US Government Mrs. Lacks ON THE ISSUES: EDUCATION

State Issue Each state has a DOE (Dept of Education) Sets up and maintains public schools based on population 2268 public schools in VA Creates and issues curriculum for all required classes rsion/stds_va_usgov.pdf rsion/stds_va_usgov.pdf Sets requirements for teacher licensure Decides how funds are distributed - ble14.pdf ble14.pdf

State Issue Employs certified people on all levels (custodians, bus drivers, aides, teachers, data techs, principals, superintendents, etc.) Establishes pay and benefits scales (by county/city) f (teacher salaries) f Reports all data to the general public ble05.pdf (graduation rates by county/city) ble05.pdf School report cards (Accomack Co) (Northampton Co)

Education is expensive! Northampton Co (2011 – 2012) State Per Pupil Amount: $ 5,032 Federal Per Pupil Amount: $ 1,885 Local Per Pupil Amount: $ 4,874 Total Per Pupil Amount: $11,792

Federal Government Intervention Federally mandated education programs IDEA (disabilities) Safe & Drug Free Schools Act Perkins Career & Technical Education Act

National Defense Education Act (NDEA) 1958 Law to push the teaching of math and science Influenced by launch of Sputnik in 1957

Elementary & Secondary Education Act (ESEA) 1965 – part of LBJ’s War on Poverty Funds primary and secondary education, while forbidding the implementation of a national curriculum Pushes equal access to education Aims to shorten achievement gaps without lowering standards Provides $ for professional development, instructional materials, educational programs, etc.

Title IX (Education Act of 1972) “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) NCLB is the 2001 bipartisan law intended to improve K-12 schools, under the theory of standards-based education reform. States are required to establish standardized testing, so that all high school graduates meet the test criteria. States are also required to give options (school choice) to students who attend schools that fail to meet NCLB's Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) Accomack Co – All schools made AYP EXCEPT Kegotank, Metompkin, & Puncoteague elementary schools (2010) Northampton Co – no schools made AYP (2011 – 2012)

No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) The controversy over NCLB currently focuses on funding: Opponents of NCLB argue that states are provided inadequate federal funding for implementation of NCLB, and that therefore NCLB represents an "unfunded mandate" on states. Proponents of NCLB argue that the law provides accountability for schools; fights against incompetent teachers; and provides alternatives to failing schools. Progress is measured in the federal National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), commonly knows as the "Nation's Report Card.“National Assessment of Educational Progress

School Choice Public (publicly funded & run) Private (privately funded & run, tax discount) Parochial (privately funded & run) Charter (publicly funded, publicly controlled, privately run) Home

Vouchers ‘Vouchers’ are a means of implementing school choice -- parents are given a ‘voucher’ by the school district, which entitles them to use money for private school tuition. The value of the voucher is generally lower than the cost of one year of public education (which averages $5,200), so private schools (where tuition averages $8,500) may require cash payment in addition to the voucher.

K – 12 Education Stats (national) Total spending is over $600 billion, (7% federal; the rest split state & local) rising by 5% per year. Student population is 50 million, rising slowly (1 million per year) since % attend public schools; about 6 million attend private & parochial schools. Over 95% of classrooms in the US have Internet access

Higher Ed Stats 66% of high school students enroll at 4-year colleges; 57% graduate college in 4 yrs. Race strongly determines the percentage enrolling at college Socioeconomic status even more strongly determines percentage enrolling at college (19% from the poorest ¼ of families vs. 70% from the richest ¼ of families).