State Sen. Raatz Files Hold Harmless Bill; Education Committee To Meet Monday

Senate Bill 2 holds schools and teachers harmless from any negative consequences tied to the results of the new ILEARN test.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) - State Sen. Jeff Raatz (R-Richmond) recently filed Senate Bill 2 to hold schools and teachers harmless from any negative consequences tied to the results of the new ILEARN test.

Once passed and signed into law, SB 2 would provide a two-year hold harmless policy for school accountability grades and teacher evaluations. Raatz has scheduled a special meeting of the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development for Monday, Jan. 6, the first day of the General Assembly’s 2020 session.

“In order to secure financial support from the federal government designated for education, the state of Indiana is required to give an annual summative assessment to Indiana students. The Indiana Department of Education and Hoosier educators created ILEARN, which is an improvement from the previous ISTEP test,” Raatz said. “Given a new assessment, we assumed there would be a decline in performance. When the Department of Education’s report was released and the decline was evident, legislative leaders promised to expedite a hold harmless bill in 2020. As promised, SB 2 will provide schools, teachers and students more time to prepare for the rigor of the new assessment without suffering negative consequences they otherwise would. Education remains a high priority this legislative session and I look forward to working with my colleagues in both the Senate and House to get this bill passed quickly.”

The Senate Education Committee’s meeting will take place Monday upon adjournment of the Senate session in the Senate Chamber to consider the proposed legislation.

To learn more about SB 2 and read the text of the bill, click here.