Ind. Senate, House Pass ILEARN Hold Harmless Bill

The bill now heads to Governor Eric Holcomb's desk to be signed into law.

Thousands of people gathered at the Indiana Statehouse in November to push lawmakers to make significant changes to education. File photo. 

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

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

“SB 2 supports schools, teachers and students while stakeholders work to address the new rigors of the ILEARN assessment and state accountability standards,” Raatz said. “As chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development, I remain a fierce advocate for policies that improve education in Indiana and will continue to fight for issues schools, teachers and students care about most.”

If passed and signed into law, SB 2 would provide that 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, SB 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 SB 2, the ILEARN assessment and state accountability grading may hurt teachers’ eligibility for raises and Teacher Appreciation Grants, which are currently tied to their evaluation ratings.

Almost immediately following the Senate vote, the House voted unanimously to pass the hold harmless bill. T

The bill now heads to Governor Eric Holcomb's desk to be signed into law. 

HB 1001 and SB 2, bills holding schools harmless from ILEARN scores for two years, have passed unanimously in each chamber, at nearly the same time.

— Indiana State Teachers Association (@ISTAmembers) January 13, 2020      

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