Compass Point
A Weekly Collection of Data, Articles and Insights from the Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute
A project of the Virginia Commonwealth University's Center for Public Policy
L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs
Articles of Interest
State & Local Policy

Back-to-school is here already for some Norfolk kids
Politico

August 11, 2015 

Diamond Mizell played on the sidewalk in front of Jacox Elementary on Monday morning, waiting for the doors to open. The fourth-grader practiced cheerleading routines with friends as her mom, Tara, watched from a minivan.

About 8:45 a.m., school administrators gathered out front, welcoming Diamond and her friends back to school.

Many Jacox students returned to classes four weeks earlier than students at other city schools for a special three-week-long "August Ready" program designed to help strengthen math and reading skills. They will return for two academic intersessions in November and February.

It's the only school in the division to start early, and the model could be used at others in the future.

Earlier this year, the School Board and division officials sought a special early-opening waiver for Jacox from the Virginia Department of Education. Virginia law requires schools to start after Labor Day - typically the end of summer tourism season.

For second year in a row, test scores soar at low-income Arlington school
Washington Post
August 11, 2015

As Virginia’s English-language learners fell further behind in state test scores this year, one poor, largely Hispanic school in Arlington County again recorded big gains in scores after ramping up test preparation for the second year in a row.

Some grades at Carlin Springs Elementary had double-digit increases in their state test passage rates after a concerted effort to prepare disadvantaged students for the exams and closely track student performance on practice tests. The repeat success suggests that the school’s efforts might be paying off, boosting scores among groups of students whose success on standardized tests has proved elusive.


Virginia Business Awarded Contract for Statewide Instructional Improvement System
PR Web
August 10, 2015

Less than a decade ago, Interactive Achievement’s onTRAC instructional improvement system was merely a concept being tossed around by a couple of experienced Virginia educators. Today, the Roanoke-born business celebrates a statewide contract to deliver improved education strategies through onTRAC’s data-driven solutions and empower educators to create “ah-ha” moments for more than one million Virginia students. The contract win was announced today at Interactive Achievement’s onTRAC user conference in Alexandria, Virginia.

“This is a momentous day for us,” Jonathan Hagmaier, CEO of Interactive Achievement, said. “As a former teacher and Virginia administrator, I can tell you with confidence that our system does make a difference in the classroom.” 

Federal Policy

After scrubbing names of religious holidays, school considers new policy
The Washington Post
August 9, 2015

Maryland’s largest school system is considering a policy to guide decisions about its annual school calendar, a move that comes nine months after officials set off a wave of public anger by scrubbing the calendar of religious holiday names, including Christmas.

The proposed policy does not revive the hot-button issue of identifying religious holidays on the document, but it touches on a related debate in Montgomery County: Under what circumstances should schools be closed on religious or other occasions?

Montgomery schools are closed by state law from Christmas Eve to Jan. 1 and from the Friday before Easter to the Monday afterward. Classes also are canceled on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a result of county decisions that date to the 1970s.

Muslim community leaders have pressed the district to close schools on at least one of the faith’s two major holidays, arguing that the matter is an issue of fairness in a district that holds no classes on major Christian and Jewish holy days. But they have not succeeded in their efforts.


Hillary Clinton Proposes Debt-Free Tuition at Public Colleges

The Wall Street Journal
August 10, 2015

Hillary Clinton is proposing an expansive program aimed at enabling students to attend public colleges and universities without taking on loans for tuition, her attempt to address a source of anxiety for American families while advancing one of the left’s most sweeping new ideas.

The plan—dubbed the “New College Compact” and estimated to cost $350 billion over 10 years—would fundamentally reshape the federal government’s role in higher education by offering new federal money, but with strings attached.


States would have to increase their own spending on higher education, and universities would be required to control spending, though the Democratic presidential front-runner hasn’t yet worked out details. Families still would be required to contribute, but students wouldn’t have to take out loans to attend public schools.

5 Education Questions for the GOP Field
US News & World Report
August 10, 2015

The first major televised debate of the 2016 election offered a glimpse into the Republican candidates' views on a range of issues from the Iran nuclear deal to the economy to abortion. Unfortunately, education was largely off the radar. Few issues are as important to the future of our country as education is, and while Republicans are often hesitant to discuss the federal role in education – beyond curtailing it – they should remember that the most recent Republican president made education a central plank of his successful campaign.

Thursday night's brief education discussion centered on Jeb Bush's support for Common Core, the academic standards now being implemented in 43 states and Washington, D.C. The standards have been a hot-button issue for many Republican primary voters (and some Democrats). Common Core was created by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. But the fact that the Obama administration required states to adopt Common Core in order to receive certain federal funds has made Common Core a de facto set of federal education standards in the eyes of many Republicans.
Why have a biliteracy diploma seal?

In its 2015, the Virginia General Assembly unanimously passed SB 916 which directed “the Board of Education to establish, in time to apply to high school seniors graduating in 2016, criteria for awarding a diploma seal of biliteracy to any student who demonstrates proficiency in English and at least one other language” (here's a link to full language via Virginia Legislative Information Services). The bill likewise specifies several potential criteria ranging from AP foreign language exam scores to cumulative grade point average in a state approved series of coursework.

The bill didn't receive much media coverage when it passed, so we thought we'd provide a bit of background. 

In creating a biliteracy seal, Virginia joined a number of other states that have already created provisions for such a seal.  Among the first states to implement the idea of a biliteracy seal was California in 2011, followed by Illinois and Texas in 2013.  Virginia was joined by Indiana, Nevada and Rhode Island in passing provision for such a seal in 2015.  


The Virginia Dept. of Education recently issued guidelines for local school systems in implementing the biliteracy seal so that students graduating this coming Spring will be able to apply for the recognition.  Included in the materials on the DOE website is an explanation of the thinking behind the seal:

"The Seal symbolizes the value placed on the ability to communicate and interact in diverse linguistic and cultural communities within local and global contexts. In an increasingly connected world, Virginia’s international education and global initiatives prepare Virginia students to live, work and participate in the world economy. By recognizing students who develop literacy and multilingual skills, the prestige that comes with a State Seal program encourages students to develop a high level of global, linguistic, cultural, and communicative competence. Literacy in two or more languages represents a challenging academic standard. Second and third language development contributes to cognitive development, which in turn enables students to participate more fully in a global arena.

Maintaining and increasing Virginia’s economic prosperity requires citizens to be more skillful today, more globally engaged, and hence, more competent to take on the challenges of the rapidly evolving global realities. Consciously orienting our K-12 education policy towards the global economic challenge is a necessity."

In addition to these workforce benefits, there are potential pedagogical benefits of emphasizing dual language proficiency.  Research examining the impact of a biliteracy diploma policy in California suggest positive impacts for overall school climate and for Limited English Proficient students.  Research on dual language programs have shown them to also be an effective tool in reducing achievement gaps between lower socio-economic status students and others (see, for example, Kim, Yoon Kyong, Lindsey A Hutchison, and Adam Winsler. 2015. "Bilingual education in the United States: an historical overview and examination of two-way immersion." Educational Review 67 (2):236-252.)

In our poll snapshot, we look at a related poll question - what portion of the public in Virginia ranked teaching skills for working with diverse cultures as most important or second most important goals for public education.  


We also share an excerpt from Dr. Vacca's review of school board curricular decision-making.

Sincerely,

CEPI
Poll Snapshot:  Working with diverse communities - a top priority?
Though public schools are often called upon to be a place where children learn about diverse histories and working with people from backgrounds different from one’s own, what does the general public think about this school purpose? In 2011, our poll asked respondents the following:

“In thinking about the skills taught in the public schools in Virginia, which of these do you think is the MOST IMPORTANT for preparing student for the workforce needs of the future . . .”

The chart below summarizes the responses:

Relative to math/science/tech skills, reasoning or communication skills, working with diverse cultures lagged far behind in respondent’s estimations of importance.

A more dated question from our 2000 poll asked a similar question about which of several educational purposes were “very important” for public schools to provide. Fully 98% agreed that “teaching the basics such as reading, writing and mathematics” were very important. Between 80 and 90% of respondents felt that “providing job skills,” “teaching basic values,” teaching “reasoning skills for advanced learning,” “teaching citizenship/responsibility,” and “providing skills for new computer technologies” were all very important. In contrast, only 59% of respondents felt that “teaching about global society/economy” was very important.

