The Electronic Report is sent monthly to administrators of member schools in the Illinois Coalition of Non-Public Schools (ICNS). Its purpose 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.  Additional information may be obtained by following the hyperlinks that are imbedded throughout the Report.  Also, there is information available on the ICNS web site that can be of assistance to nonpublic school administrators.

 

DISCUSSION AROUND VOUCHERS

 

Vouchers in Black and White – “Wall Street Journal”, November 8, 2006

 

One frequent, and nasty, argument against school vouchers is that they will end up resegregating public schools. It's all the nastier because the truth is the opposite, as some new evidence shows.

 

The liberal Urban League has charged that school vouchers -- which go mostly to minority families -- would "subsidize segregation." And the theme has been picked up by no less than Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who according to Newsday explained her opposition to school choice this way to liberal activists in the Bronx earlier this year: "First family that comes and says 'I want to send my daughter to St. Peter's Roman Catholic School,' and you say, 'Great, wonderful school, here's your voucher.' Next parent that comes and says, 'I want to send my child to the school of the Church of the White Supremacist . . .'"

 

Yes, she really said that. We doubt many inner-city black and Latino families that benefit from vouchers are demanding that their kids attend white supremacy schools, even if there were such schools. Come to think of it, what specific schools is Mrs. Clinton referring to? She and her husband of course sent their daughter to one of Washington, D.C.'s most elite, and mostly white, private schools.

 

She can't mean the schools in Milwaukee and Cleveland, where a new study by Greg Forster of the Milton and Rose Friedman Foundation finds that vouchers have allowed students to move to more racially integrated private schools. The Friedman Foundation favors school choice, but its data here seem unassailable and the Foundation is challenging anyone to refute it. The study finds that in 2003 private voucher schools in Milwaukee were 13% more racially diverse, and the Cleveland voucher schools 18% more diverse, than their public school counterparts.

 

America's inner-city public schools remain highly segregated primarily because the neighborhoods and school districts are themselves divided by race or ethnicity. The public urban schools, Mr. Forster finds, tend to "reproduce the segregation that arises from housing patterns." Vouchers increase racial mixing in schools, the study concludes, because "they break down geographic barriers, drawing together students across neighborhood boundaries in a way the government school monopoly cannot match even when it tries to do so."

 

In the 50 years since Brown v. Board of Education, educators have thought that if they could integrate the schools, even using such detested strategies as forced busing, school quality would improve. It hasn't. School vouchers give inner-city and other kids a chance to escape failing public schools, and it's a nice bonus to know that this choice will produce classrooms that, to borrow a famous phrase, look like America.

 

Broad Voucher Plan Is Approved in Utah
 
The Utah State Legislature approved one of the broadest school voucher programs in the nation, allotting up to $3,000 for any public school student to put toward private school tuition. Voucher programs in the handful of other states that have them are generally intended for poor families or students attending schools that have poor academic records. There will be no such restrictions in Utah, which has the largest class sizes in the country and until now has spent less per student than any other state.  The Senate approved the bill 19 to 10, and  the House endorsed it by a single vote, 38 to 37. Both chambers are controlled by Republicans. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., a Republican whose children attend public schools, signed the voucher bill without fanfare or a public announcement on Monday of this week..

 

The vouchers will be open to all of the state’s 512,000 public school students. The amount will depend on family income, but even wealthy families would be eligible for at least $500 per child.

 

ENERGY GRANT OPPORTUNITY FOR CHICAGO AREA SCHOOLS

 

BP is sponsoring A+ For Energy, a $1 million grant and scholarship program in the greater Chicago area.  The program has been in existence, with great success, in California and Texas for several years.  It awards teachers cash grants of $5,000 and $10,000, scholarships and materials to implement innovative projects to teach children about energy, energy conservation and alternative energy.  The program is open to all public and private preK through High School educators in Cook, DuPage, Will, Lake, McHenry, Kane and Kendall counties.  Applications, an energy education resource library and samples of winning project summaries are available online at www.aplusforenergy.com.  Printed applications were also mailed to all eligible schools in late January.  As part of the program, BP is also offering free Grant Writing Workshops for educators interested in learning how to write effective grant proposals.  These workshops are being held across greater Chicago from January 23 though March 6.  To review the schedule and register online go to www.aplusforenergy.com and click on the “Eligible Locations and Workshop Information” link or go to www.regonline.com/chicagograntworkshops.

 

NCLB PLAN AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS

 

The U.S. Department of Education has unveiled key components of the Bush Administration’s plan to improve the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which is up for reauthorization this year. Several pieces of the plan relate to nonpublic schools.

Promise Scholarships: Parents of children in public schools that go into restructuring status would be offered Promise Scholarships, worth approximately $4,000, to allow students to attend a private school or an out-of-district public school. According to a USDE briefing document, students using the scholarships to attend a private school would “take their state’s assessment or a standard national assessment in the same grades and subjects assessed in their original school.”

