Educators sue Bush

[Nambe]

The Nashville City Paper

The Tennessee Education Association will likely join the list of plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against the Bush administration regarding K-12 regulations in the “No Child Left Behind” Act, according to Executive Director Al Mance.

The suit claims the federal government has not provided adequate funding to the states to implement the regulations of the program, consequently adding more financial burden to already money-strapped state budgets. ---

“The probability is that we will join the NEA in that suit,” Mance said.

The NEA is assembling a group of plaintiffs, which could include state governments, local school districts and education affiliates, according to Daniel Kaufman, spokesperson for NEA.

“Basically what the issue is that there is a section (in the law) which says states should not have unfunded mandates,” said Kaufman. ---

[antineocon1]

Good for them...

I taught in Texas for years and had to put up with the Bush bs.

[NYC]

1. Good.

Everyone should sue the Bush administration.

[ChoralScholar]

2. The unfunded mandate

is only the surface of why NCLB irritates me. I mean, sure, you have to provide money to meet new mandates. God knows my state doesn't have the money for it.
What really gets me is the fact that NCLB is completely pointless. Anyone with an education degree, myself included, will tell you that standardized tests are "re-normed" in order that the demographics will fall within a bell curve. So we've already determined that exactly half of our kids will be below average just from the semantics of the testing. So, even if we brought everyone up to above average on the tests, guess what? The tests get re-normed again, and we begin all over again. Even my dog realizes after a few minutes that chasing her tail is pointless.
The whole thing is superficial, pat-the-Bush-administration-on-the-back nonsense.
Basing ANY EDUCATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY on standardized testing is foolish.

{puts soapbox away}

"I blacked out.... w-w-wwhat happened?" -Will Ferrell in "Old School"

[DemBones DemBones]

3. But Dubya's brother Neil has some GREAT software to sell you to

help all your students learn how to score "above average." :evilgrin:

[Pert_UK]

4. I couldn't agree more....

By definition, 50% of people are below average...that's what "average" means (usually).

However, you can always use the current average to set a standard/benchmark and measure future performance against it, which isn't quite so self-defeating.

One thing that does annoy me about education though, is that governments seem completely unwilling to accept that some kids will do better than others. In the UK they keep insisting that more and more kids get to University, when what that actually means is that standards drop.

Sorry, but not every kid can go on to get a doctorate...

P.

[mumon]

10. Uh, a little correction

50% of people are below the median, by definition.

The "average" is (sum of total scores)/total.

But I agree with your point: we need educated trash collectors and janitors, as well as microbiologists.

[mumon]

11. Uh, a little correction

50% of people are below the median, by definition.

The "average" is (sum of total scores)/total.

But I agree with your point: we need educated trash collectors and janitors, as well as microbiologists.

[mumon]

12. Uh, a little correction

50% of people are below the median, by definition.

The "average" is (sum of total scores)/total.

But I agree with your point: we need educated trash collectors and janitors, as well as microbiologists.

[booksenkatz]

5. My brother, a Texas vice-principal, has always been

such a strong Republican supporter: thinks that the Repub platform is sooooo moral and that Bill Clinton was the first human being in history to commit adultery and that Bill personally set the stage for all the evils that have been committed in the past decade.

However...

I think that even my dear brother is starting to come around, because the last several times I've visited with him down in Texas, he can't stop complaining about "unfunded mandates" and about how his school district (one of the wealthiest in Texas) is desperately scrounging for money. One thing I do know about my brother is that he really and truly cares about educating every child he comes into contact with, so I think that this is going to be the issue that turns him against the Bushies. At least I sure hope so. He no longer mentions Bill Clinton, and he has *never* mentioned GW Bush to me. As an educated man, my brother surely is pained by the idea of actively supporting an incurious sort such as Bush.

By the way, one thing I hate about the Texas education system (am not sure to what degree this is true everywhere) is that if you live in a rich part of town, you attend a school that is loaded with amenities. If you live in a poor part of town, you attend a school with no amenities. Any politician who has proposed making things more even has always been accused of "robbing from the rich to give to the poor" and communism, etc. Breathtaking!

[wellst0nev0ter]

6. Remember: Free Education Is A Communist Idea

Morans.

[zekeson]

9. It has improved dramatically

The isparity in fudning, that is. In the early 90's if I recall correctly, Edgewood Independent was defendent in a law suit against the state. The issue, EDGEWOOD ISD V. KIRBY, eventually brought about educational funding equality in Texas. It was part of a lengthy battle that started in the early 70's.

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/EE/jre2.html
snip
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fundqv filed suit against commissioner of education William Kirby on May 23, 1984, in Travis County on behalf of the Edgewood Independent School District, San Antonio, citing discrimination against students in poor school districts. The plaintiffs charged that the state's methods of funding public schools violated at least four principles of the state constitution, which obligated the state legislature to provide an efficient and free public school system.
snip
The Edgewood lawsuit occurred after almost a decade of legal inertia on public school finance following the Rodríguez v. San Antonio ISD case of 1971, which asked the courts to address unfairness in public school aid. The Rodríguez plaintiffs ultimately lost in the United States Supreme Court in 1973.
snip
In its opinion deciding the case (1989), the Texas Supreme Court noted that the Edgewood ISD, among the poorest districts in the state, had $38,854 in property wealth per student, while the Alamo Heights ISD, which is in the same county, had $570,109 per student. In addition, property-poor districts had to set a tax rate that averaged 74.5 cents per $100 valuation to generate $2,987 per student, while richer districts, with a tax rate of half that much, could produce $7,233 per student. These differences produced disparities in the districts' abilities to hire good teachers, build appropriate facilities, offer a sound curriculum, and purchase such important equipment as computers.

The decision wasn't arrived at without a bitter fight and the plan settled on was dubbed the Robin Hood plan, consolidating the 1,058 school districts into 188 County Education Districts to assure that public money spent per student would be equal.

In 2002 Per Pupil expenditures:
Alamo Heights ISD $7,664
Edgewood ISD $6,764

Its not great, but is a damn sight better than it used to be.

[zekeson]

13. ooops

that first line should read:
The disparity in funding, that is.

To give a little perspective to the costs per pupil, here is the state average:
$6,913
and by Region (both AHISD and EISD are in Region 20)
$7,040

Disparity has improved, but is still not equitable as it can be supplemented by fundraising and endowments.

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/2002/index.html

[I AM SPARTACUS]

8. all of Ammurhikkka should learn from Lake Woebegone, where...

all of the children are above-average...

[wellst0nev0ter]

7. But, But, The Army NEEDS Its List Of Potential Recruits

You're not being un-Amurikan now, R U?