Voucher students likely to get less oversight

Tests and other oversight for voucher students will be less stringent than rules for public school students, officials predicted Monday.

The guidelines are being developed by state Superintendent John White, as required by a new state law.

The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, or BESE, is set to hold a special meeting at 11 a.m. July 24 to discuss the rules, which are due by Aug. 1.

But officials familiar with the issue said they are not expecting White to recommend voucher policies that mirror those governing public schools, including letter grades and high-stakes tests for fourth- and eighth-graders.

The rules requirement stems from a bill pushed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, and approved by the Legislature in April, that expands Louisiana’s voucher program statewide, not just in New Orleans.

Students who have attended schools rated C, D and F by the state, and who meet income requirements, can apply for state-funded vouchers to offset most costs to attend private and parochial schools.

Jindal and others contend the aid is one of several options for students trapped in failing public schools, especially with 44 percent of public schools rated D or F.

Opponents say vouchers will damage financially strapped public schools, and three public school groups have challenged the law in the 19th Judicial District Court.

Exactly what tests voucher students should have to take, and how those schools that house them will be held accountable, has been the subject of off-and-on debates for months.

Michael Falk, president of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents, has met with White in small groups of superintendents to discuss the issue.

He said Monday he does not expect White to require voucher students to face high-stakes tests, which means they have to pass them to move to the next grade.

Under current rules, fourth- and eighth-graders at public schools have to pass a skills test called LEAP to move to the next grade.

Falk said he thinks voucher students will be required to take state tests and those results will be reported to the state for inspection.

That generally mirrors the testing policy for the current voucher program, which is limited to about 2,300 students in New Orleans.

Falk, who is superintendent of the Central Community School District, said he also doubts that voucher schools will get annual school performance scores, which are linked to letter grades and which largely reflect how students fare on standardized tests.

Last month U. S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said private and parochial schools that accept voucher students should get letter grades from the state.

Critics contend that any such grade would be distorted, mostly because voucher students will make up a small percentage of any school’s population.

Brigitte Nieland, vice-president for workforce development and research at the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, said she does not expect voucher students will face high-stakes tests or that schools that accept them will be assigned letter grades.

Nieland said she would oppose both.

She said the rules should spell out goals for voucher schools, those schools should be subject to periodic reviews and be allowed to expand if they show progress.

If not, Nieland said, the school should be banned from accepting new students.

During Louisiana House debate on the voucher bill some lawmakers tried to add an amendment that would have required high-stakes tests and letter grades for voucher schools.

It failed 34-61.

The House approved an amendment that requires the state Department of Education — essentially White — to create an accountability system for voucher students and schools they attend by Aug. 1.

State Rep. Neil Abramson, D-New Orleans and sponsor of the amendment, said he offered the change so that education officials, not state lawmakers, would craft an oversight system.

“In terms of details of all that I thought it was best left to the experts, which is the Department of Education,” Abramson said.

He said any such guidelines should include consequences for failure to meet the state criteria.

White announced last week that 10,300 students have applied for 7,450 new and existing voucher slots.

The state has about 700,000 public school students attending about 1,300 public schools.

Comments

1) Comment by vicwill - 18/07/2012

Hey Miss Cotillion, every public school can boast that they have sent students to college who went on to be successful, and they weren't from magnet schools. Just because a school has a C, D, or F rating does not mean all of the teachers and students are horrible. In fact I don't know why C schools were included in this plan, but to boost the numbers of elgible students.You cannot justify taking public money and giving it to private schools and not holding those private schools to the same standard as the public schools. The whole thought process behind this plan is that the private schools are better than the public schools, so why would you not hold the schools that participate in the program to the same standard?

2) Comment by MissCotillion - 17/07/2012

I am well aware that public schools have to take all comers and cannot get rid of the troublemakers-they get shifted around from school to school, disrupting, punishing, and harming the students who are there to learn. The vouchers give the learners a way out. Private schools can toss troublemakers. And private schools can fire bad teachers, too. And I am well aware that this will leave EBR schools, outside of the magnet schools, as huge pools of unreachable, unteachable students, taught by good newbie teachers and really bad older ones. But you what? I don't care, as long as the ones who are there to learn get the chance at the magnets and private schools with the aid of vouchers. Let these kids go, taking their share of money with them, and learn in classrooms where their classmates are the same ages as them and not 16 years old in the 8th grade.

3) Comment by redstickhornet - 17/07/2012

I have 3 solutions ABayouBoy: 1. Govt. get out of the way of private enterprise and let businessmen and women in BR do what they do best: create more wealth, and earn profits. Private enterprise stop encouraging the blurring of lines between private and public enterprise, then complain about govt getting in anyone's way. 2. Let public entities and orgs. serve the public using the public funds voters approve at the polls. Require teachers in Louisiana to be highly educated (Master's degree or equivalent) and trained, then pay and evaluate them as PUBLIC SERVANTS. Hold school boards accountable for funding good safe, schools and closing down bad ones. 3. Let private religious and non-religious non-profit entities do their very important job. Private entities and schools should not compete for public money, but set their own mission, help who they see fit, and determine THEMSELVES when they have reached the goal. Private orgs best connect private benevolent persons with those truly in need. Do not pervert these organizations and schools by having govt. finance them or tell them if they are doing a good job. Private schools doing an excellent job should have communities of donors and prosperous alumni willing to reach into their pockets to fund scholarships for needy and deserving children. In short, let each segment of a healthy society co-exist and cooperate without suspicion, dubious comparisons, finger pointing, blame, race-baiting, class warfare, subterfuge, or expansions of the power of the State Dept. of Ed.!!!

