Dear Friends,
At 11:15pm Monday night (Feb. 25th) in the last vote of the first half of the session, the Indiana House defeated House Bill 1337 by a vote of 33 to 61. Kudos to all who spoke to legislators last weekend about the major problems with this bill, problems detailed in “Vic’s Notes #120”. The grassroots were heard!
House Bill 1337
It was clear earlier Monday evening when HB 1337 first came up that many members of the Republican caucus were not supporting Chairman Behning’s bill. When the bill was called, Rep. Behning offered a rare third reading amendment, saying it would reduce the bill to only two subjects: “a larger dependence on growth” in the A-F metrics and “how we deal with turnaround schools.” He said that there would be “no speed up of Public Law 221” and “no testing in science” in the A-F metrics.
Representatives Austin, Battles, Vernon Smith and Summers all closely questioned the sponsor on how the third reading amendment changed his bill. No one likes third reading amendments. It is generally a sign of desperation; amendments are supposed to be done on second reading. Then Speaker Bosma stepped in and asked Rep. Behning to withdraw his bill to prepare a mock up of the amended bill for all to read and consider later in the evening.
After the budget was passed and all other bills were considered, Speaker Bosma returned to HB 1337. Written copies of the amendment had been circulated since the earlier discussion. House Democrats were animated in questioning and speaking against the bill. Rep. Austin, after getting Rep. Behning to confirm that science tests as part of A-F school grades were indeed still in the bill and that unelected school boards would run the new “independent” schools, concluded that this bill would create “chaos for our communities.” Rep. Battles said the amended bill “is still awful.” Rep. Summers said that at 5 minutes until 11 o’clock, the amended bill is “not vetted: We don’t know what it is about.” Rep. Vernon Smith said, “This bill is one person’s thoughts. Others ought to be involved.”
Then Rep. Huston, former chief of staff for Tony Bennett, defended the bill and the current A-F system. He was followed by opposition from Rep. Charlie Brown and Rep. Porter related to athletic recruiting and the A-F system.
Then came the vote.
The lopsided 33-61 tally was a surprise. A total of 31 Republicans joined 30 Democrats in voting no. All 33 remaining Republicans who voted were for the bill. About half of the Republican caucus sent Rep. Behning a clear message of opposition.
Click here for the roll call for you to check the votes of each member.
Senate Bill 416
Last week on Wednesday, February 20th, Senate Bill 416 passed the Senate Education Committee 11-0 with the supportive testimony from 15 speakers from all over Indiana, including State Superintendent Ritz. The bill sponsored by Sen. Yoder would void the current A-F system and set a guideline that school grades “may not be based on the measurement of student growth compared with peers.” A bipartisan consensus has emerged in the General Assembly that the current A-F system is seriously flawed, and SB 416 proposed that the State Board produce a revised system. Click here for my testimony strongly supporting SB 416.
Fast forward to Monday afternoon, Feb. 25th, on the Senate floor: Senator Yoder withdrew and thus killed Senate Bill 416, saying his bill to revise the A-F system will be fit into HB 1337 when it comes over from the House in the second half of the session. By adjournment that night, however, the House had defeated HB 1337.
The reasons for Senator Yoder’s action in killing his own bill are mystifying, and considering what happened to HB 1337, his actions now seem premature. It is also mystifying why Senator Yoder thought that the massive and problematic HB 1337 would be a better vehicle to discuss A-F metrics than his own simpler SB 416 which focused only on the A-F system.
As the second half of the session gets under way next week, the vehicle for legislative action regarding the A-F system remains unclear. Senator Yoder’s withdrawal of SB 416 gives comfort for now only to those members of the State Board who still like their A-F system that has so clearly lost the confidence of the public and most of the members of the General Assembly.
Thanks to all who supported Senate Bill 416 with testimony and with emails!
Thanks to all who helped in the demise of House Bill 1337!
And thanks to all who continue to stand up for public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who testified last week against HB 1337 and for SB 416 on behalf of ICPE, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
February 27, 2013: Question of the Day
Do you think that the State Charter Board should approve the opening of a Carpe Diem school in Fort Wayne?
Click the question mark below to see all our Questions of the Day or click the link in the sidebar.
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Click the question mark below to see all our Questions of the Day or click the link in the sidebar.
~~~
Monday, February 25, 2013
Vic’s Statehouse Notes #121– February 25, 2013
Dear Friends,
The House Republican budget bill HB 1001 will be voted on later today, Monday, February 25th. No doubt it will pass.
While it gives more money to education than the Governor’s budget did, it falls far short in the effort to restore public school funding to pre-recession levels. About $150 million more each year would be needed to reach pre-recession levels, a figure explained below.
Then with the passage of the voucher expansion bill, at least $21 million of the $129 million dollars budgeted next year for tuition support – about one sixth -- will flow to private schools rather than to public schools.
Budgets are hard to track and easy to camouflage with misleading statistics. I think the best way to track funding for education is to look at actual dollars each year:
Current actual FY2013 funding for tuition support: $6.500 Billion (from the HB 1001 funding formula)
Proposed FY2014 budget for tuition support: $6.629 Billion (+$129 Million over current year)
Proposed FY2015 budget for tuition support: $6.694 Billion (+$194 Million over current year)
New money budgeted over two years: (+$323 Million – two year total)
HB1003 vouchers for students already in private schools FY2014: $21 Million (see Statehouse Notes #119)
FY2104 new tuition support for public & charter schools: $129 Million minus $21 M equals $108 Million
HB1003 vouchers for students already in private schools FY2015: $21 Million
FY2015 new tuition support for public & charter schools: $194 M minus $21 M equals $173 Million
Actual new money budgeted for public and charter schools over two years: $108 M + $173M = $281 Million
The conclusion is that with voucher expansion in HB 1003, tuition support will be well under the well publicized 2% increase in the first year and 1% in the second year of the budget.
How much tuition support would restore the money lost to public schools during the Great Recession?
In budgets written from 1999 through 2009, tuition support was increased from 1% to 4% depending on economic conditions. In 2011, tuition support was reduced drastically (-4.5%) in response to the Great Recession and falling state revenues. Details of this cut can be seen HERE.
The last somewhat normal budget for FY2011 devoted $6.57 billion to tuition support. The next budget for FY2012 cut that amount to $6.28 billion, almost $300 million less. If we would go back to FY2011 and figure just a 1% increase each year (such as the House Republican leadership has proposed for FY2015), where would the tuition support budget be this year? Here are the projected figures to answer that question:
FY2011 $6.57 billion
FY2012 $6.64 billion (+1%)
FY2013 $6.70 billion (+1%)
FY2014 $6.77 billion (+1%) (Compare to $6.63 billion in today’s HB 1001 = $140 Million short)
FY2015 $6.84 billion (+1%) (Compare to $6.69 billion in today’s HB 1001) = $150 Million short)
Thus, figuring a conservative 1% increase, restoring funding to education that was cut in the Great Recession would require $290 million additional new dollars for tuition support than the House Republicans have budgeted. They have offered $323 million over two years, which falls to $281 million (see above) when voucher expansion is figured in. The conclusion is that the budget increase for tuition support would need to be doubled in this budget to restore education funding to levels before the Great Recession.
Specific Budget Line Items
All of the discussion above is about the biggest line item in the budget, tuition support. There are many smaller line items in the budget which deserve attention as well. Some were raised, some were cut and some disappeared. Here is a sampling for your review:
.....................................2011 Budget..........2013 House Budget, Feb. 25th
................................FY 2012.......FY 2013........FY 2014........FY 2015
Items Raised
..Performance Awards............$6.0 M........$9.0 M..........$11.0 M........$11.0 M
Items Cut
..IEERB.........................$1.54 M.......$1.54 M.........$.99 M.........$.99 M
..Alternative Education.........$6.32 M.......$6.32 M.........$6.14 M........$6.14 M
..Sen. Ford Tech Fund...........$3.43 M.......$3.43 M.........$3.09 M........$3.09 M
Items New
..Works Councils......................0.............0.........$1.0 M.........$5.0 M
..Charter School Board................0.............0.........$.75 M.........$.50 M
..Drop Out Prevention.................0.............0.........$6.0 M.........$6.0 M
..Principal’s Leadership Acad.........0.............0.........$.38 M.........$.38 M
..STEM Teacher Recruitment............0.............0.........$5.0 M.........$5.0 M
..School Performance Awards...........0.............0..............0.........$16.7 M
Items that Disappeared
..Full-Day Kind Grants..........$81.9 M.......$81.9 M........now in tuition support
Items that Disappeared in 2011 and remain gone
..Professional Development
..Circuit Breaker Grants
Items that Stayed the Same
..Testing and Remediation......$46.23 M......$46.23 M........$46.23M.......$46.23 M
..State Board and Roundtable...$3.70 M.......$3.70 M.........$3.70 M.......$3.70 M
..Non-English Speaking Program.$5.00 M.......$5.00 M.........$5.00 M.......$5.00 M
..Gifted and Talented..........$12.55 M......$12.55 M........$12.55 M......$12.55 M
..Summer School................$18.36 M......$18.36 M........$18.36 M......$18.36 M
..F/R Textbooks Reimbursement..$39.0 M.......$39.0 M.........$39.0 M.......$39.0 M
..Innovation Fund – New Tech...$2.5 M........$2.5 M..........$2.5 M........$2.5 M
Concerns about Specific Items
Share these and other budget concerns you may have with members of the Senate. The biggest problem is the mediocre effort to restore tuition support to pre-recession levels when clearly the well-publicized surpluses show that more money is now available. Senate Republicans will now craft their own budget, which will be reconciled with this House Republican budget in April.
To see what is happening to public education, we all must follow the money. Thanks for standing up for public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who shared the budget concerns of ICPE members during public testimony on this budget bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
The House Republican budget bill HB 1001 will be voted on later today, Monday, February 25th. No doubt it will pass.
While it gives more money to education than the Governor’s budget did, it falls far short in the effort to restore public school funding to pre-recession levels. About $150 million more each year would be needed to reach pre-recession levels, a figure explained below.
Then with the passage of the voucher expansion bill, at least $21 million of the $129 million dollars budgeted next year for tuition support – about one sixth -- will flow to private schools rather than to public schools.
