SB-0209, As Passed Senate, June 11, 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE BILL No. 209

 

 

March 17, 2015, Introduced by Senators COLBECK, SCHUITMAKER, BOOHER, SHIRKEY, BRANDENBURG, HORN, MARLEAU, KNOLLENBERG, ROBERTSON, KOWALL, PAVLOV and NOFS 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 2004 PA 596,

 

and by adding sections 1167 and 1279h.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 1167. (1) The board of a school district or board of

 

directors of a public school academy is encouraged to provide

 

instruction that focuses on the following topics during the school

 

year in a grade- and age-level appropriate manner for all of its

 

pupils in grades K to 12:

 

     (a) The core principles of the declaration of independence,

 


including, but not limited to, the following:

 

     (i) We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are

 

created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain

 

unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the

 

pursuit of happiness.

 

     (ii) The purpose of government is to secure our unalienable

 

rights.

 

     (iii) Government derives its just powers from the consent of the

 

governed.

 

     (b) The core principles of our United States constitution,

 

including, but not limited to, the following:

 

     (i) Our constitution has been established to ensure justice,

 

ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense,

 

promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty

 

for ourselves and our posterity.

 

     (ii) All legislative powers are vested in a Congress of the

 

United States which consists of a senate and a house of

 

representatives.

 

     (iii) The legislative powers delegated by the people to the

 

congress are limited and enumerated in article I, section 8 of the

 

United States constitution.

 

     (iv) The executive power is vested in a president.

 

     (v) The powers delegated by the people to the president are

 

limited and delineated in article II, section 2 of the United

 

States constitution.

 

     (vi) The judicial powers shall be vested in 1 supreme court and

 

in such inferior courts as the congress may from time to time

 


ordain and establish.

 

     (vii) The powers delegated by the people to the judicial branch

 

are limited and delineated in article III, section 2 of the United

 

States constitution.

 

     (viii) Every state in the union shall have a republican form of

 

government.

 

     (ix) Our constitution can be amended in accordance with the

 

stipulations of article V of the United States constitution.

 

     (x) Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of

 

religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion.

 

     (xi) Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of

 

speech.

 

     (xii) Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of the

 

press.

 

     (xiii) Congress shall make no law abridging the right of the

 

people peaceably to assemble.

 

     (xiv) Congress shall make no law abridging the right of the

 

people to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

 

     (xv) A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security

 

of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms

 

shall not be infringed.

 

     (xvi) The powers not delegated to the United States by the

 

constitution or prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the

 

states respectively, or to the people.

 

     (c) The core principles of our state constitution, including,

 

but not limited to, the following:

 

     (i) All political power is inherent in the people.

 


     (ii) Government is instituted for equal benefit, security, and

 

protection of the people.

 

     (iii) No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws

 

because of religion, race, color, or national origin.

 

     (iv) Every person shall be at liberty to worship God according

 

to the dictates of his or her own conscience. A person's civil and

 

political rights, privileges, and capacities shall not be

 

diminished or enlarged on account of his or her religious belief.

 

     (v) No law impairing the obligation of contract shall be

 

enacted.

 

     (vi) Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good

 

government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of

 

education shall forever be encouraged.

 

     (vii) The legislature shall maintain and support a system of

 

free public elementary and secondary schools as defined by law.

 

     (viii) Every person has a right to keep and bear arms for the

 

defense of himself or herself and this state.

 

     (ix) The public health and general welfare of the people of the

 

state are declared to be matters of primary public concern. The

 

legislature shall pass suitable laws for the protection and

 

promotion of public health.

 

     (2) A school district or public school academy, and its

 

professional school personnel, may develop curricula and materials

 

for the instruction described in this section that are aligned with

 

the state board recommended model core academic curriculum content

 

standards developed under section 1278 and are grade and age-level

 

appropriate.

 


     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 model core academic curriculum content

 

standards shall be developed and periodically updated by the state

 

board, 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. Not later than May 1, 2016, for each grade level for

 

which there is a state assessment for social studies, the state

 

board shall update the state board recommended model core academic

 

curriculum content standards developed under this subsection to

 

ensure that they cover the instruction described in section 1167.

 

The state board also shall ensure that the Michigan educational

 

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 4th or 7th grade Michigan educational

 

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.

 

     Sec. 1279h. Beginning with state assessments conducted during

 

the 2015-2016 school year, for each grade level for which there is

 

a state assessment for social studies, the superintendent of public

 

instruction shall ensure that state assessments include questions

 

related to the instruction described in and documents enumerated in

 

section 1167, including at least the declaration of independence

 

and the constitution of the United States.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.