Suspend Statewide Assessments For Select Grades

The act suspends the administration of state assessments, contingent on receiving a waiver of federal law from the federal department of education, for the following instructional areas and grade levels for the 2020-21 school year:

• Science for students enrolled in grades 5, 8, and 11;
• Math for students enrolled in grades 3, 5, and 7; and
• English language arts for students enrolled in grades 4, 6, and 8.

For the 2020-21 school year, the act suspends administration of the social studies assessment for students enrolled in elementary and middle school.

The act allows the parent of a student enrolled in a grade for which administration of the English language arts or math assessment is suspended to request through the local education provider in which the student is enrolled that the student participate in the English language arts assessment or the math assessment.

The act prohibits a school district from using student academic growth measures or student performance measures when evaluating licensed personnel for the 2020-21 school year.

The act requires a school or school district or the state charter school institute to implement the performance plan type that was assigned in the preceding school year. The act also requires the department of education (department), in determining the number of school years that a school or school district or the institute is on performance watch or subject to 2-year review, to exclude the plan types for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years and count the plan type for the 2022-23 school year as if it were consecutive to the 2019-20 school year.

If required to implement a priority improvement or turnaround plan during the 2020-21 school year on the basis of its plan type for the 2019-20 school year, the act allows a school or school district or the institute to request a plan type for the 2021-22 school year that reflects its level of attainment based on an alternative body of evidence.

For the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, the act suspends the requirement that the department determine annually the level of attainment for public schools, school districts, the institute, and institute charter schools based on performance indicators.

The act reduces the appropriation to the department for the 2020-21 fiscal year.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)