Budgets are hard to track and easy to camouflage with misleading statistics. I think the best way to track funding for education is to look at actual dollars each year:
Current actual FY2013 funding for tuition support: $6.500 Billion (from the HB 1001 funding formula)
Proposed FY2014 budget for tuition support: $6.629 Billion (+$129 Million over current year)
Proposed FY2015 budget for tuition support: $6.694 Billion (+$194 Million over current year)
New money budgeted over two years: (+$323 Million – two year total)
HB1003 vouchers for students already in private schools FY2014: $21 Million (see Statehouse Notes #119)
FY2104 new tuition support for public & charter schools: $129 Million minus $21 M equals $108 Million
HB1003 vouchers for students already in private schools FY2015: $21 Million
FY2015 new tuition support for public & charter schools: $194 M minus $21 M equals $173 Million
Actual new money budgeted for public and charter schools over two years: $108 M + $173M = $281 Million
The conclusion is that with voucher expansion in HB 1003, tuition support will be well under the well publicized 2% increase in the first year and 1% in the second year of the budget.
How much tuition support would restore the money lost to public schools during the Great Recession?
In budgets written from 1999 through 2009, tuition support was increased from 1% to 4% depending on economic conditions. In 2011, tuition support was reduced drastically (-4.5%) in response to the Great Recession and falling state revenues. Details of this cut can be seen HERE.
The last somewhat normal budget for FY2011 devoted $6.57 billion to tuition support. The next budget for FY2012 cut that amount to $6.28 billion, almost $300 million less. If we would go back to FY2011 and figure just a 1% increase each year (such as the House Republican leadership has proposed for FY2015), where would the tuition support budget be this year? Here are the projected figures to answer that question:
FY2011 $6.57 billion
FY2012 $6.64 billion (+1%)
FY2013 $6.70 billion (+1%)
FY2014 $6.77 billion (+1%) (Compare to $6.63 billion in today’s HB 1001 = $140 Million short)
FY2015 $6.84 billion (+1%) (Compare to $6.69 billion in today’s HB 1001) = $150 Million short)
Thus, figuring a conservative 1% increase, restoring funding to education that was cut in the Great Recession would require $290 million additional new dollars for tuition support than the House Republicans have budgeted. They have offered $323 million over two years, which falls to $281 million (see above) when voucher expansion is figured in. The conclusion is that the budget increase for tuition support would need to be doubled in this budget to restore education funding to levels before the Great Recession.
Specific Budget Line Items
All of the discussion above is about the biggest line item in the budget, tuition support. There are many smaller line items in the budget which deserve attention as well. Some were raised, some were cut and some disappeared. Here is a sampling for your review:
.....................................2011 Budget..........2013 House Budget, Feb. 25th
................................FY 2012.......FY 2013........FY 2014........FY 2015
Items Raised
..Performance Awards............$6.0 M........$9.0 M..........$11.0 M........$11.0 M
Items Cut
..IEERB.........................$1.54 M.......$1.54 M.........$.99 M.........$.99 M
..Alternative Education.........$6.32 M.......$6.32 M.........$6.14 M........$6.14 M
..Sen. Ford Tech Fund...........$3.43 M.......$3.43 M.........$3.09 M........$3.09 M
Items New
..Works Councils......................0.............0.........$1.0 M.........$5.0 M
..Charter School Board................0.............0.........$.75 M.........$.50 M
..Drop Out Prevention.................0.............0.........$6.0 M.........$6.0 M
..Principal’s Leadership Acad.........0.............0.........$.38 M.........$.38 M
..STEM Teacher Recruitment............0.............0.........$5.0 M.........$5.0 M
..School Performance Awards...........0.............0..............0.........$16.7 M
Items that Disappeared
..Full-Day Kind Grants..........$81.9 M.......$81.9 M........now in tuition support
Items that Disappeared in 2011 and remain gone
..Professional Development
..Circuit Breaker Grants
Items that Stayed the Same
..Testing and Remediation......$46.23 M......$46.23 M........$46.23M.......$46.23 M
..State Board and Roundtable...$3.70 M.......$3.70 M.........$3.70 M.......$3.70 M
..Non-English Speaking Program.$5.00 M.......$5.00 M.........$5.00 M.......$5.00 M
..Gifted and Talented..........$12.55 M......$12.55 M........$12.55 M......$12.55 M
..Summer School................$18.36 M......$18.36 M........$18.36 M......$18.36 M
..F/R Textbooks Reimbursement..$39.0 M.......$39.0 M.........$39.0 M.......$39.0 M
..Innovation Fund – New Tech...$2.5 M........$2.5 M..........$2.5 M........$2.5 M
Concerns about Specific Items
- It makes no sense to cut the Sen. Ford Technology Fund. Schools are expected to expand technology capacity to administer ISTEP online. That will take more money.
- It makes no sense to cut Alternative Education and then add $6 million in a new fund for Drop Out Prevention. Alternative schools in Indiana are working overtime to prevent drop outs. They deserve the additional funding to keep more students from dropping out.
- Greater numbers are now on free or reduced lunch due to the recession, but funding for textbooks for free and reduced lunch students has been frozen for years. The excess percentage not paid by the state comes out of the General Fund of each local district budget. When districts have a high percentage on free or reduced lunch, this extra expense for textbooks becomes a budget burden that cuts funds which might help all students. In contrast, textbooks for home school and private school parents are tax deductible.
- Much has been written recently about the summer learning loss. Better summer school programs could remedy that problem, but the summer school budget remains frozen at the same level it has had for years.
Share these and other budget concerns you may have with members of the Senate. The biggest problem is the mediocre effort to restore tuition support to pre-recession levels when clearly the well-publicized surpluses show that more money is now available. Senate Republicans will now craft their own budget, which will be reconciled with this House Republican budget in April.
To see what is happening to public education, we all must follow the money. Thanks for standing up for public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who shared the budget concerns of ICPE members during public testimony on this budget bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Public Schools Across America - Media Coverage
On Saturday, February 23, 2013, individuals and groups from across the midwest gathered in Fort Wayne to discuss ways to support public education. Parents, grandparents, educators, elected officials, and concerned citizens met at the first Public Schools Across America regional meeting.
[For those of you who attended the Four State Conference yesterday in Fort Wayne, if you send your notes, images and photos to NEIFPE at neifpe@gmail.com. As they become available we will share all of them HERE.]
Thanks to
Supporting Public Education
[For those of you who attended the Four State Conference yesterday in Fort Wayne, if you send your notes, images and photos to NEIFPE at neifpe@gmail.com. As they become available we will share all of them HERE.]
Thanks to
- Keynote speaker Glenda Ritz, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction.
- Julie Woestehoff of PURE: Parents United for Responsible Education, an affiliate of Parents Across America
- Maureen Reedy, former candidate for the Ohio legislature and Ohio Teacher of the Year (2002).
Supporting Public Education
The meeting was an opportunity for the community to share concerns about the attacks on public schools. There was also discussion on what can be done to strengthen public education in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan, but to also influence change throughout the United States.
~~~
Saturday's meeting included parents, teachers and education administrators from [Indiana,] Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. It was set up because parents and school leaders are tired of losing taxpayer dollars to charter schools. It's an issue that people have seen in states across the country....school leaders are networking to discuss what tools work in the classroom, and unite teachers from coast-to-coast...
"What can we do collectively, as a Midwest or nation, to have this rise of people realize this is a giant issue," said Al Jacquay, the president of the Fort Wayne Education Association. "People need to be involved and engaged to help save our local schools."
Friday, February 22, 2013
Vic’s Statehouse Notes #120– February 22, 2013
Dear Friends,
House members will vote Monday on House Bill 1337, a massive partisan rewrite of the bipartisan Public Law 221 which has governed Indiana’s accountability program since 1999. Public education advocates should tell House members this weekend that passing the voucher bill is enough damage to public schools in one session. They should call a halt and defeat House Bill 1337.
House Bill 1337 in any normal year should be the center of discussion and debate in non-partisan forums to direct the next generation of Indiana’s accountability program to replace the 1999 bipartisan reform, Public Law 221. Instead, House Bill 1337 was squeezed through the education committee on the last possible day with very little attention or debate, and certainly with no bipartisan support. It would:
Ask your House member, especially if they let you down and voted for the voucher bill, if they would please stop further confusion and turmoil in our public schools by deferring this complete rewrite of our entire accountability program to another session when broad based discussions about changing our accountability system can be held. House Bill 1337 is a partisan law that few have even seen or discussed.
Enough is enough!
Please talk to members of the House about your opposition to HB 1337 in “Third House” and “Crackerbarrel” meetings this weekend, or through phone calls and emails. The final vote will be on Monday, February 25th.
Thanks for all of your efforts on behalf of public schools!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who spoke against provisions of HB 1137 that allow for-profit companies to take over public schools and make a profit using the buildings still owned and maintained by the public school board, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
House members will vote Monday on House Bill 1337, a massive partisan rewrite of the bipartisan Public Law 221 which has governed Indiana’s accountability program since 1999. Public education advocates should tell House members this weekend that passing the voucher bill is enough damage to public schools in one session. They should call a halt and defeat House Bill 1337.
House Bill 1337 in any normal year should be the center of discussion and debate in non-partisan forums to direct the next generation of Indiana’s accountability program to replace the 1999 bipartisan reform, Public Law 221. Instead, House Bill 1337 was squeezed through the education committee on the last possible day with very little attention or debate, and certainly with no bipartisan support. It would:
1) let the State Board empower turnaround academies to become independent schools with the status of a new, small school district with an appointed school board, not elected. This fragmentation contradicts recent efforts to consolidate small school districts into bigger districts.These objections just scratch the surface. This massive 43-page bill has not been fully vetted.
2) remove “improvement” as the stated goal of PL 221, replacing it with “performance.” This is a major philosophical change from the 1999 bipartisan reform.
3) require science assessments to be included in high stakes school letter grade decisions by 2014-15. The testing budget has not been increased to pay for this.
4) delete well-known PL 221 language we have had since 1999 saying results should be adjusted “for student mobility” and saying “Compare each school and each school corporation with its own prior performance and not to the performance of other schools or other corporations.” This latter deletion would open the door to assessing students compared to peers which has been at the heart of the failure of the current A-F system.
