Senate Education Panel Approves ESEA Overhaul
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | October 24, 2011
From AASA …
On Thursday evening, the Senate Education Committee passed a bi-partisan bill re-authorizing ESEA. Over the course of 12.5 hours, the committee reviewed 52 amendments (144 had been filed). Of the 19 amendments that AASA was closely following, 5 were adopted, 3 were defeated and the others were either withdrawn or ignored.
One of the amendments that passed out of committee was offered by Sen. Alexander (R-TN) and would let states submit their own ideas for turning around the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools. While it would retain the six turnaround models spelled out in the ESEA reauthorization bill introduced last week by Sens. Harkin and Enzi, the amendment would add a seventh option, allowing districts to come up with their own turnaround ideas, then submit them to the U.S. Secretary of Education for approval.
Sen. Franken (D-MN), had several of his amendments accepted during the committee mark-up. One would give states the option of using computer-adaptive tests for accountability purposes under the law. Another amendment would require state education and welfare agencies to create a plan for how children in foster care can remain in their school of origin. This plan would include deciding who would pay for transportation to/from school for children in foster care.
Sen. Bingaman, (D-NM), introduced an amendment to reauthorize the Educational Technology State Grants, which helps states design technology programs. The program lost its authorization in the 2011 continuing resolution, and was eliminated under the bill. AASA was very supportive of this amendment and the restoration of this program.
An amendment by Sen. Isakson (R-GA) that would have removed the caps on the number of students taking the 1% and 2% tests was defeated. In the current bill, schools cannot give the 2% test, but can still give an alternate assessment to 1% of students with the most significant disabilities.
Several amendments that AASA supported were not voted on, but are expected to be re-introduced on the floor of the Senate. Three of these key amendments were introduced by Sen. Alexander. One would have eliminated the federal definition of “highly qualified teacher”, instead allowing states to determine the definition of highly qualified teacher. Another would have removed a provision in the bill requiring that states make continuous improvement, while another would eliminate the requirements and definition for states and locals to develop a plan to address schools with a persistent achievement gap.
For more detailed information on AASA’s positions on all the Senate Committee amendments, click here.
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Senate Passes SAA Mandate Relief Bill
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | October 21, 2011
On Thursday, the State Senate passed Senate Bill 95 after lengthy debate by a margin of 17-16. The SAA worked closely with the bill’s author, Senator Luther Olsen (R-Ripon), on the bill’s development. SB 95 is an omnibus bill featuring 10 separate items of mandate relief, clarification and added flexibility relating to the following: granting high school credit for extracurricular sports; services provided by a special education program; transportation aid paid to school districts; the use of moneys received by a school district from the common school fund; using the results of standardized examinations to evaluate, discharge, suspend, or discipline a teacher or for the nonrenewal of a teacher’s contract; the number of teaching days scheduled in the Milwaukee Public Schools; permitting a school district to limit the grades in which to reduce class size under the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education Program; permitting a school board to deny enrollment to a pupil who has been expelled from an out-of-state school or from an independent charter school in this state and permitting an independent charter school to expel a pupil; use of law enforcement records to take disciplinary action against a pupil under a school district’s athletic code; and changing the date by which a school district must certify the amount of its property tax levy.
After Senate action, the bill was messaged to the Assembly where we are hopeful of concurrence. The SAA will keep the membership informed of any developments regarding this important bill.
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SB 196 Clears Senate Education Committee
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | October 20, 2011
In executive action immediately following yesterday’s public hearing, the Senate Education Committee recommended passage of Senate Bill 196 on a 7-0 vote. SB 196 excludes from the calculation of expenditure restraint payments expenditures made pursuant to a purchasing agreement with a school, thereby encouraging purchasing collaboration between municipalities and school districts. The SAA testified in support of the bill at yesterday’s public hearing.
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School Choice Trailer Bill Passes Senate
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | October 20, 2011
On Tuesday, the State Senate passed Senate Bill 174, the School Choice Trailer Bill, on a voice vote. SB 174 would prohibit any school district which has not already qualified for the school choice program from qualifying after the effective date of the bill. So far, only Racine has qualified and opened its choice program earlier this school year. The bill would require lawmakers to vote on any further expansion of private school vouchers. The SAA strongly supports SB 174. The bill was messaged to the Assembly. The Assembly companion bill, AB 314, received a public hearing before the Assembly Education Committee yesterday.
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Senate Education Committee Releases Bi-Partisan ESEA Re-Authorization
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | October 18, 2011
Last Tuesday, a bill drafted by Senate Education Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-WY) to re-authorize the No Child Left Behind law was released. A section-by-section analysis of the bill is available here. AASA, in coordination with the National Education Association, National School Boards Association, National Association of Elementary School Principals and National Association of Secondary School Principals sent a letter to the Senate Education Committee in response to the legislation. The letter outlined several concerns with the proposed teacher evaluation process, the reliance on annual assessments, and the inclusion of prescriptive turnaround models for struggling schools. You can read AASA Executive Director Dan Domenech’s initial impressions of the bill here. AASA will be sending a separate letter to Capitol Hill later this week outlining our support and opposition to various provisions in greater detail. This letter will be posted on the Leading Edge blog.
The Committee is expected to begin marking-up the bill on Wednesday and the process of amending the legislation will likely take the remainder of the week.
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