It’s a hot topic today among school administrators, parents and parents-to be, and Missouri politicians. The issue of open enrollment is in the limelight for the second time in as many years, with a current proposal in the form of Senate Bill 603 on the table. The bill is sponsored by Dexter’s Sen. Rob Mayer.

While Mayer is on an active campaign to “clarify the misinformation circulating about the proposed changes to Missouri law” regarding the bill with his name attached, Dexter Supt. Dr. Ken Jackson openly discussed his opposition to the proposal during a recent meeting with the local Board of Education and during a private interview to discuss the proposal.

By definition, SB 603 “creates procedures for open enrollment of public school students across school district boundary lines starting July 1, 2011, if enacted.”

The proposed legislation, Mayer says, “requires the child’s parent or guardian to notify both the home district and the receiving district by Jan. 15 of the preceding school year about the change in enrollment.”

Mayer says of the bill, “I think this bill solves the issues I have seen all too often, such as parents driving out of their way because of erratic district lines or frustration with academic policies.”

According to Mayer, who currently chairs the Appropriations Committee, the bill would require each school district to adopt a policy that outlines what each district determines to be the appropriate class size and teacher-to-student ratios for every grade level, and no school district is required to admit any student if that ratio has been met or exceeded.

“Every denial and transfer allowed would be documented, and if a school is meeting its student-to-teacher ratio, they can opt out of the program,” Mayer says.

The senator from Dexter sees this aspect of the bill as having caused considerable misunderstanding, and in an effort to rectify that, he states, “This bill would not create overcrowded classrooms, or cause any extra burden to any teacher. Every teacher would know the maximum number of children they would have in their classroom, and it would be based on that school district’s policy.”

Many stories on this bill have included quotes from elected officials and educators who fear that overcrowding/loss of student population would be a result of SB603, which is simply not the case. A school will determine their own range of open enrollment transfers. Right now, there is no functioning mechanism for parents to transfer their child to another district, and so the parents and students bear the hardship of outdated boundary lines and a virtually impenetrable transfer policy.

Mayer goes on to illustrate:

“We have over five-hundred school districts in our state. Some are sitting at half-capacity. Some have lost their accreditation. We have children minutes from a neighboring district’s school riding on buses for hours due to archaic district boundary lines. I sponsored this bill because I believe that it will benefit Missouri youth, period.”

Mayer also addresses the sticky wicket of athletics, which some fear would cause open enrollment to be abused:

With open enrollment comes the issue of athletics as well, and Mayer defends the bill with regard to athletic transfers, stating, “The Missouri State High School Activities Association will continue to govern athletics, and students who transfer will have to sit out a year, as they currently do.”

To conclude the article, Mayer rounds up the last of the misinformation:

Regarding the funding issue, Mayer says, “If a student moves from a greater per-pupil funding school to a school that receives less per-pupil funding, some of that funding will travel with the student. If the roles are reversed, then the parents would be required to make up a portion of that difference.”

Mayer says that pupil movement in states currently operating with open enrollment average about 4.7 percent of students utilizing the opportunity to transfer school districts, and he considers that to be “certainly manageable”.

Referring to that percentage, [Dexter Supt. Dr. Ken] Jackson counters, “To pass legislation that is critical to only five percent of students across Missouri right now, well, I just don’t understand the thinking behind this kind of proposal in today’s crucial school economy.”

Jackson also has concerns regarding survival of the smaller, rural school districts and whether they can survive the potential problems that open enrollment may pose.

“I’m not so sure that unforced consolidation is in the back of some people’s minds in this proposal,” he says. “It’s a complicated topic with a lot more to address than where kids want to go to school.”

In somewhat of a surprise announcement late Friday, Mayer said that a provision to the open enrollment bill being considered that will grant each school an option to participate or not participate in open enrollment within their district.

The first reading of the bill was heard in the Senate by Mayer on Jan. 6, 2010. A second reading was heard on Jan. 13, and the bill was then referred to the Education Committee. It was heard in the Education Committee on Feb. 10. A passing vote would send the measure to the full Senate for debate.

