HB 1479 Summary

• Schools remaining in either of the two lowest performance categories for a fifth year (or earlier in certain circumstances) become turnaround academies subject to state board intervention and management.

• State board must establish specific annual goals for turnaround academies including academic achievement, attendance rates, graduation rates, and financial management, with consequences for failure to meet goals.

• Turnaround academies may be operated by special management teams that are not bound by existing school corporation contracts and make all personnel decisions independently.

• Turnaround academies that meet established goals become independent school corporations with separate identification numbers, eligible for federal and state education funding.

• New definitions added for "performance bond," "quality review," "special management team," and "turnaround academy" to clarify the intervention process and accountability measures.