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House approves A–F school report-card bill after extended debate
Summary
House Bill 2710, a school accountability measure directing the State Board of Education to create A–F report cards for schools and districts, passed after members debated mobility effects, MAP metrics and whether the system would punish struggling schools.
The House considered the committee substitute for House Bill 2710 on March 4 and passed it on third reading.
The sponsor (Representative from Bates County) described the measure as a transparency and accountability tool that would direct the State Board of Education to produce a simple A–F style report card for every public school and district, using multiple metrics including growth-to-grade-level (MAP), literacy, underserved population performance and a climate-and-culture assessment. Supporters said simplified grades will give parents clear information and spur local engagement; opponents said the state should focus on supporting schools rather than applying a single letter grade.
Floor questions probed how the metrics will handle student mobility (e.g., students entering or leaving a cohort), whether NAEP (the National Assessment of Educational Progress) would be counted in the elementary/high-school scales, and whether the metric would isolate individual teacher performance (the bill addresses school-level reporting, not teacher-level accountability). The chair of the education committee and other members described the bill as a starter piece that can be refined and noted that there are no punitive penalty provisions in the legislation.
After debate and motions to close, the House passed the house committee substitute for HB2710 on third reading (yeas 96, nays 53). The sponsor said the bill provides parents with a clearer tool and that further refinements will occur as the bill moves through the process.
Ending: The bill now goes to the Senate; floor debate repeatedly returned to measuring growth fairly and giving parents accessible information rather than imposing new penalties on schools.