The criticism that this bill will cause unmanageable overcrowding AND should not be passed because it applies to a mere 5% of the students population is just plain silly. Why should even a few students languish if we can pass a bill to allow transfer between public school districts? It is not a scary idea, as some have made it out to be. Many children are thriving because of the opportunity to go to a different school, whether because it was closer, had a special education program they would benefit from, or simply because it was an environment that helped them learn. We should not be so protective of the status quo that we sacrifice the legitimate needs of the students we are bound to serve.

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Open Enrollment Top Reform Issue as Legislature Returns

The item earning the most attention at the beginning of the session is the issue of open enrollment.  Open enrollment is a policy that allows students to transfer to a school in a district outside of where the student lives, so long as the receiving district has the capacity for the student.  This policy could be beneficial to parents seeking to move their child from a failing school district to a higher performing one.  Many parents are also frustrated by being assigned to a school based on zone boundaries, often decades old, when they have a school in another district much closer to their home.

The Joint Committee on Education conducted a study on the issue in the interim session, hearing from parents and advocacy groups who were in favor of open enrollment and school administrators and teacher union representatives who were opposed.  The main opposition was over one of the four areas of special education, transportation, funding and planning for capacity.  But, the study released by the committee shows that almost all 14 states studied have policies that deal with these topics.  These topics are also covered in the first bill filed in the 2010 session on open enrollment, Senate Bill 603, by Senator Rob Meyer.  The bill was referred to the Senate Education Committee but has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.

The Children’s Education Council has previously discussed how open enrollment can benefit special needs students.  In addition to being able to move their child to a district with better services, the parent would also be able to find a district that practices policies that a parent believes is best for their child.  For example, I had a conversation recently with the organizer of an anti- seclusion website in Missouri, and she was very interested in open enrollment.  She explained that she pulled her autistic child out of her zone district and is now homeschooling due to the district’s policies on seclusion and restraint.  She also cited Missouri as being one of the few states that still allows districts to use corporal punishment on students.  She would like to take part in this policy so she could look for a public school district close to her who has better policies on these issues.

The Missouri Education Reform Council (MERC) has taken the lead on this issue and has received a great deal of media attention around the state. MERC is a group of former school superintendents and administrators who support education reform.  The Children’s Education Council will continue to support MERC and the passage of open enrollment during the 2010 session.

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Open Enrollment Top Reform Issue as Legislature Returns

Joe Knodell, a former school superintendent and coordinator for MERC, said the potential benefits of helping students do better in school is too great not to try.  Knodell said competition between schools can prompt improvement.

MERC is quoted in:

Kansas City Star – (Newspaper + Website)
School choice movement pushes for open enrollment in Missouri – 1/3/210

Columbia Missourian – (Newspaper + Website)
Missouri considers parental choice for school districts - 1/4/10

Education Week – (Magazine Website)
Missouri considers parental choice for school districts – 1/4/10

Product Design and Development – (Magazine Website)
Missouri considers parental choice for school districts – 1/4/10

Southeast Missourian – (Newspaper + Website)
Missouri considers parental choice for school districts – 1/4/10

St. Joseph News-Press  – (Newspaper + Website)
Missouri considers parental choice for school districts – 1/5/10

CronWatch – (Online News Forum)
Missouri legislature to consider parental choice for school districts – 1/4/10

Jefferson City News-Tribune – (Newspaper + Website)
State considers parental choice for schools – 1/5/10

Springfield News-Leader – (Newspaper + Website)
Kids’ hour-long school ride leads mother to action – 1/5/10

Columbia Daily-Tribune – (Newspaper + Website)
State education panel eyes open enrollment - 1/5/10

Three Rivers Publishing – (Newspaper + Website)
School choice should be for good education - 1/7/10

Examiner.com – (Online New Site)
Mo. considers parental choice for school districts - 1/4/10

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Abundant Missouri Edcuation Reform Council Coverage Already in 2010

Missouri has the opportunity to compete for unprecedented grants through Race to the Top: these grants would be a way to implement and experiment with education reforms. One thing the Department of Education could consider is merit pay to encourage math majors to enter teaching. So many would-be teachers are turned off by the tenure track that doesn’t compensate them by merit like the private sector would.

