I'm a little late commenting, but ...

This is an issue also being debated in Connecticut, at schools where the failure rate is through the roof. We also have an electronic grading system at the school I teach at, but we have the option of overriding a grade. If, for example, a student does fail the first half of a marking period, but turns themselves around in the second half, I can adjust their grade.

I don't agree, however, with a minimum grade of 50, because I do believe it will allow students who don't deserve to pass to slide by.