Bledsoe explains fine points
of Race to the Top legislation
In December of 2009, the Legislature completed the most comprehensive set of education reforms the state of Michigan has ever seen in the Race to the Top (RTTT) legislation. I supported these reforms both in the House Education Committee and on the floor of the House. While there is considerable apprehension about these reforms in some quarters, I am convinced the following information will dispel many concerns.
Reform officer and school turnaround plans
We created new authority for the State Superintendent to monitor and intervene in chronically underperforming schools. Beginning no later than September 1 of each year, the Michigan Department of Education must publish a list of the lowest performing 5 percent of all schools in the state based on proficiency scores, graduation rates, and the phase of corrective action a school is in.
Schools identified in the lowest 5 percent will be placed under the supervision of the state reform officer. Once a school is determined to be in the that group, the local school board will have 90 days to submit a redesign plan for a school building to the Reform officer. The plan must be developed with teachers and local superintendent or that of an emergency financial manager.
The legislation also provides for the creation of "reform districts." A school may be placed in the that category if the redesign plan has not been agreed to, or has not demonstrated sufficient progress. The reform officer will act as superintendent of the designated district, and would have all the powers and duties of a school board, with the exception of taxation and borrowing.
The legislation also provides for the creation of "Schools of Excellence" which are a new type of charter school that has different student performance criteria than traditional Public School Academies. Only 10 such schools may open in the state over the next five years.
Drop-out age and personal curriculum
Another part of the legislation amends the school code to increase the age of compulsory school attendance from 16 to 18. This bill includes a provision that allows a student to drop out if their guardian provides a written notice that the child has permission to stop attending school. It also includes language that exempts home-schooled students.
We also amended the school code by making modifications to personal curriculum requirements. A personal curriculum is an option initiated by a parent or guardian that modifies certain requirements of the Michigan Merit Curriculum and allows a district to award a regular high school diploma to students who successfully complete their personal curriculum.
Currently, only parents may request a personal curriculum and the student, parent or guardian and the pupil's counselor are part of the group that determines the curriculum. With the new reforms, a teacher or counselor may request a personal curriculum for a student, and a teacher must now be included in the curriculum development group.
Administrator Certification and Teacher Evaluations
We amended the school code to require the State Board of Education and State Superintendent to define rules for administrator certification. Certification must be issued to all administrators working in public schools whose primary responsibility is administering instructional programs.
One of the more controversial aspects of the RTTT legislation pertained to performance evaluation of teachers and administrators. We changed the school code so that schools must adopt and implement a rigorous, transparent, and fair performance evaluation system for all teachers and administrators that does both of the following:
- Evaluates staff job performance at least annually while providing timely and constructive feedback; and
- Establishes clear approaches to measuring student growth and provides staff with relevant data on student growth.
We established mechanisms for removing ineffective teachers and administrators after they have had ample opportunities to improve, and assurances that these decisions are made using rigorous standards and fair, transparent procedures. Schools must also implement a method of compensation for teachers and administrators that includes job performance and student growth as a significant factor. All of these changes, however, would not take effect until current collective bargaining agreements expire.
Alternative Teacher Certification
Finally, we amended the school code to allow the state superintendent to establish an alternative certification process. Under the legislation, a person may teach in Michigan provided they are certified by a program approved by the superintendent, they hold an accredited professional degree with a grade-point average of at least 3.0, and they pass both the basic skills and subject area examinations for each subject area in which he or she applies to be certified. This does not apply to for those wishing to teach in special education.
In an era when people have become accustomed to Lansing taking baby steps in approaching critical public problems, I can understand how the kind of giant leap forward represented by these reforms could cause anxiety. I am convinced that these reforms represent major steps in the right direction for public education in Michigan.
If you have questions on the Race to the Top legislation, feel free to call my office toll-free at 888-254-5291.
