ECS
From the ECS State Policy Database
2003 State Policies / Activities

Education Commission of the States • 700 Broadway, Suite 810 • Denver, CO 80203-3442 • 303.299.3600 • fax 303.296.8332 • www.ecs.org

The following summary includes policies enacted in 2003. This database is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States (ECS). Most entries are legislative, although rules/regulations and executive orders that make substantive changes are included. Every effort is made to collect the latest available version of policies; in some instances, recent changes might not be reflected. For expediency purposes minimal attention has been paid to style (capitalization, punctuation) and format. To view the documents, click on the blue triangle next to the topic of interest. To view all, press the button located at the top labeled "Expand All."

Please cite use of the database as: Education Commission of the States (ECS) State Policy Database, retrieved [date].

State Status/Date Level Summary
+ Accountability
+ Accountability--Accreditation
+ Accountability--Measures/Indicators
+ Accountability--Reporting Results
+ Accountability--Rewards
+ Accountability--Sanctions/Interventions
+ Accountability--Sanctions/Interventions--No Pass No Drive
+ Accountability--Sanctions/Interventions--Takeovers
+ Accountability--School Improvement
+ Adult Basic Education
+ Assessment
+ Assessment--Accommodations
+ Assessment--End-of-Course
+ Assessment--Formative/Interim
+ Assessment--High Stakes/Competency
+ Assessment--NAEP (NAEP Results and NAEP Organization)
+ At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention)
+ At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention)--Alternative Education
+ At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention)--Drugs/Alcohol
+ Attendance
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+ Attendance--Statutory Ages (Upper and Lower)
+ Attendance--Truancy
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+ Business Involvement
+ Career/Technical Education
+ Career/Technical Education--Career Academies/Apprenticeship
+ Choice of Schools--Charter Schools
+ Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Closings
+ Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Cyber Charters
+ Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Finance
+ Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Research
+ Choice of Schools--Choice/Open Enrollment
+ Choice of Schools--Magnet or Specialized Schools
+ Choice of Schools--Vouchers
+ Civic Education
+ Civic Education--Character Education
+ Civic Education--Pledge of Allegiance
+ Class Size
+ Curriculum
+ Curriculum--Alignment
+ Curriculum--Arts Education
+ Curriculum--Drivers Education
+ Curriculum--Environmental Education
+ Curriculum--Financial Literacy/Economics Ed.
+ Curriculum--Foreign Language/Sign Language
+ Curriculum--Health/Nutrition Education
+ Curriculum--International Education
+ Curriculum--Language Arts--Writing/Spelling
+ Curriculum--Mathematics
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+ Curriculum--Sex Education
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+ Equity
+ Federal
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+ Finance--Bonds
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+ Finance--Lotteries
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+ Finance--Private Giving
+ Finance--Resource Efficiency
+ Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures
+ Finance--Student Fees
+ Finance--Taxes/Revenues
+ Finance--Taxes/Revenues--Alternative Revenues
+ Governance
+ Governance--Deregulation/Waivers/Home Rule
+ Governance--Ethics/Conflict of Interest
+ Governance--School Boards
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+ Governance--Site-Based Management
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+ Health
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+ Health--Suicide Prevention
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+ High School
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+ Instructional Approaches--Grading Practices
+ Instructional Approaches--Homeschooling
+ Instructional Approaches--Homework/Study Skills
+ Integrated Services/Full-Service Schools
+ Leadership
+ Leadership--District Superintendent
+ Leadership--District Superintendent--Compensation and Diversified Pay
+ Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Certification and Licensure
+ Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Compensation and Diversified Pay
+ Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Evaluation and Effectiveness
+ Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Preparation
+ Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Recruitment and Retention
+ Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Tenure
+ Minority/Diversity Issues
+ Minority/Diversity Issues--African American
+ Minority/Diversity Issues--American Indian / Alaska Native / Native Hawaiian
+ Minority/Diversity Issues--Hispanic
+ No Child Left Behind
+ No Child Left Behind--Adequate Yearly Progress
+ No Child Left Behind--Assessment
- No Child Left Behind--Choice/Transfer
ARRule Adoption 10/2003P-12Establishes rules governing the guidelines, procedures and enforcement of the Arkansas Public School Choice Act. http://arkedu.state.ar.us/pdf/ade%20157%20school%20choice%20rule.pdf
Title: ADE 157
Source: Arkansas State Web site

