JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A flurry of questions flooded Duval County Public Schools following a new emergency order from the Florida Department of Education, which laid out new rules for how local districts are allowed to handle state exams.
The order gives school districts the ability to waive testing requirements for certain advancements and makes the state-assigned grade for schools and districts optional, instead of having those grades automatically assigned.
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Through a blog post Tuesday, the district waded through some of the confusion around the new order and what it means for students.
Most of the questions that the district included in the post reiterated the status of the emergency order’s effect on students and schools. Specifically, the district said the order doesn’t automatically waive testing requirements for advancement or promotion, but that the districts are simply given the option for that waiver.
The post is broken down into two sections: the first covers students’ scores and the second covers schools in general.
“Q. Does this mean all seniors will automatically graduate?”
“A. No. Seniors still need to meet all graduation criteria for their diploma option, including GPA, course credit hours, and mandatory credits in each area. In addition, seniors who have not met assessment score requirements for graduation should continue to take all assessment options, such as the ACT and SAT, to earn a score which meets graduation requirements.”
One of the questions the district addressed asked when administrators will decide on how to utilize the flexibility provided by the FDOE.
“The emergency order requires that districts make any decision to receive a school grade within 30 days after the release of the state assessment data,” the district answered. “This will allow us to make the most informed decision about our options.”