Arizona lawmakers have brought a number of education bills to the Legislature this year.
But as the bill-making part of the session nears a close, and the focus turns to the budget, it’s becoming more clear what bills survived and what didn’t.
Arizona parents will no longer wonder what it means if their child’s school is “performing” or “performing plus.”
The National School Lunch program will stay intact in Arizona, at least for the next school year.
And as for a “parent trigger” bill — one that would allow a majority of parents at a poorly performing school to fire the principal, vote for the school to close, or turn it into a charter school? That one is gone, too.
School grades
Then Sen. John Huppenthal, now superintendent of schools for Arizona, introduced a bill that changed the way schools are labeled two years ago. That law brought about a system of grades — A through D, plus F — that public schools received last year. But they also got the former “legacy” labels (excelling through failing) that were to stay in place while there was a transition.
It created a lot of confusion and so now the old labels are gone. Come fall, when the state once again releases its assessment of public schools, they will only have the grades. Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill into law on Wednesday.
School lunch
SB 1061 would have changed the state law about public school participation in the federal School Lunch Program by one word — from shall to may. It would have made it optional for elementary and middle schools to be part of the program, which provides low-cost or free meals to families that qualify. Sen. Rich Crandall, R-Mesa, said he brought about the bill to give public school leaders a choice (high schools already have that choice) to participate because of some mandatory changes coming from the feds. Though there was mixed support, Crandall eventually held the bill in committee.
“I have 10 key education bills that really help to move the needle. School lunch (change from) 'shall' to 'may' was not in the top five. Even though I had the votes, I held it so it would not distract from the bills I really needed to pass,” he told the Tribune.
Parent trigger
A bill modeled after California’s own “parent trigger” bill passed the Senate Education Committee by a close vote, but the House committee chairman never gave the bill a hearing. SB 1204 would have created a way for a majority of parents at a poorly performing school to demand the school board close the school, fire the principal or turn the school over the a charter school operator. Many other states are still trying to put the same law into place, but even after three years in California, not one school has changed.
Partisan teaching, teacher language
Lawmakers wanted to mandate the firing of teachers who lead partisan lessons in class or use any language that the Federal Communications Commission considers profane. Both bills, SB 1201 and SB 1205 by Sen. Lori Klein, R-Anthem, died in the Senate.
Bible education
HB 2563 will allow public schools to offer an elective English or history course that uses the Old Testament and New Testament to show how the Bible has had an influence on culture. The bill passed the House and is still moving through the Senate.
School choice measures
The governor has already signed off on a bill that creates a new private school tax credit. The law now allows individuals or married couples to donate up to $500 or $1,000 to a school tuition organization. With the changes, they can also donate up to another $500 or $1,000 to an STO that can only be used for scholarships to student switching from public schools to private schools.
The Education Savings Accounts that now give a voucher-like scholarship to special needs students to change from public schools to a private schools may also undergo a facelift. HB 2626 has passed the House, as well as the Senate finance committee. The changes would allow gifted students, students from poorly performing schools or children of military families to also qualify for a scholarships.
Contact writer: (480) 898-6549 or mreese@evtrib.com
soricobob posted at 5:08 am on Fri, Mar 23, 2012.
If the State really wants to get involved, how about: 1. administrators must live in the town where employed; 2. lesson plans must be posted online so that teachers are accountable; 3. students must pass, or get a D to advance to the next class; 4. no student will advance to the next grade unless they get a D average; 5. parents whose children get retained will have to go to parenting class; 6. any teacher absence will be covered by a certified substitute teacher; 7. charter schools will have the same percentage of special ed students as the closest other public school; 8. all schools that serve lunch will also offer breakfast; 9. no candy, chips, soda,etc. will be sold in schools, 10. high school students will take parenting classes.
mesateacher posted at 3:22 pm on Fri, Mar 23, 2012.
1. Not necessarily -- they should live in the school district they are employed in. Not always the same thing. But then what about Charter School admins?
2. Many do this now, but you'd be surprised how little the information is used and how long it takes for teachers to do it.
3. No - must get a C or better to move on in critical courses like English and math.
4. No again. Pass all critical core classes with c or better.
5. Yes, and all parents should be there anyway.
6. Yes or covered by an administrator.
7. And all public schools get the same number of spec ed. It's stunning how unbalanced Mesa is -- many speds at some schools, few at others. This stupid new "inclusion" model is driving teachers out the door.
8. They do don't they?
9. Yes, absolutely.
10. Yes, and basic survival skills too: basic first aid and medical info, checkbook balancing, budgeting etc.
asuaguila posted at 7:49 pm on Fri, Mar 23, 2012.
Well done gentlemen. How hard was that?
JMJ posted at 1:42 am on Sat, Mar 24, 2012.
How about transparency in the public schools, wherein administrators must have taught in a regular classroom for a minimum of ten years before ascending the throne, and not be related to anyone else in the district hierarchy? We could make a Mountain Dew commercial out of that...LOL..and you know who you are! Friends in high places? It appears so.
How about if you prove that administrators actually took the AEPA Principal Test necessary for their position, and that they themselves actually passed it and didn't send in a crash test dummy to take it for them? Prove that they have the credentials to be in the positions they mysteriously "earn"...some other way, apparently...! A lack of brains in some of these twits is apparent.
How about actually servicing special ed students instead of trying the newest silver bullet, "inclusion", wherein a district puts the onus of proving each student gains one year's growth, when the teacher has a gamut of students ranging from special ed all the way up to three levels above the "at grade level" status within one classroom? Who do you think comes up with the curriculum to fill in all the gaps to try to get all kids to learn all the time all day long [because that is just SO possible...right]. Sarcasm. It's like directing an orchestra with everyone playing different musical scores. Musical scores...there you go.
This may not make sense to some, but it'll make sense to teachers, who are being laden with more and more and more, for less and less and less--yes less: pay, time and resources. Then, the lucky duck teachers have administrators who are not qualified to tie their own shoes with anything but Velcro evaluating these teachers' abilities when these sorry administrators couldn't tell you what that big, four syllable words say in a third grade reading book...?
No wonder teachers are leaving in droves. So glad my own kids did not become teachers. Any more, it is a thankless job in a state that doesn't care about its kids.
Start at the top. Our "leaders" stink.
Can't wait to see what teacher-target legislation is next trumped up by our state's "leaders" after this year's winners drew national attention, once again.
Cerulean posted at 7:02 am on Sat, Mar 24, 2012.
soricobob, #2. lesson plans? Ok, and add the homework suggestions so that parents can know exactly what is expected of them.
mesateacher, I especially like “basic survival skills too.” The suggestions you both list, parenting, understanding basic medical info and, from my perspective, banking, check balancing, learning to budget and save are just as important as learning how to do math. I might add basic housekeeping and repair.
JMJ, No, NO – this legislature cares not about qualified administrators! It’s the Bible study that truly makes a difference. HB2563, if elected, will cost the school dearly from a diminishing budget for a class that few will chose to attend.
downtownresident posted at 5:41 am on Mon, Mar 26, 2012.
What a bunch of losers! Wasting time on bills that have NO VALUE to the constituency like Bible education. Will the mental midgets mandate the book of Moron as the "Bible"?
wangly posted at 8:18 pm on Tue, Nov 6, 2012.
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