February 28, 2001, Introduced by Reps. Gosselin, Garcia, Vander Veen, Bradstreet, Vear, Kooiman, Hager, Voorhees, Kuipers and Tabor and referred to the Committee on Education.
A bill to amend 1976 PA 451, entitled "The revised school code," by amending section 1278 (MCL 380.1278), as amended by 1995 PA 289.
| 1 | Sec. 1278. (1) In addition to the requirements for accred- |
| 2 | itation under section 1280 specified in that section, if the |
| 2 | itation under section 1280 specified in that section, if the |
| 3 | board of a school district wants all of the schools of the school |
| 4 | district to be accredited under section 1280, the board shall |
| 5 | provide to all pupils attending public school in the district a |
| 6 | core academic curriculum in compliance with subsection (3) in |
| 7 | each of the curricular areas specified in the state board recom- |
| 8 | mended model core academic curriculum content standards developed |
| 9 | under subsection (2). The state board model core academic |
| 10 | curriculum content standards shall encompass academic and |
| 1 | cognitive instruction only. For purposes of this section, the |
| 2 | state board model core academic curriculum content standards |
| 3 | shall not include attitudes, beliefs, or value systems that are |
| 4 | not essential in the legal, economic, and social structure of our |
| 5 | society and to the personal and social responsibility of citizens |
| 6 | of our society. |
| 7 | (2) Recommended model core academic curriculum content stan- |
| 8 | dards shall be developed and periodically updated by the state |
| 9 | board, shall be in the form of knowledge and skill content stan- |
| 10 | dards that are recommended as state standards for adoption by |
| 11 | public schools in local curriculum formulation and adoption, and |
| 12 | shall be distributed to each school district in the state. The |
| 13 | recommended model core academic curriculum content standards |
| 14 | shall set forth desired learning objectives in math, science, |
| 15 | reading, history, geography, economics, American government, and |
| 16 | writing for all children at each stage of schooling; and SHALL |
| 17 | be based upon the "Michigan K-12 program standards of quality" to |
| 18 | ensure that high academic standards, academic skills, and aca- |
| 19 | demic subject matters are built into the instructional goals of |
| 20 | all school districts for all children; AND SHALL COMPLY WITH SUB- |
| 21 | SECTION (10). The state board also shall ensure that the |
| 22 | Michigan educational assessment program and the high school pro- |
| 23 | ficiency exam are ASSESSMENTS UNDER SECTION 1279 SHALL BE based |
| 24 | on the state recommended model core ACADEMIC curriculum content |
| 25 | standards, are testing SHALL TEST only for proficiency in basic |
| 26 | academic skills and academic subject matter, and are not SHALL |
| 27 | NOT BE used to measure pupils' values or attitudes. |
| 1 | (3) The board of each school district, considering academic |
| 2 | curricular objectives defined and recommended pursuant to subsec- |
| 3 | tion (2), shall do both of the following: |
| 4 | (a) Establish a core academic curriculum for its pupils at |
| 5 | the elementary, middle, and secondary school levels. The core |
| 6 | academic curriculum shall define academic objectives to be |
| 7 | achieved by all pupils and shall be based upon the school |
| 8 | district's educational mission, long-range pupil goals, and pupil |
| 9 | performance objectives. The core academic curriculum may vary |
| 10 | from the model core academic curriculum content standards recom- |
| 11 | mended by the state board pursuant to subsection (2). |
| 12 | (b) After consulting with teachers and school building |
| 13 | administrators, determine the aligned instructional program for |
| 14 | delivering the core academic curriculum and identify the courses |
| 15 | and programs in which the core academic curriculum will be |
| 16 | taught. |
| 17 | (4) The board may supplement the core academic curriculum by |
