08.21.09: Governor Calls Special Session on Education
By David Walrath
Announces Legislative Package to Address Obama
Administration Requirements
On July 24, 2009, President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan outlined federal requirements for states to compete for
the largest pool of discretionary funding for education reform in
U.S. history - $4.35 billion in Race to the Top dollars available
through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act).
With current law, California is ineligible to apply. Billions in
future federal education dollars are also expected to rest on a
state's ability to meet Obama Administration education reform
requirements.
Taking aggressive action and standing firm on his word that
California will compete for each and every Recovery dollar in these
difficult economic times, Governor Schwarzenegger today called a
special session of the legislature and announced a legislative
package that will ensure California meets the Obama
Administration's eligibility requirements and can be highly
competitive for our fair share of Race to the Top funding. The
Obama Administration's reforms are policies the Governor has stood
behind since taking office - and will help provide a better
education for California's school children.
"I stand with President Obama and Secretary Duncan in pushing these
education reforms not only to ensure California is eligible and
competes for billions in Recovery education dollars, but because I
believe they will help provide a better education for California's
children," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "California and its
education system have felt the effects of the economic downturn and
with every child in every classroom depending on us - I call on the
legislature to ensure California leads the Race to the Top."
So California can complete the lengthy federal application process
and be as competitive as possible, the Governor called on the
legislature to have these measures passed by early
October.
Reforms to ensure California is eligible to apply and be highly
competitive for Race to the Top funding include:
Linking Student
Achievement and Teacher Performance Data.Having linked data
will increase transparency around how California's students,
teachers and schools are performing. With this information, the
specific needs of students, teachers and schools can be better
addressed.
Measures to Turn-Around
Struggling Schools. Turning around
struggling schools increases the overall quality of our state's
education system.
o Repeal California's charter school cap - an
unnecessary barrier to innovation.
o Give parents more freedom to choose the school that
best serves their children by both authorizing open enrollment for
students in the lowest-performing schools so they can attend any
school in the state - and removing the cap on "districts of choice"
so any student in the state can attend school in a participating
district.
o Focus efforts on the five percent of schools that
consistently underperform, helping ensure all California students
can reach the state's academic standards.
Measures to Help
California Recruit and Retain High-Quality Teachers and
Principals.
o Reward teachers who are consistently doing the
toughest jobs. Alternative pay schedules highlight effective
teaching practices and creates incentives to improve our education
system.
o Measure student progress to help identify what works
in the classroom. Every child is different and looking at both
growth measures and overall achievement scores provides a better
picture of a student progress over time.
Improving Accountability
for Schools. Modifying how the state uses data to measure
performance will help more accurately track the progress of
students, teachers and schools on an annual basis - so that
California can make continuous improvement in our education system
from year to year.
Under Governor Schwarzenegger's leadership, California was the first state in
the nation to be federally approved for State Fiscal
Stabilization Fund dollars - education funding also available
through the Recovery Act. Over $2.5 billion of this funding
has been distributed to California schools to date with hundreds of
millions of dollars expected in the fall.
Attached is the text of the Governor's proclamation as well as a
fact sheet.
President Barack Obama's Recovery and Reinvestment Act consists
of over 300 funding streams originating from various federal
government agencies and departments. Less than 50 percent of
Recovery Act funding is estimated to flow through state government
entities, with the rest distributed by the federal government
directly to local governments, non-profits, businesses and other
entities.
Governor Schwarzenegger created the California Recovery Task
Force to track Recovery Act funding coming to entities in
California; work with President Barack Obama's administration;
ensure funding funneled through state government is spent
efficiently and effectively; help cities, counties, non-profits,
and others tap into available funding; and maintain a Web site that
is frequently and thoroughly updated for Californians to be able to
track the stimulus dollars. The Task Force can be reached
through its Web site, www.recovery.ca.gov,
or by telephone at (916) 322-4688.
