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November 24, 2015      5:36 PM

New grading system for schools could lead to huge changes not anticipated by lawmakers

Budgets, technology, special programs don’t matter if “Texas doesn’t clearly define what is most important to you and the future of this state and the children who reside here.”

During a recent Texas visit, Florida officials laid out their A-F accountability system for individual schools at a business group’s meeting and it became clear that the ramifications for this state are far bigger than ever discussed during the legislative session.

School officials in Texas roundly opposed the labels while lawmakers were in Austin, as part of the larger House Bill 2804, but arguments usually devolved into complaints that no parent or child could take pride in a “D” or “F” school. The final record vote in the House was 119-17-2. The only senator to vote “no” on May 30 was Royce West, with a final tally of 30-1. It was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott.

“I hear school superintendents talk all the time about the lack of parental involvement in schools,” Bill Hammond of the Texas Association of Business wrote in an opinion piece in March. “I would argue that nothing would get parents more involved in their child’s school than an A-F grading system, because, for the first time, parents would truly understand how their schools are doing. It would force schools to come up with an action plan to improve their grades and give parents new options to help their local schools become the best that they can be.”

The system, however, is not as simple as a set of labels.

By Kimberly Reeves