Ask your House member, especially if they let you down and voted for the voucher bill, if they would please stop further confusion and turmoil in our public schools by deferring this complete rewrite of our entire accountability program to another session when broad based discussions about changing our accountability system can be held. House Bill 1337 is a partisan law that few have even seen or discussed.
Enough is enough!
Please talk to members of the House about your opposition to HB 1337 in “Third House” and “Crackerbarrel” meetings this weekend, or through phone calls and emails. The final vote will be on Monday, February 25th.
Thanks for all of your efforts on behalf of public schools!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who spoke against provisions of HB 1137 that allow for-profit companies to take over public schools and make a profit using the buildings still owned and maintained by the public school board, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
Vic’s Statehouse Notes #119– February 22, 2013
Dear Friends,
The attack on public education continues. The House passed the precedent setting voucher expansion bill 57-36 about 6:30 last evening as an ice storm was bearing down on Indianapolis. Public school advocates must now convince Senators that this enormous voucher expansion so unfairly favors private schools over public schools that it should be turned down.
As the floor calendar progressed in the House yesterday (Thursday), it began to look as if the vote on HB 1003 would be deferred until Monday. Today (Friday) is not a session day. Good news came late Thursday afternoon when Speaker Bosma announced that HB 1342 (Ending State Superintendent authority over the voucher program) and HB 1358 (parent trigger) would be reassigned to the Rules Committee. That is where bills are sent to die.
Then as the Speaker warned the members that a storm was coming, the voucher bill was called. Rep. Behning presented the bill and Rep. Huston spoke for it. Rep. Battles, Rep. Vernon Smith, Rep. VanDenburgh, Rep. Errington and Rep. Austin all spoke strongly and passionately against the bill.
Then came the vote. Seven members were “Excused from Voting” or “Not voting”, four Republicans (Representatives Clere, Rhoads, Soliday and Wolkins) and three Democrats (Representatives Bauer, C. Brown and Harris).
Of the 93 voting, all 28 Democrats and 8 Republicans voted against the bill in support of public education. All should be profusely thanked! The 8 Republicans were Representatives Bacon, Dermody, Koch, Mahan, McNamara, Neese, Saunders and Truitt.
All 57 other Republicans voted yes. Let them know of your disagreement and disappointment.
Some speculated that Speaker Bosma wanted to get the vote done Thursday before members went home to a long weekend of messages from public education supporters in order to keep from losing any votes. With the vote done, you can’t persuade House members this weekend to turn against the voucher expansion bill, but you can tell them what you think of their vote and you can start talking to Senators about voting against this bill which has a fiscal cost of $26 million of new funding to help private schools. Gone are the days when the voucher program saved the state money. Here are the big ticket items:
These conservative estimates totaling over $26 million do not include the cost of vouchers provided for foster children currently in private schools or for kindergarten siblings of current voucher students.
Here are some pointed questions to ask members of the House who voted for HB 1003:
Thanks for all you are doing to support public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who lobbied hard against the voucher bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
The attack on public education continues. The House passed the precedent setting voucher expansion bill 57-36 about 6:30 last evening as an ice storm was bearing down on Indianapolis. Public school advocates must now convince Senators that this enormous voucher expansion so unfairly favors private schools over public schools that it should be turned down.
As the floor calendar progressed in the House yesterday (Thursday), it began to look as if the vote on HB 1003 would be deferred until Monday. Today (Friday) is not a session day. Good news came late Thursday afternoon when Speaker Bosma announced that HB 1342 (Ending State Superintendent authority over the voucher program) and HB 1358 (parent trigger) would be reassigned to the Rules Committee. That is where bills are sent to die.
Then as the Speaker warned the members that a storm was coming, the voucher bill was called. Rep. Behning presented the bill and Rep. Huston spoke for it. Rep. Battles, Rep. Vernon Smith, Rep. VanDenburgh, Rep. Errington and Rep. Austin all spoke strongly and passionately against the bill.
Then came the vote. Seven members were “Excused from Voting” or “Not voting”, four Republicans (Representatives Clere, Rhoads, Soliday and Wolkins) and three Democrats (Representatives Bauer, C. Brown and Harris).
Of the 93 voting, all 28 Democrats and 8 Republicans voted against the bill in support of public education. All should be profusely thanked! The 8 Republicans were Representatives Bacon, Dermody, Koch, Mahan, McNamara, Neese, Saunders and Truitt.
All 57 other Republicans voted yes. Let them know of your disagreement and disappointment.
Some speculated that Speaker Bosma wanted to get the vote done Thursday before members went home to a long weekend of messages from public education supporters in order to keep from losing any votes. With the vote done, you can’t persuade House members this weekend to turn against the voucher expansion bill, but you can tell them what you think of their vote and you can start talking to Senators about voting against this bill which has a fiscal cost of $26 million of new funding to help private schools. Gone are the days when the voucher program saved the state money. Here are the big ticket items:
1) Special education students currently in private schools become eligible for a voucher. The most recent figures from the IDOE website show 4211 such students. An estimated 75% meet the income limit of $85,000 for a family of four. Cost to taxpayers at LSA’s estimate of $4083 on average for each voucher: $12.8 million.The first three points, totaling $21 million, will come out of the tuition support budget in the funding formula. There is no separate line item for vouchers. The fourth point, tax credits, will reduce state revenues by $5 million.
2) The $4500 cap on the Grade 1-8 voucher is raised to $5000 the first year and to $5500 the second year. Cost to taxpayers according to LSA: $1.9 million at a minimum
3) Children of veterans currently in private schools become eligible for a voucher. IDOE data shows 72,000 students currently in private schools that report data to the department. An estimated 75% meet the income limit of $85,000 for a family of four. If just 3% of those students have a parent who is a veteran, the cost to taxpayers would be $6.6 million.
4) The preschool scholarship granting organizations in this bill would be able to give away $5 million in tax money as tax credits for donations to preschool tuition support.
These conservative estimates totaling over $26 million do not include the cost of vouchers provided for foster children currently in private schools or for kindergarten siblings of current voucher students.
Here are some pointed questions to ask members of the House who voted for HB 1003:
1) Why would you want to increase payments to private schools by 11% (raising the tuition payment for Grades 1-8 vouchers from $4500 to $5000) while you only raised the overall education funding for tuition support by 2%?Please talk to members of the House and now also members of the Senate about voucher expansion in your “Third House” and “Crackerbarrel” meeting this weekend, or through phone calls and emails. The voucher bill must now be derailed in the Senate.
2) When the K-12 funding formula is to get only $129 million additional dollars (2%, $82 million of which was transferred in from the kindergarten grant) why would you want to send $21 million of this on to the private schools? Don’t public schools need this increase?
3) Won’t $21 million in new costs for vouchers send the tuition support totals over the appropriation cap and force a proportional cut in all school districts?
4) Aren’t you embarrassed to pass a bill sending $26 million additional state dollars to private schools while state funding for professional development was cut to $0 in 2011 and not restored in this budget?
5) Isn’t there a problem of priorities and proportionality here when you pass a bill giving $26 million additional dollars to private schools but vital public school programs have been frozen or cut, such as:
Summer School – frozen at $18.36 million Non-English Speaking Program – frozen at $5 million Gifted and Talented - frozen at $12.54 million Alternative Education – cut from $6.38 million to $6.14 million Sen. Ford Technology Fund – cut from $3.42 million to $3.09 million
Thanks for all you are doing to support public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who lobbied hard against the voucher bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
Education Talk, Part 3
Literacy Terms
With the renewed emphasis on test scores comes a renewed interest in the process of reading. An explanation of many of these literacy terms will hopefully explain what is happening in your child’s classroom.
Literacy - reading, writing, speaking and listening. A good literacy program immerses young children in books. Classroom teachers help children hear the sounds of language and give them experiences with letters and words – while helping them develop comprehension skills and enjoy reading and writing.
Balanced literacy - a framework for literacy instruction using reading, writing and word work, with lots of time allowed for young readers to hear and read good books.
Phonics - an instructional strategy used to teach reading. Beginning readers learn letter-sound relationships to help sound out words.
Comprehension - the term used to describe the interpretations, understanding, and meaning readers construct as they listen to and read stories.
Decoding - how a child figures out a word. It might be by sounding out a word or looking at picture clues. It should include figuring out that word in the context of the other words in the story.
Running Records - a method of recording a child’s reading used by many teachers of early readers. By recording the child’s processing, mistakes, and self-corrections, teachers learn what to review or re-teach with that individual child.
Leveled text - the story or passage at a child’s reading level. Good teachers make sure that young readers read text that is at or just above the child’s reading level.
Guided reading - refers to a reading group. Children are “sorted” into these groups based on reading levels or specific skills being taught by the teacher. These are teacher-led groups.
Literature circles, sometimes called book clubs - are made up of groups of children who read the same book. Specific questions and discussions are required by the teacher, but these groups are often led by students.
Literacy centers - planned by the classroom teacher to foster comprehension skills, to reinforce word work, and to give practice in reading and writing. These groups are usually small – from one to six students – with students working independently or in small groups.
Writers’ Workshop - an integral part of every good literacy classroom. Students write independently, edit stories, and correct spelling with the help of a teacher, other adult, or a classmate.
Curriculum - the course of study offered by a school or district. Final discussions about school curriculum have been the responsibility of the local school board.
Developmentally appropriate - if instruction is developmentally appropriate, it means that curriculum and instruction are based on the mental and physical development of the child. This term is mostly used in reference to young children but is important for students of all ages.
Lifelong readers - ought to be the goal of all parents, students, and teacher. Reading for the joy of reading is why literacy is such a big deal!
Watch this blog for more terms and explanations about “testing” and “literacy.”
Feel free to share this information.
Click HERE for an alphabetized list of terms included in all the Education Talk postings.
With the renewed emphasis on test scores comes a renewed interest in the process of reading. An explanation of many of these literacy terms will hopefully explain what is happening in your child’s classroom.
Literacy - reading, writing, speaking and listening. A good literacy program immerses young children in books. Classroom teachers help children hear the sounds of language and give them experiences with letters and words – while helping them develop comprehension skills and enjoy reading and writing.
Balanced literacy - a framework for literacy instruction using reading, writing and word work, with lots of time allowed for young readers to hear and read good books.
