Education Policy Education & Democratic Governance- National interesto Narrowly: international competitiveness, soft power, etc.o Broadly: link b/t education & a free society- What is the role of public schools?o Acquiring general life skills?o Gaining civic & critical capacities?o Accepting authority?o Becoming an economic contributor?- Different ideological visions of role of individual in society!!! (Public) Education in the States- Primarily a state & local responsibility!- Re: State police powerso Laws for the health, safety, welfare (& morals) of their communities- Role of Stateso Establish schools & collegeso Develop curriculao Determine enrollment & graduation requirementso Share responsibility for funding Result: Great variation at State & Local Levels- In policy “inputs”o Revenues, resources & spending per student Teacher salaries Facilities & materialso Material taught- In educational “OUTPUTS”o School performance & student achievement Dropout & graduation rates Standardized testing scores College readiness Early Federal Involvement in Primary & Secondary Education- Northwest Ordinance (1787)o Land to new states for public schools- U.S. Office of Education (est. 1867)o becomes U.S. Department of Education (1979)- Other early federal grants in-aid:o Smith-Hughes Act (1917): vocational education for agriculture Federal Involvement: Post WW2 era- Involvement closely follows trends & shifts in U.S. federalism- ‘Cooperative’ federalismo National School Lunch & Milk Program (1946)o Federal Impacted Areas Aid Program (1950)o National Defense Education Act (1958) ––– Cold War push for science & languages- ‘Centralized’ federalismo *Elementary & Secondary Education Act* (ESEA) (1965) ––– Categorical grants to schoolso Head Start (1965)- ‘New’ federalismo Education Consolidation & Improvement Act (1981) --- Made ESEA a block grant!!! Federal Involvement: 2000s to today- No Child Left Behind (NCLB), 2001o Focus: ESL, Special Ed., poor & minority students Testing to assess school performance Non-complying state risked federal funding- Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), 2015o States create own standards- Common Coreo Nat’ l core of learning objectiveso Focus: English & MathWhat to make of Common Core?- Familiar objections:o One-size-fits all policyo Too much federal encroachmento Expense, difficulty of implementation & monitoring Who funds it? Who has oversight?- Continuing debate:o Shared national standards-VSo State flexibility, traditional policy domains, states’ rights etc.Public Education in the States- (Independent) School Districts (ISD)o Authority limited by state constitution & laws- State rules & provisions:o Restrictions on taxes & debto School days & years of compulsory attendanceo Types of schools operatedo Teacher salaries & qualificationso General curricula & textbook adoptions State-Level Educational Institutions- Regulate ISDs via:o Financial controls over allocated fundso Bureaucratic oversight & monitoring- e.g. TX Board of Education (15 members, 4-year elected terms)o Oversees Permanent School Fundo Executes education budgeto Nominates Commissioner of Education Public spokesperson & head of TX Department of Educationo Purchases textbooks & shapes their contento Sets standards for students & schools Texas Public Education Policy- Left to local school districts until the 1940s!- Key issues shaping state policyo Desegregationo Equity in public school fundingo Search for educational excellence How to measure & demonstrate High-stakes testing Segregation in TX Public Schools- Written into TX Constitutiono Fewer school days & 1/3 less funding for black schools!- Brown v. Board of Education (1954)o 1957 TX Legislature resolution in opposition to ruling!- Persistence of de facto segregation even after Brown Primary & Secondary School Funding- Heavy reliance on local property taxes- Differences in property valueso Leads to differences in district tax revenueso Creates problems of equity in school fundingo ‘Property wealthy’ districts higher tax base à better-funded schoolso ‘Property poor’ districts lower tax base TX School Finance goes before the Courts- San Antonio ISD v. Rodriguez (1973)o In 5-4 decision, U.S. Supreme Court upheld TX school finance system Not a violation of 14th Amendment equal protection- Edgewood ISD v. Kirby (1989)o TX State Supreme Court decisiono Existing funding system violated TX Constitution Violation of TX equal protection & efficient systems clauses Wealth Sharing (or “Robin Hood”)- (Controversial) policy response to Edgewood decision- Chapter 41 districts (‘Property-wealthy’ districts)o Share tax revenues w/ poor districts Give state “wealth equalization” shareo State redistribution of funds- Chapter 42 districts (‘Property-poor’ districts)o Keep own local property tax revenueso Receive additional “recaptured” fundsPursuing Educational Excellence in TX- Centralizing state control over education- Weakening power of local school gov’to i.e. School boards & superintendents- Foundations of NCLB (under Gov. Bush)o re: “laboratories of democracy”- Mixed results:o Lower dropout rateso Curriculum controversieso Very testing-driven Higher Ed. in the State (Public) Higher Education in the States- Local gov’tso May fund public junior colleges (community colleges) w/ local taxeso May offer scholarships for local residents- Stateso Strong state identities of public colleges & universitieso Allowed to charge different tuition for non-residents- Regional & Federalo Regional accreditation of universities & programso Accrediting bodies recognized by U.S. Dept. of Ed. Role of States- Establish colleges & universitieso (& systems of universities)- Lots of state regulationo e.g. http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/apps/Laws/laws.cfmo Tuition, financing, reporting, research, some curriculum reqs. etc.- Share responsibility for funding Key Federal Involvement- Morrill Land Grant Acts (1862, 1890)o Federal land given to stateso To establish colleges & universities “for the Benefit of Agriculture & the Mechanic Arts”- Hatch Act (1887)o Federal grants-in-aid for agricultural researchGoverning the Universities- Board of Regentso Appointed governing bodyo State-level ‘champions’ of higher ed.o Set policy guidelines for universities- University Presidento President/CEO of a universityo Chief spokesperson & representative of school- Others:
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