HOUSE BILL No. 4382
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.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 1278. (1) In addition to the requirements for accred-
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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.".
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