Each month
during the school year, administrators from member schools
in the Illinois Coalition of Non-Public Schools (ICNS) receive
the Electronic Report. The purpose of this Report
is to provide brief synopses of developments with the Illinois
Coalition of Non-Public Schools, legislative updates, and
information of interest to our nonpublic school administrators.
You will find hyperlinks imbedded in the articles that will
link you to the original source so you can access the full
document. If you missed an issue or need information
related to the work being done on behalf of nonpublic schools,
check out the ICNS web site.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for topics
to be included in upcoming issues, please feel free to contact
us.
VOUCHERS EYED FOR STUDENTS
WITH DISABILITIES
More than
half a dozen states are considering legislation to offer
private school vouchers for students with disabilities.
They are looking to join the ranks of four others—Arizona,
Florida, Ohio, and Utah—that already offer that school choice
option. Supporters say
that such vouchers are an important safety valve for parents
when public schools don’t offer programs to meet those students’
specialized needs. But opponents warn that parents
who take advantage of those vouchers may be giving up procedural
protections guaranteed to their children under the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. They also argue
that vouchers for students with disabilities lay the groundwork
for universal voucher programs that would drain money from
public education—and point to Utah’s experience as an example.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/03/28/29voucher.h26.html?
SCHOOL CHOICE IN ILLINOIS
The Heritage Foundation includes on their web site, a detailed
description of school choice in Illinois. In a page
dedicated to Illinois, you will find a historical summary
of legislative efforts to provide choice and support for
nonpublic school education throughout our state.
http://www.heritage.org/research/education/schoolchoice/Illinois.cfm#K12PPSAP
EDUCATION
IN THE NEWS
-
Children Lack A Consistently
Rich, Supportive Elementary School Experience
-
The typical child in the U.S. stands only a 1-in-14
chance of having a consistently rich, supportive
elementary school experience, say researchers who
looked at what happens daily in thousands of classrooms.
The findings, take teachers to task for spending
too much time on basic reading and math skills and
not enough on problem solving, reasoning, science
and social studies. They also suggest that U.S.
education focuses too much on teacher qualifications
and not enough on teachers being engaging and supportive.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health, educational
researchers spent thousands of hours in more than
2,500 first-, third- and fifth-grade classrooms,
tracking kids through elementary school. The researchers
found a few bright spots, reports Greg Toppo in
USA Today. Kids use time well, for one. But they
found just as many signs that classrooms can be
dull, bleak places where kids don't get a lot of
teacher feedback or face time. For example, fifth-graders
spent 91.2 percent of class time in their seats
listening to a teacher or working alone, and only
7 percent working in small groups, which foster
social skills and critical thinking.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-03-29-teacher-study_N.htm
-
Poll Finds Gaps in Outlooks
of Teachers, Principals -
Teachers are less likely than administrators to
say their students can excel academically.
In an effort to gauge school climate, the Council
of Urban Boards of Education conducted a study of
4,700 teachers and 267 principals and assistant
principals in 12 school districts. It was
intended to complement a survey of students last
year. ("Reactions
to School Climate Vary by Students’ Races,"
April 5, 2006.) Nearly all the administrators
agreed that “students at this school are capable
of high achievement on standardized exams,” but
only three-quarters of the teachers concurred. Far
more teachers than administrators said that students
were not motivated to learn.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/04/04/31nsba.h26.html?
-
Discounts For Teachers
- TeachersDisCount, provides discounts exclusively
to teachers. This organization has partnered with
several companies to offer teachers discounts on
products and services both inside and outside the
classroom. The nonprofit site is part of a
larger organization called TeachersCount, which
aims to improve respect and recognition for educators.
Registration is free on TeachersDisCount, which
went live in 2001 and has 16,000 members. Teachers
can browse among 19 companies offering discounts,
ranging from school supplies to car rentals. The
discounts offered are from 5 percent to 25 percent.
http://www.teachersdiscount.biz/
FAITH FUELS HOME EDUCATION BOOM
Until the 1970s, homeschooling was more of a necessity than
a choice for American parents. It took place mostly in rural
areas, where schools could be long distances away and children
were needed to help out with the work at home. But after
the publication of several controversial books that criticized
institutional schooling, the modern homeschool movement
in the U.S. began, with thousands of suburban families joining
in. Still, it was not until recently that the numbers of
homeschoolers really exploded -- nearly doubling in the
last six years. The National Home Education Research Institute
(a pro-homeschool advocacy group) estimates that around
1.5 million children were educated at home in 2000, but
in 2006, the number was closer to 2.5 million. This increase
is due, in large part, to the rise of Christian homeschooling
-- parents' choosing to teach children at home from a Biblical
point of view. Now there is a vast and highly organized
network of Christian homeschooling advocacy groups, legal
advisers and curriculum material.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/6486813.stm
PRIVATE VS. PUBLIC: WHERE DO THEY
RANK?
