State senators voted Monday to let parents of students in low-rated schools force the governing board to shut it down, convert it to a charter school or replace the principal.
Sen. Lori Klein, R-Anthem, said SB 1204 is necessary because many students are trapped in failing schools. More to the point, she said that there is little parents can do other than pull their children out and send them elsewhere, something that may not be an option for some families.
“This legislation allows for parents to take control of their child’s education and demand reform when a school is persistently failing,” Klein said. “This legislation puts political power into the hands of the parents, the people with the strongest incentive to help their children.”
Also Monday, senators gave preliminary approval to several other Klein measures aimed at exercising more control of public schools. But on Tuesday those measures were defeated on a roll call vote. They included bills that would have revoked the teaching certificate of anyone who promotes partisan doctrine or conducts any “uni-partisan exercises”; fired teachers who use language the Federal Communications Commission considers obscene; and forbid teachers from using any texts or supplemental materials in classrooms that have not first been approved by the school board.
Klein said “parent empowerment” bills to let them force changes in schools have been approved in California, Texas and Mississippi and are being considered in 32 other states. She said a law like this is necessary to force changes in underperforming schools.
She acknowledged Arizona has an extensive system of charter schools.
These are public schools which can be operated by nonprofit or for-profit companies. They are prohibited from picking and choosing among student applicants and cannot charge tuition, instead having to rely solely on state aid.
“Most of those really good schools are full and you can’t get in for a year, two years sometimes,” Klein said. “This would give parents the ability, in a failing school, to make the changes necessary for their kids.”
But her legislation also would allow any student in a school rated D or F under the state scoring system to be allowed to get an “empowerment” scholarship of state funds. And they could use those funds to attend a private or parochial school.
Of the 1,502 Arizona schools that already have been graded, 182 of them have been given a D. There are no schools rated F because it requires several years of evaluations — and failure to make changes — before that can occur.
No one spoke out against Klein’s legislation which, after its 16-14 Senate vote, now goes to the House.
That, however, was not the case with Klein’s other bills which were subject to floor debate on Monday.
Sen. David Lujan, D-Phoenix, objected to SB 1202, which forbids partisan instruction.
“What, exactly, does ‘partisan instruction’ mean?” Lujan asked.
“It’s entirely too broad and will chill a teacher’s ability to educate their students,” he said, especially with an educator determined to be guilty of the offense automatically being fired. Lujan said these questions are best left to local school boards.
But Klein said she has received complaints about “political indoctrination in the classroom.” She said the legislation is designed to ensure that students are given a balanced view on what they are being taught.
She acknowledged, though, the measure is aimed at least in part at the Tucson Unified School District. While Tucson was forced to give up its Ethnic Studies program under threat of loss of state aid, Klein said there still is evidence of biased teaching.
Lujan was no more satisfied with SB 1205 which uses the FCC standards of obscenity, indecency and profanity to determine what a teacher can and cannot say in the classroom. Here, too, he said, this should be left to local school boards.
“Unfortunately, a lot of schools don’t have the standards” of proper language, Klein responded.
Those measures, along with SB 1203 requiring preapproval of teaching materials, required a final roll-call vote in the Senate on Tuesday, where they were defeated.
hamguy posted at 7:31 pm on Mon, Feb 27, 2012.
This is what happens when there is little to no parental involvement in the beginning. IE PTA meetings and parents spending time with the kids to follow up on homework assignments. True, some teachers give no homework but they are not the better teachers IMO.Some parents believe that there only job is to send the kids off to school (some don't even believe that). When a school attempts to discipline a brat (Yes, I said BRAT), the parent wants to sue because their little angel could do no wrong.
Sad to say the courts too often back up the misguided parent/child instead of the teacher/school. Teachers need to get innovative in their techniques - much was taught and taught well long before the computer age. 2+2 still equal 4 if done on a machine or with fingers.(Or just maybe in the head!)
LearningEveryDay posted at 10:42 pm on Mon, Feb 27, 2012.
"They LIED to me and now it's a big old mess!" - That's the reaction of a parent living with the Parent Trigger bill in California. NONE of the reform options have been proven to work. The "Parent Intervention Options" (SB1204) has a list of lousy options. It does not provide meaningful parental involvement to find research-based solutions.
