Council In the News Index

State Tries Again for Fed Ed Funds, Senate Charter Language Seen as Drag (State House News)

CAPITOL BRIEFS – AFTERNOON EDITION – TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 2010
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

Hoping to gain access to up to $250 million from a $4.35 billion federal education grant pool, the Patrick administration is submitting an application with commitments from over two-thirds of the state’s public school districts and charter schools to abide by the changes. Officials called this application, after a first try earlier this year failed, “significantly stronger.” Gov. Deval Patrick said in a statement, “Based on feedback we received, we have strengthened our proposal and produced what will be our blueprint for the next generation of education reform in Massachusetts.” Officials said 276 districts and charters signed memoranda of understanding “to signal their commitment to implement the initiatives in the application.” Officials said that total represents 20 more than signed up for phase 1, and 88 percent of the state’s low-income students and 74 percent of K-12 students statewide. The new proposal contains an agreement with the Mass. Teachers Association on development of a teacher evaluation program relying on “multiple measures of student achievement and growth,” and allows for intervention. The package also has a plan to allow the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt Common Core Standards by August 2 “if they are deemed to be as strong as or stronger than the state’s current standards.” Legislative leaders filed letters of support, administration officials said. Finalists for the second round of Race to the Top funding will be announced in August, with awards announced later that month or early in September.  Charter school supporters said last week that language in the Senate budget for fiscal 2011 will weaken the state's application for Race to the Top funds.  In a May 25 letter to Senate budget chief Steven Panagiotakos, Boston Foundation President Paul Grogan and Mass. High Technology Council President Christopher Anderson said the Senate budget puts at risk each year up to 25 percent of charter school funding and will have a “negative effect” on the development of new charter schools called for under a highly touted January law. “It will also provide another metric by which Race to the Top reviewers will dock Massachusetts for unfriendly charter school provisions as they did in our first round application,” Grogan and Anderson wrote in their letter.