Fast Report
NSBA has concerns with interstate compact
• The “Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children” could have unintended consequences for school boards and states.
A model compact, drafted by the Council of State Governments, simplifies school transfers for children with parents in the military when they move from state to state.
It addresses such issues as age limits for enrollment, eligibility for school programs and extracurricular activities, and placement.
The Interstate Compact takes effect whenever 10 or more states adopt the model language.
So far, legislation adopting the compact has been approved by state legislatures in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Legislation is under consideration in 11 other states.
NSBA and several state school boards associations are concerned that the interstate compact could take precedence over state laws on the privacy of student records, immunization, enrollment ages, state exit exams, eligibility for extracurricular activities, and special powers of attorneys related to guardianship, and non-custodial parents.
There are also concerns that an Interstate Commission, an independent operating authority, to be set up to provide general oversight and address future problems as they arise, would have significant authority over state law. The commission would have the ability to levy and collect annual assessments to be paid by member states.
Shortage of superintendents predicted
• School boards face a shortage of superintendent candidates, the American Association of School Administrators warns.
Eighty-five percent of superintendents surveyed believe there is an inadequate supply of education leaders to fill the superintendent openings expected to be available in the near future, the AASA Center for System Leadership announced June 3.
The biggest incentive for those considering a career as a superintendent is the opportunity to improve teaching and learning for students. The biggest disincentives are lack of funding for the school system, personal family sacrifices, and school board relations.
Respondents believe the best way to increase the supply of superintendents is through mentoring and coaching.
Some states face accelerated NCLB goals
• States that have taken a “backloaded” approach to meeting the 2014 deadline for achieving 100 percent proficiency under the No Child Left Behind Act must make steep progress every year for the next six years, the Center on Education Policy (CEP) warns.
Under NCLB, all students must be proficient in math and reading by 2014. When the law was enacted in 2002, 25 states plus the District of Columbia adopted annual achievement goals that called for steady progress each year.
Twenty-three states took a “backloaded” approach where they set easier goals during the first six years and now must make dramatically higher gains each year to reach 100 percent proficiency, states a CEP report published in May (www.cep-dc.org).
Jack Jennings, president and CEO of CEP, compares states that have taken a backloaded approach to homeowners facing a mortgage payment about to balloon far beyond their ability to pay.
The report suggests those states will need to prepare for dramatic increases in the numbers of schools identified as being in need of improvement under NCLB and thus subject to such sanctions as restructuring or replacing school staffs.