Elizabeth Yelverton | NCASA Legal Affairs & Policy Manager

The House Committee on K-12 Education passed several bills relating to school performance grades on Tuesday, as well as one agency bill on mandatory education reporting, and one bill prohibiting corporal punishment in public schools. Of the bills relating to school performance grades, three bills address items identified by NCASA as legislative priorities: (1) Making permanent the 15-pt. grading scale; (2) Modifying the definition of low-performing schools; and (3) Increasing the weight of school growth in calculating school performance grades. The following is a brief summary of the bills discussed in the committee:

• H362: 15-Point Scale For School Performance Grades.
  • Makes permanent the 15-point grading scale for school performance grades

• H276: Modify Low-Performing School Definition.
  • Removes from the definition of “low-performing schools” schools that earn an overall school performance grade of D or F and a school growth score of “met expected growth.”

• H354: Modify Weighting/School Performance Grades.
  • Changes the weight for school performance grades from 80% proficiency and 20% growth to 50% proficiency and 50% growth

• H266: School Annual Report Card.
  • Modifies school performance grades to separate grades for school achievement and school growth
  • Creates a 15-point grading scale for school achievement
  • Creates a 10-point grading scale for school growth, based on EVASS standards

• H200: Education Report Changes.-AB
  • Extends reporting dates for various education reports and combines reports as recommended by the State Board of Education (SBE), the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), and the State Superintendent.
  • Makes changes to the membership of the Education Workforce Innovation Commission and staggers terms for the Professional Education Preparation and Standards Commission (PEPSC).

• H295: Prohibit Corporal Punishment in Public Schs.
  • Prohibits corporate punishment in public schools