Phonics - an instructional strategy used to teach reading. Beginning readers learn letter-sound relationships to help sound out words.
Comprehension - the term used to describe the interpretations, understanding, and meaning readers construct as they listen to and read stories.
Decoding - how a child figures out a word. It might be by sounding out a word or looking at picture clues. It should include figuring out that word in the context of the other words in the story.
Running Records - a method of recording a child’s reading used by many teachers of early readers. By recording the child’s processing, mistakes, and self-corrections, teachers learn what to review or re-teach with that individual child.
Leveled text - the story or passage at a child’s reading level. Good teachers make sure that young readers read text that is at or just above the child’s reading level.
Guided reading - refers to a reading group. Children are “sorted” into these groups based on reading levels or specific skills being taught by the teacher. These are teacher-led groups.
Literature circles, sometimes called book clubs - are made up of groups of children who read the same book. Specific questions and discussions are required by the teacher, but these groups are often led by students.
Literacy centers - planned by the classroom teacher to foster comprehension skills, to reinforce word work, and to give practice in reading and writing. These groups are usually small – from one to six students – with students working independently or in small groups.
Writers’ Workshop - an integral part of every good literacy classroom. Students write independently, edit stories, and correct spelling with the help of a teacher, other adult, or a classmate.
Curriculum - the course of study offered by a school or district. Final discussions about school curriculum have been the responsibility of the local school board.
Developmentally appropriate - if instruction is developmentally appropriate, it means that curriculum and instruction are based on the mental and physical development of the child. This term is mostly used in reference to young children but is important for students of all ages.
Lifelong readers - ought to be the goal of all parents, students, and teacher. Reading for the joy of reading is why literacy is such a big deal!
Watch this blog for more terms and explanations about “testing” and “literacy.”
Feel free to share this information.
Click HERE for an alphabetized list of terms included in all the Education Talk postings.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Public Schools Across America - Agenda
Agenda
Four-State Public Education Regional Action Planning meeting
sponsored by Parents Across America, Public Schools Across America
and the Northeast Indiana Friends of Public Education
Saturday, February 23, 2013
12:15 – Welcome
12:25 – Keynote speaker: Glenda Ritz, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction
12:45 to 1:00 – Q and A for Superintendent Ritz
1:00 to 1:45: – Breakout Groups - Session 1: Introductions
Who we are, what's happening in our cities/states.
Goal: Identify shared issues.
1:45 to 2:30 – Large Group - Session 2.
Report out on shared issues; sample power point (10 minutes).
Goal: Identify top 3 – 4 common issues.
2:30 to 3:30 – Breakout Groups - Session 3: Action Tables.
Work in small groups to share and consider regional strategies in one of the 3-4 identified issue areas, or, if preferred, groups can work on multiple issues/strategies. We will offer a time to switch groups for those who wish to do so.
Goal: Identify top regional strategy ideas.
Action tables may include:
- Communication/social media
- Parents Across America chapters/affiliates
- Legal strategies
- Charter schools/privatization
- Vouchers
- Testing
- School closings
- Corporate reform/big money influence
3:30 to 4:30 – Large Group - Session 4.
Report out and facilitated discussion on strategies.
Goal: Prioritize strategies for regional joint action including ongoing communication with each other.
4:30 to 5:00 – Large Group - Wrap up/next steps.
Click here for a pdf of this agenda.
Click here for information about the meeting including registration.
Vic’s Statehouse Notes #118– February 20, 2013
Dear Friends,
The huge voucher expansion bill, House Bill 1003, is scheduled for a final vote in the House tomorrow morning, Thursday, Feb. 21st. The session begins at 10:00am. Please contact any and all members of the House tonight and tomorrow before the vote to express your deep opposition.
Many other issues have been raised this week, but the true damage to public education will come if the precedent setting voucher bill is passed. The focus tonight must remain on the educational question of our generation: Will education for young Americans be delivered through public schools or will education increasingly be privatized with state dollars?
Many of the current controversial bills have been raised as part of a strategy to distract public school advocates from the voucher bill. If the precedent can be set that state tax money can freely be spent directly for school vouchers, not just as a money saver for when public school students transfer over to private schools, but as state payments for students already in private schools, then the unraveling of public education is assured. House Bill 1003 sets this precedent.
How much money is to be freely spent for students already in private schools? The House Ways and Means Committee voted out a smaller version of HB 1003 on Monday by a vote of 14-7. The opposing votes included all Democrats along with Rep. Dermody and Rep. Truitt. They should be thanked.
Here are the improvements made Monday, no doubt due to your persistent messages of opposition:
That cost breaks down in this way:
Of the $26 million above, $21 million will come out of K-12 tuition support. Even with this conservative estimate, $21 million dollars will eat up 16% -- one sixth! – of the $129 million dollar increase for K-12 tuition support in the House budget. Don’t let anyone tell you that schools are getting a 2% increase!
Many stories could be told about events of today or yesterday. It has been intense. The stories, however, must wait as you go to work contacting House members about the enormous voucher expansion bill, HB 1003.
Click here for House member emails and a see this handout on HB 1003. Anything you can do tonight and tomorrow will be a help!
Thanks for all you are doing to support public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. I keep hearing reports that some public school supporters read these “Notes” with great interest but don’t translate that interest into joining ICPE. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who is lobbying hard against the voucher bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
The huge voucher expansion bill, House Bill 1003, is scheduled for a final vote in the House tomorrow morning, Thursday, Feb. 21st. The session begins at 10:00am. Please contact any and all members of the House tonight and tomorrow before the vote to express your deep opposition.
Many other issues have been raised this week, but the true damage to public education will come if the precedent setting voucher bill is passed. The focus tonight must remain on the educational question of our generation: Will education for young Americans be delivered through public schools or will education increasingly be privatized with state dollars?
Many of the current controversial bills have been raised as part of a strategy to distract public school advocates from the voucher bill. If the precedent can be set that state tax money can freely be spent directly for school vouchers, not just as a money saver for when public school students transfer over to private schools, but as state payments for students already in private schools, then the unraveling of public education is assured. House Bill 1003 sets this precedent.
How much money is to be freely spent for students already in private schools? The House Ways and Means Committee voted out a smaller version of HB 1003 on Monday by a vote of 14-7. The opposing votes included all Democrats along with Rep. Dermody and Rep. Truitt. They should be thanked.
Here are the improvements made Monday, no doubt due to your persistent messages of opposition:
- the increase in the tax deduction for home school and private school parents for expenses was dropped altogether. It will remain at $1000 as in current law.
- The minimum voucher will be $5000, not $5500. Current law says $4500.
- Special education students already in private schools must have a family income of $85,000 or less to get a voucher. In the education committee version, no means test existed.
- Children of veterans already in private schools must have a family income of $85,000 or less. In the education committee version, vouchers would go to those making up to $127,000.
That cost breaks down in this way:
1) $5 million more for tax credits going to preschools through Scholarship Granting Organizations.This adds up to over $26 million, and it is a conservative estimate. It doesn’t include private school vouchers for all foster children already in private schools, and it doesn’t include the entering kindergarten siblings of current voucher students.
2) $1.9 million more, according to the LSA fiscal analysts, for increasing the Gr. 1-8 vouchers from $4500 to $5000. That is an 11% increase, when K-12 tuition support is budgeted for a 2% increase.
3) $12.8 million more for special education students already in private schools! That is found by taking the number of special education students in private schools (4211) times 75% (estimated percent of such student in families making up to $85,000) times $4083 (LSA’s figure for each voucher).
4) $6.6 million more for children of veterans already in private schools. That is found by taking just 3% of the 72,000 counted in private schools on the IDOE website times 75% expected to meet the $85,000 income limit times $4083 per voucher.
Of the $26 million above, $21 million will come out of K-12 tuition support. Even with this conservative estimate, $21 million dollars will eat up 16% -- one sixth! – of the $129 million dollar increase for K-12 tuition support in the House budget. Don’t let anyone tell you that schools are getting a 2% increase!
Many stories could be told about events of today or yesterday. It has been intense. The stories, however, must wait as you go to work contacting House members about the enormous voucher expansion bill, HB 1003.
Click here for House member emails and a see this handout on HB 1003. Anything you can do tonight and tomorrow will be a help!
Thanks for all you are doing to support public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. I keep hearing reports that some public school supporters read these “Notes” with great interest but don’t translate that interest into joining ICPE. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who is lobbying hard against the voucher bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Vic’s Statehouse Notes #117– February 19, 2013
Dear Friends,
Wednesday afternoon (tomorrow), you have the opportunity to tell your story of frustration with and opposition to the current A-F system implemented this past fall. Senate Bill 416, which “voids the administrative rule that establishes the A through F designations” and requires new designations that “are not based on the measurement of student growth compared against peers” will be given a hearing in the Senate Education Committee beginning at 1:30 pm Wednesday, February 20th, in the Senate Chamber. If you have a story to tell about the flawed school letter grade system that we now have in Indiana, this is the time to tell it to the Senate Committee to help persuade them to endorse a new system.
Wednesday is the last day for Senate Committee meetings in the first half of the session. Participating in this hearing will not be convenient. There are six bills listed for the committee to vote on, and six more bills listed to receive a new hearing. SB 416 is listed last, although that does not mean Chairman Kruse will necessarily take it last. Despite this, I know that many school leaders and community members would be eager to consider this opportunity to help void the current system.
Many people have worked hard to get a hearing for this bill, and it deserves the strong support of public school advocates who want to repair a letter grade system that has unfairly damaged the reputation of many schools. Come and tell your story. The bill also has a section to improve the reading program.
Senate Bill 416, which can be found here, has the support of Glenda Ritz.
I hope that I might see you or one of your colleagues at the hearing on SB 416 to give personal testimony about the problems of Dr. Bennett’s A-F system.
Thanks for all you are doing to support public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. I keep hearing reports that some public school supporters read these “Notes” with great interest but don’t translate that interest into joining ICPE. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who testified this past week in Ways and Means about the enormous fiscal cost of the voucher bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
Wednesday afternoon (tomorrow), you have the opportunity to tell your story of frustration with and opposition to the current A-F system implemented this past fall. Senate Bill 416, which “voids the administrative rule that establishes the A through F designations” and requires new designations that “are not based on the measurement of student growth compared against peers” will be given a hearing in the Senate Education Committee beginning at 1:30 pm Wednesday, February 20th, in the Senate Chamber. If you have a story to tell about the flawed school letter grade system that we now have in Indiana, this is the time to tell it to the Senate Committee to help persuade them to endorse a new system.
