Idaho schools receive relief from federal rules

BOISE — State public education officials have won a concession from the federal government that could reduce the number of schools failing to meet federal standards for annual improvement in student performance.

State Schools Superintendent Marilyn Howard notified district officials this week that the U.S. Department of Education had approved an alternative method of determining whether schools have seen improved proficiency among small student categories, particularly poor students and those with disabilities.

“We anticipate that the status of several schools and districts could change as this new flexibility is applied,” Howard said.

Of the 630 schools that participated in the testing this past school year, 138 failed to meet the goals, and it was the second straight year for 86 of them. Students in those schools have the opportunity to transfer to other schools in the district with the district picking up the transportation costs, and students considered at-risk may qualify for additional academic attention like tutoring services.

Most of the schools falling short of the standards came within a few percentage points of passing.

The alternative method will let districts, especially small ones, benefit from improvements over the past two school years in the proficiency of small student categories even if those students overall still fell short of meeting the federal standard.

It involves student categories where the number was under 34 for the 2002-2003 school year and rose to more than 34 this last year. Thirty-four students is smallest category size the government assesses.