4) Comment by Get Real - 17/07/2012

So the private schools get tax dollars but don't have to show accountability? So how will the parents know that the child is achieving?

5) Comment by 1ryben - 17/07/2012

@MissCotillion, your argument has a few flaws. Please understand that basing a comparison of schools with selective admissions to schools legally required to accept every student is not an accurate or fair comparison. The assumption that private, or selective admission schools must be better because they have higher scores is not true. They score higher because they choose the test takers. It's like fielding a sports team of all stars and saying their coaches, or program are better than the rec league team that accepts all comers. Which private schools have "high stakes" testing? Some may give a test, but what's at stake? Will students be held back a grade because of their performance on this ONE test? Will teachers be fired because of student performance on this ONE test? NO, that doesn't happen, it's not high stakes for them. Private/parochial teachers do join unions, for the same reason most public school teachers do...liability insurance. I know lots of teachers and NONE of them do it because it's a union job, that's a ridiculous accusation.

6) Comment by AnewKINDofFEELIN - 17/07/2012

The house of cards will crumble if these schools are required to test students. Privatization is going to ruin America.

7) Comment by timesright - 17/07/2012

MissCotillion, I see that you are one of many that are putting the blame for "failing" schools on the backs of teachers and the unions. How misinformed you are. Unions are NOT the cause of failing schools. Do you ever read anything that has been published based on research the relationship of poverty and academic success? As to the voucher guidelines, if the BESE meeting's outcome is that which many expect, too bad money from MFP will be taken by schools that will have no accountability. A shame!

8) Comment by spqr - 17/07/2012

What an insulting letter. Based on no teaching experience and a false knowledge of what you want to believe about public school teachers sold to you by the politicians. Less than 20% of public school teachers are in the union. Many private school teachers are from...hold your breath...public schools where they are recently retired. Your accusations are just dumb.

9) Comment by ABayouBoy - 17/07/2012

Parents who care about their children's education, and who can afford to send them to private schools generally instill the motivation in them to do better in school. And most private schools will spend more one on one time with the students because it is in the schools best interests to do so. A good reputation is good for any form of business. The EBRP school system does not offer incentives to the students, or for that matter, the parents or the teachers to properly motivate the kids to work hard at their studies and to make good grades. And, to be honest, its not really the school systems duty to motivate these kids - that should be done in the home. But, the vast majority of these problem kids, who are becoming the majority in public schools, are from broken homes, parents divorced, no supervision, as the single parent either works, or is out doing drugs, barhopping, or just plain old drunk. And then there are the ones who simply don't care. I know also that there are plenty of good teachers who work hard to do their jobs, in spite of having to carry the load of others who are tenured, but not very good at their jobs. The voucher program gives some of these kids a chance to improve and receive a better education that exists in the public school system. If you've got a better solution, let everyone know.

10) Comment by MissCotillion - 17/07/2012

Private and parochial schools give high stakes tests to their students, for example the ERB, which blows the LEAP test out of the water. They also graduate students from high school and send them to college where they are successful. Very different from most public schools in EBR. The magnet schools in EBR are the exception. Private and parochial teachers are non-union, and therefore much more accountable for their performance, and consider this- the teach because they are called to teach, not because they want a public union job. These children who are getting the vouchers are blessed and I am so happy for them.

11) Comment by Iamhopeful2 - 17/07/2012

“In terms of details of all that I thought it was best left to the experts, which is the Department of Education,” Abramson said. Mr. Abramson - Have you checked the credentials of our new state superintendent and many of his DOE staff? The "experts" are the highly qualified, certified and licensed educators in this state. You can bet that if Brigette Nieland opposes any policy, it will not survive. The whole question may be moot when the lawsuits are heard and determine the constitutionality of the voucher bill. According to one researcher, the U.S. Supreme Court requires that a voucher system offer sufficient options for non-sectarian schools. Here is the line-up in Louisiana as reported so far by the DOE: There are 30 Louisiana parishes that have participating schools. Of these, East Baton Rouge (2 of 17 schools), Jefferson (2 of 13), Orleans (1 of 22), Ouachita (1 of 6), and St. Landry (1 of 2) have schools that are not obviously – from the school name – religiously affiliated offering seats. In 25 parishes with participating schools, then, there is no non-sectarian choice for a voucher school. This voucher system is obviously directing taxpayer funding to religious schools.

12) Comment by warreni - 17/07/2012

Unsurprising. This is really a backdoor way for the administration to promote religious schools and dumb down science education for a new generation of Republican voters.

13) Comment by NewsReader - 17/07/2012

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14) Comment by Frustrated - 17/07/2012

No accountability for public money? What a joke.

15) Comment by spqr - 17/07/2012

So,we don't know if students accepting vouchers are really going to get a better education and, according to this article, we'll never know. A system of hypocrites...I'd still like to watch Neiland teach in the inner city schools for a week. We could put her on pay-per-view and then the Advocate can decide if she is worth a quote. Another "expert" not worth noting.