Summary: SSB 1025 (renumbered SF 211) — Administration of the Statewide Summative Assessment for Online Students
Overview
SSB 1025, introduced January 21, 2025, would authorize school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools that deliver instruction primarily over the Internet to administer the statewide summative assessment (the state’s student progress assessment) to online students in that online setting. The bill sets conditions to ensure assessment integrity and prescribes that the State Board of Education adopt rules to implement its provisions.
Status: The bill passed a subcommittee and committee report, and was renumbered as SF 211 on February 4, 2025.
Purpose and Intent
- To permit online-delivery providers to administer the statewide summative assessment online, in a manner consistent with the student’s regular online instruction.
- To establish monitoring, timing, and verification requirements that maintain assessment security and integrity for online test administration.
- To require the State Board of Education to adopt implementing rules.
Key Provisions
The bill outlines the following conditions that must be satisfied for an online administration:
1) Proctor visibility: the assessment proctor may view the student taking the assessment and the student’s background.
2) Provider ratio: the school maintains a ratio of students taking the assessment to assessment proctors not greater than 10 to 1.
3) Session control: the student does not exit the assessment session until instructed to do so by the assessment proctor.
4) Verification: an assessment administrator verifies the student’s submission of the assessment.
Additional context from the bill text:
- The online setting must be “similar to the student’s regular academic instruction,” with administration aligned to the student’s online environment.
- The bill references that the state board will adopt rules to implement these provisions (Code section 256.7(21)(b)(2)).
Who Is Affected
- Primary actors: districts, accredited nonpublic schools, and charter schools providing instruction mainly online.
- Students enrolled in online formats who participate in the statewide summative assessment.
- Assessment proctors and assessment administrators involved in online administration.
- State Board of Education, which would issue implementing rules.
Implementation and Timeline
- Legislative actions:
- Jan 21, 2025: Introduced and referred to Education.
- Jan 23, 2025: Subcommittee meeting scheduled (01/29/2025) and subcommittee members listed.
- Jan 29, 2025: Subcommittee recommends passage.
- Feb 4, 2025: Committee report approving the bill; renumbered as SF 211.
- Rulemaking: The bill requires the State Board of Education to adopt rules to implement its provisions.
Potential Impacts
- Expands options for online schools to administer the statewide assessment without transitioning students to in-person testing, provided conditions are met.
- Aims to preserve assessment security and integrity in online environments through synchronous sessions, video monitoring, and proctoring ratios.
- Could necessitate infrastructure for secure video monitoring and scheduling of tests within online platforms.
- May raise privacy and data considerations given video monitoring and background viewing by proctors.
Summary
SSB 1025 (SF 211) seeks to formalize and regulate how online schools may administer the statewide summative assessment to online students, with specific requirements for proctoring, timing, supervision, and verification, and directs the State Board to issue implementing rules. The bill has progressed through committee stages and is positioned to become law if enacted.