Wednesday is the last day for Senate Committee meetings in the first half of the session. Participating in this hearing will not be convenient. There are six bills listed for the committee to vote on, and six more bills listed to receive a new hearing. SB 416 is listed last, although that does not mean Chairman Kruse will necessarily take it last. Despite this, I know that many school leaders and community members would be eager to consider this opportunity to help void the current system.
Many people have worked hard to get a hearing for this bill, and it deserves the strong support of public school advocates who want to repair a letter grade system that has unfairly damaged the reputation of many schools. Come and tell your story. The bill also has a section to improve the reading program.
Senate Bill 416, which can be found here, has the support of Glenda Ritz.
I hope that I might see you or one of your colleagues at the hearing on SB 416 to give personal testimony about the problems of Dr. Bennett’s A-F system.
Thanks for all you are doing to support public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. I keep hearing reports that some public school supporters read these “Notes” with great interest but don’t translate that interest into joining ICPE. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who testified this past week in Ways and Means about the enormous fiscal cost of the voucher bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
Vic’s Statehouse Notes #116– February 18, 2013
Dear Friends,
Rep. Behning today amended his plan in House Bill 1337 to allow the State Board to dissolve a local school board or merge districts based on low school letter grades. His amendment would kick that discussion into a summer study committee.
No doubt responses over the weekend from you and others to House Bill 1337, the rewrite of Public Law 221, led Rep. Behning to amend the bill in today’s meeting. Another part of the amendment makes it possible for turnaround schools to be returned to the original school district or to be made independent schools.
Time ran out on the discussion of HB 1337 for the second meeting in a row. Rep. Behning announced a meeting at 8:30am tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 19th, Room 156C) to hear HB 1337 and the other bills he did not finish today, including HB 1339, HB 1360 and HB 1342. The latter two bills are controversial efforts to take powers away from the State Superintendent, one in co-chairing the Roundtable and the other in administering the voucher program.
Oddly, only verbal announcements of Tuesday’s meeting were made. Nothing is posted on the Indiana General Assembly website in the usual manner. Tomorrow is the last possible day for committee meetings under House rules for the first half of the session.
House Ways and Means Committee Action
Simultaneous to the House Education Committee, the House Ways and Means Committee passed the budget bill (HB 1001) and the voucher expansion bill (HB 1003). The voucher bill was amended to reduce the number of students already in private schools who could get vouchers. This was a step in the right direction, but still leaves a bill that deserves strong opposition from all public education advocates.
The amendments trimmed the number of vouchers going to siblings and linked income limits to vouchers going to special education students and children of veterans who are already in private schools. The fiscal cost of the newly amended bill has not yet been analyzed.
Tuition Support and Full Day Kindergarten: A Clarification and Correction
The good news from the budget that I wrote about yesterday was, unfortunately, not accurate.
The bad news from the budget that I wrote about yesterday was, unfortunately, very accurate.
Regarding what I thought yesterday to be good news: Today I learned that the when the Full Day Kindergarten Grant in the 2011 budget disappeared from the new budget, it did not mean as I had surmised that full day kindergarten would now be paid as a 1.0 count in the funding formula. There is still a fixed amount to be given to districts for each full day kindergarten student. Last year’s fixed amount of $2400 per student has been raised slightly, to $2448 in the first year and to $2472 in the second year of the budget. The long sought goal to fully fund full day kindergarten students was not achieved in this budget proposal.
Regarding what I wrote yesterday as bad news: The total school funding increase of $129 million in the first year did indeed subsume the Full Day Kindergarten Grant line item in the 2011 budget. This means that $82 million listed for Full Day Kindergarten in a separate line item is now part of the $129 million. That means the state is adding just $47 million in what can truly be called new money. Then if the voucher bill is passed, this $47 million will be reduced further to pay for vouchers for students who are already in private schools, a new expense to the state which we have not seen before.
Each school district will now see a new line item in their funding formula called Full Day Kindergarten. To truly compare the funding formula for last year to the funding formula for this new year, the amount for full day kindergarten would have to be backed out of the totals to make an apples-to-apples comparison.
Budget matters get complex very quickly. When Rep. Thompson said in the Ways and Means Committee today that K-12 funding would go up by $325 million, it sounded good. Many have heard how schools were “cut by $300 million.” His figure is arrived at by adding an increase of $129 for the first year and $194 in the second year of the budget. Schools, however, have lost $300 million each year for three years compared to what they were slated to receive before the Great Recession cuts. Then, as described above, his figure subsumes the Full Day Kindergarten grant ($82 million each year times 2 years) from the past budget. When this is considered, the new money for schools comes to about $160 million over two years.
And this is why all citizens should study math in order to keep an eye on their tax money!
Keep up the fight to support public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. I keep hearing reports that some public school supporters read these “Notes” with great interest but don’t translate that interest into joining ICPE. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who testified this past week in Ways and Means about the enormous fiscal cost of the voucher bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
Rep. Behning today amended his plan in House Bill 1337 to allow the State Board to dissolve a local school board or merge districts based on low school letter grades. His amendment would kick that discussion into a summer study committee.
No doubt responses over the weekend from you and others to House Bill 1337, the rewrite of Public Law 221, led Rep. Behning to amend the bill in today’s meeting. Another part of the amendment makes it possible for turnaround schools to be returned to the original school district or to be made independent schools.
Time ran out on the discussion of HB 1337 for the second meeting in a row. Rep. Behning announced a meeting at 8:30am tomorrow (Tuesday, Feb. 19th, Room 156C) to hear HB 1337 and the other bills he did not finish today, including HB 1339, HB 1360 and HB 1342. The latter two bills are controversial efforts to take powers away from the State Superintendent, one in co-chairing the Roundtable and the other in administering the voucher program.
Oddly, only verbal announcements of Tuesday’s meeting were made. Nothing is posted on the Indiana General Assembly website in the usual manner. Tomorrow is the last possible day for committee meetings under House rules for the first half of the session.
House Ways and Means Committee Action
Simultaneous to the House Education Committee, the House Ways and Means Committee passed the budget bill (HB 1001) and the voucher expansion bill (HB 1003). The voucher bill was amended to reduce the number of students already in private schools who could get vouchers. This was a step in the right direction, but still leaves a bill that deserves strong opposition from all public education advocates.
The amendments trimmed the number of vouchers going to siblings and linked income limits to vouchers going to special education students and children of veterans who are already in private schools. The fiscal cost of the newly amended bill has not yet been analyzed.
Tuition Support and Full Day Kindergarten: A Clarification and Correction
The good news from the budget that I wrote about yesterday was, unfortunately, not accurate.
The bad news from the budget that I wrote about yesterday was, unfortunately, very accurate.
Regarding what I thought yesterday to be good news: Today I learned that the when the Full Day Kindergarten Grant in the 2011 budget disappeared from the new budget, it did not mean as I had surmised that full day kindergarten would now be paid as a 1.0 count in the funding formula. There is still a fixed amount to be given to districts for each full day kindergarten student. Last year’s fixed amount of $2400 per student has been raised slightly, to $2448 in the first year and to $2472 in the second year of the budget. The long sought goal to fully fund full day kindergarten students was not achieved in this budget proposal.
Regarding what I wrote yesterday as bad news: The total school funding increase of $129 million in the first year did indeed subsume the Full Day Kindergarten Grant line item in the 2011 budget. This means that $82 million listed for Full Day Kindergarten in a separate line item is now part of the $129 million. That means the state is adding just $47 million in what can truly be called new money. Then if the voucher bill is passed, this $47 million will be reduced further to pay for vouchers for students who are already in private schools, a new expense to the state which we have not seen before.
Each school district will now see a new line item in their funding formula called Full Day Kindergarten. To truly compare the funding formula for last year to the funding formula for this new year, the amount for full day kindergarten would have to be backed out of the totals to make an apples-to-apples comparison.
Budget matters get complex very quickly. When Rep. Thompson said in the Ways and Means Committee today that K-12 funding would go up by $325 million, it sounded good. Many have heard how schools were “cut by $300 million.” His figure is arrived at by adding an increase of $129 for the first year and $194 in the second year of the budget. Schools, however, have lost $300 million each year for three years compared to what they were slated to receive before the Great Recession cuts. Then, as described above, his figure subsumes the Full Day Kindergarten grant ($82 million each year times 2 years) from the past budget. When this is considered, the new money for schools comes to about $160 million over two years.
And this is why all citizens should study math in order to keep an eye on their tax money!
Keep up the fight to support public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. I keep hearing reports that some public school supporters read these “Notes” with great interest but don’t translate that interest into joining ICPE. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who testified this past week in Ways and Means about the enormous fiscal cost of the voucher bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Can You Imagine...
...from the Indiana Coalition for Public Education on Facebook.
Like the Indiana Coalition for Public Education on Facebook.
Click here to see this post on line.
Can you imagine taking your child to a doctor who knowingly and willfully misdiagnoses your child with cancer and recommends immediate, intense chemotherapy?To join the Indiana Coalition for Public Education click here.
Further, even though you questioned the doctor on his diagnoses and he could not explain how he came up with the diagnosis; he could not point to any direct source of cancer; he demanded you subject your child to intense chemotherapy anyway? Can you imagine being forced to purposely intervene with toxins to slowly poison your child even though you know the diagnosis is invalid?
So it goes in many Indiana schools today.
From the IDOE to the Statehouse, everyone admits the current A-F grading system is invalid and unreliable. No one at the state can explain exactly how the grades were calculated. Yet those schools doing great work and still receiving D's and F's, must give evidence to the state that they are attempting major interventions to improve student test scores.
How are they doing this? More testing. More data-analysis. They are purposefully increasing toxic interventions that are poisoning the natural desire to learn in our most vulnerable students.
Do you know how demoralizing it is for teachers in these buildings to witness such malpractice?
When will this madness stop?
Like the Indiana Coalition for Public Education on Facebook.
