2011 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 17 — Education
RS 17:10.2 — School and district responsibilities; preparation for the school and district accountability system; employee incentive awards

§10.2. School and district responsibilities; preparation for the school and district accountability system; employee incentive awards

A. In preparation for the school and district accountability system, each school and each school district shall develop, modify, or both, any existing educational improvement plans for academic achievement by no later than April 1, 1998, as follows:

(1) Each school shall provide for a plan for improving academic achievement which shall be developed by educators, parents, and other community representatives, based on a self-examination of previous trend data including student test scores on the state norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests, student and teacher attendance, dropout rate, and any other additional indicators deemed appropriate.

(2) Based on the data, each school shall set specific goals or growth targets for improving all or some of these factors by the end of the 1998-1999 school year using information collected during school year 1996-1997 as their initial baseline.

(3) Each plan shall include those strategies that will be implemented to improve academic achievement and are designed to help the school meet the growth targets that each school has set. Each plan shall also identify any local or state policy or state law modifications which would be beneficial in helping the school implement its strategies for improvement.

(4) Each school shall submit its school improvement plan to its local school board for review and approval by no later than May 1, 1998.

B. Each school board shall ensure that each school develops an improvement plan focused on academic achievement which meets the requirements of this Section by doing each of the following:

(1) Providing for assistance to every school for the development and implementation of their school improvement plans.

(2) Reviewing and approving each school plan.

(3) Selecting at least twenty percent of the schools in each district which shall consist of the lowest achieving schools in the district and providing those schools additional assistance with their strategies designed to improve academic achievement to meet their identified growth targets.

(4) Reviewing and considering modifications of local policies which schools have identified in their school improvement plans.

(5) Reviewing and considering seeking a waiver from the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education regarding any identified state policies, and compiling a list of requested state law changes and presenting this list to the state board.

C. By October 1, 1997, the state Department of Education shall provide to each school a profile of its trend data as gathered by the state pursuant to R.S. 17:3911 beginning with school year 1994-1995. The department shall ensure that all future reports as required pursuant to R.S. 17:3912 contain trend data for at least three years.

D.(1) A city or parish school board may adopt written policies and procedures to establish and implement for such employees of the board as it deems appropriate an incentive compensation program providing for monetary awards based on performance which meets or exceeds standards established for a school or the school district, or both, pursuant to R.S. 17:10.1 and applicable policy of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education relative to the school and district accountability system.

(2)(a) The amount of any monetary award provided to a school board employee pursuant to the provisions of this Subsection shall be exempt from any limitation in law prohibiting the amount paid to the employee in any school year from being reduced below the amount paid during the previous school year or prohibiting the amount paid to the employee from being reduced at any time during the year, including but not limited to any such limitations in R.S. 17:421.3, 422.6, and 431.

(b) The amount of any monetary award provided to a school board employee pursuant to the provisions of this Subsection shall not be used in the calculation of any other employee benefit provided for by law.

(3) For the purposes of this Subsection, "city or parish school board" shall mean the governing authority of a public elementary or secondary school.

Acts 1997, No. 478, §1, eff. June 30, 1997; Acts 1999, No. 1128, §1, eff. July 9, 1999.