SB0684: SUMMARY OF INTRODUCED BILL IN COMMITTEE (Date Completed: 12-6-17)

CONTENT

Senate Bills 684 and 685 would amend the Revised School Code to modify the requirements of an educational development plan and a school improvement plan, respectively, to include additional information on careers, learning activities, and other opportunities.

Each bill would take effect 90 days after it was enacted.

Senate Bill 685 is tie-barred to Senate Bill 684.

Senate Bill 684

The Code requires the board of a school district or board of directors of a public school academy to provide the opportunity for each pupil to develop an educational development plan during grade 7, and to ensure that each pupil reviews his or her educational development plan during grade 8 and revises it as appropriate before he or she begins high school.

The bill also would require the board of a school district or board of directors of a public school academy to ensure that each pupil reviewed and revised his or her educational development plan as appropriate during each year of high school.

The Code specifies that an educational development plan must be developed, reviewed, and revised by the pupil under the supervision of the pupil's school counselor or another designee qualified to act in a counseling role under the Code selected by the school principal. A plan must be based on high school readiness scores and a career pathways program or similar career exploration program. A plan also must be designed to assist pupils to identify career development goals as they relate to academic requirements. During the process of developing and reviewing his or her educational development plan, the pupil must be advised that many of the curricular requirements under the Code may be fulfilled through career and technical education.

In addition, the bill would require an educational development plan to provide pupils with at least all of the following:

-- Information on various types of careers and current and projected job openings in Michigan and those jobs' actual and projected wages.

-- An opportunity to explore careers specific to a pupil's interests and identify career pathways and goals for achieving success in those careers, including the level and type of educational preparation necessary to accomplish those goals.

-- An opportunity to develop a talent portfolio.

A talent portfolio would have to be developed and revised throughout the implementation of a pupil's educational development plan as a record of the pupil's experiences, proficiencies, certifications, or accomplishments that demonstrated talents or marketable skills.

Senate Bill 685

Under the Code, if the board of a school district wants all of the schools of the district to be accredited, the board must adopt and implement and, by September 1 each year, make available to the Department of Education a copy of a three- to five-year school improvement plan and continuing school improvement process for each school within the district. School improvement plans must include a mission statement, goals based on student academic objectives for all students, curriculum alignment corresponding with those goals, evaluation processes, staff development, development and use of community resources and volunteers, the role of adult and community education, libraries and community colleges in the learning community, and building-level decision-making.

School improvement plans also must include at least all of the following:

-- Goals centered on student academic learning.

-- Strategies to accomplish the goals.

-- Evaluation of the plan.

-- Development of alternative measures of assessment that will provide authentic assessment of pupils' achievements, skills, and competencies.

-- Methods for effective use of technology as a way of improving learning and delivery of services and for integration of evolving technology in the curriculum.

The plans also must include ways to make available in as many fields as practicable opportunities for structured on-the-job learning, such as apprenticeships and internships, combined with classroom instruction. The bill would require apprenticeships and internships involving active, direct, and hands-on learning, and classroom instruction that enhanced a pupil's employability, including instruction relating to problem solving, personal management, organizational and negotiation skills, and teamwork.

The bill also would require school improvement plans to include the following:

-- Programs that would provide pupils in grades 6 to 12 with work-based learning activities that would ensure that those pupils made connections with workers or experts in a variety of fields.

-- Programs or instruction that ensured that every pupil in grade 12 knew how to develop and use a resume, letter of reference, school record, and talent portfolio.

In addition, a school improvement plan would have to include a requirement that each school operated by the school district provide to pupils a variety of age-appropriate career informational resources in grades K to 12 and an opportunity to do each of the following:

-- During grade levels that the board of the school district considered appropriate, complete one or more experiences in a field of a pupil's interests or aptitude and participate in a follow-up process that provided the pupil with sufficient reflection of those experiences.

-- During grades K to 12, discuss career interests, options, and preparations with a school counselor or, as considered appropriate by the board of the school district, another knowledgeable adult.

MCL 380.1278b (S.B. 684) Legislative Analyst: Drew Krogulecki

380.1277 (S.B. 685)

FISCAL IMPACT

The bills would have a minor fiscal impact on the State, and could add an indeterminate cost to local units of governments. Under the bills, the Department would have to ensure that school accreditation requirements met the specified changes. This could add minor costs to the Department in order to update the accreditation standards.

Local school districts would have to ensure that school improvement plans met the changes in the bills and were being carried out. Meeting these new requirements could lead to additional local costs to ensure that students were getting career opportunity information and activities as required by the bills. Due to the varying differences in career opportunity exposure and curriculum provided throughout the State, it is not possible to accurately estimate additional statewide costs that school districts would face.

Fiscal Analyst: Cory Savino

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.