March 15, 2007
Pioneer Press
This article quotes Dr. John Cooper who serves as the President
of ICNS Board.
The study, released this past summer, was conducted through
the National Center of Education Statistics, a part of the
U.S. Education Department. When comparing performance, the
study concluded, private schools scored better on tests
than public schools. But when taking into account student
characteristics, such as race, gender, disability, income
and whether students were English language learners, there
was no difference in performance between the two types of
schools. In all areas except one, eighth grade reading,
public schools did just as well or better than private schools
when taking student and school background into account.
Private and public school officials view the study from
very different perspectives.
"We think it said what we've said for a long time," Dave
Comerford, spokesman for the Illinois Federation of Teachers,
said. "When you make an accurate comparison, an apples to
apples comparison, when you compare students who are in
the same situations economically and take in other factors,
our public schools are working hard to do the job."
But the comparison is not quite apples to apples, said John
W. Cooper, president of the Illinois Coalition for Non-Public
Schools. For public schools that receive Title I federal
grant money, Cooper said, the performance of all the students
at the school get counted in the test comparison, not just
those who qualify for Title I. Not so for private schools.
"If we have 10 kids eligible for Title I, then our 10 kids
would be compared to the public school down the street,
which might have 40 percent of kids eligible, but 100 percent
of its kids get counted," Cooper said. "That skewed the
data." According to information from the U.S. Education
Department, if at least 40 percent of students in a school
are from low-income families, Title I money can be used
for school-wide programs. A re-study of the test data by
Harvard University researchers from the Kennedy School of
Government came up with opposite conclusions, Cooper said,
with private schools outperforming public schools in all
but one area. "With a more reasonable assumption about
the comparison of apples with apples, the same kinds of
students with the same kinds of students, they came up with
basically the opposite conclusion," Cooper said.
The IFT is aware of that study, Comerford said. "Really,
on the face of it, if you look at those who send their children
to private schools, you've certainly got active parents
who have made a choice to use their own finances to send
their child to private school, who are actively engaged,
whole-heartedly, in their child's education," Comerford
said. "Sometimes, that can make a difference."
Private schools also have admission standards, Cooper said,
whereas public schools must admit all students. But studies
over time show private schools add more to a student's education
than public schools, he said. "Most of those studies
point to the fact that a teaching core that is more likely
to be very dedicated to the mission of the school, that
seems to be one of the big differences between private and
public (schools)," Cooper said.
Public schools and their school boards should be encouraged
by the federal study, said James Russell, as spokesman for
the Illinois Association of School Boards. Studies such
as this one are conducted to either support or challenge
the status quo. "I don't know that the mission in
this one was to maybe challenge the status quo and to challenge
public schools," Russell said. "It may have been. We all
know the current administration, what their stand is, that
public schools have to be held to more accountable standards
than we have in the past." But public schools serve a purpose,
Russell said, and they are doing right by students.
"There isn't any one-size fits all school or policy," he
said. "What works in one town doesn't necessarily fit or
work in another town. That's what school boards are elected
to do, to figure that out."
Cooper said his organization believes the state is better
off with parents having a choice of schools to send their
children. More than 325,000 children statewide attend private
schools, he said, including home schools. "As an organization,
we're not trying to be a big adversary to public education,"
he said. "We've got a lot of colleagues and collegial relationships
with our fellow educators in the public sector and private
sector."
IDEA
WORKSHOP
On April 27, 2007, at St. Mary of the Angels in Chicago,
the Archdiocese of Chicago will be hosting a half-day seminar
on IDEA. Pamela Allen from the U.S. Department of Education
will be the main presenter. If you have questions or want
to attend, please call Katie Barry at 312-751-5220.
