Senate Bill S4835

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  4835

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                             April 21, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  MARCELLINO  -- read twice and ordered printed, and
  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education

AN ACT to amend the education law, in  relation  to  common  core  state
  testing

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new article 7-B to
read as follows:
                               ARTICLE 7-B
                        COMMON CORE STATE TESTING
SECTION 349-A. DEFINITIONS.
        349-B. DISCLOSURE.
        349-C. GRADE APPROPRIATE TESTS.
        349-D. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.
        349-E. ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS.
        349-F. RESULTS OF COMMON CORE CURRICULUM EXAMINATIONS.
  S 349-A. DEFINITIONS. AS USED IN THIS ARTICLE: 1.  "TEST"  OR  "COMMON
CORE STATE TEST" MEANS ANY STATE CREATED, DEVELOPED OR ADMINISTERED TEST
GIVEN  IN  NEW YORK STATE TO STUDENTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATH-
EMATICS THAT TESTS STUDENTS' KNOWLEDGE AND  SKILLS  RELATING  TO  COMMON
CORE STANDARDS.
  2.  "COMMON  CORE"  MEANS THE NEW YORK STATE P-12 COMMON CORE LEARNING
STANDARDS (CCLS) FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATHEMATICS ON WHICH  NEW
YORK STATE COMMON CORE TESTS WILL BE BASED.
  3. "TEST SUBJECT" MEANS ANY INDIVIDUAL TO WHOM A TEST IS ADMINISTERED.
  4.  "TEST  AGENCY"  MEANS  ANY ORGANIZATION, ASSOCIATION, CORPORATION,
PARTNERSHIP OR INDIVIDUAL THAT DEVELOPS, SPONSORS OR ADMINISTERS A  TEST
PROVIDED  HOWEVER  THAT  THE DEPARTMENT SHALL NOT BE INCLUDED WITHIN THE
DEFINITION OF A TEST AGENCY FOR PURPOSES OF THIS ARTICLE.
  5. "CHILD WITH A DISABILITY" OR A "STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY" SHALL BE
DEFINED IN SECTION FORTY-FOUR HUNDRED ONE OF THIS CHAPTER.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD10517-01-5
              

S. 4835                             2

  6. "ENGLISH LANGUAGE  LEARNER"  MEANS  A  TEST  SUBJECT  WHOSE  NATIVE
LANGUAGE IS NOT ENGLISH.
  7.  "ANCHOR  ITEMS"  OR  "LINKING ITEMS" MEANS ITEMS BASED ON THE SAME
MATERIAL IN DIFFERENT FORMS ON A TEST OR MULTIPLE  TESTS  GIVEN  IN  THE
SAME  YEAR  TO  DIFFERENT GRADE LEVELS OR IN DIFFERENT YEARS TO THE SAME
GRADE LEVEL THAT ARE SCALED IN SUCH A WAY TO ENSURE THAT A  GIVEN  SCORE
REPRESENTS THE SAME LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE, REGARDLESS OF THE TEST FORM OR
YEAR,  THAT  ARE USED TO LINK DIFFERENT FORMS OF A TEST AND EQUATE THEM;
AND TO ENSURE THAT SUCH ITEMS REPRESENT A  STABLE  LEVEL  OF  DIFFICULTY
OVER TIME.
  8.  "FIELD  TEST  ITEMS" MEANS UN-SCORED ITEMS THAT ARE USED TO GATHER
DATA FOR USE ON FUTURE SCORED TESTS.
  S 349-B. DISCLOSURE. 1. THIRTY DAYS AFTER THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  ANY
COMMON CORE STATE TEST IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND MATHEMATICS GIVEN TO
TEST  SUBJECTS,  FIFTY PERCENT OF THE TEST ITEMS, AFTER EXCLUDING ANCHOR
ITEMS OR LINKING ITEMS, AND FIELD TEST ITEMS SHALL BE  RELEASED  TO  THE
PUBLIC.
  2.  AFTER  THE  SECOND  YEAR  OF ADMINISTRATION OF A COMMON CORE STATE
TEST, FULL DISCLOSURE OF ALL TEST ITEMS THAT  ARE  THE  BASIS  FOR  TEST
SUBJECTS' SCORES, SHALL BE RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC. POSTING OF TEST ITEMS
AND  CORRECT  ANSWERS  ON THE DEPARTMENT'S WEBSITE SHALL CONSTITUTE FULL
DISCLOSURE REQUIRED BY THIS SECTION.
  S 349-C. GRADE APPROPRIATE TESTS. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL DEVELOP TEST-
ING GUIDELINES TO ENSURE THAT STUDENTS ARE TESTED  AT  THEIR  FUNCTIONAL
GRADE LEVEL.
  S  349-D. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES. STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES SHALL
BE PROVIDED WITH THE TESTING ACCOMMODATIONS SPECIFIED IN THEIR  INDIVID-
UAL  EDUCATION PROGRAMS (IEPS) OR THEIR SECTION FIVE HUNDRED FOUR ACCOM-
MODATION PLANS (504 PLANS).
  S 349-E. ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS.  THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL  DEVELOP
TESTING  ACCOMMODATION GUIDELINES FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS THAT MAY
INCLUDE TIME EXTENSIONS, SEPARATE TEST LOCATIONS,  TRANSLATED  EDITIONS,
BILINGUAL DICTIONARIES AND GLOSSARIES, ORAL TRANSLATIONS FOR LOWER-INCI-
DENT LANGUAGES AND WRITTEN RESPONSES IN NATIVE LANGUAGES.
  S  349-F.  RESULTS OF COMMON CORE CURRICULUM EXAMINATIONS. THE DEPART-
MENT SHALL PROVIDE TO THE TEACHER, WHO HAS ADMINISTERED  AN  EXAMINATION
ESTABLISHED  BY  THE DEPARTMENT TO ASSESS ACHIEVEMENT OF THE COMMON CORE
CURRICULUM STANDARDS, A REPORT OF THE RESULTS OF SUCH EXAMINATION ADMIN-
ISTERED TO THE PUPILS BASED UPON SUCH PUPILS' GRADE  LEVEL,  A  COPY  OF
EACH  GRADED  EXAMINATION  AND THE RESULTS ON SUCH EXAMINATION OF PUPILS
STATEWIDE IN SUCH GRADE.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately, provided that  any  rules
or  regulations  necessary  for  the implementation of this act shall be
promulgated and take effect 180 days after such date.