Some states granting school districts more flexibility
The push to give school districts greater operating flexibility—a grassroots rallying cry eclipsed in recent years by the charter school movement—is seeing a resurgence, as states seek to spur innovation that will help raise student achievement. In seeking such changes, however, states must cope with budget pressures, wariness on the part of some districts, and questions about the right balance between state and local control. The concept of deregulation in education certainly is not new, said Kathy Christie, a senior vice president at the Denver-based Education Commission of the States. In Chicago, decentralization even led to local school councils that were given the power to hire and fire principals. But in most cases, school leaders didn’t really gain control over education spending. And many of the efforts to give local schools freedom from strict requirements were scaled back as the charter school movement took off, Ms. Christie added. Now, with the federal No Child Left Behind Act adding more requirements for schools and districts, Ms. Christie said states are likely “feeling a groundswell from the locals.” “Where a lot of states go wrong is that they begin to micromanage district operations,” said Mr. McAdams, a former member of the Houston Independent School District board and the president of the Center for the Reform of School Systems. States and districts should instead determine “at what level in the organization should certain decisions be made,” he said.
The states are well aware of the risks from overregulation. A report released in California a year ago, called “Getting Down to Facts,” called for an overhaul of the state’s school governance and financing system, particularly what one research paper called the “proliferation of categorical programs” that has resulted in a confusing and often duplicative system. So even though a mounting budget deficit is preventing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, from making major changes to the state’s education system this year, he is working with Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell to respond in some way to the issues exposed by the “Getting Down to Facts” report. The state has entered into a partnership with two school districts—Fresno Unified and Long Beach Unified—that will free administrators there from some restrictions attached to school funding, with the understanding that they are working on achieving a 100% graduation rate, preparing all graduates for success in higher education or a career, and helping all students, but especially English-language learners, to reach the proficient level on state standards.
In Georgia, Gov. Perdue, a Republican, is taking a page from the charter school movement in his proposal. The proposal, which the governor has said would redefine “the relationship between the state and local school systems,” was the chief recommendation from his Education Finance Task Force. Districts that chose to enter into performance contracts would be held to higher achievement standards and could face serious consequences, such as restructuring or sanctions, if they didn’t meet performance targets over a three-year period. Although districts would not receive extra funding at this point, added flexibility could come in such areas as class size and curriculum. Many observers—especially those in districts involved in an education adequacy lawsuit in the state—had hoped the task force would devise a new funding formula for the state.
The concept of using freedom and flexibility to improve performance is also at the center of the “empowerment schools” plan that Gov. Gibbons, a Republican, has championed in Nevada. Although a budget crunch is preventing the $10 million approved last year for the program from being spent this school year, some districts are moving ahead with giving the designation to one or more of their schools anyway. “An advantage to doing so is the possibility of getting waivers from the state board of education for certain statutes or regulations,” Keith Rheault, the Nevada state schools superintendent, said in an e-mail. The governor’s plan is modeled in part on a program that started in fall 2006 in the state’s 303,000-student Clark County school district, which includes Las Vegas.
Source: Education Week, 3/4/08, By Linda Jacobson
[Editor’s Note: The lengthy article excerpted above is well worth reading in its entirety. Links to information on the programs described are below, as is background on the California proposal, and others, that now are being overshadowed by the drastic budget cuts looming in that state. Georgia also has a charter system program, described at the next link, that frees participating school districts from state red tape. The Indiana University School of Education’s Center for Evaluation & Education Policy (CEEP) explored the topic of education deregulation at some length in a 2006 publication at the last link.]
Governor Perdue press release on Georgia legislation
California Department of Education on Partnership Project
Principals’ Partnership on empowerment schools in NV, NY
California “Getting Down to Facts” reports
NSBA School Law pages on California proposals
NSBA School Law pages on Georgia charter system program
Indiana report on school deregulation