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Chapter 10 Education Policy- Problems Facing Educationo Fundingo Separation of Church and Stateo Quality of Educationo School Vouchers- Fundingo Much funding comes from property taxes, property tax does not keep up with inflationo Inequitable, different schools get different amounts of moneyo States are working to improve the system- Separation of Church and Stateo Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause established that church and state were separateo Establishment Clause prevents government sponsored religious activity, contradicts with the Free Exercise Clause (what if a student wants to lead a prayer at school)o Engel v. Vitale – no school sponsored prayero Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe – no student led prayer eithero Zelman v. Simmons-Harris – Parents can use publicly founded vouchers to send children to parochial schools- Qualityo Statistics show American kids performing below Asians and Europeans in science and math, trend worsens after middle schoolo Teachers are of inferior quality then in the past, many teachers teach subjects they didn’t major in, many teachers quit after a short time, they are paid very littleo Tenure keeps bad teachers in placeo Students focus less on schoolwork than in the past- No Child Left Behind (2002) – Requires students to pass testing requirements before progressing to the next gradeo National Assessment of Educational Progress – part of NCLB, every state administers tests to schools to check their progress (FCAT, etc.)- Obama reforms NCLB, institutes Race to the Top programo Federal government gives lots of money to schools that adopt statewide learning standards and assessments, build data systems to measure achievement, reward good teachers, and foster education innovation- Affirmative Actiono Promotes diversity which some claim is important for educationo Does it deny admission to more qualified students?- Costs of Higher Educationo Continue to rise, faster than inflation- Merit Payo Teachers generally don’t get raises/bonuses based on performanceo Merit pay should lead to better educationo It’s not clear what constitutes good performance- National Board for Professional Teach Standards – sets standards for excellence- Teacher Standards – There are proposals to make it harder to qualify to be a teacher- Competency tests for teachers– comes with many doubtso What is more important in a teacher? Knowledge or ability to transmitknowledge?o There is already a shortage of teachers in some areas- Some states have programs to improve current teachers’ skills- Teacher Salaries – big differences between in pay between teachers and other jobs with similar requirementso Leads to a shortage of teachers in some places where teaching is difficult (inner-cities, etc.)- School Vouchers – government gives money to parents who then choose what school to spend it on/send their kidso Studies have shown to be not that effective- School choice – parents can send their children to any public school in a particular area, this encourages competition between schools and improvement- Charter Schools – government supported but independent- School Testing – many question its relevanceo “teaching to the test” makes kids learn the test and nothing elseo “overtesting” , too much testing means less actual learningo Teachers have cheated to improve their kids’ test scores- Arguably, more college graduates means more economic development, increasing the priority of college education and public funding for college- Universities themselves also generate significant economic activity- The amount of students taking loans and the amounts being borrowed are increasing every yearo Many default on debts- Education deals with many of the same issues in Equity and Ethics that other areas of public policy deal with.-- Chapter 11 Environmental and Energy Policy- Energy Independence and Security Act (2007)o Made changes to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standardso Set national fuel economy goalso 35 MPG goal for 2020- Keystone XL Pipeline – proposed pipeline to bring Canadian tar sands oil to American refineries- Much of Environmental Policy has to do with public healtho Clean Air Act – public health lawo Other examples are the need for clean water, food, fiber, energy, and recycling of waste- Humans are so numerous now that they are significantly affecting the environment- Agenda 21 – UN plan to take action against changes in the environment- Sustainable Development – economic growth compatible with natural environmental systems and social goals.- 2012 UN Rio+20 Conference – international conference on sustainable development- Environmental Policy has been growing in importance since the 1960s, will continue to grow and play a bigger part in the policy agenda- Many policies developed decades ago are no longer effective/efficient/equitable- Conflict over environmental policy is due to opposition from businesses that wish to avoid regulation- 1990s, Bill Clinton’s EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) attempted to make environmental regulation more efficient and more acceptable to businesses and Republicanso Collaborative decision making – industry leaders worked together with government officials to come up with solutionso Only moderately successful- Evolution of Environmental and Energy Policyo Most of the major environmental statutes in place today were enactedin the 1970s.o The earliest forms of environmental policy were the US Forest Serviceand the National Park Serviceo Naturalist John Muir founded the Sierra Club in 1892o FDR expanded conservation policies as part of the New Dealo Taylor Grazing Act (1934) – ended of overgrazing of rangelandso Bureau of Land Management (created 1946) – managed public lands in West- Awareness about the environment has been increasing since the 1960so Environmental organizations and interest groups formed over the years, influencing public policyo Examples: Audubon Society, Natural Resources Defense Council- Conflict over environmental policy began in the 1980s with increased partisanship and concerns over regulation of businesso Environmental agencies received huge budget cuts during Reagan, Bush Sr., and Bush Jr. administrations- Obama favors more environmentally conscious policy, but economic weakness prevents decisive action form being taken- NEPA, National Environmental Policy Act (1969) – signified beginning of modern era in environmental policyo First


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FSU PUP 3002 - Chapter 10 Education Policy

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