Legislative Update
A Communication for Parents and Education Supporters in SEE Districts		April 9, 2010
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SEE publishes this Legislative Update weekly during the legislative session.
 
In This Issue
What's happening at the Capitol
Race to the Top
Common Core Standards
School Improvement Grants Program
Article Headline
Education Committees
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What's happening at the Capitol \
 

It's been two weeks since the committee deadline for budget bills and there is still no sign of an education omnibus bill yet in either the House or Senate. 

 

The Obama administration is tempting states and school districts with opportunities to vie for considerable dollars through competitive grants.  Tension is building at the Capitol as most of the federal initiatives work through a state's departments of education, circumventing the legislature's authority.  Thus, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), where the Commissioner is a political appointee of the  Governor, was responsible for developing the application to Obama's "Race to the Top" (RTTT) competitive grant program.  The republican Governor used the application as a vehicle to incorporate some of his education reforms that he has been championing for years without success or support in the DFL-controlled Legislature.   

 

Minnesota has a long and strong tradition of local control, allowing individual school districts to develop its program to meet the needs of its students and the community with support from the State in regards to funding, standards and assessments.  The federal grant dollars come with very prescriptive requirements and a one-size fits all quality.  One has to wonder if this is federal support or federal intrusion.

Race to the Top
 

Minnesota placed 20th out of the 41 states that applied for a slice of $4.35 billion RTTT competitive grant program.  Only Tennessee and Delaware secured any grant dollars.   The MDE) prepared an informative comparison of Minnesota's grant application to the two winning states.  States are able to improve and resubmit their applications in June.  As attractive as millions of dollars in federal aid is, political conflicts could derail a second attempt for RTTT funding.   The Governor has stated he will not reapply unless the legislature moves on three of his key education proposals - allow professionals in other fields to become teachers through alternative licensure; make it easier to reassign and fire teachers; and link teacher compensation to student achievement. 

Common Core State Standards
The Obama administration is encouraging states to adopt Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English-language arts and math by making this a point category in the second round of the RTTT applications.  Also, some are speculating that CCSS could be part of the reauthorization of "No Child Left Behind" now called the Elementary and Secondary Education act.  The CCSS initiative seeks to define the skills and knowledge that K-12 students must master so they will be college and career ready when they graduate from high school.  The effort is coordinated by the National Governor's Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers.  To get these points in the RTTT application, the state must adopt the standards by August 2 and have them implemented in our schools in the 2013-14 school year.  States are allowed to add up to 15% more content to the standards.

 

Currently, each state develops its own standards.  Thus, the quality of education and the knowledge base that K-12 students learn can vary greatly across the nation.  Minnesota is nationally known as a state with high standards, particularly in mathematics.   

 

State experts who have developed the Minnesota standards and are highly regarded by the legislature reviewed the CCSS in English-language arts and found overall alignment to the state's current language arts standards.  They felt any discrepancies could be addressed through adding additional standards within the 15% rule.

 

However, the analysis on the CCSS in math was very dire.  They criticized the development and logic of the math standards noting that critical key learning strands are missing in some areas and redundant in others.  They strongly warned against adopting the CCSS in mathematics.  Reassuringly, the Governor has stated that he will not adopt any standards that are less rigorous than Minnesota's current standards.  However, it is not clear if the push for national standards is building momentum at the federal level.   

School Improvement Grants Program
The Obama administration has prioritized closing the achievement gap and turning around underachieving schools.  The state has identified 34 persistently low achieving schools.  When the location of these failing schools are overlaid on a map that indicates poverty levels around the state, all but one or two of the schools are located in high poverty areas.  It is a huge and daunting challenge to design a school that can meet the needs of students in struggling family situations so they are prepared and able to succeed in school.  Thirty-four million dollars in federal School Improvement Grants are available to these schools.  The federal government has developed 4 intervention models:
 
Turnaround Model
Restart Model
School Closure
Transformation Model
(see pages 8 - 11 for more details on the individual models in this MDE School Improvement Grants Program Presentation)  
 
The models incorporate and will provide the funding for various known strategies for increasing student achievement such as extended learning time, continual quality professional development for teachers, and connections to social services to support students.   Some of the models have very controversial requirements such as firing at least 50% of the teaching staff and the principal; allowing schools the flexibility to hire and fire teachers regardless of their seniority; turning the school into a Charter school or closing it completely. 
 
Eligible school districts are in the process of selecting a model and writing a grant with the help of the MDE to be submitted in June.  If approved, the school will receive funding to implement the model for 3 years, then the funding stops.  What then?  The federal government would expect the new model to be in place in by this fall.  Again, the money is enticing but many questions remain about the timing, the complexity and the continuity of the funding stream.    
What you can do
*Attend the Parents United 8th Annual Parent Leadership Summit.  This is an great event to connect and network with other parents and education supporters.  The program is very interesting and I know you will find relevant and informative.  Click here for more information and to register. 
*Pass these updates on and ask your friends to sign up to receive SEE's Legislative Updates so they too can be part of our network.  Now is the time to build education support networks so that when critical times occur during the legislative session we can respond.  In the political world, it is the voice of many that can make a difference.       
 
Working together, we can make a difference. 
 
If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me.
 
Deb Griffiths
Director of Communications and Community Outreach
Schools for Equity in Education
612-309-0089
 Education Committees
The senate has combined the education policy and education budget committees.  That seems wise particularly in these tough economic times since rarely does an education policy or mandate come without any cost to our schools.