CASigned into law 10/2003P-12Requires a school district to accept for credit full or partial coursework satisfactorily completed by a pupil while attending a public school, juvenile court school, or nonpublic, nonsectarian school or agency. Requires pupils paced in licensed children's institutions or foster family homes to attend programs operated by the local educational agency. Requires certain school districts to designate a staff person as liaison for enrolled foster children. States legislative intent to ensure that a pupil in foster care or who is homeless, as defined by specified federal law, has the opportunity to meet the academic achievement standards to which all pupils are held, is placed in the least restrictive educational programs, and has access to the academic resources, services, and extracurricular and enrichment activities as all other pupils.
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/asm/ab_0451-0500/ab_490_bill_20031012_chaptered.html
Title: A.B. 490
Source: California Legislative Web site

MOSigned into law 07/2003P-12Requires school board of each school district with multiple attendance centers containing the same grade levels to, no later than July 1, 2004, develop, and make available to the public, a policy regarding the transfer of that school district's students to other schools within the district. http://www.senate.state.mo.us/03info/billtext/tat/sb666.htm
Title: S.B. 666
Source: StateNet

ARRule Adoption 06/2003P-12Establishes rules regarding guidelines, procedures, and enforcement of the Arkansas Public School Choice Act.
http://arkedu.state.ar.us/pdf/school%20choice%20regs.pdf
Title: Uncodified
Source: Arkansas State Web site

MDRule Adoption 06/2003P-12A. Each local school system shall allow a student attending a public elementary or secondary school to attend a safe public elementary or secondary school within the school system if the student:
(1) Attends a persistently dangerous public elementary or secondary school; or
(2) Is a victim of a violent criminal offense as defined in Criminal Law Article, §14-101, Annotated Code of Maryland:
(a) During the regular school day; or
(b) While attending a school sponsored event in or on the grounds of a public elementary or secondary school that the student attends.
B. The local school system shall effectuate a transfer pursuant to §A of this regulation in a timely manner following either the:
(1) Designation of a school as persistently dangerous; or
(2) Conviction of or adjudication of delinquency of the perpetrator of a violent criminal offense.
C. To the extent possible, the local school system shall allow a student to transfer to a school that is making adequate yearly progress and has not been identified as being in school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring.
D. Each local superintendent of schools shall certify annually in writing to the State Superintendent of Schools that Regulations .18-.20 of this chapter are implemented.
E. The State Department of Education shall:
(1) Maintain a list of schools determined to be persistently dangerous; and
(2) Revise the list annually.
Title: COMAR 13A.08.01.20
Source: Westlaw

PARule Adoption 06/2003P-12Establishes rules pertaining to compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. PENNSYLVANIA REG 3807 (SN) Defines violent criminal offense as any of the following offenses that are set forth in 18 Pa.C.S. (relating to Crimes Code): (i)  Kidnapping. (ii)  Robbery. (iii)  Aggravated assault (on the student). (iv)  Rape. (v)  Involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. (vi)  Sexual assault. (vii)  Aggravated indecent assault. (viii)  Indecent assault. (ix)  Attempt to commit any of the following: homicide, murder or voluntary manslaughter. Except as provided as follows, a student who becomes a victim of a violent criminal offense while in or on the grounds of the public elementary or secondary school that the student attends, shall be offered the opportunity to transfer to a safe public school within the LEA, including a charter school.
For a student victim to be entitled to transfer to another school under this chapter, the violent criminal offense first must be reported to law enforcement authorities by the student, the student's parent or guardian, or school officials. A student victim (or the student's parent or guardian) may apply to the LEA to transfer to another school within 30 calendar days after the incident is reported to school authorities. Except as provided as follows, a student who attends a persistently dangerous school must be offered the opportunity to transfer to a safe public school within the LEA, including a charter school. A student who attends a persistently dangerous school may apply to transfer at any time while the school maintains that designation. Responsibilities of LEAs toward victims of violent criminal offenses: Within 10 calendar days of receiving notice of the violent criminal offense, the LEA shall notify the student victim that the student has the right to transfer to a safe public elementary or secondary school within the LEA, including a public charter school. The notification and offer to transfer shall state that no student is required to transfer to another school. Upon receipt of an application to transfer, the LEA shall transfer the student as soon as possible, and shall transfer the student within 10 calendar days after receiving the application. http://www.pabulletin.com/secure/data/vol33/33-26/1251.html
Title: 22 PA. CODE CH. 403
Source: Pennsylvania Bulletin Volume 33, No. 26

