Politics & Government
Racine Unified Could Feel Impact of Omnibus Education Bill
Changes to the SAGE program and using WKCE test scores as a measure for teacher evaluation.
The State Legislature is considering an omnibus education bill that could have a significant impact on the students of Racine Unified School District. A joint hearing for public comment was held on Mon., May 16, in Madison with the Education Committee. The bill is co-sponsored by State Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills).
Specifically, Senate Bill 95 and its companion, Assembly Bill 130, will change the ground rules for the SAGE (Student Achievement Guarantee in Education) program, allowing districts to choose whether or not to increase class sizes in one or more grades "at one or more schools in the district and in one or more years of the (SAGE) contract term."
Additionally, the bill would allow school districts and administration to use student scores on the WKCE or other standardized tests required under the No Child Left Behind Act as a tool for teacher evaluation. Meaning, teachers could be discharged, suspended, disciplined or not have their contract renewed based partly on how their students score on standardized tests. The bill does state that this tool cannot be the sole reason for any action taken against a teacher.
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Stacy Tapp, spokesperson for Racine Unified, said as of Wed., May 18, district officials had not been aware of the bill until Patch called, but they were reviewing it.
Representative Cory Mason (D-Racine), whose district includes Sturtevant and Mount Pleasant, said the language regarding SAGE and using scores from WKCE as part of a teacher's evaluation were particularly concerning to him.
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"Republicans can't have it both ways," he said. "They can't say they want student success and test scores to rise and then take away the very resources that help make those things possible."
Mason said there's too much solid research to back up the premise of the SAGE program: smaller class sizes for young students leads to better reading and math scores and pave the way for success as they progress through upper grades.
"Smaller class sizes close the achievement gap," he said. "I mean, are they really ready to walk away from the commitment that is the foundation of SAGE? This would be a huge step backward."
He feels similarly about districts using standardized testing as even a partial measure for teachers though he is all for accountability.
"Of course we need accountability, but in districts like Racine where a good percentage of students are at or below the poverty level, scores are lower and the challenges are much different than in the more affluent, suburban districts," Mason pointed out.Β
If districts want to attract and retain the best and brightest teachers, using test scores as part of teacher evaluation will restrict Racine Unified and other urban districts, he added.
"Who wants to start their career in a district where they could be fired the very next year because standardized test scores don't rise according to a line on a chart?" Mason stated. "What is comes down to is this: we have $200 million in revenue that we didn't know about before so what does the Governor want to do? Does he want to continue granting tax breaks to his campaign contributors or does he want to give kids a shot at a real education?"
Mason said he expects the bill to be voted out of committee next week and for it to appear on the floor of both houses in early June.
Other provisions of the bill include:
- Allowing high school students to use participation in one season of WIAA sports as 1.5 credits. Racine Unified currently requires 1.5 credits of physical education for graduation;
- Allowing school districts to deny a student enrollment who was expelled from an out-of-state school or from an in-state charter school while also giving charter schools the ability to expel students;
- Allow schools to use a student's law enforcement record to take disciplinary action against that student under the school's athletic code;
- Allows school districts to contract for a variety of services for special education students and apply for special education aid to fund those services;
- Removes the 25 percent limit for purchasing library supplies;
- Requires the Department of Public Instruction to pay out left over transportation monies to school district on a prorated basis; and
- Eliminates the requirement in Milwaukee Public Schools that only up to 200 teaching days of school may be scheduled in the "regular day school period."
Patch left messages for both Representative Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and State Senator Van Wanggaard (R-Racine), but they did not return our calls.
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