We are desperately in need of new, high-quality teachers, and we know that there is money available for the express purpose of offering merit pay to encourage and keep good teachers. Missouri can’t hesitate to pay our good teachers for the excellent work they do.

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Science and Math education gets boost

I don’t if this offers any lessons or tools for Missouri rural schools that often struggle providing a high level of infrastructure or relatively few students, but it was a striking portrait of a truly passionate and masterful teacher, and how far the value of a good teacher can stretch: certainly worth a watch. Pop some popcorn and get involved in the classroom of Georges Lopez!

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FROM MERC BLOG:
Sen. Mayer responds to misinformation on Open Enrollment bill

The following is an op-ed about education reform from Joe Knodell, a retired Missouri superintendent and consultant for the Missouri Education Reform Roundtable Foundation.

The 2009 legislative session hopefully marked the start of bringing real education reform to the state of Missouri. Key legislators seem to realize that Missouri must move forward on school reform so that our students can compete with those from other states and countries. For example, in the field of information technology, we do not have enough graduates to fill all of the positions available. As a result, a large number of immigrants from the Far East are filling them.

Indeed, many high-tech, high-paying jobs are going to people from other countries who are well educated and ready to live the American dream.

Education Week just published a story noting that Missouri is one of only four states that has not signed on to adopt rigorous standards in math and language arts. These standards were recommended by the National Governors Conference and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Hopefully, Missouri will sign on soon. There media has well-documented other examples of how we trail other states and countries. That probably explains why the Missouri Legislature is seriously considering some reasonable reforms.

The best indicator that the legislature is ready to act was the passage in the last session of Senate Bill 291. Among other things the bill calls for a study on open enrollment by the Joint Committee on Education. SB 291 also included measures involving charter schools, teaching standards, transparency, virtual schools and a parent’s bill of right. All should move us in the right direction.

Sen. Rob Mayer of Dexter, introduced a bill on open enrollment that received a considerable amount of support in the Senate. But senators decided to study the matter first and reconsider the matter next year. Sen. Mayer, who is chairman of the Senate Education Committee, should be commended for his forward thinking.

We live in a world where kids know more about technology than most adults and many teachers. We cannot continue to educate children the way we were educated years ago. We must use the technology that is available and encourage talented people to become teachers. A well educated workforce is the key to prosperity. Kudos to our legislators who grasp this fact.

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Missouri Education Reform Omnibus Bill Signed Into Law

Parents would be able to send their children to neighboring public schools under a bill filed in the Missouri General Assembly this year.

Under current state law, families are prohibited from choosing certain public schools – even ones close to their homes – because of outdated boundary lines and strict enrollment policies. Bills now being considered in the House and Senate would allow public school students to attend a school in a different district under certain conditions.

Those pieces of legislation are highlighted in a video being released today by the Missouri Education Reform Council. In the video, a lawmaker, former superintendent and a parent tout the benefits of open enrollment, which would ultimately foster parental involvement and boost performance of public schools by creating competition.

“We think competition is a good thing because in business and even in higher education, we see competition and it creates for a better school experience, better school systems,” said Senate Education Committee Chair Rob Mayer, a Republican from Dexter.

The legislation also targets the fact that neighboring schools are not only closer for some families, they also might perform as well or better than in-district schools.

For instance, children now attending New Madrid School within the New Madrid County school district have little choice if that school does not best fit their academic needs. Currently, those families can choose to transfer to Lilbourn Elementary, which is the closest school in the district’s boundaries despite being 12.6 miles away, but New Madrid Elementary children can’t attend Portageville Elementary, just 5 miles away, because it’s not in the same district.

Portageville Elementary outscores both Lilbourn and New Madrid on Missouri Assessment Program test scores. Last year, 25.2 percent of Lilbourn fourth graders were at grade level or above in communication arts, significantly less than the 60.7 percent of Portageville Elementary fourth graders scoring proficient or advanced. And 62 percent of Lilbourn fourth-grade students were proficient or above in math, compared to 68.9 percent of fourth graders at Portageville Elementary.

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The mission of Missouri Education Roundtable Council (MERRF) is to promote improvment in Missouri’s K-12 educational system, including increaseing performance, accountability and transparency.

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Shortsightedness from opponents of Open Enrollment