HLS 22RS-836 ORIGINAL
2022 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 617
BY REPRESENTATIVE MINCEY
EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY: Creates the Reimagine Accountability Commission
to study and report findings and recommendations relative to the school and district
accountability system
1 AN ACT
2To enact R.S. 17:10.10 and R.S. 36:651(F)(7) and to repeal R.S. 17:10.10 and R.S.
3 36:651(F)(7), relative to school and district accountability; to create the Reimagine
4 Accountability Commission to study and report relative to the accountability system;
5 to provide for the purpose, membership, and meetings of the commission; to provide
6 relative to the responsibility of the state superintendent of education and state
7 Department of Education with respect to the commission; to require the commission
8 to study and make recommendations relative to specific matters; to require the
9 commission to report to the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and
10 to the legislature; to prohibit the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
11 and the state Department of Education from taking certain actions relative to the
12 accountability system for a specified period of time; to provide for termination of the
13 commission; and to provide for related matters.
14Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
15 Section 1. The legislature finds that public education is shifting. New priorities such
16as literacy and college and career readiness are at the forefront of state initiatives. The state's
17measure of accountability for public schools needs to remain relevant but also be innovative
18in response to a changing public education landscape. Louisiana has long been a leader in
19school and district accountability. More than twenty years after accountability began in the
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1state, it is time to assess whether interim changes have been sufficient or if new approaches
2are warranted. The current single-letter grade system is set to assess its goal of all students
3obtaining mastery by 2025. In light of this goal, now is a fitting time to reassess the state's
4educational values, the methods in which those values are measured, and how the state
5communicates those measures.
6 Section 2. R.S. 17:10.10 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
7 §10.10. Reimagine Accountability Commission; creation; membership; meetings;
8 study; submission of report of findings and recommendations
9 A. The Reimagine Accountability Commission is hereby created for the
10 purpose of studying and reporting findings and recommendations relative to the
11 school and district accountability system.
12 B.(1) The commission shall have nineteen members as follows:
13 (a) The governor or his designee.
14 (b) The speaker of the House of Representatives or another member of the
15 House of Representatives designated by him.
16 (c) The president of the Senate or designee or another member of the Senate
17 designated by him.
18 (d) The president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
19 or another member of the state board designated by him.
20 (e) The state superintendent of education or another member of the staff of
21 the state Department of Education designated by him.
22 (f) One member appointed by the Louisiana Association of Educators.
23 (g) One member appointed by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.
24 (h) One member appointed by the Associated Professional Educators of
25 Louisiana.
26 (i) One member appointed by the Louisiana School Boards Association.
27 (j) One member appointed by the Louisiana Association of School
28 Superintendents.
29 (k) One member appointed by the Louisiana Association of Principals.
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HB NO. 617
1 (l) One member appointed by the Louisiana Association of Public Charter
2 Schools.
3 (m) One member appointed by the Louisiana Developmental Disabilities
4 Council.
5 (n) One member appointed by the Louisiana Parent Teacher Association.
6 (o) One member appointed by the Board of Regents.
7 (p) One member appointed by the Council for a Better Louisiana.
8 (q) One member appointed by the Public Affairs Research Council.
9 (r) One member appointed by the Louisiana Association of Business and
10 Industry.
11 (s) One member appointed by Stand for Children.
12 (2) The state superintendent of education shall be responsible for designating
13 state Department of Education staff members to assist the commission in performing
14 its duties. The superintendent or his designee on the commission shall call the first
15 meeting of the commission, which shall be held not later than July 15, 2022, and at
16 which the commission shall select a chair from among its membership and shall
17 adopt rules of procedure, a work schedule, and any additional measures that it deems
18 necessary for the timely performance of its duties. The members of the commission
19 shall serve without compensation, and a vacancy in the membership shall be filled
20 in the same manner as the original appointment. A majority of the members of the
21 commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The
22 commission shall be domiciled in Baton Rouge but may hold meetings elsewhere in
23 the state.
