Sec. 14.03.123. - School and district accountability.
(a) By September 1 of each year, the department shall assign a performance designation to each public school and school district and to the state public school system in accordance with (f) of this section.
(b) The department shall inform the governing body of each district of the performance designation assigned under (a) of this section.
(c) The state board shall adopt regulations implementing this section, providing for a statewide student assessment system, and providing for the process of assigning a designation under (a) of this section, including
(1) the methodology used to assign the performance designation, including the measures used and their relative weights;
(2) high performance and low performance designations that are based on the accountability system under this section;
(3) a procedure for appealing a designation that may be used by the principal of a public school or by the superintendent of a public school district;
(4) additional measures that may be progressively implemented by the commissioner to assist schools or districts to improve performance in accordance with this section and with federal law; to the extent necessary to conform to federal law, the additional measures may be unique to a certain school or district if that school or district receives federal funding that is not available to all schools or districts in the state.
(d) A public school or district that receives a low performance designation under this section shall prepare and submit to the department a school or district improvement plan, as applicable, in accordance with regulations adopted by the board. The improvement plan must be prepared with the maximum feasible public participation of the community including, as appropriate, interested individuals, teachers, parents, parent organizations, students, tribal organizations, local government representatives, and other community groups.
(e) The department shall establish a program of special recognition for those public schools that receive a high performance designation.
(f) In the accountability system for schools and districts required by this section, the department shall
(1) implement 20 U.S.C. 6301 - 7941 (Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965), as amended;
(2) implement state criteria and priorities for accountability including the use of
(A) measures of student performance on standards-based assessments in reading, writing, and mathematics, and including competency tests required under AS 14.03.075 ;
(B) measures of student improvement; and
(C) other measures identified that are indicators of student success and achievement; and
(3) to the extent practicable, minimize the administrative burden on districts.
(g) In this section,
(1) "district" has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990 ;
(2) "state public school system" means the combination of all public schools, public school districts, and state-operated schools.