Education Reform Briefs

From the NSBA/School Board News, 11/7/00

Minnesota Governor Would Shift School Funding to State

A proposal by Gov. Jesse Ventura to reform Minnesota's complex tax structure would significantly increase the state's share of public school funding&endash;and that's raising some concerns. As part of a general tax-reform package that Ventura will submit to the legislature early next year, the state would pay 100 percent of "basic education costs" and ease the public schools' reliance on local property taxes.

From Edison Schools, 11/8/00

Edison Schools Reports 57% Growth in First Quarter Revenues

Edison Schools Inc. reported that its revenues for its fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2000 increased 57% to $64.8 million compared to $44.1 million one year ago. The revenue gain was primarily due to a record increase in enrollment to approximately 57,000, up from 37,500 last year. Driven by strong national demand for better schools, Edison increased its number of schools to 113, up from last year's 79.

From the Education Intelligence Agency, 11/6/00

NEA and AFT Portals: Already Obsolete?

Periodically since June, EIA has reported on the efforts of NEA to establish a web portal which, the union hopes, will become the home page for hundreds of thousands of members, enabling the union to mobilize them for political action at a much lower cost than through current avenues. NEA has assigned a number of staffers to the project, and expects to negotiate contracts this month with technology firms LeapIt and Education World, as well as with PBS for specific site content. NEA already has a partnership with MBNA bank (member credit cards, et al.) and is expected to approach them for underwriting of the portal. Six state affiliates have already volunteered to act as pilots for the project -- Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, Washington and Wisconsin -- with the official introduction of the portal taking place at the 2001 Representative Assembly in Los Angeles. In this, NEA is already a step behind AFT, which unveiled its web portal -- MyAFT.org -- last week. The question is whether both unions are expending a lot of time and resources on an outdated concept. Some large web portals have run into severe financial difficulties. It remains to be seen if this is a broader trend.

From the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN), 11/8/00

GLSEN Hails Defeat of Oregon "Student Protection Act"

The battle against the Student Protection Act was led by Basic Rights Oregon (BRO), a statewide LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) rights group. GLSEN provided support and technical assistance to BRO throughout the last year, sending staff and volunteers to Oregon and co-sponsoring a leadership-development training with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to identify and prepare community members for the campaign.

The outcome represents a major defeat for the Christian Coalition of Oregon and the Oregon Citizens Alliance, which led efforts to pass the initiative--the third consecutive anti-gay ballot measure Oregon voters have rejected. This latest measure would have prohibited any positive or neutral mention of gay issues in the classroom and jeopardized in-school HIV/AIDS education.

From the Family Research Council/Ed Facts, 11/10/00

Arizona Bilingual Education Ban Wins in a Walk

The lone victory for education reform in Tuesday's election was Arizona Proposition 203, a measure to ban bilingual education-a program that has proven to hinder the progress of children lacking English proficiency. The proposition passed overwhelmingly by 65 to 35 percent. The initiative was financed by Silicon Valley millionaire Ron Unz, who successfully aided in the passage of a similar initiative, California Proposition 227, two years ago. California's Proposition 227 has since helped increase reading, writing and math test scores among English-learning students who switched from bilingual to English-immersion programs.

From the American Federation of Teachers, 11/13/00

Labor Plays Critical Role in Election Day Turnout

Thousands of AFT activists and volunteers were among those who mounted an unprecedented effort in educating members about candidates and issues, distributing literature, talking to colleagues on the phone and at work sites, and getting out the vote on Nov. 7. And even though business contributions produced a 17-to-1 spending advantage over unions, labor's effort proved that it takes more than money to win an election. The AFL-CIO reports that some 100,000 union members volunteered their time at work sites, phone banks and in precinct walks. Political union activists registered 2.3 million new union household voters, made 8 million phone calls to union households and distributed more than 14 million leaflets at their workplaces.

From the Heartland Institute/School Reform News, November 2000

New York City Looking at Merits of ESL vs. Bilingual Ed

A study recently released by the New York City Board of Education shows students in English as a Second Language (ESL) programs strongly outperform their peers in bilingual education programs. Students assigned to mixed programs had the weakest scores, with only one-third performing above the 50th percentile in math and only one-sixth in reading. The longitudinal report followed the progress of some 16,000 English learners since 1990.

Among the findings reported by the New York City Board of Education:

• 54 percent of students who entered ESL programs in kindergarten scored above the 50th percentile in reading when they reached the 7th grade, compared with under 40 percent of students who entered bilingual programs at the same time. In math, the gap was even greater: 70 percent versus 51 percent.
• ESL students were more than 10 percent more likely to achieve English proficiency in three years than bilingual students.
• In each of the above instances, students in mixed programs combining bilingual and ESL instruction fared worst by a substantial margin.

From the National Association of State Boards of Education, 11/8/00

Key Ballot Initiatives -- Winners and Losers

• Arizona: banned bilingual education and substituted one year of immersion in English. Voters approved a state sales increase, earmarking the additional revenue for education and performance pay raises for teachers.
• California: rejected an initiative to offer every child in the state a $4,000 voucher toward private school tuition. Voters made it easier to pass school bond issues by lowering the required margin from two-thirds to 55 percent.
• Colorado: amended the state constitution to require annual K-12 funding increases of at least 1 percent more than inflation over the next decade. Voters also permitted the state to override state spending limits and fund $250 million more in math and science programs over the next five years.
• Michigan: a complicated ballot proposal involving vouchers, mandatory teacher testing, and a school-funding minimum was soundly defeated by a two-to-one margin.
• Oregon: approved Measure 1, which requires the Legislature to adequately fund public schools or provide a written explanation stating why not.
• South Dakota: passed a Constitutional Amendment to allow the state to invest school funds in stocks and similar high risk investments.
• Utah: passed a law declaring English as the state's official language and encouraging the state to initiate and expand English as a Second Language programs for immigrants.
• Virginia: voters approved a measure requiring the state's lottery revenues to be put in a fund earmarked for expenditures on local public schools.
• Washington: rejected an initiative to promote the creation of charter schools in the state for the second time.