Click here to see this post on line.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Vic’s Statehouse Notes #115– February 17, 2013
Dear Friends,
A review of the House Republican budget proposal released on Friday shows that the $81.9 million dollar Full Day Kindergarten Grant is folded into the increase for tuition support. This means that all full day kindergarten students would be fully counted in the funding formula, a long sought goal. It also means the funding increase for tuition support is not as big as it first sounded.
First I should say that I believe it is an excellent thing to treat all full day kindergarten students as a full 1.0 count in the funding formula. That has been a goal since the legendary 1999 session when a big push for Full Day Kindergarten failed at the last moment of the session. That is certainly a step forward.
The expansion of the line item for tuition support is affected by this transition. Here are the numbers from documents released on Friday:
If the voucher bill passes and $37 million must come out of tuition support for private school students who are already in private schools, the actual new money shown above falls from $47 million down to $10 million.
That is not 2%. That is not much new money at all for existing public and charter schools. That is 0.15%.
The House Ways and Means Committee will vote tomorrow morning (Feb. 19) on both the budget bill (HB 1001) and the voucher bill (HB 1003). Let the committee members know that public schools need more new money than the voucher bill would give to private schools! They need to hear your thoughts about funding public schools.
Click here for my summary of Indiana school funding in the past 14 years for those who like such details.
Thanks for standing up for public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. I keep hearing reports that some public school supporters read these “Notes” with great interest but don’t translate that interest into joining ICPE. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who testified this week in Ways and Means about the enormous fiscal cost of the voucher bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
A review of the House Republican budget proposal released on Friday shows that the $81.9 million dollar Full Day Kindergarten Grant is folded into the increase for tuition support. This means that all full day kindergarten students would be fully counted in the funding formula, a long sought goal. It also means the funding increase for tuition support is not as big as it first sounded.
First I should say that I believe it is an excellent thing to treat all full day kindergarten students as a full 1.0 count in the funding formula. That has been a goal since the legendary 1999 session when a big push for Full Day Kindergarten failed at the last moment of the session. That is certainly a step forward.
The expansion of the line item for tuition support is affected by this transition. Here are the numbers from documents released on Friday:
Tuition support actual last year (FY 2013) - $6.500 billionNow consider that the voucher expansion bill HB 1003 will give at least $37 million to private school students who are already in private schools and will require new state dollars. The total cost of HB 1003 in my voucher bill analysis is $47 million (see Vic’s Notes #111), but $10 million of that cost would not come out of the tuition support budget. The $5 million in new tax credits and the $5.4 million in additional tax deductions for home school parents and private school parents would be a cost to the state in reducing tax revenue, but would not be part of a budget line item, leaving the cost to the tuition support budget at $37 million.
Tuition support proposed for the budget’s first year (FY 2014) - $6.629 billion
Proposed Increase: (2% as reported in press accounts) - $129 million
Consider that the FDK Grant is folded into this: - $82 million
Actual new money: - $47 million
If the voucher bill passes and $37 million must come out of tuition support for private school students who are already in private schools, the actual new money shown above falls from $47 million down to $10 million.
That is not 2%. That is not much new money at all for existing public and charter schools. That is 0.15%.
The House Ways and Means Committee will vote tomorrow morning (Feb. 19) on both the budget bill (HB 1001) and the voucher bill (HB 1003). Let the committee members know that public schools need more new money than the voucher bill would give to private schools! They need to hear your thoughts about funding public schools.
Click here for my summary of Indiana school funding in the past 14 years for those who like such details.
Thanks for standing up for public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. I keep hearing reports that some public school supporters read these “Notes” with great interest but don’t translate that interest into joining ICPE. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who testified this week in Ways and Means about the enormous fiscal cost of the voucher bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
Letter to the Legislature
Here is a powerful letter to Rep. Jim Lucas from our friend and public education advocate, Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer. Check out her blog at the Indiana Coalition for Public Education--Monroe County and South Central Indiana. Follow them on Facebook HERE.
Dear Rep. Lucas,
I have watched some of the proceedings in the hearings on the school voucher bill (1003) and others. In these meetings, I keep hearing you repeat the question, "Shouldn't parents have a choice of where their children should go to school?"
Let me just assure you that, yes, I do believe parents should have a choice in the schools they attend. I don't, however, believe that we should pay for their choices in schools. If public schools, our children'sconstitutional right, are not providing an adequate or high-quality education for their children, then we have an obligation as a society and you have an obligation as a representative of our demos, to ensure that they do. You should not be crying out "every man (child) for himself!" by enabling people to abandon ship and take a chunk of the public school budget with them. What about the children left behind in those schools with fewer resources and parent advocates abandoning their community?
I listened sympathetically to a young mother at the hearing say that she was worried that the public school was too big for her shy, sensitive kindergartener. As a mother of four kids in public schools, I understand her concerns. She was happy, however, to have vouchers help her pay for a private religious (and they almost all are) school with a smaller class size. What about my shy child who, as a result of vouchers draining the overall budget (along with the massive 2010 state cuts), may now be relegated to a larger class size?
I have heard school choice advocates acknowledge that this draining of funds will, indeed, hurt the public schools. They say that this will force public schools to improve their performance. The trouble with this is that, when we admit public schools are being hurt, we must also acknowledge that we are talking about damaging children's lives! Are they the sacrificial lambs to your free market philosophy? While we wait for this magic pill of free markets and competition to improve education for all, are we willing to sacrifice these kids' futures while the "markets" fluctuate?
I, for one, am not. I imagine their loved ones are not, either.
The fact is that the schools receiving vouchers and the charter schools, get to make the choice. They get to decide which kids walk through their doors to stay. Public schools' mission is to educate each and every child, no matter his or her needs. This should be the land of equal opportunity, but you are clearly relegating us to a land of opportunity for some.
If you are truly about results, then I beg you to read these two articles. I heard you at the hearing question whether the amount of money reallocated to private schools was significant when compared to our overall state education budget. The first article I am sending here is from Michigan and this financial expert lays out the multiple ways these reforms you have voted for will hurt us financially (he lays out the human cost, too.) Please just read it: http://edwp.educ.msu.edu/new-educator/2013/faculty-viewpoint/ The other is Reuters piece revealing that studies across the U.S. are showing that this is not about helping children, it's about making money: (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/15/us-usa-charters-admissions-idUSBRE91E0HF20130215). Please read these two articles, Rep. Lucas.
Thank you again, for your time. It's hard not to come across as hostile when I feel so passionately about children and public schools. I am sorry if I offend you. Assuming, as I do, that you truly have children's best interests in mind, I hope that you will read these two pieces. My deepest hope is that you will stop voting for expanding vouchers, giving tax credits to home schoolers and private schoolers in materials, while you don't do the same for public school parents, and all the myriad of ways you've been undermining this cornerstone of our democracy: public education.
Sincerely,
Cathy Fuentes-Rohwer
Education Talk, Part 2
Testing Terms
There is an increased emphasis on test scores – not just to evaluate students but also to evaluate teachers and schools. Many question the validity of all this testing and the interpretation of the scores, but that is another issue. For now, let’s just look at the terms that describe these assessments and how they are scored and used by educators, administrators, and the state of Indiana.
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) - is the measure of a school’s (or corporation’s or state’s) yearly progress toward achieving state standards. It is determined by a collection of measurements.
Benchmark - is the level of performance individual students should show by a particular point in their schooling.
DRA - is the acronym for Developmental Reading Assessment. It is a tool teachers use to assess and record students’ reading development. Originally developed for Kindergarten through grade three, it is now available for grades K through 8.
DIBELS - is the acronym for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. This one-on-one assessment checks letter and word recognition skills, fluency and comprehension of primary-age students.
Standardized Tests - are the same test with the same content for all who take them; they often use multiple-choice questions, time limits, and scoring rubrics.
SAT - formerly called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, is really a standardized achievement test and is widely used as a college entrance examination. It measures mathematical reasoning and critical reading and writing skills. This test is a basis for many scholarship awards.
PSAT - is a preliminary SAT that is usually given to sophomores and juniors to introduce them to and give them practice on the SAT. This test also serves as the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test – the initial screening for this prestigious academic scholarship program.
ACT - is another college entrance examination. Some colleges prefer this test to the SAT because the ACT also includes a science reasoning section.
Criterion-Referenced Tests - measure how well a student has learned a specific body of knowledge and skills.
Norm-Reference Tests - are assessments in which an individual or group’s performance is compared with that of a larger group.
Formative Assessments - are assessments that take place during a unit or lesson. This is usually designed and implemented by the teacher and provides feedback to that teacher. This is often called assessment for learning.
Summative Assessments - are assessments of learning. They are used to discover what a student has learned. This formal process usually happens toward the end of a unit or grading period.
Watch this blog for more terms and explanations about “testing” and “literacy.”
Feel free to share this information.
Click HERE for an alphabetized list of terms included in all the Education Talk postings.
There is an increased emphasis on test scores – not just to evaluate students but also to evaluate teachers and schools. Many question the validity of all this testing and the interpretation of the scores, but that is another issue. For now, let’s just look at the terms that describe these assessments and how they are scored and used by educators, administrators, and the state of Indiana.
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) - is the measure of a school’s (or corporation’s or state’s) yearly progress toward achieving state standards. It is determined by a collection of measurements.
Benchmark - is the level of performance individual students should show by a particular point in their schooling.
DRA - is the acronym for Developmental Reading Assessment. It is a tool teachers use to assess and record students’ reading development. Originally developed for Kindergarten through grade three, it is now available for grades K through 8.
DIBELS - is the acronym for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. This one-on-one assessment checks letter and word recognition skills, fluency and comprehension of primary-age students.
Standardized Tests - are the same test with the same content for all who take them; they often use multiple-choice questions, time limits, and scoring rubrics.
SAT - formerly called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, is really a standardized achievement test and is widely used as a college entrance examination. It measures mathematical reasoning and critical reading and writing skills. This test is a basis for many scholarship awards.
PSAT - is a preliminary SAT that is usually given to sophomores and juniors to introduce them to and give them practice on the SAT. This test also serves as the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test – the initial screening for this prestigious academic scholarship program.
ACT - is another college entrance examination. Some colleges prefer this test to the SAT because the ACT also includes a science reasoning section.
