ENDORSED HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA - S.B. 159 (S-1): FLOOR ANALYSIS

Senate Bill 159 (Substitute S-1 as reported)

Sponsor: Senator Mike Rogers

Committee: Education

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Revised School Code to delete the current requirements concerning the awarding of a State-endorsed high school diploma and to require, instead, that a State endorsement appear on a graduate's high school diploma and transcript upon completion of specified assessment instruments. The actual test score achieved by the graduate on each of the assessment instruments would have to be printed on the State endorsement.

Specifically, the board of a school district or public school academy would have to include a State endorsement on a graduate's high school transcript for each high school graduate of a school district or public school academy who had completed each of the assessment instruments specified in the Revised School Code in the subject areas of communication skills, mathematics, science, and, beginning with pupils scheduled to graduate in 2000, social studies. If a graduate had repeated an assessment instrument for a subject area, the highest test score achieved by the graduate on an assessment instrument for that subject area would be the score printed on the State endorsement for that subject area.

The Revised School Code permits any person, upon payment of a reasonable fee, to take the State-endorsed diploma test and, upon achieving the initial mastery level in a subject area, have his or her high school diploma State-endorsed for that subject area. Under the bill, any person could take one or more State-endorsed diploma assessments, upon payment of a reasonable fee. Upon completion of all available assessments, the person could have his or her high school diploma State-endorsed with his or her test scores for each subject area.

MCL 380.1279 - Legislative Analyst: L. Arasim

FISCAL IMPACT

The fiscal impact of the bill on State and local government would depend on the date on which it took effect. The bill contains no effective date. If it were enacted and given immediate effect prior to the end of the 1996-97 school year, the Department of Education and local school districts would incur additional costs in changing endorsement procedures for this year's graduates. The amount of additional cost is unknown. If the bill took effect early next school year, endorsement procedures for 1998 graduates could be adjusted with minimal additional cost to State or local government.

Date Completed: 3-10-97 - Fiscal Analyst: E. Pratt

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This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.