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Indianapolis Star
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana brings back A-F grades, but exactly how schools will be measured undecided
Schools across Indiana will start seeing A-F letter grades again in 2026, thanks to a law signed by Gov. Mike Braun after the practice was suspended for seven years. House Bill 1498 requires the state board of education to approve a new methodology for school performance by the end of this year and then assign schools A-F grades based on that new methodology. The final vote on the bill in the House fell mostly along party lines with a 65-25 vote. The bill also includes some specifics that the methodology must be based upon metrics listed in the Indiana Department of Education's Graduates Prepared to Succeed (GPS) dashboard, including proficiency rates for IREAD and ILEARN and the attainment of diploma seals. However, the bill also allows the state board of education to include whatever other factors they deem necessary in the methodology. The state must hand out letter grades for all schools across the state, including private schools, no later than Dec. 31, 2026. Schools would not get a letter grade for the 2024-25 year. Indiana stopped handing out letter grades in 2018 as the state was attempting to revamp the grading methodology to accommodate the new ILEARN test. Then, grades were delayed even further due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said during the House Education committee hearing on HB 1498 that previously she had advocated moving away from a single letter grade for schools, but admitted parents had come to her asking for an easier way to understand how schools are doing. More School news: ACLU sues Gov. Mike Braun after law eliminates Indiana University trustee elections She said parents found the many metrics listed on the Indiana GPS dashboard to be confusing and wanted an easier way to gauge a school's success. The bill also allows the IDOE to consider eliminating high school diploma waivers altogether, which allow qualifying students to be exempt from certain graduation requirements under the state's 'graduation pathways.' Jenner said that since the state's overall waiver usage has been going down steadily in recent years, she doesn't see the need to make drastic changes to that right now. 'Our data is going in the right direction there, and I think we have to ensure we're working with schools, parents and families so we're never pulling the rug out too early,' Jenner said during the House Education Committee meeting in January. Some Democratic lawmakers said during committee hearings on the bill that they think using a single letter grade is too simplistic for something as complex as how a school is working for its students. Rep. Ed Delaney, D-Indianapolis, suggested that rather than a letter grade, schools instead be shown as either needing state intervention or not. His amendment to include that failed to pass. Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, said during the Senate committee hearing on the bill that he hopes the metrics for grading include more than just testing scores, which could unfairly punish predominantly low-income schools compared to wealthier schools. Erin Geddes, who sends her three kids to Warren Township schools, told IndyStar she's worried the letter grades will just further divide wealthy districts from the lower-income ones. More changes coming: Once a school board member, Gov. Braun signs law making school board elections partisan 'These grades do nothing to highlight excellent teachers and administrative staff who are doing everything they can with what resources, support, or home life their students come from,' Geddes said. Instead, Geddes thinks the state should be asking families how they would grade their schools. 'Ask us parents because we're the experts on our own kids, and that way it isn't a collective punishment on our own schools, which we chose for our kids,' Geddes said. Other parents like Jennifer Goetz, who has three children at Avon Community schools and was a former teacher at a Chicago public school, believe the letter grades will reinforce the wrong things. She's worried the grades will further pressure schools to only teach students how to pass tests, instead of making sure they learn the skills they need to be strong in reading and math in the future. 'That's what I saw when I was teaching in Chicago, just the pressure to meet the grades and not necessarily ensure authentic learning was happening,' Goetz told IndyStar. However, getting back to delivering a letter grade for every public and private school in Indiana is something that lawmakers and the state department have been wanting since the state's newest standardized test, ILEARN, was implemented. Republican lawmakers supporting the bill said letter grades are an important aspect of holding schools responsible for student success. "School accountability is really important and this is a giant step in that direction," said Sen. Spencer Deery, R-West Lafayette, during floor discussion on the bill. During the January state board of education meeting, Jenner gave a presentation on a tentative framework of what the state's accountability model for grade schools could be based on. During that meeting, she explained that the current grading model for grades 3-8 is primarily focused on state assessments and academic growth. For high school grades, it was based on state assessments and other indicators like college and career readiness and graduation rates. Keep up with school news: Sign up for Study Hall, IndyStar's free weekly education newsletter. Some of the changes Jenner then proposed for grading third grade included literacy rates, something already required under HB 1498, but also student attendance improvements. For grades 4-8, Jenner proposed attendance metrics as well as growth in ILEARN math and ELA, as well as advanced coursework. For the high school grades, Jenner suggested that attendance metrics, advanced coursework, attainment of diploma seals, work-based learning and earning credentials of value be included in the grading metrics.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Indiana bill to exempt some English language learners from reading retention heads to governor
