July 17, 2017
Categories: education

Chalkbeat

By Monica Disare

New York state’s plan to evaluate schools under the new federal education law is evolving.

On Monday, education officials released revisions to their draft plan required by the Every Student Succeeds Act, adding out-of-school suspensions to the list of ways schools are rated. They also proposed changes to the way the state treats transfer schools and a clarification of what the law means for schools with high testing opt-out rates.

This 12-page document offers a side-by-side look at the current proposals, and how they differ from ones released in a May draft. The final plan is expected to go before the board in September.

Here are a couple of the big differences:

Suspension rates

In May, out-of-school suspensions were on the list of items schools had to report. Now, state officials say they will use out-of-school suspensions as a way to evaluate schools, beginning with the 2018-19 school year.

Suspensions disproportionately affect students of color, and groups like Educators for Excellence have pushed for school discipline data to be included in the plan. The state justified the change by saying there was “strong public support” for using this measure.

Transfer schools

In recent months, state education officials have gotten an earful from New York City transfer schools, which are mainly designed to help high school students who have fallen behind.

Transfer school students, parents and staff members worried the plan would treat their schools too harshly since federal law requires schools with graduation rates under 67 percent to be targeted for improvement.

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Source: JusticeCenter