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--- Monday --- December 1, 1997 --- Vol. 7 --- No. 76 ---
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THE NATIONAL UPDATE ON AMERICA'S EDUCATION REFORM EFFORTS
(www.negp.gov -- on Wednesday)
__________ __________
BEING NAUGHTY, NOT NICE | SPOTLIGHT |
Santa is getting a list of | |
naughty schools -- ones facing | SAFE, FOR NOW |
student loan sanctions because | |
of high default rates -- from | Race-based hiring |
the U.S. DoEd. For a complete | policies are safe for now. |
list of default rates at more | A surprise settlement |
than 5,000 postsecondary | reached in Piscataway |
institutions, see the | Township (N.J.) schools are |
department's Web site at: | expected to avert Supreme |
www.ed.gov/news.html#pr. | Court action in the case. |
| |
SOLD! | The case focused on |
The well-reviewed children's | Sharon Taxman's claims that |
show, "The Magic School Bus," | she was let go from her job |
currently viewed on PBS, has | as a business teacher |
been sold to FOX by Scholastic | purely on the basis of her |
Inc. (Mifflin, N.Y. TIMES, | race -- she is white. |
11/29). The show is based on | School board members, |
Scholastic books by the same | facing tough financial |
title, written by Joanna Cole | times in 1989, agreed to |
and illustrated by Bruce Degen. | let Taxman go in order to |
Deborah Forte, senior vice | keep Debra Williams, a |
president of Scholastic Inc., | black business teacher. |
said the show was made with the | Two federal courts had |
National Science Foundation "to | ruled in Taxman's favor and |
respond to an educational need" | the case was scheduled to |
of keeping children interested | go before the U.S. Supreme |
in science. | Court in January. |
Fox bought the series in | |
order to comply with recent | But the high court may |
F.C.C. regulations that require | still get a chance to rule |
commercial broadcast networks | on affirmative action in a |
to air at least three hours of | U of Nevada case. (#4) |
education programs per week. |_____________________________|
============== QUOTE OF THE DAY ==============
"The bureaucratic morass engendered by this rule would be
unnecessary."
Thornton Phillips, St. Paul school board chairwoman,
on the state's proposed "diversity" rule. (#2)
_______________________________________________________________
| (c) by the Education Policy Network, Inc. |
| 1255 22nd Street NW; Washington, D.C. 20010; 202/724-0124 |
| EPN, Inc. hereby authorizes further reproduction and |
| distribution with proper acknowledgement. |
| Publisher: Barbara A. Pape |
|_______________________________________________________________|
============== TABLE OF CONTENTS ==============
STATESIDE
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Ill. fails to pass funding bill. (#1)
DIVERSITY RULE UNDER FIRE: Minnesotans debating merits. (#2)
CHARTING A NEW COURSE
MORE CHARTER PROPOSALS: Philadelphia adds to list. (#3)
FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE
A SURPRISE SETTLEMENT: Blow to affirmative action. (#4)
TIME AND LEARNING
JUST GET ME TO SCHOOL ON TIME: Adjusting start times. (#5)
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===== STATESIDE =====
*1 UNFINISHED BUSINESS: ILL. FAILS TO PASS FUNDING BILL
Ill. state legislators earlier this month adjourned for the
holidays without passing a school-funding bill (Pearson and
Parsons, Chicago tRIBUNE, 11/15). The $485M package, which
earlier had passed the Senate, would have raised taxes on
telephone calls, cigarettes and riverboats to provide funds for
the state's most disadvantaged districts.
According to the paper, Rep. David Phelps (D), chairman of
the House Education Committee, pleaded with Senate President
James "Pate" Philip (R) to urge his Republican colleagues to
reconsider their prior rejection of Gov. Jim Edgar's (R) "massive
$1.6B school-funding plan, which House Democrats backed in May, "
writes the paper. Edgar's plan would have increased personal
income taxes by 25% to provide property-tax relief and new money
for schools, reports the TRIBUNE.
However, Philip said his pledge to Democratic House Speaker
Michael Madigan to promote the latest funding plan would hold and
Phelps refused to call the $485M package to vote. But other
lawmakers drafted an identical bill with a "more cooperative"
sponsor, which passed the Senate 42-15 and was endorsed by a
House panel before its ill-fated trip to the House floor, notes
the paper.
The proposal would have guaranteed that children in
property-tax-poor districts would be entitled to a minimum
$4,225-per-student funding level, writes the paper. It also
included a $1.1B school construction and repair program and a
$30M revolving loan program for technology improvements,
according to the TRIBUNE.
Both teacher unions battled against the bill because of
provisions that called for more rigorous recertification and
performance standards for teachers.
