Education Policy

1
Education Policy

• SGB(Chapter 12)
• S(40-41)
•  
• No Child Left Behind Where Do We Go From
  Here?, by Krista Kafer. http//www.heritage.org/R
  esearch/Education/bg1775.cfm
•  
• Mark Schneider, et al Institutional Arrangements
  and the Creation of Social Capital The Effects
  of Public School Choice.American Political
  Science Review, Vol. 91, No. 1. (Mar., 1997), pp.
  82-93.

2
Education Policy in the States

• Lecture Outline
• Federalism and Education
• Education funding (with a focus on equity)
• Education reform (accountability and choice)

3
Historical Foundation

• Tradition of free public education in the United
  States can be traced to early America (Jefferson)
  and reflected several goals.
• mass literacy
• class mobility
• political socialization (democratic values)

4
Education and Federalism

• The Constitution does not mention education at
  all.
• Rather, education falls under the states
  reserved powers (10th Amendment)

5
Education and Federalism

• State governments retain ultimate authority
• Compulsory attendance, curriculum, graduation
  standards, accreditation, calendar, records,
  accounting procedures

6
Education and Federalism

• State power is shared among several important
  actors
• Governor, Legislature, Courts
• State Board of Education
• Chief State School Officer
• State Department of Education

7
State Government and Education

• State Boards of Education
• General supervision over all primary and
  secondary schools
• Elected or appointed
• Make policy and budget recommendations
• Tend to lack political clout, policy expertise,
  and public visibility
• KY Board of Education

8
State Government and Education

• Chief State School Officer
• Aka state superintendent of schools or
  commissioner of education
• Work closely with SBEs
• Establishes and enforces standards for local
  school curricula, teacher certification,
  standardized testing, etc.
• Also provides technical and other assistance to
  schools
• Elected or appointed

9
State Government and Education

• State Department of Education
• Main administrative agency in the states
  responsible for education
• Administrative and technical support to SBE and
  CSSO
• Administers state and national aid programs
• Responsible for monitoring school performance,
  and other state education reforms

10
Local School Boards

• Legislative bodies governing local school
  districts. Generally speaking
• Nonpartisan elections
• No term limits
• Low levels of citizen participation
• Limited expertise?
• The number of school districts has decreased in
  recent decades
• 1940s approx. 109,000
• 2003 13,522

11
School Boards

• Responsibilities include
• Levying taxes
• District organization
• Hire school administrators (including
  superintendent of education)
• Approve teacher appointments
• Determine building and facility needs
• Set teacher-pupil ratios
• Salaries
• Often defer to superintendent often constrained
  by state policy

12
The Federal Role in EducationFrom
Permissiveness to Engagement

• Post WWII period GI Bill
• 1954 Brown v. BOE, Topeka
• 1958 National Defense Education Act (Cold War)
• 1965 Title I of the Elementary and Secondary
  Education Act (ESEA)
• 1979 U.S. Department of Education
• 2002 - NCLB

13
ESEA

• Title I to provide financial assistanceto
  local educational agencies serving areas with
  concentrations of children from low income
  families to expand and improve their educational
  programswhich contribute particularly to meeting
  the special education needs of educationally
  deprived children.

14
ESEA

• Title I over 11 billion today
• Still, approximately 90 of education funding
  (nationwide) comes from state and local
  governments

15
Education Funding Share, by Level of Government

• Title I over 11 billion today
• Still, approximately 90 of education funding
  (nationwide) comes from state and local
  governments

16
Education Funding (State and Local)

• Property tax
• State lotteries/gambling
• State general revenue

17
Education Funding (State and Local)

• On average, the state share of education spending
  is about 49
• Significant variation in the state-local shares
  of education spending across the states

18
Education Funding (State and Local)

• On average, the state share of education spending
  is about 49
• Significant variation in the state-local shares
  of education spending across the states

19
Education Funding (State and Local)

• On average, the state share of education spending
  is about 49
• Significant variation in the state-local shares
  of education spending across the states

20
Education Funding (State and Local)

• On average, the state share of education spending
  is about 49
• Significant variation in the state-local shares
  of education spending across the states

21
Equity in Education Spending

• Serrano v. Priest (1971)
• California Supreme Court ruled that inequities in
  school funding due to differences in local tax
  bases were unconstitutional
• The state must ensure that funding not come
  primarily from local taxes

22
Equity in Education Spending

• San Antonio Independent School District v.
  Rodriguez (1973)
• U.S. Supreme Court ruled that inequities in
  school funding due to differences in local tax
  bases were NOT unconstitutional (why?)
• 43 state supreme courts have now heard cases on
  educational financing

23
Equity in Education Spending
24
Equity in Education Spending
25
Equity in Education Spending
26
Equity in Education Spending
27
Equity in Education Spending
28
State Spending for Higher Education

• Higher education spending
• Higher education affordability

29
Does Education Spending Make a Difference?

• The Coleman Report (1966)
• Examined the impact of a number of school
  environmental factors (including expenditures)
• Found that expenditures have no effect on student
  performance
• This finding supported by dozens of more recent
  studies

30
Does Education Spending Make a Difference?
31
Education Reform

• Reformers argue that money alone is not the
  answer
• Greater accountability
• School choice

32
Accountability

• Education Standards
• Students Curriculum and graduation requirements

33
Accountability

• Education Standards
• Students Curriculum and graduation requirements
• Teachers requirements for certification
  on-going training tenure

34
Accountability

• Performance-Based Evaluation
• Students testing
• Teachers/Schools School report cards

35
Education Reform in KentuckyKERA (1990)

• 1985
• 66 school districts, seven boards of education
  and 22 students filed suit in state court
• "If you expect all districts to get equal
  results, then give us equal resources."

36
Education Reform in KentuckyKERA (1990)

• 1989
• Kentucky Supreme Court agreed, and declared the
  entire system of public schools in Kentucky to be
  unconstitutional.
• invalidated the entire body of Kentucky school
  law and directed the Kentucky legislature to
  create a new and constitutional system of public
  schools

37
Education Reform in KentuckyKERA (1990)

• School funding
• - 1990-1997 Kentucky cut the funding gap in
  per pupil spending between the more- and
  less-wealthy districts in half - from 1,200 to
  600

38
Education Reform in KentuckyKERA (1990)

• Assessment
• - the Commonwealth Accountability
• Testing System (CATS)
• Scores used to determine how much academic
  progress each school has made

39
Education Reform in KentuckyKERA (1990)

• Accountability
• rewards successful schools and helps those that
  are not making progress.

40
NCLB (2002)

• Accountability
• All students reach a proficient level of
  education by 2013-2014
• Schools must make adequate yearly progress (AYP)
• All subgroups must reach proficiency
• -Emphasis on standardized testing and graduation
  rates

41
NCLB (2002)

• Accountability
• Sanctions for schools that fail to meet AYP
• Must offer school choice
• Must offer supplemental services
• Can lose federal funding (Title I funds)

42
Educational Accountability and Goal Displacement

• Do educational accountability programs distort
  bureaucratic incentives?

43
Educational Accountability and Goal Displacement

• Do educational accountability programs distort
  bureaucratic incentives?
• teaching the test
• Creaming
• Excusing students
• Graduation Rates (state flexibility in NCLB)

44
Education Reform and School Choice

• Magnet Schools
• Charter Schools
• Vouchers