Bill Text: GA SB161 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Education; partnerships with postsecondary institutions to establish college and career academies as charter schools; provide funding
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 4-1)
Status: (Passed) 2011-05-11 - Effective Date [SB161 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2011-SB161-Engrossed.html
11 LC 33 4111S
(SCS)
Senate
Bill 161
By:
Senators Butterworth of the 50th, Grant of the 25th, McKoon of the 29th, Hill of
the 4th and Sims of the 12th
AS
PASSED SENATE
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 2 of Chapter 4 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to technical and adult education, so as to provide for
college and career academies; to provide for legislative intent; to provide for
definitions; to establish an Office of College and Career Transitions; to
provide for partnerships with postsecondary institutions to establish college
and career academies as charter schools; to provide for funding; to provide for
certification; to provide for data collection; to provide for eligibility
criteria, requirements, and procedures; to provide for annual reporting; to
provide for advisement; to amend Part 16 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20
of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the "Building Resourceful
Individuals to Develop Georgia's Economy Act," so as to revise definitions; to
provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
2 of Chapter 4 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to technical and adult education, is amended by adding a new Code section to
read as follows:
"20-4-37.
(a)(1)
It is the intent of the General Assembly to:
(A)
Increase high school graduation rates, potential job opportunities, and
educational opportunities that will prepare students for success in college and
the workplace;
(B)
Establish intergovernmental cooperation between postsecondary institutions and
local boards of education and collaboration with business, industry, and
community stakeholders to aid relevant education programs and in the development
and support of new and existing college and career academies in
Georgia;
(C)
Assist in the development of academic and career ready curriculum;
(D)
Establish and manage support grant opportunities and awards for new and existing
college and career academies;
(E)
Establish a process that allows for college and career academy certification;
and
(F)
Collect and analyze data to evaluate the effectiveness of dual credit and dual
enrollment programs, secondary and postsecondary partnerships, and college and
career academics.
(2)
The General Assembly finds that to accomplish these goals, an office should be
established to coordinate the efforts of the various education
agencies.
(b)
As used in this Code section, the term:
(1)
'Board' means the State Board of Technical and Adult Education.
(2)
'Certification' means a formal process established by the Office of College and
Career Transitions, and approved by the board, in which college and career
academies successfully demonstrate appropriate levels of student achievement,
community sustainability, workforce development, and school level
governance.
(3)
'Charter petitioner' means a local board of education, group of local boards of
education, private individual, private organization, state or local public
entity, or any group of these, that submits a petition for a charter in
cooperation with one or more postsecondary institutions which have petitioned to
establish a college and career academy as a charter school pursuant to Article
31 or Article 31A of Chapter 2 of this title.
(4)
'Charter school' shall have the same meaning as in paragraph (3) of Code Section
20-2-2062 and as in paragraph (2) of Code Section 20-2-2081.
(5)
'College and career academy' means a specialized charter school established by a
partnership which demonstrates a collaboration between business, industry, and
community stakeholders to advance workforce development between one or more
local boards of education, a private individual, a private organization, or a
state or local public entity in cooperation with one or more postsecondary
institutions and approved by the State Board of Education in accordance with
Article 31 of Chapter 2 of this title or the Georgia Charter Schools Commission
in accordance with Article 31A of Chapter 2 of this title.
(6)
'Office' means the Office of College and Career Transitions established pursuant
to subsection (c) of this Code section.
(7)
'Postsecondary institution' means a local technical college, community college,
university, or other postsecondary institution operating under the authority of
the Technical College System of Georgia or the University System of Georgia or
other not for profit postsecondary institution accredited by the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools.
(8)
'Start-up costs' means initial operating or capital costs, including, but not
limited to, costs of improving real property.
(9)
'Supplemental funding' means funding for purposes other than start-up costs
which are related to the establishment and operation of college and career
academies.
(c)
The Office of College and Career Transitions shall be established within the
Technical College System of Georgia to coordinate the efforts by the State Board
of Education, the University System of Georgia, the Technical College System of
Georgia, and other not for profit postsecondary institutions accredited by the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in the professional development,
curriculum support, and development and establishment of college and career
academies.
(d)
Supplementary to and without limitation of other authority, the board shall be
authorized to allocate funds, including state funds, federal funds, proceeds of
general obligation debt, or any other available funds, for a particular purpose
for college and career academies for start-up costs or for other purposes
related to the establishment and operation of such academies by a grant
consideration process.
(e)
A charter petitioner for a college and career academy that has submitted for
approval or that has drafted for submission for approval a charter petition for
a college and career academy shall be authorized to submit to the board an
application for start-up funds for a college and career academy. The board shall
approve applications for start-up funds for college and career academies that
meet the criteria and requirements established pursuant to subsections (i) and
(j) of this Code section. As part of such application process, the office shall
consider charter applications for college and career academies in cooperation
with the Office of Charter School Compliance and make recommendations to the
State Board of Education for the approval, denial, and renewal of college and
career academy charter petitions and specify the reasons for such
recommendations. The State Board of Education should consider such a
recommendation from the office prior to approving or denying a charter petition
for a college and career academy. Funds shall not be released to an approved
applicant unless the charter petition is approved by the State Board of
Education pursuant to Article 31 of Chapter 2 of this title or the Georgia
Charter Schools Commission in accordance with Article 31A of Chapter 2 of this
title.
