Teacher union contends grade policy is illegal

EL PASO -- A local teachers' union has filed a class-action grievance with the El Paso Independent School District to protest a grading policy it contends violates state law.

But administrators of the district say they are waiting for the Texas Association of School Boards to interpret the law

The battle is over a district policy that requires teachers, in most cases, to give students a grade that is no lower than a 50 for the first grading period of each semester, even if the student's performance merits a lower grade.

Under the district's current policy, exceptions are allowed only if a student is absent more than 30 percent of the required days or has failed to complete more than 30 percent of assignments.

A law passed during the Texas legislative session states that a school district may not require teachers to give a minimum grade for an assignment if the student did not earn that grade.

EPISD Superintendent Lorenzo Garc?a said that the law applies to classroom assignments. He said the district's policy is not affected because it applies to a six-weeks grade.

Lucy Clarke, the president of the El Paso Federation of Teachers and Support Personnel, said the district found a loophole that was not intended by the legislation.

The Texas Education Agency has said that it interprets the legislation as requiring an "honest" grade for the six weeks and the semester, according to the office of Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound. Nelson is the author of the bill.

Nelson's office said the purpose of the bill is defeated if six-weeks grades do not reflect the actual assignment grades.

The law allows school districts to adopt a policy that gives a student an opportunity to redo the assignment, retake a test or complete extra-credit work. That part of the bill allows a six-weeks grade to reflect the actual effort and knowledge of a student, according to Nelson's office.

"I don't believe a teacher should be required to give a student a grade above that which the teacher believes the student has earned on anything -- assignments, tests, or report cards," Nelson, a former teacher, said in a written statement.

Garc?a said that he would bring up the issue at a board meeting Tuesday but that he would recommend that the district keep its policy until attorneys with the Texas Association of School Boards provide guidance later this month. Garc?a said the district's policy gives students, who may be struggling at the beginning of the semester, an opportunity to catch up.

"We have to follow the law as it was written," Garc?a said. "Somebody can write a law and at the end of the day say, 'That is not what I intended'. That is really why we have to wait on our attorneys to give us an interpretation of this."

Debbie Ratcliffe, a spokeswoman with the Texas Education Agency, said the El Paso district could call the agency's lawyers to get clarification about the intent of the law.

"El Paso is not the first district that has raised this issue and it may mean that this bill needs to be clarified next session," Ratcliffe said. "We haven't seen El Paso's policy, but we still think the intent of the bill was clear -- that it covered everything."

In the meantime, Clarke said, the federation is trying to get the policy to follow the intent of the legislation. She wants district officials to support teachers in correcting grades they feel were turned in under an illegal policy.

"It needs to be a decision of the individual teacher," she said. "There is an issue of integrity being questioned and an issue of personal judgement being taken away from teachers."

Zahira Torres may be reached at ztorres@elpasotimes.com; 546-6156.