Attorney General’s Office: A-F Law Intact, Schools To Get Grades
After questions regarding the validity of the state’s A-F school accountability system surfaced this week, the Attorney General’s office sent a statement to the Department of Education and State Board of Education Friday to weigh in, stating that the law is valid and schools should receive A-F grades according to the rules currently in place.
As we reported, the question around the law stems from changes made to the A-F system over the last few years.
Specifically, in 2013, lawmakers said the state must trash old A-F rules once new procedures had been put in place. Questions about how that shift was executed are what prompted this week’s inquiry.
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller (Photo Credit: Dan Goldblatt/Indiana Public Media)
Chief Deputy Attorney General Matt Light wrote the statement received by the IDOE and INSBOE, in which he says although it seemed murky to some, the transition from old practices to the current ones are legal.
“[T]he intention of the statute was to have the new set of comprehensive rules replace the old set of comprehensive rules,” Light writes.
He goes on to say the IDOE should calculate A-F grades for the 2014-15 school year according to current rules.
The Attorney General’s office also suggests the General Assembly introduce legislation next session to prevent further confusion on the issue.
“We would recommend looking at legislation for the 2016 session to retroactively confirm validity of all applicable rules so as to minimize potential for any challenges to them,” Light writes.
State Board of Education spokesman Marc Lotter says his colleagues are grateful for the Attorney General’s contribution to the matter.
“The State Board of Education appreciates the Attorney General’s Office putting these questions to rest and upholding the system that informs Hoosier parents how our children’s schools are doing,” Lotter said in a statement.
The new set of rules for calculating A-F grades will go into effect during the 2015-16 school year.