Indianapolis Republican Rep. Robert Behning talks about his reading bill on April 22, 2025. (Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Exceptions to the state's new third grade retention law and tweaks to high school career fair requirements were baked into the final draft of a bill that's now en route to the governor's desk. House Bill 1499, a follow-up to last year's literacy overhaul law that requires reading-deficient third graders to be held back a year in school, earned unanimous approval from the House chamber on Tuesday. Current statute requires that — if after three attempts — a third grade student is unable to pass the IREAD assessment, they must be held back a year in school. This year's bill, once signed into law, will give students at least two chances to retake the exam over the summer to avoid retention. In 2024, roughly 10,500 Hoosier third graders were still unable to pass the IREAD after retaking the exam once over the summer, according to a legislative fiscal analysis. It also allows schools whose third grade student population is comprised of at least 50% English language learners to register those students with the Indiana Department of Education for an exemption from the retention requirement until until the beginning of the 2027-2028 academic year if they are unable to pass the IREAD. The exemption would apply to an estimated 797 third grade English language learner students annually across 38 Indiana public schools. The proposal, authored by Rep. Bob Behning, R-Indianapolis, additionally permits career fairs to be held off of school property — as long as the school provides transportation. Current state law requires high schools to hold an annual career fair for 11th and 12th grade students. Another piece of the bill reduces minimum work requirements for Indiana's work-study program from 12 to 10 hours per week. The state currently matches 50% of the hourly wage for high school and college students who participate in Employment Aid Readiness Network (EARN) Indiana. A fiscal analysis expects the change to increase the number of participating employers and students. Although earlier versions of the legislation sought to add new literacy endorsement mandates for school administrators, those provisions were ultimately deleted. A state law passed last year still requires Hoosier teachers to complete the 80-hour training. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Chicago Tribune
28-02-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
State education bills on the move at halfway mark; session picks back up Monday
Education bills in the Indiana Statehouse drew scrutiny and controversy as the surviving bills head to the opposite chamber as the budget session reaches its halfway mark. After a week off, lawmakers return to Indianapolis on Monday. The session is scheduled to end April 29. Education spending, about half of the two-year $46.7 billion budget, often is contentious. A Senate bill directing traditional public schools to share property tax revenue with charter schools passed by a 28-21 vote after hours of debate Feb. 20 as the first half neared its end. The bill calls for property tax sharing if 100 or more students in a district's boundaries attend a charter school. The districts would also have to share a portion of their debt service levy. It drew expected opposition from Northwest Indiana Democrats but this time they were joined by Republicans Dan Dernulc, R-Highland, Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, and Mike Bohacek, R-Michigan City. The bill passed 28-21. Charter schools are typically located in urban districts that lean strongly Democratic. Republicans, who control the Senate by a 40-10 margin, are often their biggest supporters. All 18 Democratic amendments to change the bill failed. 'If this body is truly about choice, then why (does) choice have to come at the expense of the choice of a million people going to traditional schools?' said Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis. 'The clear losers here are the students and the parents who have chosen to send their students to traditional public schools,' said Sen. Shelli Yoder, D-Bloomington. 'We hear people talk about school choice, but it robs tax dollars from the parents of 90% of our future students who choose public schools.' Locally, the bill would have the biggest impact on the Gary Community School Corp., just emerging from seven years of state control. The city is home to six charter schools. Last fall, there were 11,764 students in Gary's district boundaries and just 35%, or 4,144, attended the school district. The remainder, or nearly 7,000 students, turned to charters, neighboring districts or private schools. Officials at the Indianapolis Public Schools said as many as 20 schools could be closed with staff layoffs if the bill passes. The bill's author, Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger, said she supports the principle of property tax money following the student. 'Those tax dollars, for years, have not followed their children. Today we need to make that change.' Rogers said traditional public schools are receiving property tax dollars for students they aren't educating. Responding to critics who say charter school board members aren't elected, Rogers added a provision allowing traditional public schools to appoint a member to a charter school's board. Here's a look at other bills that passed. A-F grades: House Bill 1498 requires the Department of Education to establish a new A-F grading system to take effect next year. IREAD: House Bill 1499 allows certain students to retake the IREAD exam at least twice in the summer before retention requirements apply. Certain English language students would be exempt from compliance with the retention requirement. Chronic absenteeism: House Bill 1201 prohibits a school from expelling or suspending a student who's been chronically absent or habitually truant. It requires the Department of Education to establish best discipline practices for chronically absent students. Senate Bill 482, which also addresses chronic absenteeism, passed in the Senate. Transgender athlete ban: House Bill 1041 bans transgender women from participating in collegiate athletics. Education deregulation: House Bill 1002 eases long-held policies, removing certain teacher training and professional development requirements, expired provisions and repealed unfunded grants. It also eliminated the education credential requirement for the Indiana Secretary of Education. Partisan school board: Senate Bill 267 calls for school board candidates to declare a party affiliation. Teacher Compensation: Senate Bill 249 permits school corporations to provide a supplemental payment to teachers in excess of already negotiated salary. Bullying: House Bill 1539 expands the definition of bullying to include severe one-time acts. It gives schools one business day to notify parents of the alleged perpetrator and targeted students. The current time is five days. Chaplains: Senate Bill 523 allows a principal or superintendent of a public school, including a charter school, to approve bringing in a school chaplain if certain requirements are met.
