Bill to grade schools fails

Georgia House members voted down a Senate bill that would have created a grading system for the state's schools and school systems.

Rep. David Casas said Senate Bill 410 would give parents information on how well their school districts were performing in educating children.

It proposed grading schools and districts on a 100-point scale related to "quality of learning,” which would include subjects such as academic achievement, standardized test scores and whether teachers made progress in closing performance gaps between groups of students.

Fellow representatives questioned Casas about whether the state Department of Education had the ability to do that already.

The bill was voted down 82-74. Majority Whip Edward Lindsey, R-Atlanta, asked for a reconsideration, then tabled the bill. It can be called up again for a vote.

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