STANDARDS FOR PUPIL PROMOTION - S.B. 898 (S-3): FLOOR ANALYSIS

Senate Bill 898 (Substitute S-3 as reported by the Committee of the Whole)

Sponsor: Senator Joanne G. Emmons

Committee: Education

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Revised School Code to require the board of a school district, local act district, or public school academy to develop and adopt standards for promotion of pupils to the next grade level. A board also would have to adopt and implement a pupil promotion policy under which a pupil could not be promoted to the next grade level at the end of a school year if he or she had not met the locally adopted standards for pupil promotion.

Not later than the 2002-2003 school year, a board would have to implement the pupil promotion policy at least for pupils in grades K-3. A board would have to implement the policy for pupils in at least one additional grade level each subsequent school year until the policy had been implemented for pupils in every grade level.

The standards would have to include at least the following: exit skills expected for each grade level, attendance requirements, and other specific, demonstrated, identified competencies for each grade level. A board would have to ensure that the standards and the policy were distributed to the parents of pupils enrolled in the district or academy and were made available to members of the community. Except as otherwise provided in a special education pupil's individualized education program, the standards and policies would have to be applied to a special education pupil.

MCL 380.1282a - Legislative Analyst: L. Arasim

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on State and local government. Provisions of the bill may contain a mandated cost on local units of government pursuant to Section 29, Article IX of the State Constitution of 1963.

Local school districts and public school academies would experience increased costs in preparing, adopting, and distributing to parents the standards for promotion of pupils to the next grade level that would be required by the bill. Assessment of students annually against the standards, notification of parents, development of an education plan for a student who was at risk of not being promoted, and mandatory retention of some pupils in their current grade level also would tend to increase costs. If the requirements were determined to be a new State-mandated program, the State would be required to pay the necessary costs.

Date Completed: 3-9-98 - Fiscal Analyst: E. Pratt

floor\sb898 - Analysis available @ http://www.michiganlegislature.org

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.