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Board members raise concerns about state bills on elected superintendents and proposed testing pilot
Summary
Trustees discussed two state proposals — a move to elected superintendents and a bill that would create a 10-district pilot to reduce testing and exempt voucher students from TCAP — and flagged potential impacts on accountability and district funding.
During general discussion March 24, several board members flagged pending state legislation that could affect district governance and testing requirements.
A board member voiced strong opposition to a proposal to return to elected superintendents, calling it likely to spur partisan conflict. More specifically related to assessments, administrators described a bill that would authorize a 10-district pilot reducing state testing requirements (keeping TCAP plus a universal screener and benchmark but, as written, removing science and social-studies benchmarks). The director noted the pilot could be mandatory in how districts are selected and cautioned the change might negatively affect accountability and funding calculations.
The director said he would contact the bill sponsor to ask that science and social-studies benchmarks be included and warned of an approximate $4 million local funding exposure tied to a separate TBOS adjustment if state-level testing changes occur. Board members asked where the bills were in the process and staff said the measure had recently been in a senate education committee.
Next steps: administration will track bill language, check fiscal notes and follow up with the bill sponsor to request modifications if needed.
