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Panel reviews bill to improve school profile data presentation and comparability
Summary
House Bill 29 would direct changes to Delaware education profiles to make district and school data easier for parents to compare; supporters said the measure would help families while others urged care to avoid unfair comparisons between dissimilar schools.
The Senate Education Committee considered House Bill 29 (with House Amendment 1), which would amend Title 14 to improve how Delaware education profiles present school and district data, enabling easier comparisons for parents and the public.
Senator Eric Buxton presented the bill on behalf of Representative Shupe (house sponsor). He said the measure largely directs the Department of Education and school districts to "create connections links" that allow parents to compare information across schools without manually searching multiple pages. Buxton said much of the underlying data already exists online, and the bill is intended to make that data more user-friendly rather than to create new reporting burdens.
Testimony before the committee included support from Delaware Kids Can. Britney Mumford, executive director of Delaware Kids Can, said, "Any legislation that arms our families with more information, we feel is a good thing. In fact, we feel that it does not go far enough," and she recommended adding side-by-side comparisons and prior-year data to highlight schools showing improvement. Debbie Gottschalk of the Division of Legislative Services told the committee much of the bill codifies current practices and that the Department of Education’s concerns were addressed in earlier drafts.
Committee members asked whether comparative presentations could mislead by comparing schools with different student populations and challenges. Senator Buxton acknowledged that risk and said better presentation of data by districts could help prevent unfair apples-to-oranges comparisons; he said he would not support language intended to "demonize" schools serving higher-need populations.
No Department of Education representative testified against the bill in the hearing; committee staff noted DOE previously provided feedback on related drafts. No formal vote was recorded during the session.
