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Monday, Nov. 02, 2009

Our View: Will state take lead on schools?

This week will be a big test for the California Legislature, which has the lowest approval ratings since the Field Poll started measuring in 1983.

In particular, it marks a critical step for the California Senate and its leader, President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg.

Steinberg has called the Senate back into special session today to take up legislation to make the state competitive for up to $500 million in federal "Race To The Top" education grants.

Will California fight President Obama's education agenda for turning around the nation's lowest performing schools? Or will California be a leading partner?

Gov. Schwarzenegger proposed a legislative package to ensure California is eligible to compete for the federal funds. In the face of implacable opposition from the California Teachers Union, the Senate Education Committee will hear a watered down bill on Monday. But it still is worth fighting for.

Senate Bill 1 X5 requires that California apply for the grant in Phase I -- no waiting around.

It requires schools in the bottom 30 percent of performance to allow students to enroll in other schools.

It requires the lowest-achieving five percent of schools to do a turnaround -- involving closure or other dramatic options (though it waters this down by saying schools won't be subject to this action if they are showing "significant" improvement, no matter how dismal their performance remains).

The bill allows use of data to improve student learning and as one of multiple measures of teacher and principal effectiveness. But this provision, too, is watered down, allowing data to be used for evaluating teachers and principals only if it complies with local collective bargaining. This is unlikely to fly in Washington.

It is clear this bill is doing only the minimum to meet federal eligibility requirements. What is less clear is that it does anything to maximize the state's chances of receiving the largest grant possible -- by going beyond the minimum to encourage innovation.

One of the things the Department of Education will be looking for in a state application is whether key players are on board -- local districts, parents, businesses, teachers and state officials. It is clear the statewide teachers union is not on board -- which means school districts will have to work extremely hard to harness the support of local teachers.

The bill will likely get out of the Senate Education Committee today, with bipartisan support. But it has an uphill road from there. Key Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee, where the bill will be heard Tuesday or Wednesday, are noncommital. The Senate floor will be equally challenging. The Assembly, to date, has been hostile.

Legislators need to show they're serious about embracing action, not the usual paralysis, to improve schools.