616 Policy: School District System Accountability

1. PURPOSE
   The purpose of this policy is to focus public education strategies on a process that promotes higher academic achievement for all students and ensures broad-based community participation in decisions regarding implementation of the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards and federal law.
    
2. GENERAL STATEMENT OF POLICY
   Implementation of the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards and federal law requires accountability for the school district.  The school district established a system to transition to the graduation requirements of the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards.  The school district also established a system to review and improve instruction, curriculum, and assessment which will include substantial input by students, parents or guardians, and local community members.  The school district will be accountable to the public and the state through annual reporting.
    
3. DEFINITIONS
   1. “Credit” means a student’s successful completion of an academic year of study or a student’s mastery of the applicable subject matter, as determined by the school district.
       
   2. Comprehensive achievement and civic readiness means striving to:  meet school readiness goals; close the academic achievement gap among all racial and ethnic groups of students and between students living in poverty and students not living in poverty; have all students attain career and college readiness before graduating from high school; and have all students graduate from high school; and prepare students to be lifelong learners.
       
4. ESTABLISHMENT OF GOALS; IMPLEMENTATION; EVALUATION AND REPORTING
   1. School District Goals
      1. The school board has established school district-wide goals that provide broad direction for the school district.  Incorporated in these goals are the graduation and education standards contained in the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards and federal law.  The broad goals shall be reviewed annually and approved by the school board.  The school board shall adopt annual goals that take into account the recommendations of the school district’s Curriculum Advisory Committee.
          
      2. The District Curriculum Advisory Committee created under Policy 603 (Curriculum Development) is established by the school board to ensure active community participation in all phases of planning and improving the instruction and curriculum affecting state and district academic standards.
          
      3. The school district-wide improvement goals should address recommendations identified through the District Curriculum Advisory Committee process.  The school district’s goal setting process will include consideration of individual site goals.  School district goals may also be developed through an education effectiveness program, an evaluation of student progress committee, or through some other locally determined process.
         
          
   2. System for Reviewing All Instruction and Curriculum
      
      Incorporated in the process will be analysis of the school district’s progress toward implementation of the Minnesota Academic Standards.  Instruction and curriculum shall be reviewed and evaluated by taking into account strategies and best practices, student outcomes, principal evaluations under Minnesota Statutes section 123B.147, and teacher evaluations under Minnesota Statutes section 122A.40 or 122A.41.
       
   3. Implementation of Graduation Requirements
       
      1. The District Curriculum Advisory Committee shall advise the district leadership on implementation of the state and local graduation requirements, including K-12 curriculum, assessment, student learning opportunities, and other related issues.
          
      2. The school board shall annually review and determine if student achievement levels at each school site meet federal expectations. If the school board determines that student achievement levels at a school site do not meet federal expectations and the site has not made adequate yearly progress for two consecutive school years, the District Curriculum Advisory Committee shall work with the school site to adopt a plan to raise student achievement levels to meet federal expectations. The District Curriculum Advisory Committee may seek assistance from the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) (Commissioner) in developing a plan which must include parental involvement components.
          
      3. The educational assessment system component utilized by the school board to measure individual students’ educational progress must be based, to the extent annual tests are administered, on indicators of current achievement that show growth relative to an individual student’s prior achievement.  Indicators of achievement and prior achievement must be based on highly reliable statewide or districtwide assessments.  The school board will utilize models developed by the Commissioner for measuring individual student progress.  The school board must coordinate with MDE in evaluating school sites and continuous improvement plans, consistent with best practices.
          
   4. Comprehensive Continuous Improvement of Student Achievement
       
      1. By October 30 of each year, the District Curriculum Advisory Committee will meet to review the implementation of the school district system accountability and comprehensive continuous improvement process.
          
      2. The District Curriculum Advisory Committee will provide active community participation in:
         1. Reviewing the school district instructional and curriculum plan, with emphasis on implementing the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards;
         2. Identifying annual instruction and curriculum improvement goals for recommendation to the school board;
         3. Making recommendations regarding the evaluation process that will be used to measure school district progress toward its goals; and,
         4. Advising the school board about development of the annual budget
             
      3. The District Advisory Committee shall meet the following criteria:
         1. The District Curriculum Advisory Committee shall ensure active community participation in all phases of planning and improving for instruction and curriculum affecting state and district academic standards.
             
