditation ratings as provided in section 22-11-208 (1.5), from the calculation and shall count the 2016-17 school year as if it were
consecutive to the 2014-15 school year.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (4)(a) of this section or
section 22-11-209 (3.5), the department shall exclude consideration of the school
district's or institute's accreditation rating for the 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23
school years from calculating consecutive years for purposes of subsection (4)(a) of
this section and section 22-11-209 (3.5) and shall count the school district's or
institute's accreditation rating for the 2023-24 school year as if it were consecutive
to the 2019-20 school year. However, a change in a school district's or the
institute's accreditation rating for the 2022-23 school year pursuant to subsection
(2.5)(a) of this section may be factored into the calculation of years for purposes of
subsection (4)(a) of this section.
(5) Notwithstanding subsection (4)(a) of this section or section 22-11-209
(2)(a) to the contrary, at the request of a school district, in consultation with the
district accountability committee, or the institute, the school district or the institute
may voluntarily request, in the third or fourth year of performance watch, to
proceed with a significant action described in section 22-11-209 (2)(a) that is not
otherwise required by law. The school district or the institute shall design a
pathway plan and present the pathway plan to the state board for approval. The
state board may direct the school district or institute to take significant actions as
provided in section 22-11-209 even though the school district or institute has not
completed the five years of performance watch. If the state board requires the
school district or institute to take significant actions, the school district or institute
is subject to the provisions of section 22-11-209 (3.5). When the school district or
the institute voluntarily requests to proceed with a significant action in the third or
fourth year of performance watch, the state board is limited to directing the
significant action from the list set forth in section 22-11-209 (2)(a) that is proposed
by the school district or the institute.
(6) The priority improvement or turnaround plan that a school district or the
institute adopts for the fourth year in which the school district or institute is on
performance watch must include a general explanation for how the school district
or institute may put into effect each of the actions described in section 22-11-209
(2)(a)(I) for a school district or section 22-11-209 (2)(a)(II) for the institute.