The 2023 Legislature has given the Department of Public Instruction some new tools to deal with under-performing schools.
State school superintendent Kirsten Baesler said when a school is identified as a “chronically under-performing school,” it is put under a three-year improvement plan. She said if improvements aren’t seen after three years, the state superintendent can take some other actions.
“In the fourth year, DPI can hold funds in escrow, or the superintendent of designee can put a team together — that’s what other states do,” Baesler said. “They can actually come in, and determine which programs —math, reading, writing — the school must spend their money on.”
Baesler said the state already had the authority to go into a school and change curriculum, change the professional development training for teachers, change instruction strategies – and even change the school calendar. She said under the new law, the Superintendent can actually change school staff.
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