| 18 | providing instruction through additional classes and programs. |
| 19 | (5) For all pupils, the subjects or courses, and the deliv- |
| 20 | ery of those including special assistance, that constitute the |
| 21 | curriculum the pupils engage in shall assure the pupils have a |
| 22 | realistic opportunity to learn all subjects and courses required |
| 23 | by the district's core academic curriculum in order to give all |
| 24 | pupils a reasonable opportunity to attain a state-endorsed |
| 25 | diploma STATE ENDORSEMENT UNDER SECTION 1279. A subject or |
| 26 | course required by the core academic curriculum pursuant to |
| 27 | subsection (3) shall be provided to all pupils in the school |
| 1 | district by a school district, a consortium of school districts, |
| 2 | or a consortium of 1 or more school districts and 1 or more |
| 3 | intermediate school districts. |
| 4 | (6) To the extent practicable, the state board may adopt or |
| 5 | develop academic objective-oriented high standards for knowledge |
| 6 | and life skills, and a recommended core academic curriculum, for |
| 7 | special education pupils for whom it may not be realistic or |
| 8 | desirable to expect achievement of novice level or initial mas- |
| 9 | tery of the state board recommended model core academic content |
| 10 | standards objectives or of a high school diploma. |
| 11 | (7) The state board shall make available to all nonpublic |
| 12 | schools in this state, as a resource for their consideration, the |
| 13 | model core academic curriculum content standards developed for |
| 14 | public schools pursuant to subsection (2) for the purpose of |
| 15 | assisting the governing body of a nonpublic school in developing |
| 16 | its core academic curriculum. |
| 17 | (8) Excluding special education pupils, pupils having a |
| 18 | learning disability, and pupils with extenuating circumstances as |
| 19 | determined by school officials, a pupil who does not score satis- |
| 20 | factorily on the 4th or 7th grade Michigan educational assessment |
| 21 | program reading test shall be provided special assistance reason- |
| 22 | ably expected to enable the pupil to bring his or her reading |
| 23 | skills to grade level within 12 months. |
| 24 | (9) Any course that would have been considered a nonessen- |
| 25 | tial elective course under Snyder v Charlotte School Dist, 421 |
| 26 | Mich 517 (1984), on April 13, 1990 shall continue to be offered |
| 27 | to resident pupils of nonpublic schools on a shared time basis. |
| 1 | (10) AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS |
| 2 | SUBSECTION, THE STATE BOARD SHALL REVISE THE RECOMMENDED MODEL |
| 3 | CORE ACADEMIC CURRICULUM CONTENT STANDARDS UNDER SUBSECTION (2) |
| 4 | AS FOLLOWS: |
| 5 | (A) IN THE SCIENCE STANDARDS, ALL REFERENCES TO "EVOLUTION" |
| 6 | AND "HOW SPECIES CHANGE THROUGH TIME" SHALL BE MODIFIED TO INDI- |
| 7 | CATE THAT THIS IS AN UNPROVEN THEORY BY ADDING THE PHRASE "ALL |
| 8 | STUDENTS WILL EXPLAIN THE COMPETING THEORIES OF EVOLUTION AND |
| 9 | NATURAL SELECTION BASED ON RANDOM MUTATION AND THE THEORY THAT |
| 10 | LIFE IS THE RESULT OF THE PURPOSEFUL, INTELLIGENT DESIGN OF A |
| 11 | CREATOR.". |
| 12 | (B) IN THE SCIENCE STANDARDS FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL, ALL |
| 13 | REFERENCES TO "EVOLUTION" AND "NATURAL SELECTION" SHALL BE MODI- |
| 14 | FIED TO INDICATE THAT THESE ARE UNPROVEN THEORIES BY ADDING THE |
| 15 | PHRASE "DESCRIBE HOW LIFE MAY BE THE RESULT OF THE PURPOSEFUL, |
| 16 | INTELLIGENT DESIGN OF A CREATOR.". |
| 17 | (C) IN THE SCIENCE STANDARDS FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL, ALL |
| 18 | REFERENCES TO "EVOLUTION" AND "NATURAL SELECTION" SHALL BE MODI- |
| 19 | FIED TO INDICATE THAT THESE ARE UNPROVEN THEORIES BY ADDING THE |
| 20 | PHRASE "EXPLAIN THE COMPETING THEORIES OF EVOLUTION AND NATURAL |
| 21 | SELECTION BASED ON RANDOM MUTATION AND THE THEORY THAT LIFE IS |
| 22 | THE RESULT OF THE PURPOSEFUL, INTELLIGENT DESIGN OF A CREATOR.". |