SENATE 3rd Reading Unamended May 5, 2014 SENATE Amended 2nd Reading May 2, 2014Second Regular Session Sixty-ninth General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO REENGROSSED This Version Includes All Amendments Adopted in the House of Introduction LLS NO. 14-0960.02 Julie Pelegrin x2700 SENATE BILL 14-221 SENATE SPONSORSHIP Kerr and Zenzinger, Todd HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Hamner and Young, Senate Committees House Committees Education Appropriations A BILL FOR AN ACT Concerning reducing the frequency of administering the statewide assessment in social studies, and, in connection therewith, reducing an appropriation. Bill Summary (Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that may be subsequently adopted. If this bill passes third reading in the house of introduction, a bill summary that applies to the reengrossed version of this bill will be available at http://www.leg.state.co.us/billsummaries.) Under current law, the department of education (department) must administer the statewide assessment in social studies annually to students enrolled in a single selected elementary grade, middle school grade, and high school grade. The bill delays administration of the social studies assessment in high school by one year. After all of the students enrolled in the grade selected for testing in each elementary, middle, and high school in the state have taken the social studies assessment once, the department of education may choose to administer the social studies assessment annually to a representative sample of public schools so long as it administers the assessment in each public school at least once every 3 years. If the department chooses a 3-year assessment schedule, a school district or a charter school may ask the department to administer the test in a public school that is not scheduled. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Colorado: SECTION 1. In Colorado Revised Statutes, 22-7-409, amend (1) (k) as follows: 22-7-409. Assessments - repeal. (1) Beginning in the spring semester of 1997, the department shall implement the Colorado student assessment program under which the department shall administer statewide assessments adopted by the board pursuant to section 22-7-406 in the first priority areas of reading, writing, mathematics, and science. The department shall administer the English versions of the state assessments and may administer any assessments adopted by the board in languages other than English, as may be appropriate for students with limited English proficiency; except that any student who has participated in the English language proficiency program, created pursuant to section 22-24-104, for more than a total of three school years shall be ineligible to take the assessments in a language other than English. The statewide assessments shall be administered as follows: (k) Beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, and each school year in school years thereafter, the department shall administer a standards-based statewide assessment in social studies to students enrolled in public elementary and middle and high schools throughout the state. In specific grades to be determined by Beginning in the 2015-2016 school year and in school years thereafter, the department shall also administer a standards-based statewide assessment in social studies to students enrolled in public high schools throughout the state. The department shall select the specific grades in which it administers the social studies assessment shall be administered to ensure that it administers the assessment to all students enrolled in the selected grades once in elementary school, once in middle school, and once in high school. After the department has administered the social studies assessment to all students enrolled in the selected grades in each elementary school, each middle school, and each high school in the state one time, the department may administer the social studies assessment in a representative sample of public schools each school year so long as the department administers the social studies assessment in each public school at least once every three years. If the department chooses to administer the social studies assessment in a representative sample of schools, a school district, for one or more schools of the school district that are not included in the representative sample , or a charter school that is not included in the representative sample, may request that the department administer the assessment in the district school or charter school. The department shall administer the social studies assessment in the requested school in the school year following the school year in which it receives the request. SECTION 2. Appropriation - adjustments to 2014 long bill. (1) For the implementation of this act, appropriations made in the annual general appropriation act to the department of education for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2014, are adjusted as follows: (a) The cash funds appropriation from the state education fund created in section 17 (4) (a) of article IX of the state constitution, for the Colorado student assessment program, is decreased by $335,190. SECTION 3. Safety clause. The general assembly hereby finds, determines, and declares that this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety.