Education policy has taken a back seat in the presidential election this year as the candidates instead have favored debating the economy, terrorism, corruption, and many, many non-policy-related topics. Despite the virtual absence of education from the national stage, EdWeek.org notes voters in several states will decide education policy on the state level:
A different dynamic has taken hold at the state level, with education issues getting a relatively large amount of attention in states such as California, Indiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, where ballot measures and governors’ races have put the K–12 policy debate squarely in front of voters.
And among states overall–even in places where education has been overshadowed by other issues–the results of Tuesday’s vote could still have a major impact on approaches lawmakers take and just who makes the decisions on the Every Student Succeeds Act, which in December [2015] replaced the No Child Left Behind Act and which goes into full effect less than a year from now.
ThinkProgress.org outlines the education policies voters will decide on in six states:
Massachusetts voters will have the opportunity to vote for or against charter school expansion in the state.
Georgia is considering a referendum that would create an “Opportunity School District” for the state’s lowest performing schools. This district would be run by a superintendent appointed by the governor.
California voters will have the opportunity to vote on a ballot initiative, called Proposition 58, that would allow many more students to receive bilingual instruction.
Louisiana voters will have to decide whether they want to allow colleges and universities to make their own judgment calls on tuition hikes this week.
Several states are looking into new ways to fund public education or improve funding of public education. In Missouri, Constitutional Amendment 3 would provide around $300 million each year to early education anti-smoking efforts through a cigarette tax increase. And in Maine, voters will decide whether to approve a 3 percent income tax surcharge for those making more than $200,000 in order to fund public education.
In addition to specific ballot initiatives, EdWeek points out “12 governor seats, 5,915 legislative seats, and five superintendent positions are up for election this year,” and whoever voters elect “will have a greater say, under ESSA, in shaping teacher evaluations and school accountability systems, two politically volatile issues.”
SOURCE: EdWeek.org, ThinkProgress.org
IN THIS ISSUE:
- PENNSYLVANIA: A new EdChoice report finds Pennsylvania’s tax credit scholarships save more money than they cost.
- MASSACHUSETTS: Parents and students make a final push on a referendum to lift the state’s charter school cap.
- UTAH: Charter school enrollment is slowing, but a state board of education spokesman says he expects it to rebound.
- NEW JERSEY: Nine new charter schools are set to open in the Garden State next year.
- CHATTANOOGA: A local couple hopes to open an all-boys charter school to benefit the city’s poorest young men.
- ATLANTIC CITY: City councilman Jesse Kurtz released a video encouraging voters to support a voucher referendum.
Common Core and Curriculum Watch
- OUTDOOR ED: Oregon voters will decide whether to use lottery revenue to give every fifth- or sixth-grade child a full week of “outdoor school.”
- MINNESOTA: Test security experts say state officials have no way of knowing whether teachers or students are cheating on standardized tests.
- ARIZONA: Students at Dysart Unified School District outside Phoenix make their own schedules and work at their own pace.
- COMMON CORE: EdWeek.org provides an update on the status of Common Core across the country, reporting “nine states have rewritten or replaced Common Core.”
- TEACHER TURNOVER: Chad Aldeman analyzes data and concludes, “Contrary to conventional wisdom, teacher retention rates don’t seem to be changing that much.”
- HIGHER ED: Worcester Polytechnic Institute stops participating in the National Merit Scholarship Corporation because it “supports an antiquated American fixation on flawed high-stakes testing.”
- SCHOOL UNIFORM DEBATE: A Maryland mother files a civil complaint because she says the dress code rules at her daughter’s school prohibiting leggings are “sexist.”
- DOE OVERREACH: Ten U.S. Senators ask President Barack Obama to limit Education Department overreach.
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