Governor Calls for Special Legislative Session on Race to the Top Reforms

by Sherry Skelly Griffith, Legislative Advocate
http://acsa.org/MainMenuCategories/Advocacy/Race-to-the-Top-Reforms.aspx

Today, August 20, 2009 the Governor authorized the commencement of a special legislative session that would accelerate possible changes to California education laws that Secretary Arne Duncan considers barriers to eligibility or necessary reforms to compete for “one time” only Race to the Tops funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The key barrier is an absolute condition that a state must not have any “…legal, statutory, or regulatory barriers to linking student achievement or student growth data to teachers for the purpose of teacher and principal evaluation.” If eligible, California could receive up to approximately $450 million in one time funds. Only 10-15 states will be chosen to participate nationwide.

The Governor is proposing a package of bills some new, some that have failed in the current session and some still pending in the current session. He anticipates the special session will wrap up by early October in time to prepare the extensive application due in late 2009.

ACSA has not seen the following proposals in detail:

1. Linking Student Achievement and Teacher Performance Data – This is likely an amendment to Education Code Section 10601.5 c) which states in part, “Data in the system (California Longitudinal Teacher Integrated Data Education System – CALTIDES) shall not be used, either solely or in conjunction with data from CALPADS, for the purposes of pay, promotion, sanction, or personnel evaluation of an individual teacher or groups of teachers, or of any other employment decisions related to individual teachers.” This section of law does not prohibit individual school districts from collectively bargaining the use of student achievement data as part of a teacher’s evaluation nor does it prohibit that condition for principals. Race to the Top guidelines indicate that evaluating teachers and principals using student growth or test data is a “significant factor” in the rating of teachers and principals. ACSA will be working closely with all stakeholders and state level policymakers on this issue in the coming weeks.

2. Turning Around Struggling Schools – The Governor proposes to address struggling schools by, 1) lifting the cap on the number of charter schools (a competitive but not mandatory Race to the Top condition) and, 2) Letting parents choose any school or district in the state if they currently are in a Decile 1-3 school (a bill failed this session so this is likely the reincarnation).

Race to the Top also requires the bottom 5 percent of all underperforming schools statewide be subject to strict reforms including but not limited to, 1) putting in place new leadership (also known as replacing the principal), a majority of new staff, new governance and greater school flexibility, or, 2) convert the school to a charter school, or 3) turn it over to a management company. It is unclear how the Governor’s proposal would address these significant reforms which is a condition of Race to the Top but we understand it may be through SB 742 (Gloria Romero), sponsored by Ed Voice. ACSA opposes SB 742.

3. Recruiting and Retaining High-Quality Teachers and Principals – The Governor is proposing the development of alternative pay schedules, rewards to teachers who are consistently doing the toughest jobs and creating incentives to improve education delivery including measuring student progress to identify what works in the classroom. ACSA has not seen any details on these proposals.

4. Improving School Accountability – The Governor is proposing that AB 1130 (Solorio) an Ed Voice sponsored bill be the vehicle for revising the cohort growth model (currently under the API) to more accurately track student and school progress from year to year. ACSA supports AB 1130 but we do not believe it’s complete without our sponsored AB 429 (Brownley) which addresses individual student achievement data tied to CALPADS.

State’s Required to Commit to National Common Core Standards Movement and a Common Assessment

The Governor’s package does not address the condition that California must participate, and then eventually move to a common core set of standards and assessments. However the Race to the Top Guidelines currently requires these conditions. We will be monitoring this carefully.

Governor Needs Sign Off on Final Race to the Top Application

The Governor is authorized to apply for Race to the Top but must have the approval in writing of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education President. In addition each applicant must secure the support of stakeholders including education organizations.

WHAT ARE NEXT STEPS?

Comments on Race to the Top Guidelines Due August 28, 2009

ACSA is preparing comments regarding the 19 elements of the Race to the Top grant program to submit by the deadline. Click here to go to the DOE website and submit your own comments. Applications for Phase 1 will be due late 2009. Applications for Phase 2 (if rejected in Phase 1 or new applicants) are due Spring 2010.

Senate Education Committee Holds Informational Hearing on August 26, 2009

ACSA will be involved in this information hearing.

ACSA Soliciting Input on the Conditions and Requirements of Race to the Top in a Zoomerang Survey Late August

Please anticipate a zoomerang survey by next week seeking your input.

ACSA Will Work Closely with Education Coalition Partners and State Policymakers During the Special Session

We will keep you posted on developments during the special legislative session over the next two months.