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Summary: Under current law if a public school receives an unacceptable rating, then for each of the following three years the school must provide a public notice about the Public Education Grant (PEG). The PEG is essentially a voucher that allows parents of failing public schools to send their children to another public school in the same district. If a school is not available within the district, then parents can send their children to another public school outside the district.
HB 222 would change the law so that if a school that was rated unacceptable earns an acceptable rating within one year of the unacceptable designation, that school will only be required to provide PEG notice for two years instead of three. Under HB 222, parents would still have the option for the full three years to receive the PEG to send their children to another public school.
Analysis: This legislation promotes personal responsibility and individual liberty. HB 222 incentivizes public schools to quickly work towards changing their unacceptable ratings to acceptable within a year and rewards public schools that achieve this quick turnaround. In addition, HB 222 continues to allow parents the opportunity to send their children to another school through the PEG. We encourage the Legislature to pass HB 222.