(f)
The board shall be authorized to disburse supplemental funding to existing or
new college and career academies which demonstrate a need for such
funding.
(g)(1)
The office shall establish a certification process, in collaboration with the
Department of Education, for approval by the board. The office shall be
authorized to certify college and career academies. The State Board of
Education shall accept certification by the office as one component of
determining compliance with charter requirements. The State Board of Education
may request supplemental information from charter petitioners.
(2)
Any certification process established pursuant to paragraph (1) of this
subsection must require that the applicant demonstrates how the proposed
college and career academy will increase student achievement, provide for dual
credit and dual enrollment opportunities, increase work based learning
opportunities, and address workforce development needs; articulates how the
collaboration between business, industry, and community stakeholders will
advance workforce development; demonstrates local governance and autonomy; and
shows other benefits that meet the needs of the students and
community.
(3)
Certification by the office shall constitute a positive recommendation to the
State Board of Education for renewal of a charter pursuant to Code Section
20-2-2064.1.
(h)
The office shall be responsible for collecting and analyzing appropriate data
from and about college and career academies on matters consisting of but not
limited to college and career academy effectiveness. Collecting and reporting
of data shall be in coordination with the Office of Charter School
Compliance.
(i)
The board shall establish eligibility criteria, requirements, and procedures for
the disbursement of funding to college and career academies pursuant to this
Code section. Such criteria, requirements, and procedures shall consider the
strength of the proposed cooperative arrangements between the local board of
education, the group of local boards of education, a private individual, a
private organization, or a state or local public entity and one or more
postsecondary institutions and must include active support from and a
partnership with local business and community leaders for the college and career
academy. The board may establish a matching requirement for recipients of funds
under this Code section.
(j)
A college and career academy receiving funds pursuant to this Code section shall
submit an annual report to the board regarding the performance of such academy
and the expenditure of funds received pursuant to this Code section. The report
shall include, but not be limited to, academic data, financial statements, an
evaluation of the progress relative to relationships between and among the
business, industry, and community stakeholders, and any other information
requested by the board to demonstrate the yearly progress or effectiveness of
the college and career academy.
(k)
Representatives from business, industry, civic, and governmental agencies and
educational organizations which are designated by the commissioner of the
Technical College System of Georgia shall advise the board on matters pertaining
to both the certification and governance of college and career
academies."
SECTION
2.
Part
16 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to the "Building Resourceful Individuals to Develop
Georgia's Economy Act," is amended in Code Section 20-2-326, relating to
definitions, by revising paragraphs (2) and (9) as follows:
"(2)
'Career
College and
career academy' means a specialized
charter school established by a partnership
which
demonstrates a collaboration between business, industry, and community
stakeholders to advance workforce
development between one or more local
boards of
education, a
private individual, a private organization, or a state or local public entity in
cooperation with one or more postsecondary
institutions
and a
technical school or college and approved
by the State Board of Education in accordance with Article 31 of this chapter or
the Georgia Charter Schools Commission in accordance with Article 31A of this
chapter.
This term
also includes a small learning community where a student receives academic
instruction at his or her assigned high school combined with work based learning
opportunities at an industry center or technical school or
college."
"(9)
'Small learning community' means an autonomous or semiautonomous small learning
environment within a large high school which is made up of a subset of students
and teachers for a two, three, or four-year period. The goal of a small
learning community is to achieve greater personalization of learning with each
community led by a principal or instructional leader. A small learning
community blends academic studies around a broad career or academic theme where
teachers have common planning time to connect teacher assignments and
assessments to college and career readiness standards. Students voluntarily
apply for enrollment in a small learning community but must be accepted, and
such enrollment must be approved by the student's parent or guardian. A small
learning community also includes a
college
and career academy organized around a
specific career theme which integrates academic and career instruction, provides
work-based learning opportunities, and prepares students for postsecondary
education and employment, with support through partnerships with local
employers, community organizations, and postsecondary
institutions."
SECTION
3.
Said
part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-328 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to a competitive grant program, by revising paragraph (3) of
subsection (c) as follows:
"(3)
Developing small learning communities or
college
and career academies with a rigorous
academic foundation and emphasis in broad career fields of
study;"
SECTION
4.
Said
part is further amended in Code Section 20-2-329 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to requirements for high schools that receive a reform
grant, by revising paragraph (1) as follows:
"(1)
Provide focused programs of study which are designed to provide a well-rounded
education for students by fostering artistic creativity, critical thinking, and
self-discipline through the teaching of academic content, knowledge, and skills
that students will use in the workplace, further education, and life. The
focused programs of study, whether provided at a choice technical high school, a
college
and career academy, a traditional high
school, or on site at a technical school or college or a public college or
university, shall be aligned with graduation requirements established by the
State Board of Education and curriculum requirements established pursuant to
Part 2 of this article, including, at a minimum, four years of mathematics,
Algebra I and higher, and four years of English, with an emphasis on developing
reading and writing skills to meet college and career readiness
standards;"
SECTION
5.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
6.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.