Sec 15-1042. Timeline; student level data; definition

A. The department of education shall notify school districts, joint technical education districts and charter schools of electronic data submission procedures and shall distribute a list of the specific student level data elements, including the statutory or regulatory reference for each data element, that school districts, joint technical education districts and charter schools are required to submit. The department of education shall not make any changes to the student level data elements to be collected unless the student level data element has been reviewed and adopted by the data governance commission established by section 15-249.01.

B. Each school district, joint technical education district and charter school shall submit electronic data on a school by school basis, including student level data, to the department of education in order for the school district, joint technical education district or charter school to receive monies for the cost of educating students pursuant to this title.

C. The department of education shall grant a school district, joint technical education district or charter school an extension to the deadline for the submission of student level data or may provide for an alternative method for the submission of student level data if the school district, joint technical education district or charter school proves that good cause exists for the extension, and the school district, joint technical education district or charter school shall continue to receive monies for the cost of educating students pursuant to this title. The request for an extension of the deadline for the submission of student level data pursuant to this subsection shall include a justification for the extension and the status of current efforts towards complying with the submission of student level data.

D. A pupil or the parent or guardian of a pupil shall not be required to submit data that does not relate to the provision of educational services or assistance to the pupil.

E. Unless otherwise prescribed, school districts, joint technical education districts and charter schools shall begin to report new data elements on July 1 of the year that follows the effective date of the law that requires the collection of the data.

F. Student level data items submitted to the department of education by school districts, joint technical education districts and charter schools pursuant to this section shall not be used to adjust funding levels or calculate the average daily membership for the purpose of funding school districts at any time other than the fortieth, one hundredth and two hundredth days of the school year.

G. A school district, joint technical education district or charter school is not required to submit student level data to the department of education more often than once every twenty school days.

H. Notwithstanding subsection J of this section, the student level data shall include reasons for the withdrawal if reasons are provided by the withdrawing pupil or the pupil's parent or guardian. For the purposes of this subsection, the department of education shall include in the specific student level data elements that school districts, joint technical education districts and charter schools are required to submit data relating to students who withdraw from school because the student is pregnant or because the student is the biological parent of a child.

I. All student level data collected pursuant to this section is confidential and is not a public record. The data collected may be used for aggregate research and reporting and for providing access of student level data to school districts, joint technical education districts, charter schools, community colleges and universities under the jurisdiction of the Arizona board of regents.

J. For the purposes of this section, "student level data" means all data elements that are compiled and submitted for each student in this state and that are necessary for the completion of the statutory requirements of the department of education and the state board of education relating to the calculation of funding for public education, the determination of student academic progress as measured by student testing programs in this state, state and federal reporting requirements and other duties prescribed to the department of education or the state board of education by law. Student level data does not include data elements related to student behavior, discipline, criminal history, medical history, religious affiliation, personal physical descriptors or family information not authorized by the parent or guardian of the pupil or otherwise required by law.