ARSigned into law 04/2003P-12Requires all school districts to participate in public school choice. http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/ftproot/bills/2003/public/SB242.pdf
Title: S.B. 242
Source: Arkansas Legislative Web site

COSigned into law 04/2003P-12Concerns requirements related to student transfers; districts should consider adopting policies that give transfer enrollment priority to a student with unsatisfactory proficiency ratings attending a school rated unsatisfactory. http://www.leg.state.co.us/2003a/pubhome.nsf
Title: H.B. 1087
Source: State legislative web site

COSigned into law 04/2003P-12Establishes the "Colorado Opportunity Contract Pilot Program" beginning in the '04-'05 school year, which requires school districts with eight or more low or unsatisfactory schools to allow eligible students to attend a participating nonpublic school under the terms of an opportunity contract between the child's parent and the school. Eligible students are those eligible for free- or reduced-cost school lunches who received an unsatisfactory rating on the state reading or math assessment. http://www.leg.state.co.us/2003a/inetcbill.nsf/billcontainers/1CD19B474697FA4C87256C68004FC76C/$FILE/1160_enr.pdf
Title: H.B. 1160
Source: Colorado Legislative Web site

NDSigned into law 04/2003P-12A student's parent may apply to a contiguous school district for admission of the student at any time during the school year if: a. The student was a victim of violence occurring within the school in which the student was enrolled and the violence was documented; b. The superintendent of public instruction has declared the school in which the student was enrolled to be an unsafe school; or c. The superintendent of public instruction has identified the school in which the student was enrolled as one that requires program improvement for six consecutive years.
2. The school district receiving an application under subsection 1 shall review the application to ensure compliance with the provisions of subsection 1 and shall notify the student's parent and the student's school district of residence of the arrangements for the student's transfer within five days from the date the application was received. 3. The student's school district of residence shall consider the student transferred as of the date of enrollment by the admitting district. 4. Upon transfer of a student under this section, the board of the admitting district and the
board of the student's school district of residence shall enter into a tuition agreement. The student's school district of residence shall reimburse the admitting district for all costs incurred by the admitting district in providing education for the student. The sending district absorbs transportation costs. http://www.state.nd.us/lr/assembly/58-2003/bill_text/DRAA0500.pdf
Title: H.B. 1086
Source: http://www.state.nd.us

NMSigned into law 03/2003P-12Amends Section 22-1-4. Requires boards to adopt and promulgate rules governing enrollment and re-enrollment at public schools other than charter schools within the school district. Admissions must give students enrolled in a school ranked as a school that needs improvement or a school subject to corrective action second priority (only second to students who live in attendance zone). http://legis.state.nm.us/Sessions/03%20Regular/FinalVersions/house/HB0212MarkedUp.pdf
Title: H.B. 212 (Omnibus Bill)
Source: New Mexico Legislature

UTRule Adoption 02/2003P-12Provides criteria and procedures designating schools as persistently dangerous and provides for parent notification and transfers for students if residents of a designated school or a victim of a specific violent criminal offense. UTAH REG 25965 (SN)
Title: R277-483
Source: StateNet

+ No Child Left Behind--Consequences for Schools
+ No Child Left Behind--Finance
+ No Child Left Behind--Parent Involvement
+ No Child Left Behind--Report Cards
+ No Child Left Behind--School Support
+ No Child Left Behind--Supplemental Services
+ Online Learning--Digital/Blended Learning
+ Online Learning--Virtual Schools/Courses
+ P-16 or P-20
+ P-3
+ P-3 Child Care
+ P-3 Early Intervention (0-3)
+ P-3 Ensuring Quality
+ P-3 Family Involvement
+ P-3 Finance
+ P-3 Governance
+ P-3 Grades 1-3
+ P-3 Kindergarten
+ P-3 Kindergarten--Full-Day Kindergarten
+ P-3 Preschool
+ P-3 Teaching Quality/Professional Development
+ Parent/Family
+ Parent/Family--Parent Rights
+ Postsecondary
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+ Postsecondary Faculty
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+ Postsecondary Online Instruction
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+ School/District Structure/Operations
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+ Teaching Quality--Evaluation and Effectiveness
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