Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia
Department 160 - RULES OF GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Chapter 160-7
Subject 160-7-1 - STATEWIDE ACCOUNTABILITY
Rule 160-7-1-.01 - Single Statewide Accountability System

(a) Accountability Profile - a publicly published report that provides a summary of a school's and local educational agency's (LEA's) performance.

(b) Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) - a federally mandated component of the Accountability Profile based on a series of performance goals and second indicators that every school, LEA, and state must achieve within specified timeframes.

(c) AYP Workbook - the document that is officially known as the Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook. Each state annually submits to the United States Department of Education (US ED) its workbook describing how AYP determinations will be calculated and how the state will comply with ESEA as amended.

(d) Comprehensive LEA Improvement Plan (CLIP) - a document developed by an LEA, and approved by the Georgia Department of Education, to serve as a blueprint for guiding the LEA's continuous improvement and progress toward identified LEA, school, and student achievement objectives and targets.

(e) Elementary and Secondary Education Act as amended (ESEA as amended) - the federal education statute, originally passed by the U. S. Congress in 1965, that defines the role of the federal government in public education and authorizes many of the major federal education programs, including Title I. This Act was reauthorized by Congress in 2001 as the No Child Left Behind Act.

(f) Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) - the state agency charged with the fiscal and administrative management of certain aspects of K-12 public education, including the implementation of federal and state mandates. Such management is subject to supervision and oversight by the State Board of Education.

(g) Local Educational Agency (LEA) - local school system pursuant to local board of education control and management.

(h) LEA Corrective Action Addendum - an addendum of a Comprehensive LEA Improvement Plan (CLIP) required of all LEAs that reach Needs Improvement Year 3.

(i) Needs Improvement - the identification for a school or LEA that has not made AYP for two or more consecutive years in the same subject or second indicator for schools and in the same subject or second indicator for elementary, middle and high school grade spans for LEAs.

(j) Office of Student Achievement (OSA) - the Georgia state agency mandated by state law to create a uniform performance-based accountability system for K-12 public schools that incorporates both state and federal mandates, including student and school performance standards.

(k) Performance Highlights - the component of the Accountability Profile that utilizes data from the State Report Card to recognize each school and LEA for top indicators based on key variables related to student achievement.

(l) Performance Index - the measure of a school's or LEA's current year academic achievement or its gain over the previous year's performance.

(m) School Improvement Fieldbook - a guide, published by the GaDOE, to assist with school improvement planning and implementation of focused, research-based strategies to increase the opportunity for schools to make AYP.

(n) Scientifically-based research - research that involves the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowledge relevant to education activities and programs. Such research must (1) employ systematic, empirical methods that draw on observations or experiments; (2) involve rigorous data analysis to support hypothesis testing and to justify conclusions drawn; (3) rely on reliable and valid measurement or observation methods; (4) be evaluated using experimental and quasi-experimental designs; (5) ensure completeness, clarity, and level of detail to allow for replication and generalization; and (6) have been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by an independent panel of experts through a comparable rigorous, objective, and scientific review.

(o) Single Statewide Accountability System (SSAS) - the statewide accountability system adopted by the State Board of Education that includes indicators reflecting both absolute and relative progress determinations. The SSAS merges both federal and state education laws that relate to K-12 school accountability for student academic performance.

(p) State Board of Education (SBOE) - the constitutional authority which defines education policy for the public K-12 education agencies in Georgia.

(q) State Report Card - the official report card for Georgia's K-12 public schools that includes an annual report prepared by GaDOE and published by OSA for each school, system, and the state, which is published for use by education stakeholders.

(a) The Single Statewide Accountability System shall include an annual Accountability Profile for each Local Educational Agency (LEA) and public school in the state. The Accountability Profile shall include multiple components, which may include, but not be limited to, Adequate Yearly Progress, Performance Index, and Performance Highlights. The components of the Accountability Profile will be included in the State Report Card prepared by GaDOE and published annually by the Office of Student Achievement (OSA).

