Education Reform Briefs

From the Center for Equal Opportunity, 6/21/99

English Language Acquisition Program Returns Control to Parents

Denver's "English Language Acquisition Program" for minority-language students will begin this fall now that a federal judge approved it on June 5. Under the new program, non-English speaking students will transfer into English-only classes after they have completed three years of bilingual education. Parents will now have the option to opt out of the program at any time. This ends a long battle between the Denver Public Schools and the federal government that began when the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights questioned Denver's program.

From the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, 6/22/99

Straight A's will Provide Freedom and Accountability

The Academic Achievement for All Act (Straight A's), legislation designed to provide freedom and accountability to the nation's public schools was announced June 22. Rep. Goodling and Sen. Slade Gorton (R-WA) are the bill's chief sponsors.

Straight A's will give states the freedom to implement the initiatives that work according to what they need, as well as help raise academic achievement, improve teacher quality, reduce class size, end social promotion, and put technology in the classroom. The legislation also requires accountability. States would be required to sign a five-year performance agreement in exchange for flexibility. Straight A's will reduce regulatory and paperwork burdens on states and school districts by focusing on performance over compliance with process requirements.

From the CEO America, 6/25/99

Cleveland Voucher Program Back in Business

Voucher opponents have only had few weeks to rejoice on this one, thanks to quick action by the Ohio state legislature reauthorizing the [Cleveland voucher] program within a "one-subject" or "stand-alone" bill.

Though the Ohio Supreme Court recently struck down the program on technical grounds (because it was unconstitutionally tacked on an appropriations bill) the broader church-state challenge was rejected. That is, the court found that public-funded school vouchers DO NOT violate the First Amendment prohibiting government establishment of religion.

The May 27 ruling in Simmons-Harris v. Goff said: "Whatever link between government and religion is created by the school voucher program is indirect, depending only on the genuinely independent and private choices of individual parents."

From the National Education Association, 6/18/99

"Bargaining Compensation for Quality Schools" is Conference Theme

Two objectives -- quality teachers and improved compensation -- will be the focus of a National Education Association conference titled, "Bargaining Compensation for Quality Schools" on July 2 at the 1999 Representative Assembly, being held in Orlando, Florida.

"NEA strongly believes that a professional union can help improve the quality of instruction and the quality of the teaching profession, by using collective bargaining and other means as positive tools for change," said [NEA President Bob] Chase.

From the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, 6/30/99

House Ed Committee Passes Teacher Training Bill

The House Education and the Workforce Committee today passed H.R. 1995, the Teacher Empowerment Act (TEA), a bill designed to improve teacher quality and reduce class size by providing teachers individual choice in selecting training and by supporting initiatives to keep the best teachers in the classroom. The bipartisan vote of 27-19 included Reps. Tim Roemer (D-IN) and Rush D. Holt (D-NJ).

The legislation provides about $2 billion annually over 5 years by consolidating the Eisenhower Professional Development Program; Goals 2000; and President Clinton's class-size reduction program. In addition, the bill provides States and local schools additional flexibility in how to use these funds in exchange for increased accountability to parents and taxpayers that student achievement is increasing. H.R. 1995 encourages innovation and experimentation with initiatives aimed at increasing teacher quality and empowers teachers with more choice in selecting high-quality professional development programs.

From the National PTA, June 1999

PTA Surveys Convention Audience on Youth Violence

National PTA surveyed attendees of its 103rd National Convention on June 28 immediately following a Town Hall meeting that addressed the growing problem of youth violence.

The survey asked the respondents to rank 14 violence prevention issues, including character education, conflict resolution, community violence prevention, additional counselors and mental health services in schools, diversity training, firearm safety, media violence, parent involvement, parenting skills, school based before-and after-school programs, small class and school size, substance abuse prevention, teacher training to spot potential violent behavior.

The 832 respondents were asked to choose seven of the 14 categories and rank them in order of importance. Over four out of ten respondents selected parent involvement in school as the top violence prevention issue. Of the 22 percent who chose media violence as the most important, an overwhelming majority chose TV critical viewing, TV ratings and V-Chip education as the most important issue.

From the Education Commission of the States, 6/24/99

ECS Gets Grant to Help Place Quality Teachers in Hard-to-Staff Schools

The Education Commission of the States (ECS) has received a $705,000 grant from the DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund to support a three-year national initiative, Focusing State Policy on High-Quality Teachers for Hard-to-Staff Schools. Through this effort, ECS will work with governors, legislators and other key policymakers and educators across the country to address the growing need to attract, prepare and retain a diverse pool of high-quality teachers, especially for low-income urban and rural schools suffering from high turnover.

Under this initiative, ECS will gather information and work with state policymakers to help them fully understand and address such issues as:

• What types of special preparation teachers need to succeed in hard-to-staff schools
• How the growing teacher shortage has a particularly negative impact on hard-to-staff schools
• How to recruit teachers for more challenging schools
• What the long-term implications are for states in providing various incentives to recruit teachers
• How staffing challenging schools with high-quality teachers can help achieve educational equity.

From the National School Boards Association/School Board News, 6/22/99

District's Homework Policy Opposed by Parents

With all the talk today about raising academic standards, it's hard to imagine a backlash against a school board that actually follows through with concrete reforms. But that's exactly what's happened in a rural New York community where officials are being criticized for demanding too much homework from students.

As controversies go, the "homework issue" in Akron, N.Y., is rather tame. But a cadre of approximately 75 parents has been extremely vocal about its concerns that the homework burden is forcing students to give up extracurricular activities and forego afternoon play. Kids, the parents complain, don't have time to simply "be kids."

Local educators argue the homework load isn't onerous. "If you're telling me that your child has too many other activities to do 60 minutes of homework, there's something wrong in how we've ordered what's important in our children's lives," says Superintendent Alan R. Derry.

From the Education Intelligence Agency, 6/28/99

Unions Target Charter Schools

Teachers at West Oak Lane Charter School in Philadelphia became the first in the state to form a union at a charter school. Teachers were concerned about personnel practices, including the non-renewal of about one-third of the staff. The teachers will be affiliated with the Pennsylvania Federation of Teachers. According to today's Philadelphia Inquirer, the union "is seeking to throw out the individualized short- term pacts, secure a three-year master contract and install protections that would require just cause and due process for firing, much as the same as for teachers in regular Philadelphia public schools."

This cannot be considered an isolated case. The California Teachers Association was foiled in its effort to require union representation at charter schools and delegates to the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Teachers Association amended its resolution on organizing for the first time in 18 years. The resolution now commits MTA "to develop and implement an active program to organize and service public education personnel, including charter school personnel, throughout the Commonwealth."

From the American Federation of Teachers, 6/21/99

Courts Mull Vouchers in Religious Schools

The Vermont Supreme Court this month struck down a request to use vouchers to pay tuition at religious schools. Under the state's strict constitutional language, the arrangement would constitute government-supported religion, the court ruled. Maine's Supreme Court also barred the use of religious school vouchers earlier this year. Both states use vouchers to help students in small districts attend high school in nearby public and private institutions. The federal First Circuit Court also considered the issue in Maine and reached the same conclusion--although the court based its reasoning strictly on the U.S. constitution's ban on state-supported religion. However, the highest courts in Ohio and Wisconsin have weighed in on the issue and ruled that vouchers for religious schools do not violate their state constitution's ban on government-supported religion. Some indication of where the U.S. Supreme Court stands on the issue may come soon, although it's unlikely that the court will issue a definitive stand on vouchers in religious schools until it takes up a case directly dealing with the controversy.