January 31, 2017, Introduced by Senators PAVLOV, KOWALL, COLBECK, GREEN, CASPERSON, HILDENBRAND, NOFS, MEEKHOF, EMMONS, SHIRKEY, KNOLLENBERG, ROBERTSON, MARLEAU, JONES, HORN, O'BRIEN and PROOS and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled
"The revised school code,"
by amending section 1278 (MCL 380.1278), as amended by 2016 PA 170,
and by adding sections 1278e, 1278f, and 1278g.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1278. (1) In addition to the requirements for
accreditation under section 1280 specified in that section, if the
board of a school district wants all of the schools of the school
district to be accredited under section 1280, the board shall
provide to all pupils attending public school in the district a
core academic curriculum in compliance with subsection (3) in each
of the curricular areas specified in the state board recommended
model core academic curriculum content standards developed under
subsection (2). The state board model core academic curriculum
content standards shall encompass academic and cognitive
instruction only. For purposes of this section, the state board
model core academic curriculum content standards shall not include
attitudes, beliefs, or value systems that are not essential in the
legal, economic, and social structure of our society and to the
personal and social responsibility of citizens of our society.
(2)
Recommended Subject to
sections 1278e to 1278g, the state
board shall develop and periodically update model core academic
curriculum
content standards. shall be developed and periodically
updated
by the state board, These
standards shall be in the form of
knowledge and skill content standards that are recommended as state
standards for adoption by public schools in local curriculum
formulation and adoption, and shall be distributed to each school
district in the state. The recommended model core academic
curriculum content standards shall set forth desired learning
objectives in math, science, reading, history, geography,
economics, American government, and writing for all children at
each stage of schooling and be based upon the "Michigan K-12
Program Standards of Quality" to ensure that high academic
standards, academic skills, and academic subject matters are built
into the instructional goals of all school districts for all
children. The state board shall ensure that the recommended model
core academic curriculum content standards for history for grades 8
to 12 include learning objectives concerning genocide, including,
but not limited to, the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide. The
state board also shall ensure that the state assessment program and
the Michigan merit examination are based on the state recommended
model core curriculum content standards, are testing only for
proficiency in basic and advanced academic skills and academic
subject matter, and are not used to measure pupils' values or
attitudes.
(3) The board of each school district, considering academic
curricular objectives defined and recommended pursuant to
subsection (2), shall do both of the following:
(a) Establish a core academic curriculum for its pupils at the
elementary, middle, and secondary school levels. The core academic
curriculum shall define academic objectives to be achieved by all
pupils and shall be based upon the school district's educational
mission, long-range pupil goals, and pupil performance objectives.
The core academic curriculum may vary from the model core academic
curriculum content standards recommended by the state board
pursuant to subsection (2).
(b) After consulting with teachers and school building
administrators, determine the aligned instructional program for
delivering the core academic curriculum and identify the courses
and programs in which the core academic curriculum will be taught.
(4) The board may supplement the core academic curriculum by
providing instruction through additional classes and programs.
(5) For all pupils, the subjects or courses, and the delivery
of those including special assistance, that constitute the
curriculum the pupils engage in shall assure the pupils have a
realistic opportunity to learn all subjects and courses required by
the district's core academic curriculum. A subject or course
required by the core academic curriculum pursuant to subsection (3)
shall be provided to all pupils in the school district by a school
district, a consortium of school districts, or a consortium of 1 or
more school districts and 1 or more intermediate school districts.
(6) To the extent practicable, the state board may adopt or
develop academic objective-oriented high standards for knowledge
and life skills, and a recommended core academic curriculum, for
special education pupils for whom it may not be realistic or
desirable to expect achievement of initial mastery of the state
board recommended model core academic content standards objectives
or of a high school diploma.
(7) The state board shall make available to all nonpublic
schools in this state, as a resource for their consideration, the
model core academic curriculum content standards developed for
public schools pursuant to subsection (2) for the purpose of
assisting the governing body of a nonpublic school in developing
its core academic curriculum.
(8) Excluding special education pupils, pupils having a
learning disability, and pupils with extenuating circumstances as
determined by school officials, a pupil who does not score
satisfactorily on the fourth or seventh grade state assessment
program reading test shall be provided special assistance
reasonably expected to enable the pupil to bring his or her reading
skills to grade level within 12 months.
(9) Any course that would have been considered a nonessential
elective course under Snyder v Charlotte School Dist, 421 Mich 517
(1984), on April 13, 1990 shall continue to be offered to resident
pupils of nonpublic schools on a shared time basis.
(10) As used in this section, "Armenian Genocide", "genocide",
and "Holocaust" mean those terms as defined in section 1168.
Sec. 1278e. (1) To the extent permitted under law or under
contract, by enacting this section, this state terminates all
plans, programs, activities, efforts, and expenditures relating to
the implementation of the educational initiative commonly referred
to as the common core standards, or any derivative of that
educational initiative adopted by the national or multistate
consortium that developed that educational initiative including,
but not limited to, the Michigan college and career ready standards
that have been adopted by the state board or the department and
including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(a) Assessments or assessment items based on or involving that
educational initiative.
