Pasco schools roll out anticipated new homework rules
Pasco County public school teachers are getting more leeway to hold students accountable for doing homework.
But the plan to allow graded take-home assignments, which superintendent John Legg introduced a month ago, won’t take effect until the fall despite Legg’s initial intention to have new rules in place by the end of March.
A committee of teachers charged with offering recommendations on how to improve homework advised that students are too far along in their second semester classes to allow for an effective and fair change this spring.
“They are 100% right,” Legg said Tuesday, as he unveiled a draft version of the guidelines to the school board. “Implementation matters.”
He said teachers deserve several months to work any shift of their practice into their class syllabus and gradebook formulas, and to share the expectations with students and parents. The district also can use the added time to update any related code of conduct rules such as those dealing with late-submitted assignments.
The proposal reverses the district’s philosophy that homework assigned to reinforce class lessons should not be graded. It does not require that any teacher demand more homework of students, or that the work must be graded.
Those were some of the biggest complaints that emerged among some parents and teachers when Legg first said he wanted to address this issue.
“There were a lot of misconceptions out there,” board vice chairperson Colleen Beaudoin said.
Instead, the plan aims to give teachers more ability to reinforce lessons through practice of skills away from the classroom. Sometimes having a grade attached signals the importance of the work, which might be the foundation for upcoming material, Beaudoin said.
The recommendation is that homework grades may not count for more than 20% of the points in any course. It says the majority of homework should be on core content, and that schools should coordinate assignments to ensure students don’t become overwhelmed.
It suggests that kindergarten through second grade students should not have more than 20 minutes of total nightly homework, on average, with the time rising to 40 minutes for third through fifth grades, and up to 90 minutes for high school students in the most demanding courses.
Board members have thrown their support behind the effort. So, too, has United School Employees of Pasco leadership.
Union president Jeff Larsen told the board that as he’s visited schools lately, he has heard teachers say they feel “encouraged and optimistic” about their ability to make decisions about homework.
Getting staff backing is just one part of the plan, Legg said. The district also is putting together resources for families to help their children with the work, he said.
“It’s not enough to just empower our teachers,” he said.
In other school board business, the board:
- Advanced a policy revision that would clarify its rules regarding commenting on social media. Members said they expected all pages, including those run by schools, would not accept comments.
- Moved forward with its first policy regarding name, image and likeness rules for student athletes. Members asked for additional definitions. They also made clear that district employees will not be directly involved in the process.
- Learned that the superintendent’s office plans to conduct a parent survey after spring break to get feedback on views of individual schools. “It’s real important that their voices are heard,” Legg said, noting the district hasn’t held such a review in about eight years.
- Approved a new K-8 charter school to open in Wesley Chapel. Highpoint Academy is set to offer classes starting in the fall.
Jeffrey S. Solochek is an education reporter covering K-12 education policy and schools. Reach him at jsolochek@tampabay.com.