Bill > H5073

This bill, concerning public school grading practices in South Carolina, aims to ensure that student grades accurately reflect their actual performance by prohibiting minimum assigned grades that exceed a student's demonstrated work, with violations potentially leading to a 10% reduction in a school district's State Aid to Classroom funding. It also establishes requirements for students to complete all assigned work to be eligible for credit recovery or content recovery programs, which are defined within the South Carolina Uniform Grading Policy, a set of guidelines for how student grades are calculated. Furthermore, the bill restricts the use of certain assessments, specifically formative assessments required by state law and district-selected benchmark assessments, in calculating final course grades, allowing them only for instructional purposes unless they directly measure previously taught content and are accessible to the instructor beforehand. To address the broader grading system, the State Board of Education is directed to form a task force by the start of the 2026-2027 school year, composed of educators, administrators, school board representatives, and students, to evaluate and recommend revisions to the Uniform Grading Policy to improve its utility in assessing college and career readiness and reduce reliance on recovery programs, with districts required to adopt these revisions by the 2028-2029 school year.