SB 556

Current law requires the state superintendent of public instruction

(superintendent) to work with the Office of the Governor to establish a student

information system (SIS) to be used to collect and maintain information about pupils

enrolled in public schools. The superintendent may charge a fee to any person that

uses the SIS.

This bill requires the state superintendent to develop request-for-proposal

procedures and criteria for selecting vendors of the SIS software on a competitive

basis (selected software) and, beginning in the 2012-13 school year, to select at least

two preferred vendors whenever a selection of software is made. The bill permits the

superintendent to charge a fee to any person that uses the selected software to

participate in the SIS. The bill also permits a school district to use a software other

than the selected software to participate in the SIS, provided the school district's

student information system is compatible with the SIS on certain measures,

including the following: 1) the ability to assign a unique student identification

number to each student enrolled in the district; 2) the ability to meet current and

future state and federal reporting requirements and deadlines; and 3) the ability to

transfer electronic student transcripts, electronic data, and electronic records to the

Department of Public Instruction in the same manner and on the same schedule as

school districts using the selected software.