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Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bipartisan bills aim to change how Oklahoma schools are graded on chronic absenteeism
Grading public schools based on students' poor attendance has gained bipartisan opposition in the Oklahoma Legislature. Lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle said they support tracking chronic absenteeism rates, but they called it unfair to penalize schools for it. Students are considered chronically absent if they miss 10% or more of the school year. Chronic absenteeism is one of six factors that can impact a school's A-F grade on the Oklahoma State Report Cards. Federal law requires states to track and report chronic absenteeism rates, and at least 36 states use it while grading school performance. The head of the Senate Education Committee, Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, proposed replacing chronic absenteeism on state report cards with a climate survey of a school's students, parents and employees. Under Pugh's Senate Bill 711, attendance rates could count as a bonus for a school's A-F grade. Rep. Ellen Pogemiller, D-Oklahoma City, and Rep. Ronny Johns, R-Ada, filed similar legislation in the House with House Bill 1131 and House Bill 1412 to add a school climate survey to state report cards in place of chronic absenteeism. Changing a factor on the report cards requires approval from the U.S. Department of Education. Pugh and Pogemiller said chronic absenteeism is important to measure, but they agreed student attendance is not something districts entirely control. 'Schools aren't in charge of bringing kids to school. Parents are,' Pogemiller said. 'I know that districts across the state are trying their best to address chronic absenteeism and so that still should be a priority, but I don't think they should be evaluated by it on a metric that's so prominent on our state report card.' Chronic absenteeism is worth 10 points on state report cards, the same point value as a high school's graduation rate, the progress of students learning English as a second language and post-secondary opportunities exposure. State testing performance, called academic achievement, carries the heaviest weight in a report card score followed by academic growth, which measures how much state test results have improved. Pugh said it would be more logical for a school's A-F grade to reflect what students, parents, faculty and staff say about how their school is performing and how it could improve. He said poor attendance reflects challenges existing in the broader community, and it's an issue every state is trying to tackle. 'I just feel it's unfair to hold the school district accountable for something that might be a much bigger macro-level problem than just what's happening inside the school district,' Pugh said. Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: info@ Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and Twitter. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma bill could change schools' grading for chronic absenteeism
Axios
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Chronic absenteeism and Cumberland carve out on legislative agenda
We're almost a month into the legislative session, which means dozens of bills are moving. The big picture: Priority bills dealing with property taxes, health care costs and the state's two-year budget aren't on any agendas yet, but plenty of other issues are getting hearings. Here are the bills we're watching this week: 🧩 Carving out Cumberland House Bill 1131 would exclude the town of Cumberland from Marion County's "unigov" system. Driving the bill: Cumberland straddles Marion and Hancock counties, so the quarter of residents living in Marion County are subject to different rules and services. It will be heard in the House Local Government Committee at 8:30am Tuesday. 🏠 First-time homebuyers House Bill 1519 would create a new fund to provide downpayment assistance and other financial help for qualified first-time homebuyers. It's on the docket for the House Financial Institutions Committee at 10:30am Tuesday. Why it matters: Indy's hot housing market is still challenging for young people, low- and middle-income families and first-time buyers. 🟢 Chronic absenteeism bills keep moving House Bill 1201, which seeks to identify common reasons behind absenteeism and provide support for students and schools, passed the House Education Committee unanimously last week. Senate Bill 482 includes some of the same language and was heard in the Senate Education Committee last week. It should get a vote on Wednesday and is expected to pass. Between the lines: Lawmakers have been discussing chronic absenteeism for the last several years after a report showed that nearly one-quarter of Hoosiers kids were chronically absent from school. ⏳ Shutting down "spinning" on hold For the second year in a row, lawmakers are trying to crack down on "spinning," but the bill is hung up in the Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee. How it works: Senate Bill 13 would outlaw spinning your car in a circle, also known as doing doughnuts, a practice that's become part of the illegal street takeovers plaguing IMPD. A similar bill passed the Senate last year but wasn't taken up by the House. It's on the committee's agenda again, scheduled for 9:30am Tuesday.
