Mont. Admin. r. 10.55.602 - DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms apply:
(1) "Accreditation" means
certification by the Board of Public Education that a school meets the adopted
standards of the Board of Public Education for a specified school
year.
(2) "Assessment" means the
gathering, organizing, and evaluation of information about student learning
progression, growth, and proficiency in order to monitor and measure the
effectiveness of the instructional program.
(3) "Assurance standards" means the minimal
standards of a quality education program comprised of the following
subchapters:
(4)
"Asynchronous" means not occurring at the same time. "Asynchronous" refers to
instruction and communication between participants (i.e., students and
teachers) that occur at different times.
(5) "Charter school" means a publicly funded
school that may be exempt from an assurance standard or a section of assurance
standards as defined in ARM 10.55.602(3). A charter school operates under the
supervision and control of an existing locally elected board of trustees in an
existing public school district.
(6) "Class 6 specialist" means a person with
a Class 6 specialist license in a nonteaching role of school psychologist or
school counselor.
(7) "Community
engagement" means the partnership between members of the community and schools
that may share resources and volunteer to support student well-being and
learning development.
(8)
"Comprehensive needs assessment" means a process that is used to identify
district and school area(s) of need, the root causes of identified gaps, set
priorities, and inform an action plan for improvement.
(9) "Content standard" means what all
students should know, understand, and be able to do in a specific content
area.
(10) "Corrective plan" means
a systematic procedure and timeline for resolving deviations when a school has
an accredited with probation status.
(11) "Deviation" means a citation of
noncompliance with any given standard.
(12) "Digital content provider" means an
entity, organization, or individual registered pursuant to ARM 10.55.907
offering K-12 educational content for distance, online, and
technology-delivered programs and courses.
(13) "Distance learning" means instruction in
which students and teachers are separated by time, location, or both with
synchronous or asynchronous content, instruction, and communication between
student and teacher. This instruction may consist of learning opportunities
provided through online (Internet-based) and other emerging
technologies.
(14) "Endorsement"
means an official indication on a license of the subject area(s), specialized
program area(s), or both for which the holder of the license is authorized to
practice in Montana accredited schools.
(15) "Facilitator" means the individual
assigned to monitor distance, online, and technology-delivered learning
programs pursuant to ARM 10.55.907. The facilitator may be an instructional
paraprofessional as long as there is a licensed teacher providing the
instruction.
(16) "Family
engagement" means a partnership with shared responsibility among families,
educational staff, and community groups to promote each student's learning,
well-being, and development of full educational potential during their entire
K-12 experience.
(17) "Graduate
profile" means a learner centered model(s) based on a shared vision of learner
attributes that students should have when they graduate.
(18) "Graduation rate" means a calculation
based on the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate for all students and for
each student group.
(19)
"Instructional paraprofessional" means school or district personnel whose
positions are instructional in nature and who work under the direct supervision
of licensed school personnel. The supervising licensed school personnel are
responsible for:
(a) the design,
implementation, and assessment of learner progress; and
(b) the evaluation of the effectiveness of
learning programs and related services for children.
(20) "Integrated strategic action plan" means
a district plan adopted by the board of trustees that:
(a) is aligned with the peoples' goal in
Article X, section 1 of the Montana Constitution of developing the full
educational potential of each person;
(b) ensures a learner centered system and
continuous improvement that reflects local context and needs;
(c) is based on school level comprehensive
needs assessment;
(d) has engaged
stakeholders and addresses stakeholder input and feedback; and
(e) aligns with requirements of applicable
state and federal programs.
(21) "Intensive assistance" means a required
process for schools in accredited with probation status. Such schools have
failed to develop or implement an approved corrective plan to remedy
accreditation deviations within the designated timeline.
(22) "Internship" as provided for in ARM
10.57.114 means an agreement between a fully licensed Class 1, 2, or 3
educator, the school district, and a Montana accredited educator preparation
program. Internships are permitted in endorsement areas approved by the Board
of Public Education in ARM 10.57.412 and 10.57.414 through 10.57.419.
(23) "Learning model" means the learning
experiences students engage in and teachers facilitate that are aligned to the
desired attributes of a graduate profile.
(24) "Learning progression" means the
specific performance expectations in each content area and grade-level or
grade-band from kindergarten through grade 12.
(25) "Licensure" means a certificate issued
or applied for under
20-4-101, et seq., MCA.
(26) "Literacy" means constructing and
validating knowledge in specific content areas which includes interpretation
and learning with language, numeracy, and media.
(27) "Measure" means a way to assess the
level of proficiency on a performance indicator aligned to the district
graduate profile.
(28) "Middle
grades" means grades 4 through 9.
(29) "Minimum requirement" as used in ARM
10.55.606 means groups of 10 or more students for reporting valid and reliable
results as it pertains to student performance.
(30) "Nonlicensed" means a person who does
not hold a current Montana educator license, except for a person for whom an
emergency authorization of employment has been issued under the provisions of
20-4-111, MCA.
(31) "Personalized learning" means to:
(a) develop individualized pathways for
career and postsecondary educational opportunities that honor individual
interests, passions, strengths, needs, and culture;
(b) support the student through the
development of relationships among teachers, family, peers, the business
community, postsecondary education officials, public entities, and other
community stakeholders;
(c) embed
community-based, experiential, online, and work-based learning opportunities;
and
(d) foster a learning
environment that incorporates both face-to-face and virtual
connections.