LearningEveryDay posted at 10:48 pm on Mon, Feb 27, 2012.
The Parent Trigger Bill (SB1204) also gives CRAZY_POWER to a few parents. In my neighborhood, as few as 251 parents could choose to close the neighborhood school down, leaving an abandoned building in my neighborhood. ABANDONED BUILDING! If it's a good idea to close a school, the district can do it and work with the community to not leave a blighted abandoned building.
*** More than anything else, this bill SLAPS VOTERS IN THE FACE ! It says, "I don't care about you 3400 voters in the neighborhood, or you 85,000 voters who elected the school board. It gives the power to make HUGE Decisions to only a few people. And those few people are not accountable to anybody! At least if the school board makes a crummy decision, you can email them, phone them, go to meetings and talk to them. But the parents in this parent-trigger law can make a terrible decision, and have no repercussions. NO Accountability is the name of this bill. - SB1204. COntact Governor Brewer and ask her to veto SB1204, the "Parent Intervention Options" bill because it takes away your rights as a voter!
LearningEveryDay posted at 10:49 pm on Mon, Feb 27, 2012.
SB1204. COntact Governor Brewer and ask her to veto SB1204, the "Parent Intervention Options" bill because it takes away your rights as a voter!
Butters posted at 12:46 am on Tue, Feb 28, 2012.
LearningEveryDay, it's because of socialist progressive teachers like yourself, that changes are needed with laws that empower more parents to rid people like you from the classrooms. You don't teach, you indoctrinate. Indoctrinators like yourself, are one of the biggest reasons why the younger portion of our society is struggling to make it in the world. Too many times I come across young adults who think the world owes them everything. The Walking Dead, or Obama's Entitlement Brigade?
Besides being indoctrinators, you're also busy playing doctor, giving your unqualified medical opinions to the parents of children who you think have A.D.D.. Do us all a favor and go teach in North Korea. You'll fit right in.
Many of our school boards also have serious problems with the members elected to them. I find so many of them to be arrogant and often fail to listen to the concerns and complaints of many of the parents who have children attending school. The proposed changes in the law might help to take away the frustration that many parents have when they are trying to deal with a bad school board or school principal. The laws might just help to strip the school boards of their H.O.A. mentality.
One last thing, LED, this isn't the Left Coast of California. Our legislature is working hard to prevent our state from becoming a cesspool, which is exactly what California has become. One of the best things our state did was to make it clear to teachers in our state that there is no more tenured positions. Don't do your job or do it well, you get a cardboard box to pack up your things with and are shown to the door the day your contract expires. There's plenty more waiting at the door to take your job.
soricobob posted at 4:49 am on Tue, Feb 28, 2012.
How about an education law which forbids parents from getting involved with their children, or, conversely a law which penalizes parents when they are not helpful.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 6:56 am on Tue, Feb 28, 2012.
Why are Liberals-Progressives-Democrats against these bills. I stops teachers from imposing their Political views (whether Liberal or Conservative) on their students and gives the parents of these failing school's students the power to decide what should happen at these schools. Isn't that what "Democracy" is all about = GIVING POWER BACK TO THE PEOPLE ???
Why do.... "RIGHTS".....only belong to women who failed to practice birth control....or Illegal Aliens from Mexico and Points South ???
Seriously posted at 1:30 pm on Tue, Feb 28, 2012.
If it's a low rated charter school can parents then force it to be closed because we know the state won't close it. If more parents took control of their own child's education by helping their child before they even get to school, maybe we wouldn't have the low rated schools. How about putting some of the responsibility back on the parents, to prepare their kids for school, to feed and clothe them properly, to support the child and help with their homework/education, to show up for a parent teacher conference. Education is a partnership between the teachers and the parents. It's tough if only one side is holding up their end of the partnership, whether it's the teacher OR the parents.
DrJCA1 posted at 4:41 pm on Tue, Feb 28, 2012.
How dare you suggest that parents get involved with their children's lives and education? They are way too busy both working to get that new Lexus, Rolex, or Gucci handbag. They also need that million-dollar house with 6 bedrooms for them and the 2 kids. Sorry, too many parents today are just that, "parents" in name only. Very unfortunate for the future.