House Passes Raatz's Bill To Hold Schools Harmless For ILEARN Scores

SEA 2 will now go to Gov. Eric Holcomb for signature.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) - A bill authored by State Sen. Jeff Raatz (R-Richmond) that would hold schools and teachers harmless for 2019 and 2020 ILEARN results passed the House unanimously today.

Senate Enrolled Act 2 will provide a two-year “hold harmless” policy for state accountability grades and teacher evaluations.

“As promised, the General Assembly began working on this issue the first week of session and as a result, we have successfully passed a measure that I believe will promote stability for educators in our state,” Raatz said. “Our work doesn’t end here. I look forward to meeting with stakeholders in the coming months to find permanent solutions to prevent this from occurring again.”

SEA 2 will provide each school’s 2019 state accountability grade cannot be lower than its 2018 accountability grade, and each school’s 2020 accountability grade cannot be lower than its 2019 accountability grade. Schools that earn higher accountability grades would still be able to receive that higher grade.

In addition, SEA 2 prevents 2019 and 2020 ILEARN scores and state accountability grades from being used in teacher evaluations, unless including them would improve a teacher evaluation rating. Without SEA 2, the ILEARN assessment and state accountability grading could have hurt teachers’ eligibility for raises and Teacher Appreciation Grants, which are currently tied to their evaluation ratings.

SEA 2 will now go to Gov. Eric Holcomb for signature.