Education Reform Briefs

From the Associated Press/Las Vegas Sun, 10/30/97

Budget Numbers on the Education Front

All of the following figures are for fiscal year 1998.

• Bilingual and immigrant education: Clinton $354 million; House $354 million; Senate $354 million.
• Children's literacy, which budget agreement says shall be "consistent" with Clinton's America Reads program: Clinton $449 million for 1998; House $35 million for 1998 plus $260 million for 1999; Senate $41 million for 1998 plus $260 million for 1999. Totals include money specifically for America Reads plus money for child literacy efforts within the National Service volunteer program.
• Education reform: Clinton $1.245 billion; House $1.022 billion; Senate $1.271 billion. Included within this is Clinton's flagship Goals 2000 program of voluntary national standards: Clinton $620 million, House $387 million, Senate $530 million.
• Head Start: Clinton $4.3 billion; House $4.3 billion; Senate $4.3 billion.
• Pell grants for lower-income college students: Clinton $7.635 billion; House $7.438 billion but $528 million is not available until separate legislation authorizing grants for older students is enacted; Senate $6.91 billion.

From the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, 10/22/97

House Ed Committee Marks Up GOP Reading Initiative

As part of the budget agreement between Congress and the President, $260 million was set aside to fund a reading initiative. However, in sharp contrast to President Clinton's proposal -- the America Reads Challenge Act of 1997 -- which spends $2.75 billion to place ill-trained, volunteer, reading tutors in low-income schools, the Reading Excellence Act focuses on training teachers to teach reading, increasing parental involvement and sending more dollars to the classroom.

The bill includes the following provisions:

• authorizes grants to parents for tutorial assistance for their children
• provides literacy and other appropriate assistance to the parents of these children
• sends 95% of the funds to the classroom
• targets dollars to schools and children in low-income areas
• provides for in-school, after school, weekend and summer help for first through third grade students experiencing difficulty reading
• repeals 67 unfunded Dept. of Education programs

From the Associated Press/Las Vegas Sun, 11/4/97

Senate Kills A+ Savings Account

A largely Republican plan to let parents save money tax-free for education expenses, including home computers and private school tuition, was killed today in the Senate.

Backers of the so-called "A-plus Education Savings Account" fell four short of the 60 votes needed to force a debate and vote on the bill. The chief sponsor, Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-GA), said he hopes lawmakers will reconsider the measure next year.

Although the bill had some Democratic backing, it was vehemently opposed by President Clinton and most Democrats.

From the American Association of School Administrators, 10/29/97

AASA's Vociferous Opposition to Vouchers

In a letter to President Clinton, AASA Senior Associate Executive Director states:

"As the representative of more than 14,000 local school superintendents, all leaders in their own communities across this nation, I urge you in the strongest possible way to veto any and all legislation that purports to spend tax dollars in this fashion.

Not line-item veto. A firm, strong, straight veto.

The vehicle for much of this anti-public education and unconstitutional finagling appears to be the District of Columbia Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 1998. That's what the Senators want to talk about. Next week it may be the "voluntary" HELP voucher in the House. We ask you to be firm in all instances. Public money must not be spent for private and church-related purposes."

From the Internet News Bureau, 10/28/97

Internet Becomes Vital Tool in College Recruiting

According to a recent survey of college and university admissions officers, 99% of colleges have or are in the process of building a web site, while 60% of the admissions officers already consider the Internet to be a major recruitment tool for prospective students.

The survey, conducted by Austin Knight Inc., also revealed that 80% of the respondents believe Internet applications are equally or better qualified for admission than those who apply through traditional methods. For instance, in an internal study by Worcester Polytechnic Institute, net-surfing prospective students not only ranked higher in their high school class but also scored 30 points higher on the SAT on average than those in the traditional inquiry pool.

From the Heartland Institute, School Reform News, November 1997

Rewards go to Kentucky Teachers Who Cheat

Kentucky's seven-year education reform effort, which rewards teachers with cash bonuses if their school's test scores improve, has been marred by evidence of cheating by teachers to improve student scores, by highly subjective portfolio assessments, and by miscalculated test scores. In July, a state panel recommended changing the system "to benefit the school and the students" rather than to provide bonuses to teachers.

In 1993, state auditors found that teachers at 96 percent of audited schools had inflated the grades awarded for student portfolios by an average of more than 35 points on a 140-point scale. Since 1993, 22 out of 60 allegations of cheating by teachers or administrators on tests or on portfolio assessments have been confirmed.

From InfoBeat -- Reuters News Service, 10/28/97

New Jersey School Board Goes PC Crazy on Holidays

A New Jersey school board has taken the "hallowed" out of Halloween, spooked by the idea that the holiday could be construed as a religious celebration. ...The board will allow an annual costume parade Friday, although the traditional Halloween party at the Woodfern school is now a "fall festival celebration."

...St. Valentine's Day will now be replaced by "Special Person Day," the board said.

...The board said it was instead opting for "curriculum driven" activities and that accordingly, Christmas and Hanukkah would be replaced by a generic celebration of the season.

From the Education Intelligence Agency, 10/27/97

NEA's Bragging on Growth Rate Questioned

NEA is bragging about its growth over the past year of 42,000 active members nationwide. The union has spun this as an endorsement of its positions on various issues. But hold on. This 2% growth coincides with a 1.5-2% growth in public school enrollment. What's more, over 38.5% of this membership growth came from California alone, where class-size reduction legislation led to the hiring of some
18,000-20,000 new teachers. NEA lost members last year in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Oklahoma led the way with a 4.6% decline in membership. Other states with declining NEA membership were: AZ, AR, GA, KY, LA, MS, MO, NE, NC, ND, SC, SD, TX, and WY. Gains of less than 1% occurred in AL, FL, IN, IA, ME, NY, and TN.

From the Education Intelligence Agency, 11/3/97

Hawaii Teachers Unhappy with Terms of 17% Pay Hike

The Hawaii State Teachers Association won a contract in February that garnered it a 17 percent pay hike in exchange for seven additional classroom days. State Schools Superintendent Herman Aizawa proceeded to add seven days at the start of the next school year...and HSTA filed a grievance.

"We don't think it's the prerogative of the superintendent to set the calendar," said Joan Husted, HSTA deputy executive director. The union wants school -- and community-based management councils to decide how to add the additional days, such as by lengthening all existing school days by a few minutes.

From InfoBeat -- Reuters News Service, 11/3/97

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Affirmative Action Appeal

In denying the appeal without any comment or dissent, the Supreme Court let stand the law, known as Proposition 209, that California voters approved a year ago by 54 percent to 46 percent.

Proposition 209 bars the state government and local governments from granting preferential treatment based on race or sex in public employment, education or contracting.

The law sparked a nationwide debate on the political future of affirmative action. More than 20 states are working on similar measures.