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Articles of Interest
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State & Local Policy
Turnover spikes in Virginia schools’ top jobs
The Richmond Times Dispatch, May 20, 2014
When Loudoun County’s Edgar B. Hatrick III retires this year, he takes with him the longest tenure of any current school superintendent in the state — 23 years in the top job and more than 47 years with the division.
Nowadays, staying that long is rare. Leaving is not.
As of July, more than half of Virginia’s 133 public school superintendent jobs will have turned over since the start of 2012, according to an analysis by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Virginia college presidents among top paid
Richmond Times-Dispatch
May 18, 2014
Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University have made another top 25 list — their presidents are among the best-paid chief executives of public institutions.
Retiring Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger has slipped out of the top 10 in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual report, which found an overall 5 percent increase nationally in total compensation for presidents.
A lower bonus payment put Steger at 12th, followed by VCU’s Michael Rao at 21st and U.Va.’s Teresa Sullivan at 24th.
Virginia Western CC raises funds to help students get higher education
WDBJ 7, May 19, 2014
As families are grocery shopping during the month of May, they have the option to donate to help students go to college.
It's for Virginia Western's Community College Access Program (CCAP). Through the end of this week, those checking out in the grocery line can either donate $1 or $5 to the CCAP program.
CCAP provides two years of free tuition for eligible students who have a diploma from Botetourt, Craig, Franklin, Roanoke County, Roanoke City or Salem City schools, and attended those schools for at least junior and senior year.
Federal Policy
Who Gets to Graduate? The New York Times Magazine, May 15, 2014
The second trend is that whether a student graduates or not seems to depend today almost entirely on just one factor — how much money his or her parents make. To put it in blunt terms: Rich kids graduate; poor and working-class kids don’t. Or to put it more statistically: About a quarter of college freshmen born into the bottom half of the income distribution will manage to collect a bachelor’s degree by age 24, while almost 90 percent of freshmen born into families in the top income quartile will go on to finish their degree.
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Educational leadership was a hot topic in this week's news cycle. The Chronicle of Higher Education released it's annual listing of top paid university and college presidents - Virginia had three presidents in the top 25. There was also attention to the turnover rate of public school superintendents, with over half of the 133 current superintendents starting their role since that beginning of 2012.
This week in Compass Point we're glad to share with you Dr. Bosher's thoughts on fundraisers to benefit education. In keeping with the focus on money as important for education, this week's poll snapshot looks at how much Virginians think that the amount of money spent on public schools affects the quality of those schools.
Finally, we continue sharing exerpts from Dr. Vacca's May Ed Law newsletter which looks at standards of the duty of care and policy implications for special education providers.
Sincerely,
CEPI |
Poll Snapshot: Funding for Schools and Impact on Quality
School funding is one of the most important decisions of local elected officials. But one of the factors leaders need to weigh is how much an impact increasing or decreasing school funding will have on the quality of education.
The recent CEPI Commonwealth Education Poll asked Virginians how much they thought the amount of money spent on the public schools affect the quality of student's education. Responses included a range from "not at all" to "a great deal."
The responses for the last five years are summarized in the chart below. In 2014, the percentage saying funding mattered quite a lot or a great deal (75%) reached it's highest point since we started asking the question. At the same time, the percentage of people saying the same in other years has never been lower than 67% (in 2013). So one conclusion we can draw from this is that a strong majority of Virginians thinks money spent on education has an impact on quality.
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There are some interesting differences among the cross-sections in the poll. Age was a key difference with younger persons more likely to think that the amount of funding matters "a great deal" to the quality of education - 59% of those aged 18-34 chose that response versus 56% of those 35-44, 46% of those 45-64 and only 38% of those 65 and older. This difference could be due to the likelihood of having children in schools and perhaps seeing more directly how a funding change impacts changes in the classroom. Or older respondents could have a different perception of what the key ingredients of quality education are that are different than younger respondents and those ingredients in turn may have a more direct link to funding - technology needs to be purchased while conceivably the dedication of teachers can be inspired in multiple ways.
There are also differences between men and women (41% vs. 59% responding "a great deal") and based on party identification (58% of identified Democrats said "a great deal" compared to 42% of Republicans and Independents).
To read the full results of our poll, visit our website.
The question pertaining to the impact of funding on education quality is #1 (topline on page 26, crosstab on page 36).
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The Duty of Care and Deliberate Indifference: Policy Implications for Special Education
Excerpted from Dr. Vacca's May Ed Law Newsletter
"While school officials, administrators, and teachers will not be judged as acting in bad faith simply because they failed to anticipate the outcome of an act, or acted out of ignorance, or mistake, or breached the standard of care owed students,
deliberate indifference for violating or disregarding a student’s constitutional or statutory rights, or in creating a potentially unsafe (dangerous) situation in which a student has been placed serve as a major reasons for courts holding school officials liable for their actions or failures to act. (Vacca and Bosher, 2012)
Deliberate indifference in the public school context has been defined as a situation where: (1) a special relationship or duty of care exists to protect students from harm, (2) the harm is so severe and pervasive that it limits the student victim’s ability to earn, (3) school officials have actual knowledge of either the potential for harm or actual harm, but (4) where school officials fail to take reasonable steps to remedy the situation. See, e.g., DeShaney v. Winnebago Department of Social Services (1989), Walton v. Alexander (5TH and Cir. 1994), and Davis v. Monroe Cty. Board of Education (1999) In my view deliberate indifference and gross negligence are very similar where, in my view, a degree of willfulness is found.
It is important to stress that the same elements of analysis are relevant and applied in situations involving students with educational disabilities—especially where the student is covered by IDEA and/or Section 504. (Vacca and Bosher, 2012) Recently I came across an interesting case on point involving a suit taken against a public school district by parents on behalf of their deceased fourth grade son. What makes this case even more relevant to today’s school environment is that an element of bullying is present in the fact pattern.
Estate of Montana Lance v. Lewisville Independent School District (5th Cir. 2014)
Facts. A school district admission, review, and dismissal committee (ADR) had found that Montana Lance, a fourth grade student, qualified for special education services under IDEA (2004). The ADR said that he needed accommodations for a speech impediment (a “lisp”), and learning disability (ADHD). The ADR developed an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and a Behavioral Improvement Plan (BIP) for Montana while he attended Stewart’s Creek Elementary School where, beginning in kindergarten, he was provided with speech therapy, dyslexia services, and counseling."
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