| Topic: |
Sociology > Education |
| User: |
"toto" |
| Date: |
07 Jan 2004 09:44:29 PM |
| Object: |
Vermont may opt out of Federal education funding (x-posted) |
http://www.calcare.org/reading/current/2002.04.20.html
VERMONT GOV. OPPOSES EDUCATION PLAN
VERMONT GOVERNOR CONSIDERS REFUSING
FEDERAL FUNDS SO SCHOOLS CAN OPT OUT
OF TESTING
by the Associated Press
Washington, April 18 -- Rebelling against new school
-testing demands, Vermont's governor says he wants
his state to consider rejecting $26 million in federal
education money to escape the requirements attached
to it.
The testing component is a key part of President Bush's
education plan, which Gov. Howard Dean called "a
terribly flawed bill." He also said provisions on school
prayer and access to student information overstep the
limits of federal oversight.
Dean, a Democrat who is considering a run for the
presidency in 2004, said Vermont has developed its own
comprehensive testing system, which it would have to
rebuild to comply with federal requirements. Under Bush's
plan, schools receiving federal money must test all
students in grades three through eight in reading and
math.
"It's going to be incredibly expensive and require us to
do our work all over again," Dean said in an interview. "I
don't think the people who wrote this bill had much
consideration for the taxpayers, because this is going to
cost people all across this nation."
Education Department spokesman Dan Langan said he
knew of no other states that have said they might refuse
federal funds to opt out of Bush's plan, one of the most
comprehensive overhauls of elementary and secondary
education in the past 30 years.
About 100,000 students attend public school in Vermont,
making its enrollment smaller than many big-city school
districts, but complaints similar to Dean's have been made
by many critics since Congress approved the bill last
December. All three of Vermont's members of Congress
including Independent Sen. James Jeffords, an early
proponent voted against the bill.
Dean said he will meet with state school officials in late
May and ask them to consider whether Vermont should
refuse an estimated $26 million in federal funding, provided
mostly for poor students through the federal Title I program.
"If this bill is going to cost us $50 or $60 million to implement
.... then it might be just as well to opt out," he said.
Langan said Education Secretary Rod Paige would welcome
the opportunity to talk to Dean and his staff about how the
law would be implemented in Vermont. Bush's plan would
provide millions in new federal funding to help states with
testing and other requirements, he said.
"We're pretty surprised to see that any state would be willing
to walk away from its neediest children," Langan said, referring
to the Title I money, which last year amounted to about $21
million. Dean also said he would pose the question to the
citizens of Vermont, who would likely face "enormous"
property tax increases to pay for the testing and other
measures, he said.
"I think the taxpayers are going to have something to say
about it too."
Dean said Vermont's accountability system, which tests
students in grades 4, 8 and 10, is adequate to judge schools.
Bush's plan would place sanctions against schools that don't
raise scores on state tests over several years, allowing
students to transfer to another public school and use federal
money to get tutoring or transportation to another school.
Dean said Vermont's testing system has high standards
"because we want the schools to be striving for them." He
said about 30 percent of Vermont public schools would be
considered "failing" under Bush's definition because scores
aren't rising quickly enough, even though the schools are
performing well.
"It's going to give us a huge incentive to dumb down the
standards," he said.
He also said the bill's requirements that school districts issue
new "report cards" on school performance, allow some types
of school prayer and give the armed services and colleges
equal access to student databases amount to the
"federalization of education" a criticism that has mostly been
leveled at Bush's plan by conservatives.
"That policy shouldn't be set in Congress," Dean said of armed
services access. "It seems to me local school boards should
make those decisions."
Paul Houston, executive director of the American Association
of School Administrators, said he wasn't surprised by Dean's
reaction.
"Part of our reluctance to support the bill initially was in part
our concern about the amount of federal intrusion that the bill
represented," he said. "It seemed to be an inordinate amount
of federal intrusion for the dollars involved. We're still
concerned about it."
--
Dorothy
There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..
The Outer Limits
.
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