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Education Reform Briefs
From the National Association of State Boards of Education, 10/25/99Georgia Works on Voucher Program State Board Chair Otis Brumby and Governor Barnes have agreed to include a tax-funded voucher program as part of a proposed school reform package. The "Early Hope" voucher program would go only to needy families in low-performing schools and could be used to go to high-performing public or private schools. Under the plan, private schools participating in the program would have to test all their students using the state-wide testing instruments and must achieve high-performing status. Some critics believe that the vouchers should only be used for attending public schools. Others feel the state cannot require private schools to use the state tests or follow any other requirements. |
From the National Education Association, 10/29/99American Education Week About to Get Underway American Education Week (AEW) is scheduled to take place November 14-20. It was first observed in 1921 as a way to raise awareness of the important role of public education and to encourage public support. It was established by the NEA and the American Legion to highlight the importance of education after it was discovered that a quarter of the nation's World War I draftees were illiterate. Today, AEW has 13 organizational cosponsors, including the PTA, the American Association of School Administrators, and the National School Boards Association. |
From the U.S. Department of Education, 10/27/99Many Schools Still Non-Y2K Compliant More than one-third of the nation's elementary and secondary school districts and postsecondary institutions say they are not fully prepared for the Year 2000's effect on computers and other technology devices. In fact, the percentage of school districts saying they won't be Y2K compliant by Jan. 1 has doubled -- from 2 to 4 percent -- since this summer. Responding to two national follow-up surveys on American education's Y2K readiness sponsored by the U.S. Education Department, only 64 percent of school districts and 61 percent of postsecondary institutions said all their mission critical systems are Y2K compliant. The figures indicate significant progress compared to surveys this summer when only 28 percent of the school districts and 30 percent of the postsecondary institutions said all their mission critical systems were renovated and tested. The new surveys reveal that 96 percent of the school districts and 97 percent of the postsecondary institutions expect their key systems will be completely Y2K ready by Jan. 1. |
From the American Federation of Teachers, 11/1/99AFT Pours Attention into Gore Campaign The ability of unions to motivate their members and get them to the polls next fall will be key to winning the White House and electing congressional candidates who will support public education and oppose vouchers, privatization, right-to-work laws and other harmful initiatives. A panel that included Democratic National Committee executive director Rob Engel; Karen Ackerman, deputy director of the AFL-CIO political department; and Gore 2000 campaign manager Donna Brazile told the AFT's government relations conference that the presidential race will be extremely close---and voter turnout will be crucial. Ackerman urged conference participants not to underestimate the role unions play in helping members decide whom to vote for. "People relate to their unions and trust the information the union gives them about a candidate's record," she said. An AFL-CIO poll, Ackerman reported, shows that when union members compare the records of the two leading presidential candidates--Al Gore and George W. Bush--members favor Gore 71 percent to 29 percent. Like Engel and Ackerman, Brazile believes the election will be determined by who gets their supporters to the polls on Election Day. The AFL-CIO endorsement of Vice President Gore will give his campaign "the foot soldiers we need to win the nomination and the presidency," she said. |
From the Education Intelligence Agency, 11/1/99Denver Struggles to Find 450 Teachers for Performance Pay Plan With much media fanfare, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association agreed to a contract that included a pilot performance pay plan. Last week, with much less media fanfare, it was revealed that the district and the union are having a hard time getting schools to volunteer to participate. Only 12 of the district's 82 elementary schools have enlisted, and none of its 18 middle schools. The district is struggling to meet its modest goal of 450 teacher participants (out of 4,300 Denver teachers). Right now, the district has about 300 teachers on board. "We're building a plane as it's going down the runway," said DCTA Vice President Becky Wissink, using an unfortunate analogy. |
From the National Taxpayers Union, 10/19/99NTUF Finds NEA Wish List to be Exorbitant The National Taxpayers Union Foundation's (NTUF) comprehensive review of the NEA's Legislative Program for the 106th Congress - the principal guide for the organization's legislative and political initiatives - reveals education placing a distant third to expanding union clout and subsidizing social welfare programs. With legislative interests ranging from publicly-financed abortions, to gun control, to nuclear disarmament, the NEA's legislative agenda mostly has nothing to do with education. All told, if the entire NEA legislative wish list were enacted, federal spending would increase by $906 billion annually - a sixty percent increase over current outlays. That would mean a tax hike of $12,874 for each American family. |
From the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, 10/21/99Student Results Act (H.R. 2) Passes House The House today passed H.R. 2, the Student Results Act of 1999. The legislation renews Title I, the largest federal program to help disadvantaged students, as well as other programs in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The House passed the bill 358-67. Among the Student Results Act provisions are:
The Students Results Act provides more than $11.1 billion per year, with more than $9.8 billion per year going to Title I. The House passage of H.R. 2 represents the third step in renewing ESEA. The first step was the Education Flexibility Act of 1998, which was signed into law. The second was the House passage of H.R. 1995, the Teacher Empowerment Act. |
From the American Association of School Administrators, 10/28/99Polls Shows Wide Support for Public Schools "School Satisfaction: A Statistical Profile of Cities and Suburbs" [a study conducted by the Educational Testing Service] was released on Oct. 27. It is an analysis of data from The American Housing Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Fewer than 10 percent of households in Norfolk, Va.; Riverside, Calif.; San Antonio, Texas; Santa Ana, Calif.; Tampa, Fla.; and Virginia Beach, Va., were dissatisfied with their public schools. Only slightly more than 10 percent of households in Fort Worth, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah; and San Diego and Sunnyvale, Calif., were dissatisfied with their schools. The vast majority of cities had fewer than 20 percent of households indicating dissatisfaction with schools, and in the two cities with the greatest amount of dissatisfaction with public schools--Cleveland, Ohio, and Oakland, Calif.--34 and 31 percent, respectively, said they were dissatisfied with the quality of their schools. |
From the Education Intelligence Agency, 10/25/99Local Teachers Union Fights Florida School on Teacher Bonuses Parrott Middle School received almost $104,000 in cash from the Florida School Recognition Program for its improved test scores. Principal Marvin Gordon wants to use $21,000 to give each of his 70 teachers a bonus. There's only one problem: the Hernando Classroom Teachers Association won't allow it. In fact, lawyers for NEA's Florida affiliate are considering a suit claiming such bonuses are unconstitutional and an unfair labor practice. "The fear is (the legislature) will keep chipping and chipping and chipping away at the bargaining law," said HCTA Executive Director Carl Harner. |
From the U.S. Department of Education, 10/19/99Overall School Violence Declines; Multiple Homicides Up Despite heightened public attention following a surge in multiple homicides in schools, overall school crime rates are declining, according to the new 1999 Annual Report on School Safety. The second annual report was prepared jointly by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice. Among the highlights from the report:
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