SENATE BILL NO. 82 January 26, 1999, Introduced by Senator DE BEAUSSAERT and referred to the Committee on Education. A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled "The revised school code," by amending section 1278 (MCL 380.1278), as amended by 1995 PA 289. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 1278. (1) In addition to the requirements for accred- 2 itation under section 1280 specified in that section, if the 3 board of a school district wants all of the schools of the school 4 district to be accredited under section 1280, the board shall 5 provide to all pupils attending public school in the district a 6 core academic curriculum in compliance with subsection (3) in 7 each of the curricular areas specified in the state board 8recommended modelcore academic curriculum content standards 9 developed under subsection (2). The state boardmodelcore 10 academic curriculum content standards shall encompass academic 00398'99 TAV 2 1 and cognitive instruction only. For purposes of this section, 2 the state boardmodelcore academic curriculum content stan- 3 dards shall not include attitudes, beliefs, or value systems that 4 are not essential in the legal, economic, and social structure of 5 our society and to the personal and social responsibility of cit- 6 izens of our society. 7 (2)Recommended model coreCORE academic curriculum con- 8 tent standards shall be developed and periodically updated by the 9 state board, shall be in the form of knowledge and skill content 10 standards that arerecommended asstate standards for adoption 11 by public schools in local curriculum formulation and adoption, 12 and shall be distributed to each school district in the state. 13 Therecommended modelcore academic curriculum content stan- 14 dards shall set forth desired learning objectives in math, 15 science, reading, history, geography, economics, American govern- 16 ment, and writing for all children at each stage of schooling and 17 be based upon the "Michigan K-12 program standards of quality" to 18 ensure that high academic standards, academic skills, and aca- 19 demic subject matters are built into the instructional goals of 20 all school districts for all children. The state board also 21 shall ensure that the Michigan educational assessment program and 22 the high school proficiency exam are based on thestate recom-23mended modelcore ACADEMIC curriculum content standards, are 24 testing only for proficiency in basic academic skills and aca- 25 demic subject matter, and are not used to measure pupils' values 26 or attitudes. 00398'99 3 1 (3) The board of each school district, considering academic 2 curricular objectivesdefined and recommended pursuant to3 ESTABLISHED UNDER subsection (2), shall do both of the 4 following: 5 (a) Establish a core academic curriculum for its pupils at 6 the elementary, middle, and secondary school levels. The core 7 academic curriculum shall AT LEAST MEET THE STATE BOARD CORE CUR- 8 RICULUM CONTENT STANDARDS DEVELOPED UNDER SUBSECTION (2), SHALL 9 define academic objectives to be achieved by all pupils, and 10 shall be based upon the school district's educational mission, 11 long-range pupil goals, and pupil performance objectives.The12core academic curriculum may vary from the model core academic13curriculum content standards recommended by the state board pur-14suant to subsection (2).15 (b) After consulting with teachers and school building 16 administrators, determine the aligned instructional program for 17 delivering the core academic curriculum and identify the courses 18 and programs in which the core academic curriculum will be 19 taught. 20 (4) The board may supplement the core academic curriculum by 21 providing instruction through additional classes and programs. 22 (5) For all pupils, the subjects or courses, and the deliv- 23 ery of those including special assistance, that constitute the 24 curriculum the pupils engage in shall assure the pupils have a 25 realistic opportunity to learn all subjects and courses required 26 by the district's core academic curriculum in order to give all 27 pupils a reasonable opportunity to attain a state-endorsed 00398'99 4 1 diploma. A subject or course required by the core academic 2 curriculum pursuant to subsection (3) shall be provided to all 3 pupils in the school district by a school district, a consortium 4 of school districts, or a consortium of 1 or more school dis- 5 tricts and 1 or more intermediate school districts. 6 (6) To the extent practicable, the state board may adopt or 7 develop academic objective-oriented high standards for knowledge 8 and life skills, and a recommended core academic curriculum, for 9 special education pupils for whom it may not be realistic or 10 desirable to expect achievement of novice level or initial mas- 11 tery of the state boardrecommended modelcore academic content 12 standards objectives or of a high school diploma. 13 (7) The state board shall make available to all nonpublic 14 schools in this state, as a resource for their consideration, the 15modelcore academic curriculum content standards developed for 16 public schools pursuant to subsection (2) for the purpose of 17 assisting the governing body of a nonpublic school in developing 18 its core academic curriculum. 19 (8) Excluding special education pupils, pupils having a 20 learning disability, and pupils with extenuating circumstances as 21 determined by school officials, a pupil who does not score satis- 22 factorily on the 4th or 7th grade Michigan educational assessment 23 program reading test shall be provided special assistance reason- 24 ably expected to enable the pupil to bring his or her reading 25 skills to grade level within 12 months. 26 (9) Any course that would have been considered a 27 nonessential elective course under Snyder v Charlotte School 00398'99 5 1 Dist, 421 Mich 517 (1984), on April 13, 1990 shall continue to be 2 offered to resident pupils of nonpublic schools on a shared time 3 basis. 00398'99 Final page. 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