Here’s Wisconsin Senator Mark Pocan in March 13, 2012 illustrating our concerns about ALEC using the example of the Special Needs Scholarship Program. Kansas had its ALEC Special Needs Scholarship bill last session (http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2263_00_0000.pdf). The section he refers to regarding hiring a company with experience evaluating these programs is Section 9 in the Kansas bill, rather than Section 8 in the Wisconsin bill. “Sec. 9. (a) The department may contract with one or more qualified researchers who have previous experience evaluating school choice programs to conduct a study of the program.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOBsoUZFae8...
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Poverty problem rather than an education problem
We post this article because Kansas is part of this trend, and any discussion on education spending and outcomes in Kansas needs to include the increasing numbers of Kansas students in poverty. Instead of the story line told my some that Kansas scores have been stagnant, the story should be that despite dramatic increases in students in need of additional help, scores have held steady. We want our schools to improve, but we need to acknowledge the demands they are facing. “[S]pending on education has not kept pace with the rise in child poverty. While poverty grew by...
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Leave a Comment Brownback says perception of ALEC influence is overblown but we disagree
We disagree. We think our legislators and governor should focus more on education policy that actually works and what Kansans want rather than following the recommendations of ideologues and corporations from other states. We opposed multiple ALEC education bills last year and are preparing to do the same in 2014:http://www2.ljworld.com/weblogs/capitol-report/2013/dec/17/brownback-says-perception-of-alec-influe/...
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Leave a Comment Governor proposes funding for full-day kindergarten but questions remain
While we are happy to see any mention of the need to increase school funding, we are concerned that the governor is suggesting payment for full-day kindergarten should be phased in over five years and note that the statewide $16 million increase is less than the annual operating budget cuts faced by Shawnee Mission School District between 2009 and 2012.http://www.kansascity.com/2013/12/16/4696294/brownback-seeks-to-increase-state.html...
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