SB 558

Abstract

Board of Education; evaluation of and recommendations for certain current and proposed policies and performance standards for public elementary and secondary schools. Requires the Board of Education to collaborate with the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Secretary of Education to evaluate, to implement where possible, and to otherwise make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding the following goals: (i) promoting excellence in instruction and student achievement in mathematics, including elimination of the Virginia Mathematics Pathways Initiative and an evaluation of any other proposed changes to the Mathematics Standards of Learning, in advance of the next revision of such standards by the Board, to maintain and increase the rigor of mathematics instruction in public elementary and secondary schools and permit students demonstrating aptitude and high achievement in mathematics to accelerate their progress through core mathematics classes and concepts and take advanced mathematics courses before the eleventh grade; (ii) increasing the number of academic year Governor's Schools in the Commonwealth and maintaining standards of excellence for students in all such schools; (iii) preserving the Advanced Studies Diploma as an option for students in public high schools in the Commonwealth while maintaining or increasing course and credit requirements for such diploma; (iv) increasing the transparency and honesty of performance measures for public elementary and secondary schools in the Commonwealth and ensuring that such measures do not obscure or conceal disparities in performance among student groups; (v) ensuring that performance measures for public elementary and secondary schools prioritize the attainment of grade-level proficiency in reading and mathematics for all students, especially in grades kindergarten through five; (vi) ensuring that the Commonwealth's proficiency standards on Standards of Learning assessments in reading and mathematics are rigorous in comparison with assessments administered by other states and national assessments in reading and mathematics; and (vii) restoring a strong accreditation system that promotes meaningful accountability year-over-year. The bill requires the Secretary of Education and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, no later than November 30, 2022, to report to the chairmen of the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education and Health the results of such evaluation and recommendations to achieve such goals.