(b) Data collection based on or involving that educational
initiative.
(2) To further protect state and local control of public
education, the state board and the department are prohibited from
adopting, aligning to, or implementing any other national or
multistate consortium standards from any source. As part of the
process of conversion away from the common core standards, the
superintendent of public instruction, the state board, the
department, and any other state public employee or authority shall
take all steps necessary to terminate areas of federal control of
the Michigan educational process that are not considered to be in
the best interests of pupils in this state. The superintendent of
public instruction, the state board, the department, or any other
state public employee or authority shall not adopt or implement any
national or multistate consortium standard that cedes control of
Michigan educational standards. This state shall retain final
control over the development, establishment, and revision of state
academic content standards for grades kindergarten to 12. The
superintendent of public instruction, the state board, the
department, or any other state public employee or authority shall
not join any consortium or any other organization if participation
in that consortium or organization would cede control over any
aspect of Michigan public education to that consortium or
organization.
(3) Within 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory
act that added this section, the state board and the department
shall adopt and implement state academic content standards for each
of grades kindergarten to 12 in English language arts, mathematics,
science, and social studies. The state academic content standards
shall be the same as the academic standards in effect in
Massachusetts during the 2008-2009 school year, except as follows:
(a) Any reference in those standards to "Massachusetts" shall
be changed in all appropriate instances to a reference to
"Michigan" and any state history or government content standards
shall be changed to reflect the history and government of this
state.
(b) The social studies content standards may be updated as
appropriate to reflect more recent developments in the world, the
country, and this state.
(c) The science content standards may be updated as
appropriate to accommodate more recent discoveries that are
evidence-based.
(d) The content standards may be modified as necessary to
align with statutory requirements in this state that affect
curriculum.
(4) Within 10 days after the state academic content standards
under subsection (3) are adopted, the department shall distribute
the standards to all public schools in this state and make the
standards available to the public on the department website. A
school district or public school academy is not required to develop
a curriculum or instructional strategies based on these standards.
(5) Not earlier than 5 years after the adoption of the state
academic content standards under subsection (3), the state board
and the department may adopt new statewide academic content
standards for each of grades kindergarten to 12 in English language
arts, mathematics, science, and social studies that are independent
of the common core standards that were previously adopted by the
state board. The new statewide academic content standards shall be
supported by evidence that demonstrates improved academic
achievement.
(6) When the state board adopts or revises academic content
standards under this section, the state board shall develop those
standards independently and not as part of a multistate consortium.
(7) Before final adoption of an instructional program that is
aligned to state academic content standards, the board of each
school district and board of directors of each public school
academy shall consider the state academic content standards adopted
under this section and shall hold at least 2 public hearings for
public review and comment on the instructional programs.
(8) This section shall not be construed to promote any
religious or nonreligious doctrine, promote discrimination for or
against a particular set of religious beliefs or nonbeliefs, or
promote discrimination for or against religion or nonreligion.
(9) This section does not require any school district or
public school academy to utilize all or any part of the state
academic content standards adopted under this section. The state
board and the department shall not impose any financial consequence
on a school district or public school academy that adopts academic
content standards differing from those adopted by this state under
this section.
Sec. 1278f. (1) The department shall adopt validated state
assessments of pupil achievement based on any of the assessments
used in Massachusetts during the period from the 1997-1998 school
year to the 2006-2007 school year and aligned to the academic
standards in effect in Massachusetts during the 2008-2009 school
year. These assessments shall be ready for use by the first spring
after new statewide academic content standards are adopted under
section 1278e(3). The department shall align the assessments under
this section with the academic standards in effect in Massachusetts
during the 2008-2009 school year until new academic content
standards for this state are adopted under section 1278e. When the
department initially adopts new state assessments under this
section or subsequently adopts any successor assessments under this
section, the department shall not use an assessment or assessment
items that are aligned with a national or multistate consortium
standard if by doing so it would cede control of Michigan
educational standards. This state shall retain complete control
over the contents of the assessment. The new assessments adopted
under this section and all future assessments adopted by the
department shall meet all of the following:
(a) Shall not require, but may use, computer technology.
(b) Each year, within 60 days after the assessment is
administered, shall be available on the department website for all
school administrators, teachers, and parents to review.
(c) Shall not collect any of the following:
(i) Data about the values, attitudes, beliefs, and personality
traits of a pupil or a pupil's family.
(ii) Medical, behavioral, biometric, or psychometric data of a
pupil or a pupil's family.
(2) The state board and the department shall respect the
ultimate right of a parent to opt his or her child out of any state
assessment that the parent finds unacceptable, with no negative
repercussions to the child or parent and with no interference from
this state.
Sec. 1278g. It is the intent of the legislature that, if
additional funding is necessary for the department to implement
sections 1278e and 1278f, state school aid fund money shall not be
used for those purposes.