The Tennessee State Board of Education made substantial changes to graduation requirements and grading protocols during a special meeting Thursday.
The board called the meeting in order to approve a set of “COVID-19 emergency rules,” which were written in response to Gov. Bill Lee’s decision to order the closure of all K-12 public schools until at least April 24.
“Our board takes our responsibility to students, educators, and districts very seriously, especially in times such as these,” said Lillian Hartgrove, chair of the State Board of Education. “Our members and staff are standing by to make this process as smooth and transparent as possible under these circumstances.”
Under the new rules, high school students can’t receive a grade lower than the grade they were earning in their courses as of March 20, but can still improve their grades via remote learning opportunities.
High school seniors won’t be required to take end-of-course exams, the state’s required civics exam, or the ACT or SAT in order to graduate. Additionally, the number of credits required for graduation has been lowered from 22 to 20 for the academic year.
Students aren’t required to participate in the Tennessee comprehensive assessment program (TCAP) tests for the spring semester.
The board has also directed public schools not to mark any students as absent or truant during the period of school closure, since some students don’t have Internet access and thus can’t participate fully in remote learning opportunities.
The State Board’s Educator Licensure rule has been amended to allow “prospective educators who were unable to complete required licensure exams due to COVID-19 to receive a one-year practitioner license with the requirement that scores on licensure exams be submitted within the one-year validity period.”
“The State Board of Education serves as a bridge between the State Legislature and local school districts. We will work to clarify expectations as set forth in the statute so that every school district understands the expectations for this unprecedented school year,” Hartgrove added.
The new rules went into effect immediately and will remain in effect for 180 days. A full list of the emergency rules can be viewed here.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
How much lower can you go. They’re already graduating high school with a 4th grade education.
Yep. Reduce again the requirements to get a diploma in Tennessee some more. Might as well print them on toilet paper to make them of some value. So called compassion does not provide results.