Accelerated instruction/outcomes based bonuses bill clears the Senate

The Senate passed SB 2094 Monday. The bill is one of a handful of proposals that would provide districts with bonus funding based on student performance, thus exacerbating the high-stakes nature of STAAR testing.

SB 2094 requires accelerated learning for students who fail to pass the STAAR, and includes some useful provisions such as limiting supplemental instruction groups to no more than three students. The outcomes-based funding section provides that districts would receive $250 to $1,000 per student for helping students (over a minimum number of students, as determined by the commissioner) pass a state assessment on which they had previously performed unsatisfactorily.

The bill allows parents of a student who did not pass the STAAR in a certain area to choose the student’s teacher in that subject for the following year, if more than one is available.

After passing the Senate on a 24-6 vote, SB 2094 will move to the House. At this late stage in the session it faces some obstacles, but a somewhat similar House bill has also passed the House, so there is certainly time in the last days of this session for a version to reach the governor’s desk.