Freedom Principle MO Discussion with Senator Jill Carter on SB 814 Educational Freedom Act

Senator Jill Carter discusses her bill SB 814 "Educational Freedom Act." Currently, state law authorizes the State Board of Education to develop a statewide assessment system and a standardized assessment instrument based on academic performance standards. This standardized assessment instrument is the MAP Test. Using the MAP test, we have seen student academic assessments continue to decline. Under the DESE accreditation assessment system, more than 100 districts in Missouri are provisionally accredited or unaccredited.

The Educational Freedom Act would remove the reliance on one-time, end-of-year assessments. Under this Act, school districts and charter schools would have the freedom to create, purchase, or adopt an interim assessment system that measures students’ knowledge at the beginning of each school year and measures academic growth throughout the same school year. SB 814 will shift public school accreditation to the local level.