Criterion-Referenced Tests - measure how well a student has learned a specific body of knowledge and skills.
Norm-Reference Tests - are assessments in which an individual or group’s performance is compared with that of a larger group.
Formative Assessments - are assessments that take place during a unit or lesson. This is usually designed and implemented by the teacher and provides feedback to that teacher. This is often called assessment for learning.
Summative Assessments - are assessments of learning. They are used to discover what a student has learned. This formal process usually happens toward the end of a unit or grading period.
Watch this blog for more terms and explanations about “testing” and “literacy.”
Feel free to share this information.
Click HERE for an alphabetized list of terms included in all the Education Talk postings.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Vic’s Statehouse Notes #114– February 14, 2013
Dear Friends,
This morning in the House Education Committee, Chairman Behning heard only one bill, House Bill 1337, the bill rewriting Public Law 221. He said the other bills would be deferred to the next meeting on Monday, February 18th, at 9:30am.
Five bills were listed for this morning’s meeting, including three which would diminish the powers of the State Superintendent. At the outset, Chairman Behning said only HB 1337 and HB 1339 (Various Education Matters) would be heard today. As it turned out, Derek Redelman of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce was asked by Rep. Behning to explain the parts of HB 1337 that would guide a new A-F system, and his testimony and questions from committee members took up the entire time available until they had to adjourn for the House session at 10:00 am
Of the many points in HB 1337, the one that I considered eye-popping was that the state board would for the first time have the power to dissolve the governing board of a local school district if it was a D or F for four years. It intrigued me that in Rep. Behning’s summary of the bill and in the discussion of the bill lasting over an hour, that provision was never mentioned by anyone. This new supremacy of the State Board over local school boards should certainly be a topic of conversation in Third House sessions this weekend. Other concerns about HB 1337 to discuss with legislators include:
House Education Committee on Monday, Feb. 18th, 9:30am
When Monday’s House Education meeting was posted later today, it showed that HB 1337 and HB 1339 would be completed and that one of the bills cutting powers of the State Superintendent had been dropped. House Bill 1309, a bill to cut the State Superintendent’s authority related to the State Board, has disappeared from the hearing list. Whether it will be reinserted into the agenda over the weekend remains to be seen.
Two remaining bills would curtail the State Superintendent’s duties. HB 1342 gives authority to administer the voucher program to a new entity, the Office of Accountability and Innovation. HB 1360 dilutes the State Superintendent’s powers over the Education Roundtable. Both bills are an affront to those who voted to put the duties of the State Superintendent into the hands of Glenda Ritz. If you have strong feelings about this partisan power play to diminish the powers of Glenda Ritz, this weekend is the time for House members to hear your thoughts before the committee meeting on Monday.
Updates
House Bill 1003, the voucher expansion bill, is scheduled for a vote in the House Ways and Means Committee on Monday morning. The meeting begins at 9:00am. Joel Hand testified on behalf of ICPE about the fiscal costs of HB 1003 approaching $50 million at the public testimony session last Tuesday.
House Bill 1004, the preschool pilot voucher program, passed second reading today. An amendment from Rep. Vernon Smith attempting to decouple the preschool scholarship program from automatic eligibility into the K-12 voucher program failed 69-28.
Contact House Members
It is time to contact House members on these issues before Monday, perhaps at your county’s Third House or Crackerbarrel meeting. They need to hear your thoughts about bills that will hurt public education.
Thanks for your efforts!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. I keep hearing reports that some public school supporters read these “Notes” with great interest but don’t translate that interest into joining ICPE. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who testified this week in Ways and Means about the enormous fiscal cost of the voucher bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
This morning in the House Education Committee, Chairman Behning heard only one bill, House Bill 1337, the bill rewriting Public Law 221. He said the other bills would be deferred to the next meeting on Monday, February 18th, at 9:30am.
Five bills were listed for this morning’s meeting, including three which would diminish the powers of the State Superintendent. At the outset, Chairman Behning said only HB 1337 and HB 1339 (Various Education Matters) would be heard today. As it turned out, Derek Redelman of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce was asked by Rep. Behning to explain the parts of HB 1337 that would guide a new A-F system, and his testimony and questions from committee members took up the entire time available until they had to adjourn for the House session at 10:00 am
Of the many points in HB 1337, the one that I considered eye-popping was that the state board would for the first time have the power to dissolve the governing board of a local school district if it was a D or F for four years. It intrigued me that in Rep. Behning’s summary of the bill and in the discussion of the bill lasting over an hour, that provision was never mentioned by anyone. This new supremacy of the State Board over local school boards should certainly be a topic of conversation in Third House sessions this weekend. Other concerns about HB 1337 to discuss with legislators include:
- Giving the State Board authority to merge local school corporations.
- Creating independent schools from turnaround academies.
- Changing key provisions of Public Law 221 that have guided assessment policies.
- Adding science assessments into high stakes school letter grade decisions by 2014-15.
House Education Committee on Monday, Feb. 18th, 9:30am
When Monday’s House Education meeting was posted later today, it showed that HB 1337 and HB 1339 would be completed and that one of the bills cutting powers of the State Superintendent had been dropped. House Bill 1309, a bill to cut the State Superintendent’s authority related to the State Board, has disappeared from the hearing list. Whether it will be reinserted into the agenda over the weekend remains to be seen.
Two remaining bills would curtail the State Superintendent’s duties. HB 1342 gives authority to administer the voucher program to a new entity, the Office of Accountability and Innovation. HB 1360 dilutes the State Superintendent’s powers over the Education Roundtable. Both bills are an affront to those who voted to put the duties of the State Superintendent into the hands of Glenda Ritz. If you have strong feelings about this partisan power play to diminish the powers of Glenda Ritz, this weekend is the time for House members to hear your thoughts before the committee meeting on Monday.
Updates
House Bill 1003, the voucher expansion bill, is scheduled for a vote in the House Ways and Means Committee on Monday morning. The meeting begins at 9:00am. Joel Hand testified on behalf of ICPE about the fiscal costs of HB 1003 approaching $50 million at the public testimony session last Tuesday.
House Bill 1004, the preschool pilot voucher program, passed second reading today. An amendment from Rep. Vernon Smith attempting to decouple the preschool scholarship program from automatic eligibility into the K-12 voucher program failed 69-28.
Contact House Members
It is time to contact House members on these issues before Monday, perhaps at your county’s Third House or Crackerbarrel meeting. They need to hear your thoughts about bills that will hurt public education.
Thanks for your efforts!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. I keep hearing reports that some public school supporters read these “Notes” with great interest but don’t translate that interest into joining ICPE. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who testified this week in Ways and Means about the enormous fiscal cost of the voucher bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Vic’s Statehouse Notes #113– February 13, 2013
Dear Friends,
The all-out attack on public schools continues unabated in the House Education Committee. Since last week:
Here are some details:
House Bill 1003 – Voucher Expansion (Click here for my testimony on HB 1003)
This is the worst bill for public school advocates, expanding payments for vouchers to $5500 each, when many public school administrators I talked to today only get $5200 to $5300 per child for their students. In the following year, minimum payments go up to $6500. This all adds up to over $47 million in new money for private schools, as I detailed in Vic’s Statehouse Notes #112.
HB 1003 is not scheduled for second reading amendments tomorrow, but it could be as early as Monday, Feb. 18th. If you keep pouring on your objections to House members, they will perhaps have to deal with many amendments and slow down the progress on this bill. Pour it on!
House Bill 1004 – Preschool Grants (Click here for my testimony on HB 1004)
HB 1004 is scheduled for second reading amendments tomorrow. It is likely an effort will be made to delete the final section of the bill which makes students getting preschool scholarships eligible for K-12 vouchers. Without this final “poison pill” feature, the bill provides new support for preschool education in Indiana, a reform that Gov. Daniels and Dr. Bennett completely ignored in their agenda. Rep. Behning explained that the final section linking the concept to vouchers was a direct request of Speaker Bosma.
House Bill 1358 – Parent Trigger (Click here for my testimony on HB 1358)
Rep. Huston, former Chief of Staff for Dr. Bennett, who sponsored HB 1357 to give local school boards more power in picking whoever they want for superintendent, also sponsored the parent trigger to take power away from local school boards when schools get a D or an F. If parents get 51% of parent signatures on a petition, they can turn the school over to a charter school operator. A fierce battle over this concept came in 2011, and the matter was settled in the charter school bill when the Senate gave the local school board the final say over the parent petition. Now Rep. Huston is bringing the battle back to give parents final authority based on a petition. Two speakers led off supportive testimony representing a California group called Parent Revolution. No one explained who paid their way to come to Indiana to testify. After lengthy testimony, the bill passed 8-4 on a party line vote.
House Bill 1337 – School Accountability and Turnaround Academies
I started reading this bill today thinking it was mostly the Turnaround Academy bill that never made it through the General Assembly last year. I totally underestimated the scope. This massive bill rewrites Public Law 221, the law passed in 1999 with bipartisan support which has been the guidepost for accountability in Indiana. After 14 years, Rep. Behning brings a radical new plan. Among other features:
The “Sour Grapes Election Bills”
More than 1.3 million Hoosiers voted for Glenda Ritz, more than for Gov. Pence. In December, over 10,000 signed a petition to honor her victory after Gov. Pence said at a press conference that her election would not change his education agenda. All of those voters and petition signers should go to work on House Bills 1309, 1360 and 1342. They all cut major powers of the State Superintendent in three different arenas. They are blatantly political efforts to change the powers she won in the election. All those who are outraged by these three bills should contact members of the House with your thoughts.
Contact House Education Committee Members
It is time to act, preferably before tomorrow morning’s hearing, but any time in the next few days. Please contact members of the House Education Committee:
Chairman: Representative Behning
Republican Members: Representatives Rhoads, Arnold, Burton, Clere, DeVon, Huston, Lucas, and Thompson
Democrat Members: Representatives Vernon Smith, Battles, Errington and VanDenburgh
Then contact your own Representative to express your thoughts about these crucial bills. Taken together, the bills in the House Education Committee since February 5th constitute a bigger attack on public education than the monumental 2011 agenda: vouchers that don’t just save money but pay for thousands already in private schools, state powers to dissolve local school boards, and dismantling the powers of the State Superintendent.
