12 HB
713/AP
House
Bill 713 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By:
Representatives Nix of the
69th,
Davis of the
109th,
Carter of the
175th,
Coleman of the
97th,
Kaiser of the
59th,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To
amend Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to the "Quality Basic Education Act," so as to delay
implementation of some career and college readiness initiatives until the
2013-2014 school year; to require career education in grades kindergarten
through 12; to change the assessment for postsecondary readiness to the end of
the eleventh grade; to mandate transitional courses; to provide for related
matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to the "Quality Basic Education Act," is amended by revising subsection (c) of
Code Section 20-2-140, relating to the establishment of competencies and a
uniformly sequenced core curriculum, as follows:
"(c)
The State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia shall require its
institutions to accept core curriculum coursework completed by high school
students for purposes of admission into its institutions. This Code section
shall apply beginning with students entering such postsecondary institutions in
the fall of
2012
2013."
SECTION
2.
Said
article is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"20-2-145.1.
The
State Board of Education shall prescribe a minimum course of study in career
education for students in grades kindergarten through 12. Such minimum course
of study shall be age appropriate and shall include, but not be limited to,
career awareness, career exploration, and career oriented learning
experiences."
SECTION
3.
Said
article is further amended by revising Code Section 20-2-159.1, relating to
focused programs of study, as follows:
"20-2-159.1.
No
later than July 1,
2012
2013,
the Department of Education shall develop, and the State Board of Education
shall approve, state models and curriculum framework for the following focused
programs of study, as defined in Code Section 20-2-326, including, but not
limited to:
(1)
Agriculture, food, and natural resources;
(2)
Architecture and construction;
(3)
Arts, audio-video technology, and communications;
(4)
Business, management, and administration;
(5)
Education and training;
(6)
Finance;
(7)
Health science;
(8)
Hospitality and tourism;
(9)
Human services;
(10)
Information technology;
(11)
Law, public safety, and security;
(12)
Manufacturing;
(13)
Government and public administration;
(14)
Marketing, sales, and service;
(15)
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; and
(16)
Transportation, distribution, and logistics.
Such
focused programs of study may be combined around these and other related
clusters."
SECTION
4.
Said
article is further amended by revising Code Section 20-2-159.2, relating to
coordination between high schools and postsecondary institutions to minimize the
need for remedial course work for students in postsecondary institutions, as
follows:
"20-2-159.2.
Stronger
coordination between high schools and institutions of higher education is
necessary to prepare students for more challenging postsecondary endeavors and
to lessen the need for academic remediation in college, thereby reducing the
costs of higher education for students, families, and the state. To this end,
the State Board of Education, the Board of Regents of the University System of
Georgia, and the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia
shall:
(1)
Develop policies to ensure that students who complete the core curriculum
established pursuant to Code Section 20-2-140 will meet the requirements for
purposes of admission into a postsecondary institution, such as grade point
average and readiness levels in reading, writing, and mathematics, without
having to take remedial coursework. Such policies shall:
(A)
Establish the benchmarks for college readiness and the method in which students
can demonstrate readiness in reading, writing, and mathematics for postsecondary
coursework upon completing the core curriculum; and
(B)
Set the conditions for ensuring college readiness;
(2)
Define college-readiness standards in reading, writing, and mathematics needed
for success in advanced training, certificate programs, and programs leading to
an associate's or bachelor's degree;
(3)
Identify one or more state-wide common assessments to determine postsecondary
readiness in reading, writing, and mathematics and inform students of their
performance on such assessments no later than the end of tenth
grade;
(4)
Develop transitional courses in reading, writing, and
mathematics,
with common standards, syllabus, and instruction materials for eleventh and
twelfth grade students who fail to meet readiness
standards,
which courses shall be required by the state board to be offered by all local
boards of education and which all students who are identified pursuant to
paragraph (3) of this subsection as failing to meet readiness standards shall be
required to take;
and
(5)
Establish a state-wide process for determining how successful completion of
transitional courses will guarantee that students will meet readiness standards;
and
(5)(6)
Ensure dual credit courses reflect postsecondary coursework."
SECTION
5.
Said
article is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section
20-2-159.4, relating to policies and guidelines for awarding units of high
school credit based on demonstrated proficiency, as follows:
"(a)
The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Board of Regents of the
University System of Georgia and the State Board of the Technical College System
of Georgia, shall adopt policies and establish guidelines for awarding units of
high school credit to students based on a demonstration of subject area
competency, instead of or in combination with completion of courses of classroom
instruction. Such policies and guidelines shall clearly delineate the manner in
which students can earn credit, how mastery of standards will be assessed, how
locally developed assessments will be reviewed and approved, how such credit
will be recorded on high school transcripts, and when outcomes as a result of
these policies and guidelines will be reviewed. The state board shall adopt
such policies and establish guidelines, and such policies and guidelines shall
be applicable beginning with the
2012-2013
2013-2014
school year."
SECTION
6.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.