Reform Alert--The Struggle Continues

Reform Alert

The legislative session ended May 9, and the governor signed the education reform bill, Senate Bill 458, into law May 15. The state is beginning to implement education reform, and the work will continue to mount. Below are some of the issues with which we are currently involved. There will be more to come as the education reform bill, which became Public Act 12-116 when it was signed into law, is implemented.

Education Reform Could be Part of One-Day Legislative Session June 12

A one-day special legislative session will be held Tuesday, June 12. Discussions are currently under way as to the scope of this day. It is our understanding that legislators will be meeting for the purposes of considering and enacting legislation to implement the state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2012. Prior to the special session legislators must develop and agree on “implementer” bills. We will be carefully monitoring this process, as changes can always be made. We must continue to be vigilant, particularly concerning Public Act 12-116.

PEAC and Teacher Evaluation

The Performance Evaluation Advisory Council (PEAC) met yesterday, and all of the subgroups and subcommittees have been meeting regularly. As we have mentioned in previous reform alerts, it was our understanding that under the PEAC plan 45% of a teacher’s evaluation would include multiple indicators of student academic growth and development. Half of that, 22.5%, would include standardized test scores and the “other” 22.5% would NOT include standardized test scores. At yesterday’s meeting CEA was the only group with a seat on PEAC that did NOT support the decision made on how to define the academic indicators in the “other” 22.5%.

The council decided the following, against CEA’s strong objections and opposition. While 22.5% of a teacher’s evaluation will be based on state standardized tests (CMT and CAPT) – or other standardized tests for non-tested subjects and grades – the “other” 22.5% was (and still is) in dispute. We believe this “other” 22.5% should include non-standardized multiple indicators of student academic growth.

For the “other” 22.5% the council decided to allow one standardized test and a minimum of one other indicator, with mutual consent between the teacher and evaluator, subject to a dispute resolution mechanism. Teachers and evaluators will meet to establish student learning objectives within the “other” 22.5%.

There are still many unanswered questions. PEAC will continue to meet. Districts have volunteered to pilot the new guidelines, which are supposed to be voted on by the State Board of Education before July 1, 2012.

The commissioner of education is now saying that the pilot districts will be chosen soon, and depending on the study of these pilots, adjustments can be made to the evaluation guidelines. Nothing therefore is finalized, with the State Board of Education being able to change guidelines, based on PEAC’s recommendations, as the pilots evolve.

CT Receives NCLB Waiver

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan appeared with the governor this week to announce that Connecticut has been granted an NCLB waiver. CEA is working to monitor the effects of this decision and how it will impact our members. Click here to see Connecticut’s application.

The times we find ourselves in are very unsettling with constant change, a multitude of perspectives, and little agreement with what we as educators believe. The work is not over – in fact, it is just beginning as we move to the implementation phase of “education reform.”