This story was originally posted on Wednesday, March 25, and has since been updated.
The Hawaii State Teachers Association reached an agreement with Hawaii State Department of Education Superintendent Christina Kishimoto on Wednesday, March 25, to modify the due date for teachers to submit third-quarter grades.
View the Hawaii State Department of Education's memo on third-quarter grades for SY2019–2020 here.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 response, students will not return to school until sometime after April 30. The contract requires that students’ grades will not be submitted until the fourth day after students return to school. However, extended closures would cause an excessive delay in finalizing and informing students and families of third-quarter report card grades.
We have agreed to a modification of our contract to Article VI, R. Evaluation of students/Grading Preparation for the third-quarter grade submission as follows:
The deadline for the submittal of grades, for third (3rd) quarter of school year 2019-2020, shall be no earlier than the end of the workday on Wednesday, April 1, 2020.
To clarify, "no earlier" means grades can be due by the end of workday on April 1 at the earliest. This specific time represents the starting point for when the deadline can be set. In the department-issued memo sent March 26, a day after our original post, the employer determined that the due date will be the end of workday on April 1, which is what our modification allows. It is HSTA's understanding that all schools are expected to follow the April 1 due date in the HIDOE’s memo.
Some teachers asked for more time to input grades. In discussions with the HIDOE, we were told that extensions could be provided on a school-by-school basis and administrators were notified this afternoon of that option. If teachers on your campus feel the need for more time, please talk to your principal about adjusting the deadline for your school.
The HIDOE issued another memo dated March 27 stating that third-quarter grades and IEP progress reports will be due by the end of the working day for teachers on Monday, April 6, 2020 for the following multi-track schools: Holomua Elementary, Mililani Middle School, and Kapolei Middle School.
It is our understanding that Bargaining Unit 05 employees, including registrars, counselors, and classroom teachers, will NOT be required to physically go to their campus to submit grades or work on report cards. If you have specific questions on how to submit grades remotely, please contact your principal.
We know that teachers may want to provide extended time for students to finish work from the third quarter including quizzes or tests that haven’t been taken. For many of our seniors, finalized third-quarter grades are important for college or university admission. We encourage teachers to provide students opportunities within the next month to demonstrate proficiency in the standards previously taught and to update submitted grades, if necessary, at a later time.
We are working with the department to answer and clarify additional questions, including what to do about end-of-year grading, and will provide further information as it becomes available.
Thank you for your patience and flexibility.