HF1054

House File No. 1054 is a legislative bill proposed in Minnesota that focuses on enhancing the reporting requirements for student performance in public schools. The primary objective of this bill is to include student attendance data from the previous school year in the school performance reports.

Here are the notable provisions and updates proposed by the bill:

1. Expansion of Reporting in School Performance Reports: The bill mandates the inclusion of several aspects in school performance reports:

   • Student academic performance and progress.
   • School safety, student engagement, and rigorous coursework.
   • Percentages of students meeting career and college readiness benchmarks.
   • Longitudinal data highlighting efforts to reduce disparities in student achievement and to improve racial and economic integration.
   • Data on academic literacy acquisition among English learners, including progress in English and, where practicable, native languages.
   • Reporting on two distinct student-to-teacher ratios, with a clear definition of "teacher."
   • Information on staff characteristics (excluding salaries), student enrollment demographics, and extracurricular activities.
   • Additional data concerning students in foster care, those experiencing homelessness, and district mobility.
   • New Requirement: Reporting of student attendance data for the previous school year.

2. Public Accessibility and Timelines:

   • The Commissioner of Education is tasked with annually updating and publishing these school performance reports on the department's website prior to the beginning of each school year.
   • Specific timelines are established for publishing these reports, with adjustments allowed in years when new performance standards are introduced.

3. Appeal Process:

   • Schools or districts have the ability to appeal their performance results through a specified process determined by the Commissioner. The Commissioner's decision on the appeal is final.

4. Data Privacy:

   • School performance data are classified as nonpublic until officially released by the Commissioner.

Overall, H.F. No. 1054 seeks to increase transparency and provide a more comprehensive overview of school performance by incorporating attendance data and various other metrics into school performance reports. The goal is to enhance accountability and to foster better educational outcomes through detailed, publicly accessible performance data.