If you’ve had enough, you need to tell the members of the House, promptly and decisively.
Thanks for your efforts on behalf of public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. I keep hearing reports that some public school supporters read these “Notes” with great interest but don’t translate that interest into joining ICPE. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who testified this week in Ways and Means about the enormous fiscal cost of the voucher bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
The all-out attack on public schools continues unabated in the House Education Committee. Since last week:
- House Bill 1003, the enormous voucher expansion bill costing at least $47 million dollars and paying for vouchers for thousands of students currently in private schools, passed committee on a party line vote on Feb. 7th.
- House Bill 1004, described by the House leadership as the “Pre-Kindergarten voucher pilot program”, which funds preschool scholarships with state money for the first time but then entwines the bill with the voucher controversy by making these students eligible for K-12 vouchers without first trying out public schools, passed the committee 10-2 on Feb. 7th.
- House Bill 1358, the parent trigger bill which takes authority away from school boards over low performing schools and hands them over to an unelected cohort of parents if they petition to make them charter schools, passed the committee on Feb. 12th on a party line vote, 8-4.
- Now tomorrow’s meeting (Feb. 14th) will hear House Bill 1337, which would give the state new authority to dissolve the governing board of local school corporations as part of a gigantic rewrite of the famous Public Law 221. Such takeovers would be based on school letter grades, despite the consensus that has emerged in the Statehouse that the A-F system is flawed.
- Also scheduled for hearings tomorrow (Feb. 14th) are three bills I would dub the “Sour Grapes Election Bills” which cut the powers of Glenda Ritz to lead the state board (House Bill 1309), to co-chair the Education Roundtable (House Bill 1360) and to administer the voucher program (House Bill 1342). Senator Kruse said he would not cut the powers of Glenda Ritz, but no one in the House ever said that.
- As if that is not enough, a House Bill 1339 will be heard as well, postponed from Tuesday and the subject of great consternation by many over evaluation and labor issues.
Here are some details:
House Bill 1003 – Voucher Expansion (Click here for my testimony on HB 1003)
This is the worst bill for public school advocates, expanding payments for vouchers to $5500 each, when many public school administrators I talked to today only get $5200 to $5300 per child for their students. In the following year, minimum payments go up to $6500. This all adds up to over $47 million in new money for private schools, as I detailed in Vic’s Statehouse Notes #112.
HB 1003 is not scheduled for second reading amendments tomorrow, but it could be as early as Monday, Feb. 18th. If you keep pouring on your objections to House members, they will perhaps have to deal with many amendments and slow down the progress on this bill. Pour it on!
House Bill 1004 – Preschool Grants (Click here for my testimony on HB 1004)
HB 1004 is scheduled for second reading amendments tomorrow. It is likely an effort will be made to delete the final section of the bill which makes students getting preschool scholarships eligible for K-12 vouchers. Without this final “poison pill” feature, the bill provides new support for preschool education in Indiana, a reform that Gov. Daniels and Dr. Bennett completely ignored in their agenda. Rep. Behning explained that the final section linking the concept to vouchers was a direct request of Speaker Bosma.
House Bill 1358 – Parent Trigger (Click here for my testimony on HB 1358)
Rep. Huston, former Chief of Staff for Dr. Bennett, who sponsored HB 1357 to give local school boards more power in picking whoever they want for superintendent, also sponsored the parent trigger to take power away from local school boards when schools get a D or an F. If parents get 51% of parent signatures on a petition, they can turn the school over to a charter school operator. A fierce battle over this concept came in 2011, and the matter was settled in the charter school bill when the Senate gave the local school board the final say over the parent petition. Now Rep. Huston is bringing the battle back to give parents final authority based on a petition. Two speakers led off supportive testimony representing a California group called Parent Revolution. No one explained who paid their way to come to Indiana to testify. After lengthy testimony, the bill passed 8-4 on a party line vote.
House Bill 1337 – School Accountability and Turnaround Academies
I started reading this bill today thinking it was mostly the Turnaround Academy bill that never made it through the General Assembly last year. I totally underestimated the scope. This massive bill rewrites Public Law 221, the law passed in 1999 with bipartisan support which has been the guidepost for accountability in Indiana. After 14 years, Rep. Behning brings a radical new plan. Among other features:
- It gives the state authority to dissolve or merge local school corporations.
- It creates independent schools, a new creation for when turnaround academies have turned around.
- It removes “improvement” as the stated goal of PL 221, replacing it with “performance.”
- It requires science assessments to be included in high stakes school letter grade decisions by 2014-15.
- It allows students to be assessed in relation to peers (norm-referenced) by removing the well known language from PL 221: “Compare each school and each school corporation with its own prior performance and not to the performance of other schools or other corporations.”
- It focuses these vast new powers on school corporations and schools getting a D or an F, even though the current A-F system is clearly broken.
The “Sour Grapes Election Bills”
More than 1.3 million Hoosiers voted for Glenda Ritz, more than for Gov. Pence. In December, over 10,000 signed a petition to honor her victory after Gov. Pence said at a press conference that her election would not change his education agenda. All of those voters and petition signers should go to work on House Bills 1309, 1360 and 1342. They all cut major powers of the State Superintendent in three different arenas. They are blatantly political efforts to change the powers she won in the election. All those who are outraged by these three bills should contact members of the House with your thoughts.
Contact House Education Committee Members
It is time to act, preferably before tomorrow morning’s hearing, but any time in the next few days. Please contact members of the House Education Committee:
Chairman: Representative Behning
Republican Members: Representatives Rhoads, Arnold, Burton, Clere, DeVon, Huston, Lucas, and Thompson
Democrat Members: Representatives Vernon Smith, Battles, Errington and VanDenburgh
Then contact your own Representative to express your thoughts about these crucial bills. Taken together, the bills in the House Education Committee since February 5th constitute a bigger attack on public education than the monumental 2011 agenda: vouchers that don’t just save money but pay for thousands already in private schools, state powers to dissolve local school boards, and dismantling the powers of the State Superintendent.
If you’ve had enough, you need to tell the members of the House, promptly and decisively.
Thanks for your efforts on behalf of public education!
Best wishes,
Vic Smith
ICPE is working to promote public education and oppose privatization of schools in the Statehouse. I keep hearing reports that some public school supporters read these “Notes” with great interest but don’t translate that interest into joining ICPE. To keep our outstanding lobbyist Joel Hand in place, who testified this week in Ways and Means about the enormous fiscal cost of the voucher bill, we need all members from last year to renew and we need new members who support public education. Please join us!
Go to www.icpe2011.com for membership and renewal information.
Some readers have asked about my background in Indiana public schools. Thanks for asking! Here is a brief bio:
I am a lifelong Hoosier and began teaching in 1969. I served as a social studies teacher, curriculum developer, state research and evaluation consultant, state social studies consultant, district social studies supervisor, assistant principal, principal, educational association staff member, and adjunct university professor. I worked for Garrett-Keyser-Butler Schools, the Indiana University Social Studies Development Center, the Indiana Department of Education, the Indianapolis Public Schools, IUPUI, and the Indiana Urban Schools Association, from which I retired as Associate Director in 2009. I hold three degrees: B.A. in Ed., Ball State University, 1969; M.S. in Ed., Indiana University, 1972; and Ed.D., Indiana University, 1977, along with a Teacher’s Life License and a Superintendent’s License, 1998.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
House Democratic Members of the Education Committee
Please send thank you notes to the following house representatives for the reprint of this letter to the editor which they co-authored:
To the Editor:
As the House Democratic members of the Education Committee, we are privileged to serve as the standard-bearer for our new Superintendent of Public Instruction, Glenda Ritz.
Although we are members of the minority party, we believe there is an opportunity to offer common sense solutions to guiding policies that affect the lives of our children.
First, we need to restore the state support that has been cut from our public schools these past few years and make educational opportunities whole. Through the years, we have talked about the price that has been paid as a result of the cuts, particularly in reduced programming and the loss of valuable instructional expertise. Gauging the size of the state surplus, we have the financial capacity to restore our schools. We should take that opportunity.
Now that we have started to make kindergarten available to more children, this is the time to make the next investment in educational excellence – preschool programs that can prepare our children for long-term academic success. At the very least, we should begin a dialogue about expectations and possible strategies for making this goal a reality. A good starting point would be to discuss the pilot program proposed by one of our members that would provide preschool services to as many as 15,000 three- and four-year olds across the state through local matching dollars.
We need to also evaluate the large amount of time and money spent on high-stakes testing. When standardized testing first entered the public sphere in Indiana, Gov. Robert Orr offered it as part of the A-plus program to help identify individuals who need help in the classroom. Since then, it has morphed into becoming the standard means of determining the performance of schools and teachers, with penalties in place for those who do not make the grade on these pass/fail tests.
The time has come to analyze the financial burden of large quantities of student testing on the taxpayers. Large amounts of money are going into the coffers of testing vendors that could be better allocated elsewhere, such as remediation, instruction and professional development.
Beyond the financial issue, we must ask ourselves how many instructional days are we willing to lose to the administration of high-stakes tests, and what is their true value?
While we recognize and accept that our state has become a welcoming environment for charter schools and voucher programs, we urge our legislative colleagues as well as constituents to ask for, and carefully review, evidence of their effectiveness before we allow further expansion. Additionally, the same levels of accountability should be expected from charter, public and voucher private schools.
Recognizing that the educational experience does not begin when a child enters kindergarten also means acknowledging it does not end when that child receives a high school diploma. Our children deserve the chance to expand their knowledge through higher education, whether they select two-year schools, four-year institutions or vocational schools.
We offer the aforementioned ideas for consideration under the realization we do not control the process. However, those who lead the Indiana House have stated we will have a voice in our deliberations this legislative session. We think the people of Indiana have the right to expect that policies supported by the newly-elected Superintendent of Public Instruction deserve full consideration.
State Rep. Vernon G. Smith (D-Gary)
Indiana House District 14
Ranking Democrat
State Rep. Kreg Battles (D-Vincennes)
Indiana House District 45
State Rep. Sue Errington (D-Muncie)
Indiana House District 34
State Rep. Shelli VanDenburgh (D-Crown Point)
Indiana House District 19
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