(To read the full results of the poll, visit our website. Questions 30 and 31 are cited above on the most important priorities for workforce development in public education - topline results are on page 34 of the 2010-2011 poll.

School Board Curricular Decision-Making  

Excerpted from Dr. Vacca's November 2009 Ed Law Newsletter

"Recently I came across a curriculum-oriented case from a federal district court in California. The case, Esquivel et al v. San Francisco U.S.D. (N.D. Cal. 2008), is instructive in two ways. First, it involves a local public school board’s decision to
eliminate a whole program (for which student enrollees received academic credit) from the school’s curriculum, resulting in allegations of First Amendment viewpoint discrimination. Second, the court’s focus and reliance on several “old chestnut” student First Amendment speech and expression cases offers a follow-up to last month’s commentary and yields important implications for local school system policy makers.

The Curriculum. As my colleague Professor Bosher and I point out early in our text, “[t]he silence of the Federal Constitution, coupled with the language of the tenth amendment… bestowed upon state government the legal responsibility for the establishment of public school systems.” Vacca and Bosher (2008) However, we also make it clear that the state’s legal authority for supervising and controlling individual local public school systems within the state ultimately passes down to and vests in local board’s of education. This authority includes the enactment and implementation of all policies and procedures governing the overall maintenance and operation of the local school system. Vacca and Bosher (2008)

Because children come to school to learn, the curriculum represents the sine qua non (indispensable facet) of local school system operation. As a general rule, while state law requires that specific subjects be studied by all students in each grade, local public officials are granted the discretionary authority to offer other subjects as a part of the school system’s curriculum. Russo (2004) To put it another way, local school officials are (within the bounds of state law) granted the discretion to determine the curriculum most suitable for students and the teaching methods to be employed. As Alexander and Alexander remind us, “[a]s a general rule school officials have the authority to prescribe the method of teaching, decide on what curriculum shall be offered, and what books shall be used.” Alexander and Alexander (1995) And, as the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has opined, “those responsible for directing a school’s educational program must be allowed to decide how its limited resources can be best used to achieve the goals of educating and socializing its students.” Seyfried v. Walton (3rd Cir. 1981)

Much to the surprise of many students of education law, the authority of local school boards over the curriculum has been challenged in only a small percentage of the hundreds of court cases involving public education. And, where such cases have come into a federal court they involve allegations of First Amendment violations committed by school officials and/or teachers. Textbook selection, assigned readings and research projects, required daily exercises (e.g., the Pledge of Allegiance, moment of silence), plays and musical productions in the auditorium, and others all have had their day in court. It must be kept in mind, however, that school officials not judges make curricular decisions. Epperson v. Arkansas (1968)

*****
Policy Implications
The current financial situation in our nation has and will continue to cause local public school systems to make many cost cutting, budget-trimming decisions—including a reduction in the number of classroom teachers and support personnel employed, the cancellation of field trips, cutting back on interscholastic athletic activities and schedules, as well as the elimination of course and program options available to students. Future legal and policy issues and the implications of such drastic acts made by local school boards in the name of establishing fiscal efficiency and accountability are likely to emerge.

Recognizing that one court decision does not answer all questions and settle all disputes, the federal district court’s rationale in the Esquivel case is nonetheless instructive—especially when existing case law on point is thin. Some suggestions for policy can be gleaned from the court’s rationale and might prove helpful to local public school officials as they consider implementing cost-cutting measures that involve the school’s curriculum.

Local school board (the Board) policy must make it clear that:
  • The Board is vested with legal authority to make all final decisions regarding the school’s curriculum.
  • The school system’s budget and the school’s curriculum are inextricably linked.
  • The school board shall decide how limited resources can be best used to achieve its goal of educating all students in the school system.
  • All final decisions regarding the school’s curriculum shall be made based on pedagogical concerns.
  • All courses and program offerings (curricular, extra-curricular, co-curricular), shall be regularly reviewed as to their educational and fiscal viability and their compatibility with school system policy.
  • Where course and/or program offerings are eliminated from the curriculum the Board shall seek to establish suitable alternatives and to make these alternatives available to all students—especially students directly effected by course and/or program elimination.
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