House Bill 2295

Requires Superintendent of Public Instruction to rate school performance based on letter grades. Directs State Board of Education to report to Legislative Assembly on methods of rewarding school districts with high or improving letter grades. Offers parents in schools with letter grade of "F" opportunity to receive scholarship for private school. Creates Opportunity Scholarship Program Fund. Continuously appropriates moneys in fund for scholarships to private schools. Allows parents of children with disabilities to enroll children in schools outside of child's resident school district. Transfers funds in State School Fund from resident school district to Special Needs Scholarship Program Fund established for purposes of scholarships. Continuously appropriates moneys in Special Needs Scholarship Program Fund to Department of Education for purposes of scholarship program. Creates tax credit for contributions to qualified scholarship granting organization. Authorizes qualified scholarship organization to grant scholarships to eligible students for attendance at qualified schools. Sets forth standards for scholarship granting organizations and qualifying schools. Allows initial and continuing teaching license issuance to persons with approved doctoral degrees, persons who have passed approved national subject area tests and persons with equivalent teaching licenses from another state. Requires annual assessment of reading ability for students in grades one through three. Requires school district to retain student in grade three if student is reading at grade one level or lower, with certain exceptions. Requires school district to provide intensive reading program for students not meeting reading standards. Allocates moneys from State School Fund to school districts whose students receive score of three or higher on advanced placement examinations. Requires school district to allocate at least 80 percent of these moneys to certain high schools with advanced placement students. Requires school districts to pay bonuses to certain teachers of advanced placement students.

l9n doesn't hold this bill's text yet.

In the House of Representatives Jan 11 – Jun 30

1. Jan 11Introduced
2. Jan 21Sent to Education
3. Jun 30Died when the session ended