Exam 2 Study Guide Lectures 11 20 POLS 207 Lecture 11 Outline of Lecture Fiscal and Policy Capacity of the States Part 1 I Increased federal gvt role in education A ESEA 1965 B NCLB 2001 II Northwest Ordinance of 1787 III Incrementalism The Big Idea Fiscal and Policy Capacity of the States refers to the capacity to design manage and finance quality public programs as defined by Dixon This is one source of modern centralization because the national government has deeper pockets than the state governments and is the national government is therefore more powerful One of the areas where the federal government s role is increasing is education For more information on the fed s role in education which has been increasing since 1965 see D M chapter 16 537 42 545 48 554 57 See Key Terms for chapter 16 on The Politics of Education and Halter chapter 11 241 44 deals with school finance See Key Terms for chapter 14 on The Politics of Taxation and Finance including D M chapter 3 84 87 91 on federal aid and chapter 17 562 65 on poverty Also see Halter chapter 10 200 218 Two pieces of legislation that dramatically increased the federal role in education ESEA Elementary and Secondary Education Act 1965 NCLB No Child Left Behind 2001 The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 is typically cited as an example of one of the federal government s first commitments to public education This is pretty interesting considering that it only contains one phrase that deals with education Lecture 12 Outline of Lecture Fiscal and Policy Capacity of the States Part 2 I Government funding for religious schools A Constitutional national and state issue B Selective incorporation C Supreme Court s 3 fold test D Political considerations E Federal education aid between 1965 and 2001 The Big Idea Prior to ESEA 1965 Federal aid money for education was fairly small and when it was offered it was targeted to specific areas In funding public education we inevitably run into the question of what to do with parochial religious schools Should they receive funding When dealing with this question of funding for parochial schools we run into the 1 st Amendment and Article 1 Section 7 of the Texas Bill of Rights which would seem to prohibit use of public funds for religious schools However there are various interpretations Since the 1970s SCOTUS has used a 3 fold test to see if government entanglement is permissible See Lemon test D M 16 555 56 There are some political considerations to take into account Fear among Protestants of Catholicism The fact that some Congressmen refuse to support general federal aid unless it also went to Catholic schools Federal funding for private schools would likely reduce private school autonomy which in some ways defeats the point of private schools Lecture 13 Outline of Lecture Federal Role in Education I No Child Left Behind A Increased federal role B Federally mandated standardized testing for all C All children proficient by 2014 D Reduced differences among groups The Big Idea NCLB 2001 was passed under the Bush Administration with support from both parties However it is also widely criticized by both parties It s a sweeping educational reform that has greatly increased Federal oversight of education Although funding from the federal government still accounts for only 10 of education expenditures NCLB involves federally mandated annual testing for grades 3 12 measuring AYP annual yearly progress Most importantly it requires that by 2014 ALL children must be proficient in reading and math hence the name no child left behind Another important goal of NCLB is reducing the differences between groups Racial Socioeconomical Disability Language etc Moreover these AYP reports must be published making it hard for school districts to gloss over failing rates Lecture 14 Outline of Lecture NCLB the Obama Administration and Education Oh My I Continuing issues in NCLB II The Obama Administration s educational agenda A Race to the Top B National Assessment of Educational Progress common standards The Big Idea 1 There are many complications in NCLB many revolving around its possible reauthorization This would require widespread Democratic support which is complicated because racial minorities and teachers are important elements of the Democratic base and many areas of NCLB are concerning to them for example minorities tend to be skeptical of standardized testing and teachers don t appreciate having their pay tied to student achievement 2 The Obama Administration has an expansive educational agenda including to name just a few things increasing federal financial aid encouraging states to develop common educational standards and linking teacher pay to student achievement Race to the Top A competitive grant program meant to encourage school districts to up their standards of excellence It involves requirements like using national standards as benchmarks and developing data systems for tracking individual student achievement The Obama Administration will waive the 2014 NCLB proficiency requirement for individual states IF states request a waiver and IF the states develop rigorous standards for making sure their students have achieved college or career readiness by the time they graduate There are additional requirements but that s the most important one Lecture 15 Outline of Lecture More Thoughts on NCLB and School Funding I No Child Left Behind A Is it even possible a Coleman Report 1966 II Federal Courts role in education A 14th Amendment litigation B Religious practices in the public school system The Big Idea Some common criticisms of NCLB 1 Federal intrusion 2 Insufficient funding 3 Unreasonable AYP standards 4 There is too much emphasis on testing 5 Is it even possible for no child to be left behind NCLB is premised on the idea that what a child brings to school in terms of attitude work ethic etc won t have any bearing on their academic achievement level We know this to be false Coleman Report 1966 home environment matters more than school environment in terms of predicting student achievement Lecture 16 Outline of Lecture Education Funding National v State Local I Property wealth inequality and unequal school funding A SCOTUS and 14th Amendment B State courts and state constitutions Judicial Federalism II Fiscal and policy capacity of the states A One source of modern centralization B Public sector outpacing economic growth C National debt v balanced state budgets The Big Idea Property wealth inequalities