TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough County Public Schools leaders are asking the state to reassess how schools are graded because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
They're asking the Florida Department of Education to allow schools to opt-in A to F grades, like last school year, due to classroom disruptions from COVID-19 absences, according to a letter to the state.
"That’s not reflective of how hard we’re working and what we’re doing," Nadia Combs, Hillsborough County School Board chair, said.
The school grades from the state are determined by standardized testing scores, Combs said.
But with the uptick in COVID-19 absences from both the delta and omicron variants, school leaders worry that will impact "our ability to provide equitable learning opportunities consistently," the letter explained.
The opt-in process holds districts and schools harmless given the disruption to classrooms. Combs said additional state funding would be impacted without the opt-in process.
The report cards from schools could also impact enrollment if parents are dismayed by a school's grade ranking, Hillsborough Classroom Teachers Association President Rob Kriete said.
There's been a more than 10-percent increase of students with 10 days or more missed this school year over last, the letter explained. The school district is anticipating more COVID-19 absences moving forward.
"There’s no question that this has been a harder year for our school and our district," Combs said. "It continues to be a challenging year but I think we're doing a great job."
Much like disruptions nationwide, Combs said teachers have had to teach multiple classes or combine them to make up for deficits due to COVID-19.
"We don’t see the value of grading our schools. It is never indicative of the hard work that our employees are doing," Kriete said.
The letter also asks the state to consider increasing the minimum teacher salary for full-time public school teachers, along with additional funding for veteran teachers.
Kriete echoed the same concerns the district proposed to the Florida DOE.
"Public school education is challenging in a normal world on a normal day and we have not had a normal world or a normal day in three years," Kriete said.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools issued a similar request nearly two weeks ago to the state.
The Florida Department of Education hasn't responded to a request for comment as of now.