(1) There is created a pilot program to allow local education providers to create or select assessments, which the local education provider may administer to prove the validity and reliability of the assessments and the comparability of the assessments with the state assessments. The goals of the pilot program are to provide more timely and relevant data to educators to inform instruction throughout the school year, while continuing to provide comparative data for state accountability purposes. (2) (a) For a local education provider to participate in the pilot program as described in this section, the local school board or other governing body of the local education provider must first adopt a written resolution that authorizes the local education provider to participate in the pilot program. (b) If authorized by its local school board or other governing body, a local education provider, individually or in combination with one or more other local education providers, may participate in the first phase of the pilot program by creating or selecting assessments that meet the requirements specified in subsection (3) of this section and administering those assessments for two school years to all or a portion of the students enrolled in at least one elementary grade, one middle school grade, and one high school grade. After administering the assessments for two school years, the local education provider must submit to the department of education the assessment results for each year in which they were administered and the local education provider's demonstration that the results are comparable to the results obtained on the state assessments administered in the same school years. (c) A local education provider that is selected to participate in phase two of the pilot program pursuant to subsection (4) of this section shall administer its selected assessments for up to two years to students enrolled by the local education provider in grades three through eleven. The local education provider shall submit to the department the assessment results for each year in which they were administered and the local education provider's demonstration that the results are comparable to the results obtained on the state assessments administered in the same school years. (d) A local education provider that participates in the pilot program must: (I) Notify the department of education at the beginning of each school year in which it intends to administer assessments pursuant to this section and identify the assessments that the local education provider intends to administer; (II) Notify the parents of the students enrolled by the local education provider at the beginning of each school year in which it intends to administer assessments pursuant to this section that the local education provider is choosing to administer assessments pursuant to this section; and (III) If the local education provider is a school district, work with the school district's personnel performance evaluation council created pursuant to section 22-9-107 in selecting or creating and administering assessments pursuant to this section. (3) The assessments that a local education provider chooses to administer pursuant to this section must: (a) In phase one of the pilot program, assess students in each of the subject areas required in section 22-7-1006.3 in at least one elementary grade, one middle school grade, and one high school grade; (b) In phase two of the pilot program, assess students in all of the subject areas and at all of the grade levels required in section 22-7-1006.3; (c) Provide sufficient data each school year to disaggregate and report results for student groups as defined in section 22-11-103 (34); and (d) Provide sufficient data each school year to measure, for each student enrolled in the grades that are assessed, the student's progress in meeting the state academic standards. (4) (a) Each local education provider that participates in phase one of the pilot program shall submit the results of the local assessments to the department of education for analysis and evaluation. After the department receives the local assessment data from all participating local education providers, the department shall review the data to ensure that each assessment meets the requirements specified in subsection (3) of this section and that each assessment is valid and reliable. Based on the assessment data, the department shall recommend to the state board two of the local education providers to participate in phase two of the pilot program. The state board, taking into consideration the department's recommendations, shall select the two local education providers that may participate in phase two of the pilot program. (b) Each local education provider that participates in phase two of the pilot program shall submit the results of the local assessments to the department of education for analysis and evaluation. After the department receives the local assessment data from all participating local education providers, the department shall review the data to ensure that each assessment meets the requirements specified in subsection (3) of this section and that each assessment is valid and reliable. Based on the assessment data, the department shall recommend to the state board one of the local assessments for approval as the new state assessment or recommend that the state continue administering the existing state assessments. The state board shall review the assessment data and, taking into account the department's recommendation, select the new state assessment or continue administering the existing state assessments. The department and the state board shall base the recommendation and selection on the validity, reliability, and comparability of the assessment and ensure that the selected assessment, if any, meets the goals of the pilot program stated in subsection (1) of this section. (c) If the state board adopts a new state assessment, the state board shall notify the general assembly. Implementation of a new state assessment is conditional on the enactment of legislation that approves the use of the new assessment. (d) As soon as possible after May 20, 2015, the department of education shall apply to the federal department of education for a waiver of federal statutory and regulatory requirements to the extent necessary to implement phase one of the pilot program, including a waiver of the requirement to administer a single statewide assessment as applied to the local education providers that participate in phase one and phase two of the pilot program. Before the beginning of phase two of the pilot program, the department shall apply to the federal department of education for a waiver of federal statutory and regulatory requirements to the extent necessary to implement phase two of the pilot program. If the state board adopts a new state assessment, the department shall apply to the federal department of education for a waiver of federal statutory and regulatory requirements as necessary to implement the new state assessment if adopted as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (4). (e) Upon the request of a local education provider that participates in the pilot program, the department shall provide technical assistance to the local education provider in selecting local assessments and evaluating the assessment results. (f) If the federal department of education requires a local education provider to administer the state assessments required in section 22-7-1006.3 while the local education provider is participating in the pilot program, the local education provider shall: (I) Administer the state assessments as required in section 22-7-1006.3 in addition to the local assessments while participating in the pilot program; and (II) Specify in the notice required in paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of this section that the local education provider is choosing to administer assessments through the pilot program in addition to the state assessments required in section 22-7-1006.3.
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