Opportunity Scholarships: The federal government would establish a competitive grant program to enable willing local communities to provide Opportunity Scholarships, similar to those offered in the D.C. choice program currently funded by the federal government. Low-income families whose children are assigned to schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring could use the scholarships to attend private schools.

Flexibility in the Use of Federal Funds: School districts would be given greater latitude to transfer funds from one federal education program to another. What’s more, “the transferability provisions will be revised to make it easier for local education agencies (LEAs), in consultation with private schools, to consolidate and transfer funds reserved for private school students and teachers.”

Equitable Services to Private School Students and Teachers: The USDE briefing document describes the equitable services proposal this way: “At-risk students should have access to academic services regardless of where they attend school. We propose extending the longstanding requirements for equitable participation by private school students and teachers to new programs and initiatives where appropriate, as well as to existing programs such as Striving Readers and Troops-to-Teachers. Service providers affiliated with a religious organization should not be restricted from providing services so long as those services are secular, neutral and non-ideological, as required under NCLB. Additionally, we support greater private school flexibility in the use of federal funds and improved communication between private and public schools.”

 

The Board of the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) has approved an issue paper on the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act.  The paper is available as follows: http://www.capenet.org/pubpol.html

 

The issue paper deals with a rather narrow and largely technical set  of issues that, as stated in the section labeled "Objective," are  intended "to secure improvements in services to private school students and teachers in certain programs authorized by the No Child  Left Behind Act (NCLB)."  Note that this issue paper is not intended  to be an assessment by CAPE of the worth of NCLB as an instrument for  educational reform in our country.  Nor does it address the Bush  Administration's NCLB proposal to provide school choice to students trapped in failing public schools.  Instead, the CAPE issue paper focuses on ways to tweak the present law to enhance the opportunity for the equitable participation of private school students and teachers in federal education programs. 

 

ILLINOIS LEGISLATIVE NEWS

 

The legislature began its work in the new 95^th General Assembly last week, though much of the work revolved around organizing committees. The newly refurbished chambers of the House of Representatives was open for the first time, but little time was spent on the floor. There have already been over 800 bills introduced. The deadline for bill introduction in the Senate was February 9. The House has until February 27 to introduce bills. Committee assignments had not yet been made when legislators arrived in the Capitol. In fact, in the House, members were alerted that they sat on a committee about an hour before the committee was to convene. A full list of Senate committee assignments is still not yet available.

The House returns to the Capitol this week for a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday work week. The Senate doesn't return until February 21.

Facing the reality of the political nature of the 95^th General Assembly, do not look for passage of a voucher bill. However, there are identified priorities that if passed could provide significant help to both nonpublic schools and their families.

 

EDUCATION EXPENSE TAX CREDIT -The Illinois Education Expense Tax Credit provides the ability for parents to take a $500 tax credit on their Illinois Individual Income Tax Return for qualified education expenses. The following improvements of the tax credit will be advocated for by ICNS:

   -- The tax credit should be made refundable to assist low-income families. 

   -- The percentage of eligible expenses should be increased. 

   -- The capped amount of the tax credit should be raised from $500 to $750. 

 

SCHOOL SAFETY AND EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENT BLOCK GRANT – Every year, there are new unfunded mandates on nonpublic schools in an effort to enhance the safety and health of students. None of these state mandates are funded by the state. This should change by opening the School Safety and Education Improvement Block Grant, which funds many of these mandates in public schools, to nonpublic schools.

 

TEXTBOOK LOAN PROGRAM - The Illinois Textbook Loan Program was authorized in 1975 legislation.  Its purpose is to provide textbooks, textbook substitutes, and since 1996, instructional computer software to public and nonpublic students grades K-12.  Unfortunately, the program’s funding is part of the annual appropriations process and has varied from year to year; it has never been sufficient to cover all Illinois pupils' textbook needs for K-12. It would be helpful if the funding for this program be increased to serve more grades per year (decreasing from a three year to two year cycle) and to raise the per pupil dollar amount, currently around $35 a pupil.

 

OTHER LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

 

FINGERPRINT BASED BACKGROUND CHECKS - Soon legislation will be introduced to require fingerprint based background checks for people hired to work in nonpublic schools after July 1, 2007. 

MORE TO COME ON FOOD SERVICE RULES - In the food service/junk food rules that were adopted by the Illinois State Board of Education last fall, it states that the ISBE shall initiate a revision to the food and beverage standards that respond to the Illinois School Wellness Policy Task Force’s report on statewide nutrition standards. This report has been submitted to the ISBE and is now under consideration by the board.

