HLS 15RS-1004 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 669
BY REPRESENTATIVES REYNOLDS, BROADWATER, CARMODY, CARTER,
PRICE, AND SMITH AND SENATOR APPEL
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
STUDENT/ASSESSMENT: Provides relative to required state assessments for public
school students
1 AN ACT
2To enact R.S. 17:24.4(F)(2) and (5), relative to assessments used by the Department of
3 Education as part of the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program; to require
4 inclusion of certain elements in such assessments; to provide relative to
5 administering and scoring of such assessments and the results thereof; to provide
6 relative to the procurement of such assessments; and to provide for related matters.
7Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 17:24.4(F)(2) and (5) are hereby enacted to read as follows:
9 ยง24.4. Louisiana Competency-Based Education Program; statewide standards for
10 required subjects; Louisiana Educational Assessment Program; parish or city
11 school board comprehensive pupil progression plans; waivers
12 * * *
13 F.
14 * * *
15 (2) The assessments required by this Subsection shall be in compliance with
16 the following requirements:
17 (a) Assessments shall include questions or test items that:
18 (i) Require students to write and demonstrate their work.
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HB NO. 669
1 (ii) Allow for direct comparability of student achievement in Louisiana with
2 that in a significant number of other states.
3 (iii) Have been reviewed by Louisiana educators to verify their alignment to
4 state content standards and to determine their validity, reliability, and overall quality.
5 (iv) Include some or all of the test questions or items developed in part by
6 Louisiana educators between 2010 and 2014 and used for the 2014-2015 state
7 assessments, or questions or items of an identical type to those, and additional test
8 questions or items that measure college and career readiness in accordance with
9 Subparagraph (1)(d) of this Subsection.
10 (b) Assessments shall include annual full sample tests and aligned diagnostic
11 and benchmarking tools to assist parents and educators in supporting student
12 achievement.
13 (c) Testing shall be streamlined to eliminate duplicative or unnecessary state
14 testing, particularly in the high school grades.
15 (d) Assessments shall be administered and scored in time to allow receipt
16 and public reporting of test results from one school year in advance of the start of the
17 following school year.
18 (e) The state department of Education shall take all necessary steps to
19 provide for reporting of final results disaggregated by student subgroups, including
20 but not limited to students with disabilities, students in poverty, race and ethnicity,
21 and students with limited English proficiency.
22 * * *
23 (5) The state Department of Education, with the approval of the State Board
24 of Elementary and Secondary Education, may enter into a contract with a vendor or
25 vendors to procure assessments required by this Subsection. Such procurement shall
26 comply with all applicable procurement laws and regulations of this state subject to
27 the following stipulations:
28 (a) Any review or audit of a request for proposals or contract shall be
29 conducted for the sole purpose of determining whether it complies with the
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HB NO. 669
1 procurement laws of this state. No officer or official of the division of
2 administration or any other state agency shall use such a review to interfere with or
3 circumvent the powers, duties, and authority that the legislature has granted to the
4 State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to supervise and control public
5 elementary and secondary schools.
6 (b) Any meeting of a procurement advisory council or procurement support
7 team to review a proposed request for proposals shall be open to the public and held
8 in compliance with the Open Meetings Law.
9 (c) The commissioner of administration or his designee shall acknowledge
10 receipt of a proposed request for proposals or contract within three business days and
11 shall render his determination within thirty calendar days after receipt.
12 * * *
13 Section 2. The Department of Education shall refer to assessments given to students
14pursuant to R.S. 17:24.4 as "Louisiana Educational Assessment Program 2025" or "LEAP
152025" tests or some other appropriate designation.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 669 Original 2015 Regular Session Reynolds
Abstract: Provides content and other requirements regarding student assessments; provides
relative to procurement of such assessments.
Present law provides for the La. Competency-Based Education Program, including the
implementation of statewide standards for required subjects and the La. Educational
Assessment Program (LEAP). Requires standards-based assessments for required subjects
(English language arts, math, science, and social studies) to be implemented by the State
Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) and administered in at least grades
3 through 11. Provides that such assessments be based on state content standards and
rigorous student achievement standards comparable to national student achievement levels.
Further requires that the rigor of such assessments shall at least compare to that of national
achievement tests. Specifies that beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, the standards-
based assessments in English language arts and math shall be based on nationally recognized
content standards. Requires BESE to establish the adequate test scores for determining
successful student performance on the tests.
Proposed law retains present law and provides further with respect to the assessments
required by present law.
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Proposed law requires that the assessments include questions or test items that:
(1)Require students to write and demonstrate their work.
(2)Allow for direct comparability of student achievement in other states.
(3)Have been reviewed by La. educators to verify alignment to state content standards
and to determine their validity, reliability, and overall quality.
(4)Include test questions or items that were developed by La. educators and used for the
2014-2015 state assessments, or that are identical to such questions and items, and
questions or items to measure college and career readiness.
Proposed law also requires the following regarding such assessments:
(1)They shall include annual full sample tests and aligned diagnostic and benchmarking
tools to assist parents and educators in supporting student achievement.
(2)Testing shall be streamlined to eliminate duplicative or unnecessary state testing,
particularly in the high school grades.
(3)They shall be administered and scored in time to allow receipt and public reporting
of results from one school year in advance of the start of the following school year.
(4)The department shall provide for reporting of final results disaggregated by student
subgroups.
Proposed law, relative to procurement of assessments, authorizes the Dept. of Education to
enter into a contract with a vendor or vendors to procure assessments. Requires such
procurement to comply with present law relative to procurement subject to the following
stipulations:
(1)Any review or audit of a request for proposals or contract shall be conducted for the
sole purpose of determining whether it complies with La. procurement laws.
Prohibits interference with or circumvention of BESE authority.
(2)Any meeting of a procurement advisory council or procurement support team shall
be held in compliance with the Open Meetings Law.
(3)The commissioner of administration or his designee shall acknowledge receipt of a
proposed request for proposals or contract within three business days and shall
render his determination within 30 calendar days after receipt.
(Adds R.S. 17:24.4(F)(2) and (5))
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