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HB406 INTRODUCED
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HB406
3P4LWEE-1
By Representative Paramore
RFD: Education Policy
First Read: 05-Feb-26
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3P4LWEE-1 02/05/2026 KMS (L)cr 2026-278
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First Read: 05-Feb-26
SYNOPSIS:
Under existing law, public K-12 schools are
annually assigned a grade based on school and district
performance.
This bill would exclude from consideration all
accountability metrics for students on alternative
education pathways who receive a non-standard high
school diploma upon graduation, instead of the standard
Alabama High School Diploma, when assigning grades to a
school or school district on its annual report card.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to public K-12 education and the school report
card; to amend Section 16-6C-2, Code of Alabama 1975, to
exclude from consideration all accountability metrics of
students who are on alternative education pathways and receive
a non-standard high school diploma upon graduation instead of
an Alabama High School Diploma when assigning the annual grade
to a school or school district on their annual report card.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Section 16-6C-2 of the Code of Alabama 1975,
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Section 1. Section 16-6C-2 of the Code of Alabama 1975,
is amended to read as follows:
"§16-6C-2
(a) In addition to any other labels or designations
assigned to public schools and public school districts
pursuant to a federal, state, school, district, or other
assessment or accountability system, the State Superintendent
of Education, consistent with this chapter, shall develop a
school grading system reflective of school and district
performance. The grading system shall utilize the traditional
A, B, C, D, or F framework.
(1) Schools receiving a grade of "A" are making
excellent progress.
(2) Schools receiving a grade of "B" are making above
average progress.
(3) Schools receiving a grade of "C" are making
satisfactory progress.
(4) Schools receiving a grade of "D" are making less
than satisfactory progress.
(5) Schools receiving a grade of "F" are failing to
make adequate progress.
(b) In developing this school grading system, the State
Superintendent of Education shall seek input from parents,
teachers, school administrators, existing State Department of
Education advisory groups or task forces, and other education
stakeholders on how the system can properly reflect not only
the overall academic proficiency of each public school but
also the academic improvements made by each public school,
along with other key performance indicators that give a total
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along with other key performance indicators that give a total
profile of the school or the school system, or both.
(c) The State Superintendent of Education shall
prescribe the design and content of the school grading system
by not later than December 31, 2012. It is the intent of the
Legislature that the system be in place by no later than the
2013-2014 school year. The system may not be utilized by the
State Superintendent of Education or the State Department of
Education until sufficient rules have been adopted by the
State Board of Education pursuant to the Alabama
Administrative Procedure Act.
(d) Using an easy to understand grading scale, the
school grading system shall describe achievement in the state,
each district, and each school. Additionally, the State
Superintendent of Education shall not be precluded from also
assigning grades to school feeder patterns or grades that
reflect the fiscal health and fiscal efficiency of a school or
school system.
(e) The State Superintendent of Education shall make
these grades available to the general public and shall post
these grades on the website of the State Department of
Education as soon as the grades are available. Additionally,
appropriate grade information shall be delivered to the parent
or guardian of each public school student at least once
annually in the same manner that student report cards are
currently delivered.
(f)(1) Using state-authorized assessments and other key
performance indicators that give a total profile of the school
or the school system, or both, a school's grade, at a minimum,
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or the school system, or both, a school's grade, at a minimum,
shall be based on a combination of student achievement scores,
achievement gap, college and career readiness, learning gains,
and other indicators as determined by the State Superintendent
of Education to impact student learning and success.
(2)a. Commencing with the 2021-2022 school year, the
academic achievement of each student identified as an English
language learner who has not shown proficiency on ACCESS for
EL, or other state-approved English proficiency assessment,
may not be considered in assigning an academic achievement
grade to a school or school system for the first five years of
enrollment of the student. The educational progress of each of
these students shall continue to be measured in the academic
growth category and the progress in English language
proficiency category, and, at the end of the five-year period
for the student, his or her proficiency shall again be
considered in assigning an academic achievement grade to a
school or school system on the state A-F school grading
system.
b. Commencing with the 2024-2025 school year, the
academic achievement of each student identified as a transfer
student from a nonpublic school may not be considered in
assigning an academic achievement grade to a school or school
system for the first three years of enrollment of the transfer
student. The educational progress of each of these transfer
students shall continue to be measured in the academic growth
category, and, beginning with the fourth year of enrollment of
the transfer student, his or her academic achievement shall be
considered in assigning an academic achievement grade to a
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considered in assigning an academic achievement grade to a
school or school system on the state A-F school grading
system.
c. Commencing with the 2026-2027 school year, the
accountability metrics of each student who is on an
alternative education pathway and is destined to receive a
non-standard diploma upon graduation, instead of the Alabama
High School Diploma, may not be considered in assigning grades
for any accountability metrics to a school or school system on
their annual report card during his or her enrollment.
(3) The State Superintendent of Education may not amend
the state Every Student Succeeds Act option for including test
scores of English language learners enrolled in United States
schools. The option provides as follows: For the first year of
enrollment, the test scores shall be reported, but the results
on both the reading/language arts and math tests shall be
excluded from the federal accountability system; for the
second year of enrollment, a measure of student growth on both
tests shall be included in the federal accountability system;
and for the third year of enrollment, proficiency on both
tests shall be included in the federal accountability system.
Additionally, the option requires English language learners
who have successfully left the English language learner
subgroup by attaining English proficiency to be included in
that subgroup for accountability purposes for four years.
(g) The A-F school grading system shall be consistently
applied so that grades of one school or system may be compared
to the grades of any other school or system."
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
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Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.141