House and Senate Hearings Set For Next Week on Schools, Workplace, and NCLB Waivers

Posted by Kent Talbert on January 31, 2013

Next week the House Education and Workforce Committee and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold hearings on February 5 (Tuesday) and 7 (Thursday) respectively.  Ed and Workforce meets at 10:00 a.m. on the fifth in Room 2175 to consider training and workforce issues, federal actions that impede job growth, K-12 education reform efforts, state efforts to lower college costs, and higher education transparency.  Governor Gary Herbert of Utah, Virginia Secretary of Education Laura Fornash, President and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers Jay Timmons, and Senior Fellow Dr. Jared Bernstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities headline the witness list.

In the Senate, the Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will meet at 10:00 a.m. on February 7 in Hart 216 to look at lessons learned on No Child Left Behind State Flexibility Waivers.  A witness list has not yet been released.        

Congratulations to Nina Rees, the New CEO for NAPCS

Posted by Robert Eitel on June 19, 2012

The National Association for Public Charter Schools announced its new chief executive officer last week--our former U.S. Department of Education colleague, Nina Rees.  Nina is an excellent choice, and was an admired senior official at the Department when she served as the first Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement from 2002-2006.  Nina comes to NAPCS after a six year stint at Knowledge Universe, where she worked on online instruction, early childhood education, and before- and after- school programs.  Charter schools will have an effective--and very aggressive--advocate in Nina.     

Charter School Replication and Expansion Grants Raise Questions

Posted by Kent Talbert on March 06, 2012

Charter School advocates should take a close look at today's U. S. Department of Education Federal Register Notice announcing the FY2012 grant competition for the Replication and Expansion of High Quality Charter Schools.  Applications are due May 7, 2012.  Under the FY2012 appropriations law, Pub. L. No. 112-74, Division F, Title III, the Secretary is authorized to reserve up to $55 million for the replication and expansion of successful charter models. 

A quick perusal of the Notice raises at least two questions:  (1) If pre-existing successful models are to be replicated, why has the Department included six competitive preference priorities that may necessitate applicants changing their models to be in the running for a grant? (2) Given the grants are to replicate successful models, why give novice applicants extra points? Why not put everyone on equal footing in the competition?

Potential applicants should also note that charter Replication and Expansion grants allow extra points for policies that promote diversity.  As many who follow this issue know, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to review this area of the law later this year in the context of higher education admissions in Fisher v. University of Texas.  

 

 

House Presses Ahead on ESEA: Endorses Charter School Bill

Posted by Kent Talbert on September 13, 2011

On September 13, 2011, the U. S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly (365-54) to approve H.R. 2218.pdf, the Empowering Parents Through Quality Charter Schools Act.  The bill is the first of a handful of Ed and Workforce Committee measures that reauthorize parts of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).  Among other things, the legislation makes a number of improvements to the federal charter program to facilitate the replication of greater numbers of high quality charter schools.  A summary is here.   

Interview on "The Politics of NCLB Renewal"

Posted by Kent Talbert on August 27, 2011

In an August 25, 2011 interview with Kyle Palmer, I offered comments on recent actions of the House Education and Workforce Committee to push forward legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as well as spoke about the U.S. Department of Education's preliminary plans to attach conditions to waivers.  The interview can be found here.     

Big Vote (34-5) on Charter Schools' Bill

Posted by Kent Talbert on June 27, 2011

By a vote of 34-5, the House Education and Workforce Committee reported out its second Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA) reauthorization bill, H.R. 2218.pdf, on June 22, 2011. Entitled the Empowering Parents Through Quality Charter Schools Act, the legislation revamps the current charter schools' discretionary grant program, among other things, to give priority to states that do not cap the numbers of charter schools.  H.R. 2218 also provides support for the purchase, construction, renovation or lease of school facilities. Additional information can be found in my post of June 20.  

Watch for other ESEA bills in the committee later this summer and fall on funding flexibility, teachers, and accountability. 

Committee to Update Charter Schools Grant Program

Posted by Kent Talbert on June 20, 2011

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce announced plans today to mark-up its second Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization bill on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 10:00 A.M.  

