Same Song, Second Verse--Proposed Federal Rules Have Problems: The U.S. Department of Education has come up with another set of proposed rules that would push states and school districts to create more charter schools, overemphasize scores on state achievement tests as the basis for teacher appraisals and pay, and impose arbitrary sanctions on struggling schools.

 

Last month it was a draft rule for so-called "Race to the Top" grants rewarding school districts that adopt these practices. This month it's a draft rule for School Improvement Grants targeting schools that fall short of federal "Adequate Yearly Progress" requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act. In both cases, the Education Department claims its proposals are evidence-based, but that claim is hollow. The evidence supporting the Department's policy preferences is tissue-thin.

 

Texas AFT and our national affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers, submitted strongly critical comments on the "Race to the Top" regulations, which remain pending. We will comment with equal vigor on the similar proposal regarding School Improvement Grants. And we will continue to ask why the U.S. Department of Education is still pushing policies that have so little evidence to support them and neglecting sensible alternatives. Our comments will be submitted next week, and we will revisit this topic then in the Hotline.

 

Big Win in Congress: The U.S. House voted 253 to 171 today in favor of a bill (H.R. 3221) that increases financial aid for college students, expands federal funding to upgrade early-childhood education and school facilities, and boosts aid to community colleges. The bill even manages to knock the federal deficit down a notch, by $10 billion. Funding for H.R. 3221, as detailed in yesterday's hotline, comes from eliminating hefty subsidies that banks receive for issuing no-risk, federally guaranteed loans to college students.

 

The Texas delegation in the U.S. House split on this bill along partisan lines, with all Democrats for it and all Republicans against it (except for Republican Congressman Ron Paul of Surfside, who did not vote). The bill goes now to the U.S. Senate, where AFT will work with Senate allies to try to pass it.

 

Bill on Community Schools Welcomed: Texas AFT and AFT welcome the introduction in Congress of the Full-Service Community Schools Act of 2009 (H.R. 3545 and S. 1655), which would put federal resources behind an effective model of school improvement. House majority leader Steny Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland, introduced the bill on September 9, and the Senate companion was filed by Sen. Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska. Funding of $200 million a year would be used for grants to coordinate education, developmental, family, health and other comprehensive services at public schools through community-based organizations and through public and private partnerships.

 

The list of services that would be supported by the bill is extensive. Among them: early childhood education, remedial education and enrichment, primary health and dental care, mental health counseling, parent involvement and family literacy, mentoring and youth development, parenting education, child care, community service and service learning opportunities, and job training and career counseling. Priority would be given to grantees that serve two or more schools where at least 40 percent of children are from low-income families, demonstrate a record of effectiveness, serve more than one community school, and bring together key stakeholders, including teacher unions.

 

Congressman Hoyer said, "Full-service community schools remove the roadblocks that keep students from taking full advantage of their education." AFT President Randi Weingarten highlighted this community-based approach to public education in her recent back-to-school tour, including a stop in Houston. Cosponsors of the legislation include Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Democrat of Houston, and Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, Democrat of San Antonio.