News From Terre Haute, Indiana

Breaking News

Local & Bistate

Discussion

Welcome to our online comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean. We reserve the right to remove comments that are obscene, racist or abusive and statements that are false or unverifiable as well as posts that are attacking other users. Repeat offenders will be blocked. You may flag objectionable comments for review by a moderator.
comments powered by Disqus
February 12, 2013

Bill would give high-performing schools more flexibility

Maureen Hayden CNHI

INDIANAPOLIS — After focusing on failing schools in recent legislative sessions, some Indiana lawmakers say it’s time to reward high-performing schools with more money and more flexibility.

They’re pushing for legislation that would free up the state’s top-achieving schools from some state regulations — including the mandatory 180-day calendar — and send more dollars to schools with historically high graduation rates and student test scores.

“We’ve literarily done nothing to encourage our high-performing school districts,” said Republican state Sen. Brandt Hershman, the influential chair of the Senate tax and fiscal policy committee. “Most of our efforts have been focused on those schools that perpetually have underperformed.”

Hershman, of Buck Creek, said past legislation aimed at failing schools, which brought more state oversight and more dollars for “turnaround” efforts, was needed.

But the state also needs to play a role in supporting high-performing schools, he said, giving them the latitude to become “laboratories for innovation.”

Hershman is co-author of a bill expected to come to a vote in Senate this week that would give continually top-performing school districts in the state more autonomy.

Senate Bill 189, if it became law, would allow those districts to develop some of their own curriculum, to create their own teacher evaluations, and to organize classroom time based on instructional minutes instead of the current 180-day school year requirement.

To qualify, schools would have to consistently meet certain goals, including a 90-percent graduation rate and higher SAT scores than statewide averages.

The bill, championed by Republican state Sen. Mike Delph of Carmel, has the enthusiastic support of administrators with the Zionsville Community Schools, a fast-growing and high-performing school district.

They see it as a way to get some relief from the financial pressures created three years ago when the state cut $300 million in funding to K-12 schools.

Mike Shafer, the district’s chief financial officer, said the legislation, among other things, would allow some schools to offer “e-days”, which is when students stay home from school and complete coursework online.

He said the bill is aimed at schools that are “not in need of micromanaging.”

Hershman also wants to provide more money to historically high-performing schools. Those schools, typically located in more affluent communities, get less state and federal dollars per pupil than schools with high numbers of low-income students, because of school funding formulas that take into account such factors as family poverty.

He’s author of a bill that would create a new “achievement test grant” program that would funnel more dollars to schools with students that score well on standardized tests.

Senate Bill 493 would provide an additional $500 for every student that passed the ISTEP exam or the required end-of-course assessment tests in high school English, algebra or biology. To be eligible, though, a school corporation must have 85 percent of its students pass ISTEP or have a 6 percent increase in the pass rate for the end-of-course assessments. Only 33 of Indiana’s 292 school corporations hit either of those marks last school year.

Hershman said funding for the grant program would come out of the state’s $2 billion surplus and would not take money away from the existing school funding formula.

On the House side, key lawmakers also support the idea of driving more dollars to high-performing schools. Their plan may come closer to the one proposed by Republican Gov. Mike Pence in his two-year budget plan.

Pence is calling for a 1-percent-a-year increase in school funding, with the second year’s increase based on schools’ meeting certain performance growth benchmarks.

Under that formula, schools would be judged not on how well they’ve done in the past, but on how much improvement they make from one year to the next in raising student test scores and graduation rates.

“The goal would be to give it to schools that are really meeting the needs of all students,” said House Education Chairman Bob Behning, an Indianapolis Republican.

“Schools with student populations that are more difficult to educate and that are doing a great job of moving those students forward, those are the schools that are going to get more money,” Behning said.

Behning is expected to start hammering out the details of the House version of performance-pay for schools when the House education committee meets today.

Maureen Hayden covers the Statehouse for CNHI, the parent company of the Tribune-Star. She can be reached at maureen.

hayden@indianamediagroup.com.

 

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local & Bistate
Latest News
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
TribStar.com Poll
AP Video
Historic Ruling Set in Affirmative Action Case Raw: NASCAR Driver Jason Leffler Dies in Wreck Raw: India Floods Wash Away Apartment Building Tiger on Sergio: 'It's Time to Move On' Tebow Thanks Patriots for Opportunity Need an Organ? A Lab-Grown One May Work One Day Failed Cuba-to-Florida Swimmer Won't Try Again Raw: Marines Land Osprey on Japanese Ship Colorado Springs Wildfire 65% Contained Solar Plane Reaches East Coast Raw: Australian Begins Cuba to Florida Swim Family Tweets Say Kim Kardashian Gives Birth Ex-NFL Star Chad Johnson Out of Jail Moderate Cleric Wins Iranian Election Obama Welcomes WNBA Champions to White House Prosecutors Push for Smartphone "Kill Switch" Raw: Prince Philip Leaves Hospital After Surgery FBI Searching Mich. Field in Jimmy Hoffa Case Google Launches Internet-beaming Balloons Raw: Obama, Daughters Visit Trinity College
NDN Video
Caught on Tape: Davie Teacher Accused of Beating Autistic Child See Lindsay Lohan in Rehab "Stay Classy" Campaign Aims to Curb Binge Drinking Lil Wayne's New Music Video Has Some People Outraged Gaga Ditches Her Crazy Couture Sesame Street Tackling Tough Topic Parents in Jail Miss Utah Fumbles Interview Question Deranged man claims Newark-bound flight was poisoned Cameron Diaz and Kate Upton Show Off Their Amazing Bikini Bodies NBA FINALS: Spurs Win Game 5, Lead Series Exclusive Clip: Jodi Arias: 'Dirty Little Secret' Amphibious bus filled with tourists sinks Best Bikini Abs Historic Ruling Set in Affirmative Action Case Mix-Up at Daytime Emmy Awards Colorado Springs Wildfire 65% Contained Kim K. Is a New Mommy! Sarah Silverman Roasts Mel Brooks at AFI Tribute Moderate Cleric Wins Iranian Election Obama on Fatherhood: 'Best Job I've Got'
Parade
Magazine
Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
  • -

     

    March 12, 2010

activity
Real Estate News