*2 DIVERSITY RULE UNDER FIRE: MINNESOTANS DEBATING MERITS
A proposed state rule that would require all Minn. public
school districts to establish diversity committees and to create
school courses that are "multicultural, gender fair and
disability-aware," has come under attack by a broad range of
critics (Draper, Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/18).
"The bureaucratic morass engendered by this rule would be
unnecessary," said Thornton Phillips, St. Paul school board
chairwoman. She explained that her district is not opposed to
diversity, but to the so-called diversity rule. "The diversity
rule would require us to re-engineer and re-tool what we are
already doing," she said. Instead, school districts should focus
on improving transportation, housing and family life for
students," she offered.
The rule, proposed by the State Board of Education, would
require districts to:
set up diversity committees;
compile data on students by race, gender, family income,
English proficiency status and other criteria;
monitor student attendance, graduation and dropout rates,
suspensions and expulsions, and student participation in
school courses and extracurricular activities to check for
inequities;
establish school courses that are "multi-cultural, gender
fair and disability-aware;"
mandate that student assessments be reviewed for bias that
may "disadvantage targeted student populations;"
prescribe penalties for violations of the rule, including
the loss of state funding.
"The state of Minnesota has an obligation to provide equal
education for all of its children," said LaRue Fields, of the
Minneapolis Urban League and a supporter of the rule. "If that
were occurring, there would be no need for a diversity rule. In
fact, all children do not receive an equal education. Some
children, from the first day they walk through the school door,
are expected to fail."
Some parents disagree. Parent Michael Chapman: "It is one
thing to celebrate one's own culture, or to learn about other
cultures. It is quite another matter to suggest that, simply
because many people from different cultural backgrounds are
present in the United States, their various ideologies must
somehow be considered equally worthy as a basis for American
culture ... Where is it written, in either the Minnesota or the
federal Constitution, that an un-elected state board has the
right to determine what my children will think and believe?"
Madelia school board member Joanne McCabe pointed to time
and money problems as her main complaint against the rule. "I
don't know if we in our district are going to be able to absorb
the cost of it," she noted. She added that teachers already are
engaged in activities to implement the state's new graduation
standards and they would have "little time to get up-to-speed on
yet another state requirement," writes the paper.
Hearings on the diversity rule are underway before an
administrative law judge, who will decide whether the rule is
legal, reasonable and necessary. His ruling is several months
away, according to Marsha Gronseth, State Board of Education
executive director.
===== CHARTING A NEW COURSE =====
*3 MORE CHARTER PROPOSALS: PHILADELPHIA ADDS TO LIST
Two Pa. state lawmakers have added their proposals to the
growing list of charter school plans submitted for approval
(Jones, Philadelphia INQUIRER, 11/19). State Rep Dwight Evans
and State Senator Vince Fumo, both city Democrats, have filed
separate applications for the "second wave of charter schools in
the city," writes the paper.
Fumo's plan, written jointly with the Philadelphia
Federation of Teachers, calls for a K-3 school named in honor of
Christopher Columbus. The school's curriculum would incorporate
E.D. Hirsch's Core Knowledge Curriculum and the Reading Recovery
Program. It also would feature smaller classes and a longer
school day for its estimated 320 students.
"There is nothing remarkable about our proposed program,"
said PFT president Ted Kirsch. "It simply puts in place the
kinds of things ... that the PFT has argued since its inception
are crucial to the success of any child."
The Evans model would serve about 600 students in grades K-
5, reports the paper. It also would allow for a longer day and
smaller class size. Evans explained that he introduced
representatives of the Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corp, which
submitted the charter school plan, to educators with the New York
City-based Edison Project.
Under the proposal, the Edison Project would manage day-to-
day operations of the new charter school, called West Oak Lane
Charter School. According to the paper, the Edison Project uses
"some of the best-known curricula and teaching techniques,
including Johns Hopkins U's respected 'Success for All' reading
program, to teach children in the core subjects."
West Oak students also would be given computers, "leased by
the Edison Project, to use at home," reports the paper.
The INQUIRER notes that if these two charters and 18 other
proposals are approved, they would join four charter schools that
opened their doors in Philadelphia this fall.
===== FROM COURTHOUSE TO SCHOOLHOUSE =====
*4 A SURPRISE SETTLEMENT: BLOW TO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
In a "surprise" settlement, the Piscataway School Board
agreed to pay Sharon Taxman, a white teacher dismissed from her
job in order to maintain racial diversity, a sum of $433,500
(multi cites). A coalition of civil rights groups raised 70% of
the settlement in order to avert a U.S. Supreme Court challenge.
The case began in 1989 when the Piscataway school board
decided to lay off one of 10 teachers in the high school's
business department due to financial difficulties. Taxman and
Debra Williams, a black teacher, had the least seniority -- nine
years -- and "identical work records," reports the Philadelphia
INQUIRER (Ginsberg, 11/22). Williams was kept in the interest of
diversity, explained the school board. Taxman filed suit,
demanding reinstatement and back pay.
