FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rep. Mark Green Requests Flexibility for School Statewide Assessments Amid COVID19 Pandemic
WASHINGTON—Today, Rep. Mark Green (TN-7) sent a letter to Secretary DeVos requesting that the U.S. Department of Education recognize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schools’ abilities to administer statewide assessments and immediately grant any State’s request for a one-year waiver from Section 8401 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Green said, “The COVID-19 outbreak is an international health crisis that will require an unprecedented response, and our Nation’s schools are facing extreme difficulties in the face of this pandemic, including sending their students home indefinitely. The gravity of the situation schools are facing navigating the COVID-19 pandemic creates an undue burden for preparing and administering statewide assessments.”
“No State or district should have their participation rate or absenteeism metric factored into any school’s Academic Achievement indicators,” Green continued. “The health and safety of our students, staff, and their families must remain our top priority. I urge Secretary DeVos to grant this waiver immediately.”
Green discussed this waiver idea with JC Bowman, president of the Professional Educators of Tennessee, who remarked, “Rep. Mark Green has been a tireless champion for students and educators during his time in office. We were glad to work with him on this critical issue, and appreciate his strong, unwavering leadership to children, schools and the community as we fight this pandemic together.”
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