Legislative Update 1-13-15.pdf

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Lori Blakeslee

Legislative Update 1/13/15 1 message Lori Blakeslee ReplyTo: Lori Blakeslee To: [email protected]

Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 8:26 AM

January 13, 2015 The 2015 Legislative Session is off to a fast start with Assembly Bill 1. The lead sponsor and chairman of the Assembly Education Committee is Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt (RFond du Lac). Assembly leaders had promised it would be the first bill introduced this session and it is expected to be on a fast track. A public hearing on the bill in the Assembly Education Committee is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, January 14, with a committee vote expected the next day. Assembly leadership has indicated that the full Assembly is likely to vote on the bill either January 20 or 22. Key Elements of the Assembly Bill 1 – School Accountability Assembly Bill 1 is an academic review system that would assign grades to schools based on student test scores on math and reading, and other measures. The system would be administered by DPI, overseen by an Academic Review Board (ARB), and in effect for the 201718 school year. Under the proposed legislation, schools would be assigned letter grades of A, B, C, D or F. Private schools could get two grades under the bill, one for voucher student performance and one for all students. For schools receiving a D or F grade, based on multiple measures, there would be two "steps" of sanctions including forcing public schools to convert to outside independent charter schools overseen by a state board, and the community would no longer have a voice. The Green Bay Area Public School District has the following concerns with the bill. The bill removes local control through the state takeover of public schools. Schools that become independent charter schools would no longer be subject to School Board oversight and authority. While the bill refers to additional resources to assist schools that would receive a D or F grade, currently there are no specifics. In addition, the bill is being introduced outside of the budget process, and so there is concern that the bill would be

passed without the necessary resources to enable schools to improve. Should the state takeover local schools, no matter where the schools reside, it would reduce the amount of state aid to every

public school district in the state. Public and private schools could choose alternative assessments to the state standardized tests approved by DPI. Since public schools are required by federal law to administer the state test, the effect is to permit private voucher schools to administer alternate exams. The District believes in order to have a fair accountability system, all schools that receive public funding should be measured by the same tests. For individuals interested in providing input, listed below are the Assembly Education Committee members. Representative Thiesfeldt (Chair) [email protected] Representative Kitchens (ViceChair) [email protected] Representative Jagler [email protected] Representative Knudson [email protected] Representative Rodriguez [email protected] Representative R. Brooks [email protected] Representative Horlacher [email protected] Representative Murphy [email protected] Representative Quinn [email protected] Representative Hutton [email protected] Representative Pope [email protected] Representative Sinicki [email protected] Representative Genrich [email protected] Representative Barnes [email protected] Representative Considine [email protected]

Parent Legislative Team If you are aware of parents who may be interested in receiving emails in the future on how proposed legislation will impact their child’s education, please ask them to contact Lori Blakeslee at [email protected].

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