A. A school district or charter school that provides high school instruction may establish a college and career readiness program for at-risk students. A program established pursuant to this section shall meet the following requirements:

Terms Used In Arizona Laws 15-707

  • Charter school: means a public school established by contract with the state board of education, the state board for charter schools, a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents, a community college district or a group of community college districts pursuant to article 8 of this chapter to provide learning that will improve pupil achievement. See Arizona Laws 15-101
  • Course: means organized subject matter in which instruction is offered within a given period of time and for which credit toward promotion, graduation or certification is usually given. See Arizona Laws 15-101
  • enrollment: means that a pupil is currently registered in the school district. See Arizona Laws 15-901
  • including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • School district: means a political subdivision of this state with geographic boundaries organized for the purpose of the administration, support and maintenance of the public schools or an accommodation school. See Arizona Laws 15-101
  • Subject: means a division or field of organized knowledge, such as English or mathematics, or a selection from an organized body of knowledge for a course or teaching unit, such as the English novel or elementary algebra. See Arizona Laws 15-101
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215

1. Consist of at least nine consecutive months of academic support, including tutoring and remediation, to ensure that participating students meet the academic standards adopted by the state board of education.

2. Consist of comprehensive instruction on workplace skills as adopted by the state board of education.

3. Consist of instruction on leadership and civic duty.

4. Require students who participate in the program to earn credits toward graduation from high school.

5. Require students who participate in the program to perform volunteer activities or community service.

6. Require students who participate in the program to continue to participate in the program for twelve months after graduation from high school, during which time the school district or charter school shall provide follow-up assistance that is designed to assist the student’s transition to postsecondary education, vocational or job training, military service or employment. A participating school district or charter school may develop a dual enrollment course program in order to meet the requirements of this paragraph.

7. Be administered through a private entity selected by the department of education.

B. School districts and charter schools that participate in the program shall annually report the following information to the department of education:

1. The percentage of students who participate in the program and who graduate from high school or obtain a general equivalency diploma on or within twelve months after the scheduled graduation date for that student’s classmates.

2. The percentage of students who participate in the program, who graduate from high school or obtain a general equivalency diploma and who begin participation in postsecondary education, employment, vocational or job training or military service within twelve months after the scheduled graduation date for that student’s classmates.

3. The percentage of students who participate in the program and who are either enrolled full time at a postsecondary education institution, employed full time, enrolled in a full-time vocational or job training program or on active duty in the armed forces of the United States, or any combination of these activities that in totality amounts to full-time activity, within twelve months after the scheduled graduation date for that student’s classmates.

4. The percentage of students who participate in the program and their achievement scores on the statewide assessment adopted by the state board of education prescribed in section 15-741.

C. On or before September 15 of each year, the department of education shall submit a report to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives that summarizes the information submitted pursuant to subsection B of this section. The department of education shall provide a copy of the annual report to the secretary of state.

D. For the purposes of this section, "at-risk student" means a pupil in grade eleven or twelve who either:

1. Is likely to drop out of high school without graduating.

2. Has documented academic, personal or vocational barriers to success in high school and the workplace including having been subject to discipline, suspension or expulsion pursuant to section 15-843.

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