SB0184S03 | School Assessment and Accountability Amendments

Description
General Description: 

This bill makes amendments to provisions related to public school assessment and accountability.

Highlighted Provisions: 

This bill:
▸ provides that, for the 2020-2021 school year, the State Board of Education is not
required to:
• identify schools not achieving state-established acceptable levels of student
performance for the 2020-2021 school year;
• assign to each school an overall rating using an A through F letter grading scale;
• publish a report card for each school on the state board's website; or
• determine school performance success and student academic achievement under the Teacher and Student Success Program.

Bill Details
Year: 
2021
Status: 
Governor Signed
Last Action: 
Mar 17, 2021
Sponsor
Senator
Democrat - District 15
Fiscal Note
Fiscal Note Amount: 
$0
None
Utah PTA Response
Utah PTA Position
Support
Impact on Children: 

Perceptions of school quality are impacted by schools’ accountability ratings and have consequences for the economy of the schools’ community. It will be beneficial to remove the focus on assessment in order to focus on helping students and schools overcome the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Commission: 
Education
Utah PTA Public Policy Program
National PTA and Utah PTA Resolutions: 

That Utah PTA advocates against the implementation of any accountability system that reduces the evaluation of a school to a single grade or score, that ranks schools beyond statistical confidence, and that grades on a bell curve.

Utah PTA Legislative Priorities: 

Support accountability for all public schools that take into account the needs of students, teachers, and communities including the suspension or elimination of rating schools with a single letter grade and the establishment of a new baseline for future accountability measures.