Florida’s Proposed School Grading Change Isn’t About Accountability—It’s About Undermining Public Education
In the latest move that exemplifies everything wrong with Florida’s approach to public education, lawmakers are pushing to change the state’s school grading formula—again. This time, they want public schools to earn 90% of possible points to receive an A grade, up from the current 62%. At a glance, this might sound like an effort to “raise the bar.” But peel back the layers, and it becomes clear: this is less about academic rigor and more about political maneuvering designed to discredit public schools.
Under the existing formula, school grades are based on multiple factors, including graduation rates, advanced coursework, learning gains, and performance on standardized assessments. But House Bill 1483, sponsored by Rep. Susan Valdes, would dramatically shift the goalposts, virtually ensuring that many schools currently considered successful will now be labeled as failing.
Valdes defends her bill, saying it will help identify more students with “substantial deficiencies” (even those as young as Pre-K) and direct resources to them. She also suggests that her harsher school grading system will direct more resources to struggling schools. BUT HER BILL DOES NOT APPROPRIATE ANY NEW FUNDING FOR SUCH EFFORTS. The Fiscal Impact Statement says:
“Due to the broadening of the definition of substantial deficiency and the expansion of grades in which school districts must provide interventions to students identified as having a substantial deficiency in reading and/or mathematics, the bill will have an indeterminate fiscal impact to school district expenditures.” Staff Analysis 4/14/25
Budget reflect priorities. With no funding for additional supports, this bill’s priority is more about labeling students and schools as failures and less about providing them the resources they need for success.
Let’s be honest: the data on school performance has long been available. FCAT, FSA, and now FAST scores have consistently shown which schools and students need help. If the will to support them truly existed, it wouldn’t require a punitive rebranding to take action. The notion that only an “F” label will trigger resources is disingenuous at best, cruel at worst.
What makes this move especially troubling is its context. Florida has gone all-in on school choice, with universal vouchers now available for private schools and homeschoolers—institutions that are not subject to ANY grading system, academic standards, or even accreditation requirements. Taxpayer money is flowing into these unaccountable environments, while public schools are being set up to fail through increasingly arbitrary and punitive metrics.
The research is clear: up to two-thirds of variation in standardized test scores can be explained by factors outside the classroom—things like poverty, housing insecurity, and parental education levels. So when legislators manipulate grading systems without addressing these root causes, they’re not improving education—they’re scapegoating educators and students who are already working against the odds.
Last week, the Education & Employment Committee advanced a sweeping omnibus bill (HB1267) that included Valdes’ school grade formula change. It’s a textbook example of legislative micromanagement: constantly tinkering with numbers and metrics instead of investing in real solutions. Lawmakers may not understand how their policies distort the system—or how they aid the advancement of privatization-but their efforts advance towards the goal. In the end, they are crafting a narrative in which public schools appear to be failing, just as they expand alternatives that conveniently escape scrutiny.
If this sounds cynical, that’s because it is. Florida’s public education system doesn’t need a new formula to tell us which schools need support. It needs leaders willing to provide that support in the first place. Instead, we’re watching the slow erosion of public trust in public schools—by design.
The future of Florida’s children shouldn’t be decided by political games. But unless we demand better, that’s exactly what will happen.
Current situation: Valdes’ HB1483 had no Senate companion. Yesterday, the House passed their omnibus bill HB1267 and sent it to Senate Rules committee for consideration. Session officially ends next Friday, May 2nd. Contact your legislators on the Rule committee and urge them to refuse to pass any bill that contains this disengenuous and harmful language.
Read more about Valdes’ School Grade nonsense here: https://accountabaloney.com/floridas-proposed-school-grading-change-isnt-about-accountability-its-about-undermining-public-education/ Since the writing of this post, the school grade change has been extended over a 10 year “glide path.” Still bad. Still doesn’t address real issues.