24 C.(1) In conducting its study, the commission shall, at minimum, do all of
25 the following:
26 (a) Identify all state and federal statutes related to assessment administration.
27 (b) Identify all state and federal statutes related to accountability.
28 (c) Create a statement of values for the accountability system.
29 (d) Identify whether the current system is aligned with those values.
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1 (e) Assess the continuity of required and optional assessments.
2 (f) Assess the linear alignment of assessments in grades kindergarten through
3 twelve.
4 (g) Assess the amount of time spent on testing.
5 (h) Study equity and inclusion relative to the accountability system,
6 including with respect to students in the career major and students receiving special
7 education and related services.
8 (i) Identify activities and accomplishments that do not depend on school
9 system spending, including but not limited to biliteracy, community service, talent
10 accomplishment, and military enlistment.
11 (j) Identify the impact, if any, of finances on determinations and status
12 relative to accountability.
13 (k) Evaluate the timeline for the administration of assessments relative to the
14 school year calendar.
15 (l) Study flexibility in the timing of the administration of assessments for
16 schools and districts with nontraditional calendars.
17 (2) The commission shall submit a written report of its findings and
18 recommendations relative to all of the study components provided in Paragraph (1)
19 of this Subsection and any other matters related to accountability that it deems
20 appropriate to the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the House
21 Committee on Education, and the Senate Committee on Education not later than
22 June 30, 2023, upon which date the commission terminates.
23 D. The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall consider
24 the findings and recommendations of the commission's report during at least two
25 meetings held at least thirty days apart.
26 E. Between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2024, neither the State Board of
27 Elementary and Secondary Education nor the state Department of Education shall:
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1 (1) Renew or enter into any contract with any vendor to provide services or
2 content pertaining to the accountability system that has a term in excess of one fiscal
3 year.
4 (2) Implement any changes to any element of the accountability system
5 except those that are federally mandated or mandated by the legislature.
6 Section 3. R.S. 36:651(F)(7) is hereby enacted to read as follows:
7 §651. Transfer of boards, commissions, departments, and agencies to Department
8 of Education; boards, commissions, and agencies within Department of
9 Education
10 * * *
11 F. The following agencies are transferred to and hereafter shall be within the
12 Department of Education as provided in R.S. 36:901 et seq.:
13 * * *
14 (7) The Reimagine Accountability Commission (R.S. 17:10.10).
15 * * *
16 Section 4. Section 1 of this Act, R.S. 17:10.10, and R.S. 36:651(F)(7) are hereby
17repealed in their entirety.
18 Section 5.(A) Sections 1, 2, and 3 and this Section of this Act shall become effective
19on July 1, 2022.
20 Section 4(B) of this Act shall become effective on July 1, 2024.
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 617 Original 2022 Regular Session Mincey
Abstract: Creates the Reimagine Accountability Commission to review and report relative
to the school and district accountability system.
Present law provides for a system of school and district accountability based on student
achievement and minimum standards for the approval of schools. Proposed law creates the
Reimagine Accountability Commission for the purpose of reviewing and reporting relative
to the accountability system. Provides for 19 members who shall serve without
compensation. Requires the state superintendent of education or his designee to convene the
first meeting not later than July 15, 2022. Specifies the issues to be studied and requires
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submission of a report to the State Bd. of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) and
the House and Senate education committees by June 30, 2023, on which date the
commission shall terminate. Requires BESE to consider the report findings and
recommendations during at least two meetings held at least 30 days apart. Prohibits, from
July 1, 2022, until June 30, 2024, either BESE or the state Dept. of Education from:
(1)Renewing or entering into any contract with any vendor to provide services or
content pertaining to the accountability system that has a term in excess of one fiscal
year.
(2)Implementing any changes to any element of the accountability system except those
that are federally mandated or mandated by the legislature.
Effective July 1, 2022, except repeal of proposed law is effective July 1, 2024.
(Adds R.S. 17:10.10 and R.S. 36:651(F)(7); Repeals R.S. 17:10.10 and R.S. 36:651(F)(7))
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