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Legislature’s unhelpful meddling in education policy

“If GOP legislators believe in public education as much as they claim – or as much as Kansans always have – they have a strange way of showing it. “Every idea that comes into a legislator’s head, or through the pipeline from some conservative think tank, seems to be finding its way into bill form, if not necessarily to a committee hearing or floor debate. The real worry is that some of these ill-considered proposals will reach the governor’s desk, and end up as laws that only make it harder for teachers to teach and children to succeed.”...
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Rep. Ousley reports from the House Education Committee

“Every day this week in the House Education Committee, the majority of the committee has ignored the desires of Kansans across the state, and implemented bills supporting the ideologies of the far right. To understand how the committee process is supposed to work (hat tip to my high school government teacher), committees are supposed to be where testimony on bills is heard, with proponents and opponents given an opportunity to speak, so that when the committee members vote, they can make an informed decision. After hearing testimony, the committee can work the bill – that is, they can...
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NE JOCO responses to bill which would ban AP and IB

“The bill itself is absurdly broad and would prohibit Kansas students from participating in AP, IB and other programs, curricula and tests aligned with Common Core, which is pretty much everything by now. This is not a feasible solution, ignores the work our schools and students have been doing to adapt over the past several years, usurps the role of the State Board of Education and shows an apparent lack of consultation with educators. This is not how education policy should be formed, and this bill will ultimately harm Kansas students. We hope it fails when it reaches...
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