(1)
There is established in the department the local accountability system grant
program. A local education provider or group of local education providers may
establish and seek funding through the grant program to support a local
accountability system that supplements the state accountability system. A district
charter school may choose, but is not required, to participate with the authorizing
school district in an application pursuant to this section. In determining student
success, a local accountability system may supplement the statewide performance
indicators by using additional measures of achievement of the statewide
performance indicators and by using additional indicators of student success.
Additional indicators may include nonacademic student outcomes, which may
reflect changes in student engagement, attitudes, and mindsets. A local
accountability system is supplemental to the state accountability system and may
be designed to:
(a) Fairly and accurately evaluate student success using multiple measures
to develop a more comprehensive understanding of each student's success
including additional performance indicators or measures, which may include
nonacademic student outcomes such as student engagement, attitudes, and
dispositions toward learning;
(b) Evaluate the capacity of the public school systems operated by the local
education provider to support student success; and
(c) Use the results obtained from measuring student success and system
support for student success as part of a cycle of continuous improvement.
(2) A local education provider that chooses to establish a local
accountability system may apply to the department to receive grant money through
the program to use in developing and implementing the local accountability system.
The local education provider may work with one or more accountability system
partners to:
(a) Establish and implement the local accountability system;
(b) Identify and develop appropriate measures for the local accountability
system;
(c) Evaluate and provide evidence of the quality of the local accountability
system measures;
(d) Design alternative templates and tools for reporting data concerning
performance;
(e) Analyze data; and
(f) Assist with stakeholder communications.
(3) To participate in the grant program, a local education provider shall
submit to the department an application that includes:
(a) The goals of the local accountability system that the local education
provider plans to implement or is implementing;
(b) The name of any accountability system partner that the local education
provider intends to work with or is working with in designing and implementing the
local accountability system;
(c) If a group of local education providers is submitting the application,
identification of each of the local education providers that has voluntarily chosen to
participate in the application;
(d) A description of the individuals and entities within the local education
provider and within the local education provider's community, including families,
that the local education provider is working with to design and implement the local
accountability system;
(e) The local education provider's expected timeline for designing and
implementing the local accountability system;
(f) A statement concerning whether the local accountability system will
include a supplemental report of public school and school district performance, as
described in section 22-11-704 (1), as a supplement to the school and school district
performance reports described in section 22-11-503; and
(g) A statement concerning whether the local accountability system will
include using an alternative format, as described in section 22-11-704 (2), for the
types of plans that the local education provider, and the public schools operated by
the local education provider, are required to implement and how the local education
provider expects to share key planning elements, including priority performance
challenges, root causes, and major improvement strategies, with the department
for statewide public reporting on improvement planning efforts.
(4) (a) The department shall review each application received to ensure that
it includes the items specified in subsection (3) of this section. The department
shall review the services proposed to be provided by each accountability system
partner and determine:
(I) Whether the accountability system partner has a demonstrated history of
providing effective support to local education providers; and
(II) If the accountability system partner is developing or evaluating local
accountability system measures, whether it has expertise in measurement.
(b) If the department determines that an application is not complete or that a
named accountability system partner does not meet the minimum requirements
specified in subsection (4)(a) of this section, or if the department identifies an
opportunity for additional partnerships among the grant applicants, the department
shall notify the applying local education provider and allow the local education
provider to resubmit the application.
(5) (a) Based on the review of the applications, the department shall
recommend to the state board the applicants that may receive grants through the
program and the amount of each grant. Taking into consideration the department's
recommendations, and subject to available appropriations, the state board shall
select the local education providers that receive grants through the program and
the amount of each grant awarded.
(b) (I) The amount of a grant awarded pursuant to this section must be at
least twenty-five thousand dollars per budget year but must not exceed fifty
thousand dollars per budget year for a grant awarded to a single local education
provider and must not exceed seventy-five thousand dollars per budget year for a
grant awarded to a group of local education providers. The department shall
distribute the amount of each grant over three budget years.
(II) Repealed.
(c) If the number of applications exceeds the amount appropriated for the
grant program pursuant to subsection (6) of this section, the department in making
recommendations and the state board in selecting recipients shall:
(I) Ensure that at least one recipient is a local education provider or group of
local education providers that are rural school districts, as defined in section 22-7-1211, boards of cooperative services that consist of rural school districts, or charter
schools that are located within rural school districts;
(II) Prioritize applicants that demonstrate a previous commitment of staff
and resources toward development of a local accountability system;
(III) Recommend and select the grant recipients so as to distribute funding to
a broad scope of projects located throughout the state; and
(IV) When appropriate, encourage applicants to work together toward shared
goals.
(6) The general assembly may annually appropriate money to the
department to implement the grant program, including money for grants and for
the direct administrative costs incurred by the department. Any unexpended and
unencumbered money from an appropriation made for the purposes of this section
remains available for expenditure by the department for the purposes of this
section in the following fiscal year without further appropriation. In addition, the
department may accept gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources
for the purposes of this section; except that the department may not accept a gift,
grant, or donation that is subject to conditions that are inconsistent with this
section or any other law of the state. This section does not require the department
to solicit money for implementation of this section.