5761235 Education, Office of the State Superintendent of - Notice of Final Rulemaking - Amendments to Chapter 23 Statewide Assessments

OFFICE OF THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION

 

NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING

 

The State Superintendent of Education, pursuant to the authority set forth in Sections 3(b)(11) and (15) of the State Education Office Establishment Act of 2000 (Act), as amended, effective October 21, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-176; D.C. Official Code §§ 38-2602(b)(11) and (15) (2012 Repl. & 2015 Supp.)); and Section 102(c) of the Focused Student Achievement Act of 2013, effective February 22, 2014, (D.C. Law 20-84; D.C. Official Code §§ 38-2610(a) (2015 Supp.)), hereby gives notice of the adoption of amendments to Chapter 23 (State-wide Assessments) of Title 5 (Education), Subtitle A (Office of the State Superintendent of Education), of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).

 

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), pursuant to D.C. Official Code § 38-2610(a) (2015 Supp.) is responsible for “developing and administering all student tests and evaluations as required by federal law or as a condition of a federal grant including the yearly student academic assessments that are required for the purposes of determining adequate yearly progress under Title I, Part A, Section 1111 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act [ESEA] of 1965, approved January 8, 2002 (115 Stat. 1444; 20 U.S.C. § 6311).” 

 

The purpose of this rulemaking is to ensure alignment of the regulations governing administration of the District’s State-wide assessments with the administration of the next generation assessments, such as the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) Assessment for English language arts/literacy and math, D.C.’s next generation science standards assessment in 5th grade science, 8th grade science, and high school biology, and the National Center and State Collaborative (NCSC) Assessment in math and English language arts as the alternate assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities.

 

This notice therefore amends (1) Subsection 2300.3 of Section 2300 of Title 5-A DCMR, to amend when the state-wide assessment program shall be administered in high school; and (2) Section 2301 of Title 5-A DCMR, to strike the requirement that all students enrolled in grade ten (10) shall participate in the state-wide assessment program, and insert that a high school student shall participate in the state-wide assessment program as appropriate to the student’s curricula and course progression or as determined by OSSE.

 

This notice has been circulated throughout the District for a thirty (30) day period since its publication in the D.C. Register as a proposed rule on August 21, 2015 at 62 DCR 11573, including an opportunity to submit written comments.  No written comments were received, no legal challenges were entered, no changes have been requested, and none have been made from the proposed rules published on August 21, 2015, as set forth below.

 

The rule was adopted as final on October 14, 2015 and will become effective upon publication in the D.C. Register.

 

Chapter 23, STATE-WIDE ACADEMIC ASSESSMENTS, of Title 5-A DCMR, OFFICE OF THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION, is amended as follows:

 

Subsection 2300.3 of Section 2300, ADMINISTRATION OF STATE-WIDE ACADEMIC ASSESSMENTS, is amended as follows:

 

2300                ADMINISTRATION OF STATE-WIDE ACADEMIC ASSESSMENTS

 

…       

 

2300.3             The state-wide assessment program shall be administered each school year in conformance with guidelines established by the State Superintendent to include, at a minimum, the testing and reporting of results for all students enrolled in the District of Columbia Public Schools system and public charter schools who participated in the state-wide assessment program that year.

 

Section 2301, PARTICIPATION IN STATE-WIDE ACADEMIC ASSESSMENTS, is amended to read as follows:

 

2301                PARTICIPATION IN STATE-WIDE ACADEMIC ASSESSMENTS

 

2301.1             All students enrolled in grades three (3) through eight (8) shall participate in the state-wide mathematics and English language arts assessments.

 

2301.2             All students enrolled in grades five (5) and eight (8) shall participate in the state-wide science assessment.

 

2301.3             All students enrolled in grades nine (9) through twelve (12) shall participate in the state-wide mathematics assessment and English language arts assessment at least once in high school, as appropriate to the student’s curricula and course progression or as determined by OSSE.

 

2301.4             All students enrolled in grades nine (9) through twelve (12) shall participate in the state-wide science assessment. Students shall take the assessment at least once in high school, as appropriate to their curricula and course progression or as determined by OSSE.

 

2301.5             The State Superintendent shall issue guidance annually to prescribe how students enrolled in grades nine (9) through twelve (12) are selected to participate in the state-wide assessments under this chapter.

 

2301.6             All District of Columbia students enrolled in nonpublic schools and receiving educational services funded by the District of Columbia shall participate in the annual academic assessments administered by the District of Columbia in conformance with this chapter. Wards of the District of Columbia receiving educational services funded by the District of Columbia, living outside the District of Columbia and attending a public school in another jurisdiction shall be exempt from participating in the District of Columbia’s statewide academic assessment, provided they participate in the statewide system of assessment in the jurisdiction in which they are enrolled.

 

2301.7             The State Superintendent shall issue guidance to prescribe how students with disabilities and English language learners are to be assessed under this chapter, including the use of appropriate testing accommodations.