Title 17. Education

Chapter 39. The Children First Act

Part III. School Excellence

Subpart A. Progress Profiles and Data Collection

17:3911      Data collection system; establishment

A. The department shall establish a standardized data collection and analysis system which shall be used to collect the data provided in Subsection B of this Section and shall be the basis for the creation of the progress profiles provided for in this Subpart. 

B. (1) The data collection system shall provide for but shall not be limited to the regular collection of the following information on a per school basis, including schools and educational programs located within secure care facilities under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of juvenile justice: 

(a) The results of all tests required by law or board regulation, including results from any state required criterion-referenced test, norm-referenced test, and graduation exit exam. 

(b) College readiness test information, including American College Test scores. 

(c) School performance scores pursuant to R.S. 17:10.1. 

(d) Dropout rates, as defined by board rule. 

(e) Student attendance rates. 

(f) High school completion rates. 

(g) Faculty information. 

(h) Financial information. 

(i) Student discipline information, in total and by unduplicated counts, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, sex, English learner status, and students with exceptionalities, excluding gifted and talented, in accordance with data collection conducted pursuant to 20 U.S.C. 3413(c)(1), including but not limited to the following: 

(i) In-school suspensions. 

(ii) Out-of-school suspensions. 

(iii) In-school expulsions. 

(iv) Out-of-school expulsions. 

(v) Removals to an alternative education setting by school personnel. 

(vi) Referrals to law enforcement. 

(vii) School-related arrests. 

(j) Class size information. 

(k) Number of students in the general population and number of students in classes for students with exceptionalities. 

(l) Number of school resource officers. 

(m) Such other data as the board may approve. 

(2) The data collection system may also provide for but shall not be limited to the regular collection of the following information: 

(a) Faculty attendance rates. 

(b) Number of students in advanced placement classes. 

(c) Number of National Merit Scholarship finalists and semi-finalists. 

(d) Socio-demographic student information. 

(e) Such other data as the board may approve. 

(3) Each city and parish school board shall ensure that all schools under its jurisdiction accurately report student discipline information, including referrals by teachers for serious disciplinary offenses, using the uniform reporting form developed by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 17:416(A)(4)(a)(iii). Each board shall have school-level summaries of the reported student discipline information prepared for its use and shall formally review and analyze the summary information on a regular basis. Upon request by the state Department of Education, the student discipline information required by this Paragraph also shall be collected as part of the data collection system provided for by this Section. The provisions of this Paragraph shall apply to schools and educational programs located within secure care facilities under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of juvenile justice. 

(4)(a) The department shall annually collect the following data elements for students with an exceptionality by each disability classification, including breakouts of each speech or language impairment category and breakouts of each intellectual disability category, not including students identified exclusively as gifted and talented, for each city, parish, or other local public school board. The following data elements shall be reported for each disability classification in total as well as by unduplicated counts by race, gender, age, and sex: 

(i) Setting. 

(ii) Exit code. 

(iii) Participation in each assessment type by grade and subject. 

(iv) Scoring at the proficient level on each test administered pursuant to the school and district accountability program by grade and subject. 

(v) Eligibility for an extended school year program. 

(vi) Attending extended school year program. 

(vii) Receiving initial evaluations, re-evaluations and waivers from evaluations. 

(b) The data collection system shall also include information on student discipline for each public school by percentage and unduplicated counts of total students with exceptionalities receiving discipline, including: 

(i) In-school suspensions, broken down by categories of ten days or less and more than ten days. 

(ii) Out-of-school suspensions, broken down by categories of ten days or less and more than ten days. 

(iii) In-school expulsions, broken down by categories of ten days or less and more than ten days. 

(iv) Out-of-school expulsions, broken down by categories of ten days or less and more than ten days.

(v) Restraint procedures. 

(vi) Seclusion procedures. 

(vii) Unilateral removals to an interim alternative educational setting by school personnel by disability classification and by reason for removal. 

(c) The data collection system shall also include: 

(i) Percentage and unduplicated count of special education teachers by qualification level for each city, parish, or other local public school system. 

(ii) Data and information regarding city, parish, or other local public school board high cost assistance requests and awards including but not limited to the unduplicated count of students included in the request, the total amount requested, and the amount awarded. 

(d) The department shall annually compile a report that includes data on each element gathered from the latest collection cycle and trend data from the three prior years. The report shall be sent to each public school governing authority and published on the department’s website. 

(e) The requirements of this Paragraph shall not be construed to violate the provisions of R.S. 17:3914. 

(f) For any fiscal year in which the department fails to collect and report the required data, the state treasurer shall withhold an amount equal to twenty-five percent of the state general funds appropriated to the state Department of Education through the general appropriations bill for “STATE ACTIVITIES” which are allocated for travel expenses, until such time as the department complies with the provisions of this Paragraph. 

C. The department shall: 

(1) Develop all procedures and formats for the defining and reporting of all data and statistical components and annually review them. 

(2) Assist each local board and the office of juvenile justice in compiling the information by identifying and providing any required and discretionary information currently collected at the state level. 

(3) Perform the statistical analysis necessary to aggregate the reported data. 

(4) Coordinate all existing and new data collection efforts so as to minimize paperwork at the school and school system level. 

(5) Obtain concurrence of the city, parish, or other local public school system prior to changing the exit code assigned to a student by the school system. 

D. The board shall review and approve, modify, or reject the data collection system created by the department pursuant to this Section. 

Added by Acts 1988, No. 659, § 1, eff. July 15, 1988. Amended by Acts 1992, No. 325, § 1, eff. June 17, 1992; Acts 1996, 1st Ex.Sess., No. 40, § 1; Acts 1999, No. 1373, § 1, eff. July 12, 1999; Acts 2016, No. 485, § 1, eff. June 13, 2016; Acts 2016, No. 500, § 3, eff. Aug. 1, 2016; Acts 2018, No. 660, § 1, eff. June 1, 2018; Acts 2019, No. 21, § 1; Acts 2019, No. 148, § 1; Acts 2023, No. 97, § 1, eff. June 6, 2023.