Known as the Empowering Parents Through Quality Charter Schools Act, H.R. 2218.pdf updates the federal charter schools program by consolidating various funding streams into the existing state grant program, and by allowing either state departments of education, state charter school boards, or governors to make subgrants to support new charter school start-ups. Funds could also be used to replicate or expand high-quality charter schools.

Priority in funding will go to states that: (1) repeal caps on the numbers of charter schools; (2) allow more than a state educational agency or local school district to be an authorizer; (3) provide financing to charters that is comparable to traditional public schools; (4) support full-blended or hybrid-online charter school models; and (5) use charters to help improve struggling schools.

For further details, see the Bill Summary of H.R. 2218.pdf. 

School Choice Updates: East Coast, West Coast

Posted by Kent Talbert on January 31, 2011

On January 26, 2011, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT) introduced H.R. 471.pdf and S. 206.pdf, respectively, the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act (SOAR Act).pdf (summary), to renew the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, which expired at the end of the 2009-2010 school year.  The renewed program would provide scholarships of up to $8,000 (elementary school) and up to $12,000 (high school) to families whose income does not exceed 185 percent of the federal poverty level, to attend a DC private school of their choice. 

On the west coast, the choice news is a bit different.  In January 2010, California enacted the refreshing parent trigger law.pdf, which gives parents the opportunity to make major changes to failing schools.  Under the "parent trigger," one-half of parents can, by petition, demand that a failing school be shut down, change its staff, or become a charter school.  In the last few months of 2010, this came to the forefront in Compton, CA, where about 60 percent of the parents at McKinley Elementary School petitioned to turn the failing school into a public charter school.  There’s still a ways to go. According to the Los Angeles Times.pdf, newly-appointed members of the State Board of Education announced they needed more time to review issues associated with the trigger.  The board is responsible for regulations governing the program. Time will tell how it all sorts out.  Stay tuned.            

Another Take on Freedom (Or The Lack Thereof): "The Lottery" and Charter Schools in New York City

Posted by Kent Talbert on June 21, 2010

For those who follow education reform, consider going to see “The Lottery,” the new documentary about the challenges charter schools face from entrenched interests in New York City.  Though I have not yet seen the film (opening June 8, 2010 in New York City and June 25, 2010 in Washington, DC ), Bari Weiss, in the June 5-6, 2010 weekend edition (p. A14) of The Wall Street Journal presents a summary of the hurdles New York City charter schools have faced  from the United Federation of Teachers, certain city council members, and others. Weiss recounts her interview with 27-year-old filmmaker Madeleine Sackler.

Summary of Film.  Weiss tells how filmmaker Sackler was taken aback by the number of parents that gathered at the Harlem Armory to see who would win slots, via the lottery, for their children to enroll at the Harlem Success Academy.  According to the article, the Harlem Success Academy is one of the best charter schools in NYC.  [Under the law, when there are not enough openings for students at charters to meet the demand, a lottery is required.] 

Sackler notes “I wanted to know why so many parents were entering their kids into the lottery and what it would mean for them.”  Thus began her quest to produce the documentary--interviewing family members, educators, politicians and others.

The success rate at the Harlem Success Academy is compelling. According to the article, in 2009, 95% of third-graders passed the state’s English Language Arts exam, versus only 51% in P.S. 149, the traditional public school that shares the same building. That same year, notes Weiss, Harlem Success was No. 1 in math out of 2,500 public schools in New York State.  

Yet establishing charter schools and providing more options for parents has not been easy. Charter schools in New York City have faced many hurdles along the way.  Eva Moskowitz, a former New York City Councilmember and founder of the Harlem Success Academy notes, the opponents of charter schools are the “union-political-educational complex.” As Weiss explains, "[t]hat’s a fancy term for the web of unions and politicians who defend the status quo in order to protect their jobs.”

Whether you are a charter school principal, board member, reformer, authorizer or simply interested in education, consider the documentary "The Lottery" as part of your summer "to do" list.