Ask the Senate Education Committee to Support SB 31
One of the most important bills that we will hear in this abbreviated legislation is Senate Bill 31 by Senator Cleo Fields. If passed, this bill would prohibit the use of statewide student assessments conducted during the 2020-2021 school year from being used to evaluate teacher performance. Essentially, schools could (and likely would) still have testing this year, but the scores couldn't count against a teacher's performance evaluation.
As you know, this is only logical option given everything that has happened in 2020. Many students fell behind in the Spring of 2019-2020 by no fault of their teacher or school. Many students are still learning online and teachers are being asked to teach virtually and in person at the same time. Preparing and delivering a class through two separate mediums is twice the work, and many students still don't have the proper equipment or struggle with the technical aspects of virtual schooling, which interferes with their ability to learn. Tying teacher evaluations to standardized test scores, despite everything our teachers have done for their students through this pandemic, is not right. 2020 has been an exceptional year and we have all had to overcome unpredictable hardships. Please, join us in asking the Senate Education Committee to pass Senate Bill 31 out of committee.