SB 2014 — SCH CD-PRAIRIE ST ACHIEV EXAM

SB2014 EngrossedEnrolled LRB096 10677 NHT 20851 b AN ACT concerning education.

SB2014 EngrossedEnrolled - 2 - LRB096 10677 NHT 20851 b (i) all pupils enrolled in the 3rd, 5th, and 8th grades in English language arts (reading and English grammar) and mathematics and (ii) all pupils enrolled in the 4th and 7th grades in the biological and physical sciences.

Beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, the State Board SB2014 EngrossedEnrolled - 3 - LRB096 10677 NHT 20851 b of Education shall not test pupils under this subsection (a) in physical development and health, fine arts, and the social sciences (history, geography, civics, economics, and government).

Such remediation programs may include, but shall not be limited to, increased or concentrated instructional time, a remedial SB2014 EngrossedEnrolled - 4 - LRB096 10677 NHT 20851 b summer school program of not less than 90 hours, improved instructional approaches, tutorial sessions, retention in grade, and modifications to instructional materials.

All pupils who are in a State approved transitional SB2014 EngrossedEnrolled - 5 - LRB096 10677 NHT 20851 b bilingual education program or transitional program of instruction shall participate in the State tests.

(i) that each test used for SB2014 EngrossedEnrolled - 6 - LRB096 10677 NHT 20851 b State and local student testing under this Section identify by name the pupil taking the test;

However, if the schools of a SB2014 EngrossedEnrolled - 7 - LRB096 10677 NHT 20851 b district are closed and classes are not scheduled during any week that is established by the State Board of Education as the State test window, the school district may (at the discretion of the State Board of Education) move its State test window one week earlier or one week later than the established State test window, so long as the school district gives the State Board of Education written notice of its intention to deviate from the established schedule by December 1 of the school year in which falls the State test window established by the State Board of Education for the testing.

Nothing in this amendatory Act is intended, nor shall it be construed, to nullify, supersede, or contradict the legislative intent on academic testing expressed during the SB2014 EngrossedEnrolled - 8 - LRB096 10677 NHT 20851 b passage of HB 1005/P.A.

Districts that administer the reading inventories may develop remediation programs for students who perform in the bottom half of the student SB2014 EngrossedEnrolled - 9 - LRB096 10677 NHT 20851 b population.

Each school district that is SB2014 EngrossedEnrolled - 10 - LRB096 10677 NHT 20851 b subject to the requirements of this subsection (c) shall afford all students one opportunity 2 opportunities to take the Prairie State Achievement Examination beginning as late as practical during the spring second semester of grade 11, but in no event before March 1.

Students receiving special SB2014 EngrossedEnrolled - 11 - LRB096 10677 NHT 20851 b education services whose individualized educational programs identify the Prairie State Achievement Examination as inappropriate for them nevertheless shall have the option of taking the examination, which shall be administered to those students in accordance with standards adopted by the State Board of Education to accommodate the respective disabilities of those students.

In no case, however, shall a student receive a regular high school diploma without taking the Prairie State Achievement Examination, unless the student is exempted from taking the Prairie State Achievement Examination under this subsection (c) because (i) the student's individualized educational program developed under Article 14 of this Code identifies the Prairie State Achievement Examination as inappropriate for the student, (ii) the student is exempt due to the student's lack of English language proficiency under subsection (a) of this Section, or (iii) the student is enrolled in a program of Adult and Continuing Education as defined in the Adult Education Act, (iv) the school district is not required to test the individual student for purposes of accountability under federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requirements, or (v) the student is SB2014 EngrossedEnrolled - 12 - LRB096 10677 NHT 20851 b otherwise identified by the State Board of Education through rules as being exempt from the assessment.

(f) For the assessment and accountability purposes of this Section, "all pupils" includes those pupils enrolled in a public or State-operated elementary school, secondary school, SB2014 EngrossedEnrolled - 13 - LRB096 10677 NHT 20851 b or cooperative or joint agreement with a governing body or board of control, a charter school operating in compliance with the Charter Schools Law, a school operated by a regional office of education under Section 13A-3 of this Code, or a public school administered by a local public agency or the Department of Human Services.