________________________________________  THE VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT March 07, 2005 - Vol. 5, No. 10 ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯  Covering education news in Vermont and beyond... Informative, provocative, unique... Published by Vermonters for Better Education  VBE is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to enlist parents and the public at large in achieving quality educational opportunities for all the children of Vermont by monitoring the state of education in Vermont; promoting the value of educational freedoms for all parents; and giving parents the evaluative tools with which to identify excellence. Libby Sternberg, executive director: VTBetterEd@aol.com NEWS & ANALYSIS... IT'S BACK - S.166 BECOMES S.132 Last session's early education bill, S.166, is now officially back in play. An exact replica of that bill has been introduced in the Senate by its original architect, Sen. James Condos (D-Chittenden) along with three other senators (Illuzzi, Lyons, and Miller). Three of the four sponsors are Chittenden County Senators, not surprising since there are some early education programs already in place in Chittenden County that have been touted as "models" for the statewide approach favored by Condos and his colleagues. S.166 and S.132's approach to early ed is very similar to that promoted by the Vermont Department of Education through its rule-making process. Those rules were withdrawn at the February meeting. Interestingly, while the VDOE claims that current statute already allows for the use of Education Fund money for early education students, both S.166 and S.132 add "preschool," "part-day kindergarten" and "full-day kindergarten" to the types of students to be weighted in calculating ADM amounts. Statute previously only specified "elementary" and "secondary" classes of students, but the sponsors of S.166 and S.132 obviously believe it's necessary to add these new classifications to existing law for determining how much Education Fund money goes with each class of student. SBOE BILL HAS A SPONSOR Last week we reported on the draft of a bill to add four legislative members to the State Board of Education. Currently the governor appoints all SBOE members. Until recently, the SBOE was dominated by Dean appointees, but now Governor James Douglas's appointments are closing in on a majority. Because the Commissioner of Education is hired by the State Board and not the governor, making appointments to the State Board is the only direct way a governor in Vermont can influence education. Even this diluted gubernatorial influence, however, is too much for Sen. James Condos (D-Chittenden) because he is the lone sponsor of S.133, the bill that would add four legislators (two representatives and two senators) to the SBOE.  MARCH CONFERENCES ON EARLY ED ISSUES "Coming Together to Support Early Learning in Vermont" is the title of a one-day conference to be held first in Rutland and then again in Montpelier this month. Sponsored by the Vermont Department of Education, the Agency of Human Services (Child Development Division), the Child Care Fund of Vermont, Vermont School Boards Association, Vermont Superintendents Association, Vermont Principals Association, Vermont Council of Special Education Administrators and the University of Vermont, the conference will address such topics as the importance of quality early learning experiences, action planning, early ed quality standards, "expanding the workforce through educator licensure" and "funding early childhood programs." The latter topic will be presented by Bill Talbott, the VDOE's CFO, and Kim Keiser of the Agency of Human Services. Keiser says her presentation will focus on "fiscal supports the Child Development Division provides to parents and regulated early childhood providers." Keiser says the source of most of this assistance is the federal Child Care and Development Block grant. Talbot says he will cover Act 68, Early Education Initiative Grants, and Essential Early Education Funding, explaining to attendees "how the various funding provisions work."  FREEDOMWORKS CHAPTER TO OPEN IN VERMONT Later this week, FreedomWorks, a free-market grassroots organization, will announce the opening of a chapter in Vermont that will educate, train and mobilize volunteer activists. FreedomWorks will be set up as a 501c4 corporation which means the group is free to engage in grassroots lobbying and advocacy work. Lower taxes and less government is part of the organization's mission but they are also committed to school choice and hope to involve the many school choice supporters in the state in meaningful work. Boasting a nationwide membership of 700,000 FreedomWorks grew out of Jack Kemp's Empower America group which was a strong and articulate supporter of school choice efforts. Vermonters for Better Education, the publisher of this newsletter, welcomes FreedomWorks to Vermont! To learn more about FreedomWorks, visit their web site at http://www.freedomworks.org. And to find out how you can join FreedomWorks in Vermont and be involved in some of the exciting things they have going on in the state, contact Robert Roper, Vermont FreedomWorks Director at 802-999-8145 or via email at rroper@freedomworks.org.   *   *   * FROM ELSEWHERE... FROM THE ALLIANCE FOR SCHOOL CHOICE On the web at: http://www.allianceforschoolchoice.org/ ALLIANCE FOR SCHOOL CHOICE APPLAUDS PASSAGE OF YEAR'S FIRST SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAM: UTAH SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOLARSHIPS School Choice Legislation Active in Ten Other States PHOENIX -- The Alliance for School Choice, the Phoenix-based organization that leads the national effort to support school choice programs to expand opportunities for economically disadvantaged children, applauds the passage of this year's first school choice program. The Carson Smith Scholarships for Students With Special Needs Act will allow hundreds of Utah's disabled students to attend a private school that might better suit their needs. "This program is a real victory, not only for the kids, but also for parents who now have more options to give their children the best education possible," declared Clint Bolick, president and general counsel of the Alliance for School Choice. After passing both the Utah House and Senate by overwhelming margins, the bill was sent to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who has promised to sign the bill into law. The program will give parents who want more educational options for their disabled children the ability to receive scholarships to attend a private school. The scholarship is equal to the amount the state earmarks for disabled public school students and is based on the amount of time a child receives special education services per day. Utah is the second state in the nation to enact special needs scholarships. In 2001, Florida pioneered the effort with the John M. McKay Scholarships Program for Students With Disabilities. Ten other states are actively considering school choice legislation this year: Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin. "Never before have there been so many opportunities to enact or expand K-12 scholarship programs to provide equal educational opportunities for our nation's disadvantaged schoolchildren," Bolick said. "I am encouraged by Gov. Huntsman's leadership in Utah and hope to see the same progress in other states in the coming weeks."   FROM THE FORDHAM FOUNDATION On the web at: http://www.edexcellence.net VOUCHERS, VOUCHERS EVERYWHERE, BUT... With legislatures across the country in full swing, school choice proposals--both vouchers and tuition tax credits--are being debated all over. Parents rallied on the State House steps in South Carolina in support of Governor Mark Sanford's tax credit for home school and private school students. As Sanford said, "This is simply about recognizing that competition has made every product . . . better." Florida Governor Jeb Bush is pushing to expand vouchers to students who score poorly on the reading FCAT three years in a row. "I think it's . . . as American as apple pie to give people a choice as to what's provided them," he remarked. We've reported previously on Ohio Governor Bob Taft's plan to expand Cleveland's voucher program to the rest of the state. (See http://www.edexcellence.net/foundation/gadfly/issue.cfm?id=181#2166.) The Utah House voted down a statewide tuition tax credit for private schooling, but the state House and Senate did pass a voucher program for special needs students similar to Florida's McKay Scholarship. Indiana's voucher bill stalled before a floor vote but, as the Indianapolis Star reports, "The glitch was procedural, and the fight on school vouchers is far from over." The bill's sponsor plans to reintroduce it as soon as possible. Finally, a voucher bill is awaiting floor action in the Arizona House. Arizona Republic columnist Robert Robb makes the case, "The most pressing educational need in the nation is to enable such kids who want to learn, or who have parents who want them to learn, to find the most productive environments in which to learn. And often, that is in private schools rather than government schools." Have we reached a "tipping point" on school choice this year? Probably not. But the level of legislative activity is unparalleled. _________ "Choosing choice," by David Salisbury, National Review Online, March 2, 2005 http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/salisbury200503020749.asp "School voucher bill stalls in House," by Staci Hupp, Indianapolis Star, February 26, 2005  http://www.indystar.com/articles/0/225282-8010-009.html "Value of school vouchers is now clear," by Robert Robb, Arizona Republic, February 25, 2005  http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0225robb25.html "Bush pushes voucher bill to aid struggling readers," by Jackie Hallifax, Associated Press, February 24, 2005 http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/10975986.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp "Parents rally for tax-credit bill," by Jennifer Talhelm, The State, February 16, 2005  http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/10910348.htm   WHO COVERS EDUCATION IN VERMONT? We do! Consider a gift to Vermonters for Better Education, the publisher of the weekly Vermont Education Report, Vermont's ONLY continual source of education news. Send donations to: VBE, 170 Church Street, Rutland, Vermont 05701. VBE is a nonprofit organization and contributions are tax-deductible.   *   *   * The VERMONT EDUCATION REPORT is published by Vermonters for Better Education 170 Church Street, Rutland, VT 05701, 802.773.5240 Contact VTBetterEd@aol.com for more information.   Subscribe Here SubscribeRemove

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