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HB2033 - 572R - H Ver
House Engrossed
statewide assessment;
written form; requirements
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HOUSE BILL 2033
AN
ACT
amending section 15-741, Arizona
Revised Statutes; relating to school assessment and accountability.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 15-741, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
15-741.
Assessment of pupils; definition
A. The state board of education shall:
1. Adopt rules for the purposes of this article
pursuant to title 41, chapter 6.
2. Adopt and implement a statewide assessment to
measure pupil achievement of the state board-adopted academic standards in
reading, writing and mathematics in at least four grades designated by the
state board.�
Except as provided in subsection H of this
section,
the state board shall determine the manner of
implementation. The state board may administer assessments of the
academic standards in social studies and science, except that a pupil shall not
be required to meet or exceed the social studies or science standards measured
by the statewide assessment.
3. Ensure that the tests prescribed in this section
are uniform throughout this state.
4. Ensure that the tests prescribed in this section
are able to be scored in an objective manner and are not intended to advocate
any sectarian, partisan or denominational viewpoint.
5. Ensure that the tests prescribed in this article
collect only types of pupil nontest data that are approved by the state board
at a public meeting and published on the website of the state board pursuant to
paragraph 7 of this subsection.
6. Include within its budget all costs pertaining to
the tests prescribed in this article. If sufficient monies are
appropriated, the state board may provide achievement test services to school
districts that request assistance in testing pupils in grades additional to
those required by this section.
7. Survey teachers, principals and superintendents
on achievement-related nontest indicators, including information on
graduation rates by ethnicity and dropout rates by ethnicity for each grade
level.� Before the survey, the state board shall approve at a public meeting
the nontest indicators on which data will be collected and shall post in a
prominent position on the home page of the state board's website a link to the
nontest indicators entitled "What nontest data does the state of Arizona
collect about Arizona pupils?". The linked webpage shall state
the types of data collected, the reasons for the collection of the data and the
entities with which the data is shared. In conducting the survey and
collecting data, the state board shall not violate the provisions of the family
educational rights and privacy act (P.L. 93-380), as amended, or disclose
personally identifiable information.
8. Establish a fair and consistent method and
standard by which test scores from schools in a district may be evaluated
taking into consideration demographic data. The state board shall
establish intervention strategies to assist schools with scores below the
acceptable standard. The state board shall annually review district
and school scores and shall offer assistance to school districts in analyzing
data and implementing intervention strategies. The state board shall
use the adopted test and methods of data evaluation for a period of at least
ten years.
9. Participate in other assessments that provide
national comparisons as needed.
10. Require in the contract for the statewide
assessment pursuant to this section that test scores and assessment data from
the third grade reading portion of the statewide assessment adopted pursuant to
this section be received by local education agencies on or before May 15 of
each academic year and that the scores and assessment data from all other
portions of the statewide assessment adopted pursuant to this section be
received by local education agencies on or before May 25 of each academic
year.� The state board shall impose penalties on the contractor for scores
received after these dates. If the state board alters the statewide
assessment testing window for any reason, the state board may adjust the dates
by which local education agencies are required to receive the scores and
assessment data proportionately.� If the state board adjusts the dates by which
local education agencies are required to receive the scores and assessment
data, the state board may not impose penalties on the contractor unless the
scores and assessment data are received after the adjusted dates.
B. The achievement tests adopted by the state board
as provided in subsection A of this section shall be given at least
annually. Nontest indicator data and other information shall be
collected at the same time as the collection of achievement test data.
C. Local school district governing boards shall:
1. Administer the tests prescribed in subsection A
of this section.
2. Survey teachers, principals and superintendents
on achievement-related nontest indicator data as required by the state
board, including information related to district graduation and dropout rates.�
In conducting the survey and collecting data, the governing board shall not
violate the provisions of the family educational rights and privacy act
(P.L. 93-380), as amended, or disclose personally identifiable
information.
D. Any additional assessments for high school pupils
that are adopted by the state board after November 24, 2009 shall be designed
to measure college and career readiness of pupils.
E. If a high school pupil who is enrolled in a
school district or charter school participates in a nationally recognized
assessment that is� both adopted by the state board of education pursuant to
subsection A of this section and administered by a person other than the school
district or charter school, the pupil or pupil's parent or guardian may submit
the pupil's official score report for the assessment to the school district or
charter school. On receipt of an official score report pursuant to
this subsection, the school district or charter school shall do all of the
following:
1. Record the score in the pupil's file.�
2. Report the score to the state board of education
and the department of education.
3. If the pupil or pupil's parent or guardian
submits an official score report pursuant to this subsection to the school
district or charter school before the date on which the school administers the
tests prescribed in subsection A of this section, allow the pupil to opt out of
participation in the assessment that is administered by the school district or
charter school.� If a pupil opts out of an assessment pursuant to this
paragraph, the school district or charter school shall use the data from the
pupil's official score report for the pupil's achievement test data for the
purposes of this section. This paragraph does not require a school
district or charter school to allow a pupil to opt out of the collection of
nontest indicator data or other information that is collected about pupils who
participate in the assessment that is administered by the school district or
charter school pursuant to this section.
F. A test for penmanship shall not be required
pursuant to this article.
G. If a local education agency requests a raw data
file of assessment data for the pupils tested at the local education agency,
the department of education shall fulfill the request in a format that is
usable for assessment diagnostics within thirty days after the request.� The
local education agency shall follow all applicable student data privacy laws
and may not publicly disclose individual student achievement results.
H. A school district or charter school may
administer the statewide assessment in the form of a written test
if
for
any of the following
applies
reasons
:
1. A written test is required pursuant to an
individualized education program or a section 504 plan as defined in section 15-731.
2. To accommodate special circumstances.
3. For religious purposes.
4. On request by a pupil's parent or guardian.
5. On approval by a majority vote of
the school district governing board or charter school governing body.
I. For the purposes of this section,
"nationally recognized" has the same meaning prescribed in section 15-741.02.
END_STATUTE