(b) The Single Statewide Accountability System will include, but is not limited to, valid and reliable accountability determinations at the school, LEA, and state levels to promote continuous improvement for raising student achievement and closing achievement gaps.

(a) The State Board of Education (SBOE) and GaDOE, in consultation with OSA and other stakeholders, shall annually develop the Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook (AYP Workbook). The SBOE shall annually review any proposed revisions to the AYP Workbook prior to submission to the United States Department of Education (US ED). The SBOE shall adopt the AYP Workbook once approved by the US ED.

(b) The AYP Workbook shall contain Georgia's plan for determining AYP for the given school year, including the specific methodology that will be used to ensure the most valid and reliable AYP determinations are made, in a manner consistent with state and federal law. AYP determinations shall be based on state assessments that have been developed consistent with nationally recognized professional and technical standards and are supported by evidence regarding validity and reliability.

(c) The AYP determination process shall provide the opportunity for the LEA to verify the data used to determine AYP and for the LEA to appeal preliminary AYP determinations that are in error for statistical or other substantive reasons.

(a) An LEA must promptly notify parents of each student enrolled in each school regarding the school's AYP determination. The notice must be in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language that parents understand. Additionally, it must honor the privacy of all students and their families. The notice must include:

(a) Awards. A school shall be eligible for annual awards based on the Accountability Profile.

(b) Consequences. In accordance with state and federal law, each school in Needs Improvement (NI) shall be subject to interventions and consequences designed to help improve student achievement based on the most recent AYP determinations. Needs Improvement (NI) schools must implement the consequences in accordance with its Needs Improvement (NI) status.

(a) Schools designated as in Needs Improvement (NI) status shall be subject to consequences identified in GaDOE's School Improvement Fieldbook. Consequences may include:

(a) Identification. The LEA shall be identified as Needs Improvement (NI) if the LEA has not made AYP in the same subject or fails to meet its second indicator for two consecutive years at the elementary, middle, and the high school levels.

(b) Removal. The LEA shall be removed from Needs Improvement (NI) if the LEA has made AYP for two consecutive years.

(c) Consequences. The LEA identified as Needs Improvement (NI) shall be subject to the consequences identified in GaDOE's System Improvement Fieldbook. Those consequences may include:

(a) The GaDOE shall provide, in accordance with the ESEA as amended, a system of intensive and sustained support and improvement for LEAs and schools identified as Needs Improvement.

(a) Record Retention Requirements. LEAs and schools shall abide by all applicable record retention schedules required by federal and state laws, regulations, and rules.

(b) Right to Audit. The Office of Student Achievement (OSA) may investigate evidence of school or LEA noncompliance with the requirements of this rule at any time. Such investigation may include review of the school or LEA's academic records or performing an on-site audit of any school or LEA at any time. The on-site OSA Audit may include, but is not limited to, a review of the school or LEA's records or procedures, including a review of school or LEA performance and accounting information and records. Auditors may gather school performance information from school administrators, teachers, and parents of students enrolled in the LEA.

(c) Upon conclusion of its investigation, OSA, where applicable, will prepare a draft audit report detailing the findings of its investigation. OSA will provide the affected LEA or school with a copy of the draft report and allow the school or LEA with thirty days to review and comment on the findings contained in the draft report. The affected school or LEA must submit its comments on the findings contained in the draft report to the attention of OSA's Executive Director. OSA may include, but is not required to include, the comments provided by the affected school or LEA in its final report. OSA will transmit its final report to the GaDOE for submission to the SBOE.

(d) When applicable, OSA's final report may include a recommendation to the SBOE as to how to address the school or LEA's noncompliance with this rule. OSA may recommend sanctions including, but not limited to, withholding of federal and/or state funds pursuant to the procedures provided in State Board of Education Rule 160-5-2.02.