Senate committee adopts amendment requiring local assessment for verified high‑school credits
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Summary
The Senate Education and Health Committee adopted a line amendment to a substitute of House Bill 182 (conforming to Senate Bill 427) that requires students earning a verified history/social‑studies credit also to complete and pass a local or equivalent board‑approved assessment; the substitute with the amendment was reported out of committee.
The Senate Education and Health Committee voted to adopt a line amendment requiring students who earn a verified history or social‑studies credit to complete and pass an applicable local alternative assessment or an equivalent board‑approved assessment.
Madam Chair offered the Senate substitute for House Bill 182, which addresses high‑school graduation requirements. An Unidentified Speaker who introduced the amendment said the change responds to concerns raised by the social studies teacher association and preserves local assessment options: “for every verified credit you take, you have to take either an SOL or a local assessment… a lot of schools now do the local assessment as the verified credit, which is a performance task, but you can do the SOLs as well,” the speaker said.
Committee counsel clarified that the substitute and the line amendment modify the final enactment clause to direct the Board of Education to amend regulations so that students may substitute an African American history or AP African American studies course for World History I or World Geography for a history/social‑studies credit, but that a student electing that substitution would still be required to complete and earn a passing score on a local alternative assessment or equivalent board‑approved assessment to earn the verified credit.
The amendment was moved, seconded and adopted by voice vote; the committee then voted to report the substitute with the amendment. The clerk recorded the electronic tally for the substitute-with-amendment vote as Ayes 9, No 6.
Supporters said the amendment maintains a role for local assessments and avoids a sudden policy change to how verified credits are earned. Opponents did not introduce a formal amendment to alter the adopted language during the committee's consideration.
The committee reported the substitute as amended and moved the bill along the legislative process; no final passage on the floor was recorded in this session.