As was expected, the task force would like to go much further in the area of school food service restrictions than even the ISBE rules. The task force recommends that:
·    All Illinois schools be impacted
·    Nutrition standards be expanded to food and beverages sold to high school students
·    All carbonated beverages be eliminated in all schools (including high schools)
·    Implementation will occur no later than the first day of school after July 1, 2009

The task force standards differentiate between students in pre-k through 5th grade versus those students in grades 6-12. So the calorie intake for the 6th grader is the same as that for the senior in high school. However, a 5th grader would be limited to 4 ounces of 100% juice while the 6th grader would be allowed 12 ounces (also, a 5th grader cannot eat a yogurt "smoothie" but a 6th grader can).

It is not clear when the ISBE will be making its decision on the task force proposal. Usually a hearing is held before the board prepares its rule proposal for submission to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR). You will be updated as information is received on the status of the proposed standards. As noble as the cause, one may wonder if the State Board of Education is overstepping their bounds by establishing school cafeteria menus from Springfield.

 

(Legislative information received from Zach Wichmann, Associate Director for Education, Catholic Conference of Illinois and Illinois Statewide Management School Alliance).

 

EDUCATION IN THE NEWS

 

• DESIDERATA: AN AGELESS MESSAGE ON EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP -Max Ehrmann’s prose-poem "Desiderata," composed in 1927, is considered an inspirational commentary on leading a happy life. Education leaders also can be guided by Ehrmann’s words as they go through the process of developing exemplary leadership skills. Few people go into educational administration striving to be anything less than competent. And while the main ingredients of exemplary leadership are similar -- desire, skill and experience -- these ingredients must be augmented by the belief that leadership is an evolving process, just like life itself. We always can do something a little bit better in order to achieve our goals, whether that’s exemplary leadership, better health or a happier life, writes Karen Dyer of the Center for Creative Leadership. http://www.aasa.org/publications/saarticledetail.cfm?ItemNumber=7566&snItemNumber=950
• SMALL CLASSROOMS MOST IMPORTANT IN EARLY GRADES - Research shows that small classrooms are beneficial during a child's earliest school years, reports Clarke Canfield for the Associated Press. But there is little evidence that shows a correlation between class size and student achievement beyond the third grade, education researchers say. Deciding where to spend limited education resources can be tricky, said Brian Stecher, a senior social scientist at the nonprofit Rand Corp. in Santa Monica, Calif. There aren't any studies comparing the benefits of a dollar spent on teachers to a dollar spent on computers or a dollar spent on scholarships. Still, nobody wants to see their children's classrooms get bigger, he said. "Parents and teachers are almost universally in support of reducing class size if possible," he said. http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2007/02/04/small_classrooms_most_important_in_early_grades/
• NEVER MIND THE DOOMSAYERS; U.S. SCHOOLS ARE DOING FINE - The usual hand-wringing accompanied the U.S. Department of Education's release late last year of statistics on how U.S. students performed on international tests. How will the United States compete in the global economy, went the lament, when our students lag behind the likes of Singapore and Hong Kong in math and science? American fourth-graders ranked 12th in the world on one international math test, and eighth-graders were 14th. Is this further evidence of the failure of the nation's schools? Not exactly, says the editors of The Washington Post. In fact, a closer look at how our kids perform against the international "competition" suggests that this story line may contain more than a few myths: (1) "U.S. students rate poorly compared with those in the rest of the world." This is true only if you cherry-pick the results; (2) "U.S. students are falling behind." Actually, American students are mostly improving, or at worst holding their own; (3) "U.S. students won't be well prepared for the modern work force." This myth has been bandied around since at least the turn of the 19th century by business leaders who blame schools for inadequately preparing workers; and (4) "Bad schooling has undermined America's competitiveness." The U.S. economy has grown "faster than any other advanced economy" over the past two decades. A dynamic economy is much more than the sum of its test scores. It's part of a culture that rewards innovation and risk-taking, and values unconventional problem-solving.  http://www.sptimes.com/2007/01/24/Opinion/Never_mind_the_doomsa.shtml
• DOES SCHOOL CHOICE INCREASE PARENT INVOLVEMENT? - Choice proponents argue that allowing parents to choose schools that match their preferences reduces local conflicts and encourages effective school management practices. As a result, parents are more willing to participate in school activities. A new paper by Jack Buckley uses data from the National Household Education Survey (NHES) to compare parent involvement in four types of schools: assigned public, chosen public, non-religious private, and religious private. Descriptive statistics suggest that attendance at school meetings and events and participation in volunteering and fundraising is greater in schools of choice. However, more advanced statistical methods that control for family background characteristics produce different outcomes. Public schools of choice appear to have no effect on parent attendance at school meetings and events, but provide a substantial boost to parent volunteering. Private secular schools show a decline in parent attendance at school events, but an increase in parent volunteering. Most interesting, private religious schools are found to decrease parent involvement across all measures. http://www.ncspe.org/publications_files/OP133.pdf

QUOTE

"We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character -- that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate. The broad education will, therefore, transmit to one not only the accumulated knowledge of the race but also the accumulated experience of social living." Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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