Taxman's suit was upheld by a lower court and lawyers from
the Bush Administration began assisting Taxman in "what became a
succession of appeals," writes the paper. After the 1992
election, Clinton lawyers changed sides, arguing in favor of the
school board. However, the Clinton Administration in August
again switched positions, "saying now that the school board's
case was indefensible, but still urging the court to uphold
affirmative action," reports the paper.
The case is scheduled to be heard before the High Court in
January; although the justices now may decide not to review the
case. Civil rights attorneys requested that the board settle
with Taxman because they fear the Supreme Court would rule in
favor of Taxman, which would put a strain on race-based
employment policies across the country.
The Rev. Jessie Jackson, who helped raise funds to pay for
the settlement, claimed the case is "riddled with problems."
Jackson: "The black teacher has a master's degree and the white
teacher didn't so they are not equals academically. This case
would have been a distortion of the issue." According to the
INQUIRER, Williams may file her own suit, claiming that the
school board misrepresented her in its case by portraying her as
a "token hire" for a job in which she is eminently qualified.
Anti-affirmative action groups immediately claimed victory.
"The settlement demonstrates the panic within the civil-rights
establishment," said Clint Bolick of the Washington, D.C.-based
Institute for Justice. "The defenders of racial preferences are
running for the hills."
Ward Connerly, leader of the Calif. effort to ban
affirmative action in state hiring, contracting and education,
said the settlement clearly demonstrates that "our opponents
[are] running scared. And for good reason. They know, as do we,
that justice is on our side." He added that it is only a matter
of time before a similar case reach the Supreme Court.
The L.A. TIMES reports that the time may be sooner than
expected (Savage, 11/26). A case involving a white sociologist
who formerly worked for the U of Nevada may reach the high court
next month, writes the paper. Lawyers for Yvette Farmer, the
sociologist, say she was interviewed for a teaching post at Reno
in 1990, but was "passed over in favor of a black African
sociologist who had recently emigrated from Uganda," writes the
paper. Farmer was hired a year later, but at a pay nearly
$11,000 less than her male colleague. An unwritten "minority
bonus" policy was part of the university' affirmative action
plan, reports the paper.
Farmer: "When I asked the department chairman [for an
explanation], he said, 'He's black and you're not.' He said he
was just being honest, but I was shocked he would even say that."
A jury awarded her $40,000 in damages in 1993, but the
Nevada Supreme Court overruled the verdict, saying the university
can give hiring preferences and higher salaries to minority
faculty members.
From the paper: "Farmer's case squarely raised the question
that now divides the lower courts: Can an employer with a mostly
white work force but no documented history of past discrimination
give hiring or promotion preferences to minorities?"
==== TIME AND LEARNING ====
*5 JUST GET ME TO SCHOOL ON TIME: ADJUSTING START TIMES
A growing body of medical evidence that suggests teens
require more sleep, particularly in the early morning hours, has
several school boards considering later start times for their
high school students (Shen, WASH POST, 10/23). A Montgomery
County (Md.) School Board vote called on Superintendent Paul
Vance to study schedules in neighboring school districts and in a
Minneapolis suburb that has "successfully implemented a similar
plan," writes the WASH TIMES (Mizejewski, 10/29).
"Any parent of a teenager knows [early class times] is just
unnatural for them," said school board member Mona Signer. "You
have kids falling asleep on the bus, kids nodding off in class.
We've got to take a look at it."
Currently, classes in all Montgomery County high schools
start at 7:25 a.m. According to the TIMES, school board members
have been bombarded by e-mail messages, letters and calls from
parents urging them to start school later.
Students in Edina, Minn., now start school at 8:30 a.m.
Last year, Edina students cracked the books 65 minutes earlier.
While it is difficult to assess improvement in student
achievement in only hone year, Edina school spokeswoman Laura
Tueting Nelson reported that teachers found students "more alert
and there's been a decrease in students being late and absent."
A letter from the Minnesota Medical Association to the
schools cited research that found "puberty resets the internal
biological clock, prompting teenagers to go to bed later and
requiring them to sleep later than younger students," writes the
TIMES.
HIgher transportation costs, however, put a damper on any
plans to change the school clock. "In order for this to work, we
would have to buy additional buses," explained Beatrice Gordon, a
school board member. "The way I look at it, any money I have,
I'm going to put into reducing class size, rather than enhancing
transportation."
The POST notes that school officials in Arlington County,
Va., also are considering later start times. "It's definitely on
the radar screen of the School Board," said Lisa Farbstein, a
spokeswoman for Arlington schools. "I could see them exploring
it within the next year."
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