The
Illinois Senate will hold hearings this week on Governor
Rod Blagojevich's ambitious plans for health care, education
reform, and taxation. Senators will meet in committees next
Wednesday, April 18, their first day back after a two week
break.
The
Senate Revenue Committee and the Senate Education Committee
will meet in a joint hearing on April 18 to discuss amendment
#1 to SB 1 (Jones, E., D-Chicago). The amendment contains
the Governor's Gross Receipts Tax (GRT) proposal.
The
Senate Public Health Committee and the Senate Human Services
Committee will meet in a joint hearing on April 18 to discuss
amendment #1 to SB 5 (Trotter, D-Chicago). The amendment
contains the Governor's "Illinois Covered" universal health
insurance proposal.
The
Senate also has to consider Senate bills on the Senate floor
next week since the chamber did not complete its work before
its self-imposed deadline of March 30. The House of Representatives
will re-convene on Tuesday, April 17, to consider House
bills on the House floor.
Here is the status of a few bills, which
if passed, would have an impact upon our nonpublic schools.
House Bill 146 – Passed House Committee
and is now awaiting consideration of the full House. This
bill, also known as the Case of Students with Diabetes Act,
would impose significant mandates on all school in Illinois
serving students with diabetes. It would require public,
private and parochial schools to accept without input, a
medical management plan from the parents of a student with
diabetes. The school would then have to assign either school
nurse and a teacher or three teachers as aides to implement
the plan and provide diabetes care. Federal law requires
nonpublic schools receiving federal money to make “reasonable
accommodations” for students with diabetes and other ailments
or disabilities. This is something that exceeds that standard.
ICNS opposes this bill.
The following bills were approved by the House of Representatives
and will be sent to the Senate for consideration.
House Bill 1279
will require
schools to have Aids on site at all outdoor athletic
facilities (baseball diamonds, football fields, soccer fields,
etc.). It will require an AED to be housed in a building
that is within 300 feet of the outdoor athletic facility
where "an event or activity" is being conducted. If there
is no such building, the person responsible for supervising
the activity shall ensure that an AED is available during
the time of the event or activity.
House
Bill 895
– Also know as the Green Cleaning Act, this legislation
would require all schools, public and nonpublic with enrollments
over 50 students to purchase and use “Green cleaning supplies”
in lieu of their current cleaning supplies. The bill allows
schools to use up their current inventories and opt out
of the mandate by writing a letter citing increased costs.
ICNS opposes this bill.
House
Bill 1058-
This legislation opens the Department of Public Health matching
grant Heartsaver AED Fund to nonpublic schools as well as
public schools. The money can be used to purchase and maintain
AEDs.
House Bill 3624
- requires that each school bus display at the rear of the
bus a visible and readable sign, indicating the telephone
number of the owner of the school bus, and indicating that
the number is to be called to report erratic driving by
the school bus driver. The bus owner must establish procedures
for accepting these calls and for taking complaints.
The following bills were approved by the Senate and will
be sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.
Senate
Bill 143
– This legislation requires fingerprint criminal background
checks for recognized nonpublic schools employees hired
after July 1, 2007, that have regular, daily contact with
children. It also requires these employees to be checked
against the Illinois Sex Offender Management Database. ICNS
supports this bill.
Senate Bill 138
- This legislation allows a 50% tax credit, up to $500,
for non-reimbursed classroom expenses made by a teacher
in a school, including nonpublic school teachers.
Nonpublic School Assistance
- ICNS continues to work to ensure that any revenue enhancing
measure, which directs more money to education, includes
benefits to nonpublic schools and their families. Ideas
that have been presented to staff and legislators include
expanding the education expense tax credit and opening school
safety grant money to nonpublic schools. This work is not
currently tied to any specific legislation, as the appropriations
bills have not yet been introduced, but we remain engaged
and hope for positive results.
Preschool For All Children
-To those of you who serve or could serve at-risk populations,
there is a deadline of May 3, 2007 for next year’s Preschool
For All Children RFP. The Governor has proposed a
$70 million increase in funding for this initiative. The
website is:
http://www.isbe.state.il.us/earlychi/default.htm.
(Legislative
information received from Zach Wichmann, Associate Director
for Education, Catholic Conference of Illinois and Illinois
Statewide Management School Alliance).
CONTACT
US
If you have any questions,
comments or need information related to our efforts in supporting
nonpublic schools, feel free to communicate with us by sending
an e-mail to
ICNS
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