         2. The District Curriculum Advisory Committee shall make recommendations to the school board on school district-wide standards, assessments, and program evaluation.
             
         3. Building teams shall develop and implement an education effectiveness plan and to carry out methods to improve instruction, curriculum, and assessments as well as methods to use technology in meeting the school district improvement plan.
             
         4. A local plan to evaluate student progress, using a local process, shall be used for developing a plan for assessment of student progress toward the Graduation Standards, as well as program evaluation data for use by the District Curriculum Advisory Committee in the instruction and curriculum review process.  This plan shall annually be approved by the school board.
             
      4. Translation services should be provided to the extent appropriate and practicable.
         
          
   5. Evaluation of Student Progress Committee
      
      Professional staff shall develop a plan for assessment of student progress toward the state and district academic standards as well as program evaluation data for use by the District Curriculum Advisory Committee to review instruction and curriculum, cultural competencies, including cultural awareness and cross-cultural communication, and student achievement at the school site.  This plan shall annually be approved by the school board.
       
   6. Reporting
      1. Consistent with Minnesota Statutes, section 120B.36, subdivision 1, the school board shall publish a report in the local newspaper with the largest circulation in the district, by mail, or by electronic means on the school district website.  The school board shall hold an annual public meeting to review and revise, where appropriate, student achievement goals, local assessment outcomes, plans, strategies, and practices for improving curriculum and instruction and cultural competency and efforts to equitably distribute diverse, effective, experienced, and in-field teachers, and to review school district success in realizing the previously adopted student achievement goals and related benchmarks and the improvement plans leading to comprehensive achievement and civic readiness.  The school board must transmit an electronic summary of its report to the Commissioner in the form and manner the Commissioner determines.  The school district shall periodically survey affected constituencies in their native languages, where appropriate and practicable, about their connection to and level of satisfaction with school.  The school district shall include the results of this evaluation in its published reports and in its summary report to the Commissioner.
          
      2. The school performance report for a school site and a school district must include performance reporting information and calculate proficiency rates as required by the most recently reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
          
      3. The school district must annually report the district's class size ratios by each grade to the Commissioner of Education in the form and manner specified by the Commissioner.
          
      4. The school district must report whether programs funded with compensatory revenue are consistent with best practices demonstrated to improve student achievement.

Legal References:Minn. Stat. § 120B.018 (Definitions)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.02 (Educational Expectations and Graduation Requirements for Minnesota’s Students)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.11 (School District Process for Reviewing Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Achievement Goals; Striving for Comprehensive Achievement and Civic Readiness the World’s Best Workforce)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.35 (Student Academic Achievement and Growth)
Minn. Stat. § 120B.36 (School Accountability)
Minn. Stat. § 122A.40 (Employment; Contracts; Termination)
Minn. Stat. § 122A.41 (Teacher Tenure Act; Cities of the First Class; Definitions)
Minn. Stat. § 123B.04 (Site Decision Making; Individualized Learning Agreement; Other Agreements)
Minn. Stat. § 123B.147 (Principals)
Minn. Stat. § 126C.12 (Learning and Development Revenue Amount and Use)
Minn. Rules Parts 3501.066040-3501.0655 (Academic Standards for Language Arts)
Minn. Rules Parts 3501.0700-3501.0745 (Academic Standards for Mathematics)
Minn. Rules Parts 3501.0820 (Academic Standards for the Arts)
Minn. Rules Parts 3501.0900-3501.0955 (Academic Standards in Science)
Minn. Rules Parts 3501.1300-3501.1345 (Academic Standards for Social Studies)
Minn. Rules Parts 3501.1400-3501.1410 (Academic Standards for Physical Education)
20 U.S.C. § 6301, et seq. (Every Student Succeeds Act)

Cross References:
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 104 (School District Mission Statement)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 601 (School District Curriculum and Instruction Goals)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 613 (Graduation Requirements)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 614 (School District Testing Plan and Procedure)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 615 (Testing Accommodations, Modifications, and Exemptions for IEPs, Section 504 Plans,and LEP Students)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 617 (School District Ensurance of Preparatory and High School Standards)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 618 (Assessment of Student Achievement)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 619 (Staff Development for Standards)
MSBA/MASA Model Policy 620 (Credit for Learning)