Lawmakers take another swipe at ‘unacceptable’ schools

For 40 days citizens of this state shudder to think where their lawmakers might decide to reach. From trying to influence county border line disputes to looking up skirts to carrying guns on college campuses, nothing is too near or too far from their grasp. Why it doesn’t matter if their constituents have already given them a smack down at the ballot box. If the result didn’t suit them, it’s damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead.

That’s exactly what we’re seeing under the Gold Dome with the full cooperation of Republicans and Democrats on House Bill 338. HB 338 looks a lot like Gov. Deal’s Opportunity School District plan that was voted down last November. However, there are a some very important differences that should be noted.

Amendment 1 would have allowed the state, under an Opportunity School District superintendent, appointed by the governor, to swoop into a school system and take over schools it deemed failing according to the College and Career Ready Performance Index. It would have permitted taking over, not only the facilities, but the local tax money as well. HB 338 does not do any of this — at least not initially.

HB 338 does require teachers and parents to come up with a school improvement plan and it does something else that Amendment 1 failed to address. While it doesn’t say exactly what it will do and has no money attached to help it do it, the bill does recognize that poverty is a stumbling block to student achievement. Additional legislation is supposed to provide a grant funding mechanism to pay for that effort.

This bill is important to Middle Georgia because several schools in Macon-Bibb County system were on the governor’s list of failing schools — Brookdale, Bruce, Hartley, Martin Luther King Jr., Riley, Southfield and Union elementaries; Ballard Hudson and Appling middle schools and Southwest High School. Peach County’s Hunt Elementary School and Twiggs County High School were also on the list.

The governor still has his hands in the middle of all of this. HB 338 creates a “chief turnaround officer” who would report to the state education board, all appointees of the governor, and the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement would also have say over which schools are deemed failing, although the legislation describes these schools as “unacceptable” rather than “failing.”

The state could still impose sanctions if school improvement plans aren’t developed or implemented or the schools don’t improve.

What also needs to be clarified is the measurement tool. Right now its the CCRPI, but a recent UGA study, still preliminary, seems to indicate that when compared to other southeastern states — Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, Kentucky and Virginia — and high performing states — Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maryland and New Jersey — that our A schools would be A schools anywhere. Our B schools would likely be an A school in other states’ accountability systems and our C schools would likely be, on average, B schools in other states’ accountability systems.

The study states, “Using nationally normed measures adjusted for student demographics, Georgia appears to rate some schools more harshly.” The kinks are still being worked out of the CCRPI, that is understandable, but it is also understandable that you can’t use an imprecise measurement tool, to help make life-altering decisions. And that’s why Amendment 1 failed.

This latest effort was better conceived than last year’s failed constitutional amendment. Communication was open between its author, Rep. Kevin Tanner, R-Dawsonville and the education community. That’s the major reason HB 338 passed the House 138-37 in a bi-partisan fashion with House Minority leader Stacey Abrams, D-Atlanta, urging her colleagues to vote for the bill.

It is likely to find success in the Senate as well, but lawmakers should be aware, the education community has found its voice and it’s not going to sit back anymore and silently accept blame for all of society’s ills.

This story was originally published March 2, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Lawmakers take another swipe at ‘unacceptable’ schools."