(32)
"Principal" means a person who holds a valid Montana Class 3 educator license
with an applicable principal endorsement and who is employed by a district as a
principal, or who is enrolled in a Board of Public Education approved principal
internship program under ARM 10.57.114.
(33) "Professional development" means adult
learning that increases educator effectiveness and learning outcomes for all
students.
(34) "Proficiency-based
learning" means systems of instruction, assessment, and academic reporting that
are based on students demonstrating that they have learned the knowledge and
skills as outlined in the state content standards.
(35) "Proficient" means that a student
demonstrated a level of knowledge and skills that are expected to be learned
signaling that a student is well prepared to progress on the learning continuum
aligned to the content standards, learning progressions, and necessary
readiness skills.
(36) "Program
area standards" means the subject matter Montana school districts are required
to offer and the strategies and proven practices used to instruct. The program
area standards include English language arts, arts, health and physical
education, mathematics, science, social studies, career and technical
education, technology integration, computer science, library media and
information literacy, world languages, and school counseling.
(37) "Program delivery standards" means the
conditions and practices school districts are required to provide ensuring that
every student is afforded equal educational opportunities to learn, develop,
and demonstrate achievement in content standards and content-specific
grade-level or grade-band learning progressions.
(38) "Pupil instruction" is as defined in
20-1-101, MCA.
(39) "Pupil instruction day" means a school
day of pupil instruction.
(40)
"Pupil instruction-related (PIR) day" means days of teacher activities devoted
to improving the quality of instruction. The activities may include, but are
not limited to in-service training, attending state meetings of teacher
organizations, and conducting parent conferences.
(41) "School" means, for accreditation
purposes, an educational program and grade assignments designated by the local
board of trustees in one of the following categories:
(a) an elementary school, which offers any
combination of kindergarten through eighth grade;
(b) a seventh and eighth grade school, which
comprises the basic education program for grades 7 and 8 that may be funded at
the high school rate pursuant to
20-9-306, MCA;
(c) a junior high school, which offers the
basic education program for grades 7 through 9;
(d) a middle school, which offers education
programs for grades 4 through 8 or any combination thereof; and
(e) a high school, which offers the
educational programs for grades 9 through 12 or grades 10 through 12 when
operating in conjunction with a junior high school.
(42) "School administrator" means a person
who is a part of the school's administrative or supervisory staff and who holds
a Class 3 license and is appropriately endorsed, or who is enrolled in a Board
of Public Education approved administrator internship program under ARM
10.57.114.
(43) "School district"
means the territory, regardless of county boundaries, organized under the
provisions of Title 20, MCA to provide public educational services under the
jurisdiction of the local board of trustees. A high school district may
encompass all or parts of the territory of one or more elementary districts.
"School district" refers to all state-funded special purpose schools that are
accredited under this chapter.
(44)
"School system" means the administrative unit of a district or combination of
districts. In Montana, types of school systems are as follows:
(a) "combined elementary-high school
district" means an elementary district and a high school district which are
combined into a single school system for district administration purposes
through a K-12 district, unified school system, or joint board;
(b) "independent high school district" means
a district organized for the purpose of providing public education for all or
any combination of grades 9 through 12 that is operated independent of an
elementary district; and
(c)
"independent elementary school district" means a district organized for the
purpose of providing public education for all or any combination of grades
kindergarten through grade 8 that is operated independent of a high school
district.
(45)
"Stakeholders" means community members who may be involved and invested in
districts, schools, programs, and outcomes for students. Stakeholders include
students, families, educators, leaders, business and community leaders,
taxpayers, and the many partners who support them.
(46) "State accountability system" means
federally mandated academic measures and Montana defined flex indicator(s)
within the annual meaningful differentiation process.
(47) "Student growth" means changes in
student learning as measured from one point in time to another as determined by
state or local measures, or both. The federal accountability system uses a
growth model to demonstrate student learning across time as measured by
statewide assessments.
(48)
"Student performance standards" means the measurement of student performance
and proficiency on annual state level summative assessments and graduation
rates used to determine the accreditation status of a school.
(49) "Superintendent" means a person who
holds a valid Montana Class 3 educator license, with an applicable
superintendent's endorsement, or who is enrolled in a Board of Public Education
approved superintendent internship program under ARM 10.57.114.
(50) "Synchronous" means occurring at the
same time. "Synchronous" refers to instruction and communication between
participants (i.e., students and teachers) that occurs at the same time even
though they may be in different physical locations. For example, instruction in
which students and teachers are online at the same time so that a question can
be immediately answered.
(51)
"Teacher" means a person, except a district superintendent, who holds a valid
Montana educator license issued by the Superintendent of Public Instruction
under the policies adopted by the Board of Public Education and who is employed
by a district as a member of its instructional, supervisory, or administrative
staff. This definition of a teacher includes a person for whom an emergency
authorization of employment has been issued under the provisions of
20-4-111, MCA.
(52) "Technology-delivered learning" means
instruction and content digitally delivered via technologies.
(53) "Variance to standard" means an
alternate approach to meeting or exceeding the minimum standards.
Notes
AUTH: Mont. Const. Art. X, sec. 9, 20-2-114, 20-2-121, 20-7-101, MCA; IMP: Mont. Const. Art. X, sec. 9, 20-2-121, 20-3-106, 20-7-101, MCA
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