Indiana education officials took the next step to revamp school accountability this week.

The state's analysis of instructional mode and assessment data suggests students going to school remotely didn't make academic progress at the same rate as their in-person peers.

The number of Indiana students enrolled in programs for disabilities declined this school year, the first dip in at least four years and the latest sign of the disruption caused by the pandemic. About 14,000 preschoolers had diagnosed disabilities, down more than 11%.

The Indiana Board of Education approved accreditation for two new virtual schools at its meeting Wednesday.

Indiana lawmakers are calling the budget they passed this legislative session "historic," largely because of the education funding included in it, but the General Assembly also made substantial changes to school accountability that give local leaders more control to address poor school performance.

An Indianapolis parent is suing the State Board of Education after it changed a policy to ensure full funding for students learning remotely because of COVID-19.

The Indiana State Board of Education is revamping the accountability system and has suggested new ways to evaluate school quality could include attendance rates, social studies and science test scores, and career exploration.

The board is in early stages of revising the state school accountability, or letter grade, system. Members received a draft framework to base future changes on at a meeting this month.

The Indiana State Board of Education aims to overhaul the A-F grades it gives schools to include new measures of how much students are learning and better reflect the states education priorities.

In the first round of applications considered by the State Board of Education this week, about a dozen school corporations requested waivers of some kind.