EDUCATION POLICY

Public education Education was historically a private responsibility (church-related schools, individual instruction) The first public school, first mandatory attendance requirements, and first public governance of schools in the US were all established in Massachusetts.

Public education South Carolina’s first free public schools were established in 1811. Public education is seen as a “commons problem”: everyone in society benefits from a well-educated population, and everyone is harmed by a poorly-educated population. Therefore, we have a shared responsibility to provide for it.

Alternatives to traditional public schools Charter schools: Publicly funded but not subject to school system regulations, can design their own programs and administrative procedures Charter schools were legalized in South Carolina in 1996. There are currently 39 operating in the state, serving 24,000 students. A new school district has been created for their administration. http://www.sccharter.org/

Alternatives to traditional public schools Magnet schools: Grouped by academic interest (arts, sciences, foreign languages, etc.); can this achieve integration without busing? Vouchers: State-funded grants which can be used for tuition at private schools (provides competition to public school systems, criticism is that voucher programs drain money from public schools)

Federal efforts at improving schools Elementary and Secondary Education Act (1965): First large-scale federal involvement in K-12 public education. Reauthorized in 2001 as No Child Left Behind Act. Title I: Directed primarily at disadvantaged children; 94% of US public schools receive funding under this program. SC received over $178 million in Title I funding in FY 2005. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (originally enacted 1975): Funding for special education and additional services as needed.

A Nation at Risk 1983 federal report called for strengthening the quality of American public education Higher educational standards More rigorous content Longer school day and school year Standardized testing to measure progress Increasing qualifications, salaries and opportunities for teachers Better identification of needs of special groups (gifted and talented, socioeconomically disadvantaged, disabled, etc.)

Federal and state funding Traditionally, K-12 education was entirely a state and local matter with no involvement from the federal government Today, only about 7% of K-12 funding is federal, but a disproportionate share of the regulations that public school systems deal with come from the federal government.

State and local funding Different states use different mixes of state and local funding. Hawaii funds its entire school system (one statewide district) with state funds, while New Hampshire schools get 81% of their funds from local sources (state vs. local tax revenues).

South Carolina schools Increased funding for black schools was suggested as a way of making “separate but equal” closer to actually equal, as a way of delaying/preventing desegregation Repeal of mandatory attendance laws during fight to keep schools segregated – children were not required to attend school from 1955 to 1967 Administrative consolidation in 1950’s – some schools had only one or two teachers, and some schools made up their own school districts; over 1200 districts reduced, now 82 Education Accountability Act (1998): Set assessment standards for student learning and progress (PASS test fulfills testing requirements for NCLB)

SC school funding Education Finance Act (1977): Guaranteed a larger share of state funding for poorer school districts while still relying on local property taxes as primary means of funding Education Improvement Act (1984): Increased the state sales tax by 1%, with funds dedicated to public education.

School funding South Carolina Education Lottery (2002): funding for both K-12 education and scholarships for technical schools, colleges and universities Only 26% of lottery income actually goes to education; most goes to administration, production expenses, and prize payouts. Act 388 (2006): Increased sales tax in return for eliminating property tax on owner-occupied home. Shifted more of the burden for school funding on state rather than local sources but has not addressed inequities.

SC school funding and district governance SC has 82 local school districts + special statewide districts (e.g., charter schools) Almost all districts are governed by elected school boards 23 school boards have the power to set their own tax rates for school funding 29 districts have legislative delegation or town meeting set tax rates 14 districts have County Council set tax rate 19 school districts have limited authority for their own budget and tax rates

Abbeville County vs. State of South Carolina 45 states have had lawsuits filed challenging school funding formulas on equity grounds. In 1993, 40 poorer and predominantly minority school districts sued the state of SC challenging the proportion of funds they receive (Abbeville was first alphabetically) 1999: SC Supreme Court ruled that there is a right under the state Constitution to a “minimally adequate” public education. 2003-2004: The trial depicted in Corridor of Shame took place.

Abbeville County vs. State of South Carolina 2005 (shortly after Corridor of Shame was released): The circuit court orders the state to invest more in early childhood education. 2008: The state Supreme Court is petitioned to rehear the case. 2012: The state Supreme Court rehears the case. November 2014: The state Supreme Court rules in favor of the plaintiff districts and orders that the General Assembly and school officials work together to solve the problem.

Abbeville County vs. State of South Carolina September 2015: The state Supreme Court orders the General Assembly to develop a plan by Feb. 1, 2016. The General Assembly asks the Court to reconsider the deadline. The House of Representatives has a task force in place. Nothing has actually happened.

SC School Funding, FY 2011 Source: South Carolinians for Responsible Government foundation Average annual per pupil expenditure: $11,372 Local $5254 State $4485 Federal $1633 Per capita state and federal funding levels are both higher in high-poverty districts Federal is $3320 in Hampton District 2 State is $9241 in Marion 7 Local ranges from $1593 in Dillon 2 (93% poverty rate) to $10,018 in Beaufort

More on school funding http://www.governing.com/gov-data/education-data/state-education-spending-per-pupil-data.html

South Carolina student performance http://www.clemson.edu/aophub/documents/SC-CTEq-vital-signs.pdf http://www.leadersandlaggards.org/report-card/south-carolina

No Child Left Behind Federal law enacted 2001, GW Bush Administration initiative SC received $274M in funding 2001-2005 Required state authorities to develop accountability standards and assessment mechanisms for learning and student progress Replaced in December 2015 with Every Student Succeeds Act

No Child Left Behind Schools had to demonstrate Adequate Yearly Progress among different subgroups of students (defined by race, poverty, ESL, disabilities, etc.) or receive escalating sanctions Up to 5% of each subgroup could be excluded from testing requirements

NCLB Sanctions Increasing sanctions on schools whose student subgroups don’t demonstrate AYP 1. After two years, school must develop “school improvement plan” and students must be able to transfer to another school within the district – but what if no school in the district demonstrates AYP (which happened in Chester County a few years ago)? 2. After three years, school is required to offer “supplemental educational services”

NCLB Sanctions 3. After four years, “corrective action” which may include staffing changes, curriculum reform, extension of school day or year 4. After five years, “restructuring” by turning into charter school, replacing staff, hiring outside management or turning it over to the state South Carolina took over the Allendale County School District from 1998 to 2007

Every Student Succeeds Act Retains testing requirements but gives states more flexibility in determining how, what, and when to test Schools at the bottom 5% of state assessment scores or high schools that graduate fewer than 2/3 of students, or schools where subgroups are consistently underperforming are considered failing schools, but the law does not require state takeover $24.9 Billion in federal spending authorized in 2016.

Common Core

Common Core Source: corestandards.org Developed by governors and state education department heads in 48 states, beginning in 2009 Standards in English and math from K to 12 Goal: Development of standards to make students ready for college and careers. 43 states have adopted these standards. (South Carolina reversed its decision to adopt Common Core and developed its own standards.) This is not a federal initiative, but the Obama Administration offered funding incentives for states to adopt the standards.

Sex education Studies consistently indicate that states with “abstinence-only” sex education programs have higher rates of teenage pregnancy than states with comprehensive programs (i.e., containing information about contraception, HIV prevention, etc.) As of 2012: 19 states require comprehensive sex education 37 states require that sex education programs include information on abstinence Of these, 26 states require that abstinence is taught as the main method of pregnancy prevention https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/05/07/texas-high-school-with-chlamydia-outbreak-has-abstinence-only-sex-ed/