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A proposed overhaul of Colorado’s school accountability system got an overhaul itself this week when state lawmakers approved substantial amendments to a bill that would make big changes.
House Bill 1278 is largely based on 30 recommendations from a task force that worked for more than a year on how to improve Colorado’s school accountability system. Nicknamed “the clock” because it ticks toward state intervention, the system mostly uses standardized test scores to rate schools and school districts. Colorado law requires the State Board of Education to step in when a district or school has received five years of low ratings.
The original draft of the bill proposed many changes, including raising the bar for districts to earn the highest rating, doing more to encourage student participation in state tests, and requiring the Colorado Department of Education to look for early indicators of distress to provide support to struggling schools and districts sooner.
The House Education Committee on Wednesday approved seven amendments that in some cases completely rewrote sections of the bill. Among other changes, the amendments would:
- Create a new option for when schools or districts have five years of low ratings. Instead of more drastic measures like closing schools, the new option would allow schools and districts to follow a “pathway plan” of their own design. Actions under that plan could include “contracting with external support partners, using contractors or resources provided by the (state education) department, engaging in cross-district progress monitoring, or comprehensive school redesign.”
- Require the state to translate state tests into languages other than English and Spanish if there are more than 1,500 English language learner students at a particular grade level statewide who speak and receive instructional support in that language.
- Divide the state tests into smaller sections for students with disabilities.
- Require all students to take the state tests on a computer, except for students whose special education plans require that they take paper-and-pencil tests.
- Require schools or districts where student participation in state tests is so low that the state doesn’t have enough data to calculate a rating for three years in a row to submit a corrective action plan to the State Board of Education.
- Exempt online schools from having to submit a corrective action plan for low test participation for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years.
- Make external management organizations that are partnering with schools or districts on improvement efforts subject to the Colorado Open Records Act.
- Make technical changes to the way high schools are evaluated based on their students’ standardized test scores, graduation and dropout rates, and the college credits and work-based learning credentials their students earn while in high school.
State lawmakers on the House Education Committee approved most of the amendments without discussion or objection. Only a few lawmakers expressed concerns.
Rep. Jacque Phillips, a Thornton Democrat, said she disagreed with online schools being granted a two-year exemption from having to submit a corrective action plan for low state test participation because “I hear often about online schools that need more accountability.”
Rep. Anthony Hartsook, a Parker Republican, said he objected to external management organizations being subject to the state’s open records law because they are private companies.
And Rep. Tammy Story, a Conifer Democrat, expressed general concerns about “the validity and reliability” of standardized tests.
“It is well known that in many cases these tests are very focused … on wealthy white students,” Story said. “When it’s directed in that way, we are setting students up for failure on tests that they won’t be able to overcome, and then we’re using that data as if it matters to make all of these judgement calls about whether schools are performing well or not.”
A few lawmakers also balked at the bill’s fiscal note, which says it would cost nearly $18 million over the next three years to make the changes proposed in the bill.
The House Education Committee ultimately approved the bill on a 12-1 vote, with Rep. Dusty Johnson, a Fort Morgan Republican, casting the sole no vote. Johnson said she voted against the bill in part because of its price tag.
The bill now moves to the House Appropriations Committee.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
