It’s perfectly logical,’ said Dr Snyder. ‘It’s absolutely proved. You can’t lie.’ ‘But I can,’ said the Martian. ‘Work on the logic of that a while, Mack.”
― Fredric Brown, Martians, Go Home
"What's blood yapping about?" is a phrase my son frequently uses of late. It's a dismissive phrase usually directed towards adults preaching their priorities to him.
Since time began, a common complaint from 13-year-olds has been the endless "yapping" they must endure from adults - and some weeks, I'm right there with them.
This has been one of those weeks.
Monday morning, the Tennessee House dropped its amendment to a bill creating Education Freedom Accounts (014222). Governor Lee and the Senate introduced their version last week.
My Dad always taught me, nothing was free, but Governor Lee begs to differ.
He believes that a voucher system, and that's what we are really talking about here, will serve to free Tennessee students to partake of the previously forbidden fruits of private education. In pursuit of that noble goal, he's charged the Tennessee General Assembly with crafting legislation that will bring his dream to life.
Before we go down this road, let's reiterate that this is his dream. As far as I can tell, it's not one shared by a single professional educator in Tennessee. In fact, nearly every professional educator in the state is opposed to this vision. Including Homeschoolers who told legislators, “School choice does not create competition. There is no school choice when all of the choices are government-controlled,” Homeschool representative Tiffany Boyd said. “We do not want government money. We want the government out of our homes.”
The loudest pro-voices in the room belong to three people who have never been in front of a classroom and work for a woman who created a non-profit fueled by her hatred for public schools.
Best DeVos has never met a public school that was worthy of her support. She created the American Federation of Children and put Cory DeAngelis on the payroll to spread her message of public school distaste.
Writer Peter Greene recently explored the national school choice movement and had this to say about Cory and company:
"Educational dudebros like Rufo, Corey DeAngelis, and Ryan Walters are pretty abrasive and aggressive, sometimes in ways that might strike some of the old guard as unseemly. In the days of the earlier alliance, reformers caught on to the idea that belittling teachers and treating them as the enemy was not a useful way to get policies fruitfully implemented. Of course, one does not need to build lines of communication across a bridge if one's goal is to just burn the bridge down."
Locally we have two other "dudebros" in Tory Venable and Michael Lofti. Well, technically Venable doesn't qualify as a "dudebro" but she certainly has most of the qualities if not the sex. Venable is a longtime PR hack, while Lofti is just a hack. The two make up the leadership team for Americans for Prosperity (AFP)
AFP is promising to knock on 200k doors in targeted State House & Senate Districts across Tennessee to ensure voters know where their lawmakers stand on parents' rights & school choice.
Want to have some fun? If an AFP door knocker magically shows up at your door, ask them who they are supporting in the upcoming presidential election, then watch how fast they rush to change the subject.
Up until recently, AFP had been heavily investing in Nikki Haley's campaign. That would be the candidate not named Donald Trump,
Right, wrong, or indifferent...Tennessee is Trump country. Aligning with the other team doesn't seem like a winning strategy for anyone, but what do I know.
But back to the House bill dropped on Wednesday, unlike the Senate Bill (SB2787 (013336)), or Governor Lee's (014222), it has morphed into an education reform omnibus bill. Quite frankly, one with a lot of good things in it:
The bill sets requirements for eligibility, scholarship amounts, allowable uses of funds, evaluation of teachers/principals, standardized testing changes, and other education policies.
This bill mandates health insurance for Tennessee's instructional employees in local education agencies and public charter schools. It doesn't interfere with local boards or charter school governing bodies to approve contracts with insurance companies. The bill outlines cost-sharing options and coverage amounts.
It proposes reducing standardized testing, allowing alternative growth models, changing teacher evaluation procedures, and giving schools/districts more autonomy.
The bill would transition schools out of the state's Achievement School District, limit the placement of new schools in the ASD, and wind down the ASD by 2026.
Provisions are aimed at reducing the role of standardized tests in policies like school accountability labels, teacher evaluations, retention of students, and school performance goals/measures.
Outlines proposed changes to education law and policy across multiple areas: school choice/voucher programs, funding formulas, testing & accountability, teacher evaluations, support for struggling students, licensure requirements, and more.
Establishes a new Education Freedom Scholarship program providing vouchers for eligible students to attend private schools. Critical eligibility criteria and operational details are specified.
Funding levels would be increased for small and sparse school districts using different formulas.
State testing requirements would be reduced, exempting early grades and removing end-of-course exams. New testing schedules and subjects are outlined through high school.
Accountability systems and school ratings would be adjusted to align with changes to testing. Technical changes are made to incorporate adjustments.
Teacher evaluation models would be revised, including greater weighting of student growth measures and exemptions for high-performing teachers.
Requirements for RTI, grade promotion, licensure periods, instructional days, and the Achievement School District are adjusted or established.
New timelines for district improvement plans, innovation zones, and data inclusion windows impacting accountability are set.
Career readiness assessments could substitute for ACT retakes.
That's a lot of good in the amendment, that could benefit a lot of people. Give credit to the Republicans, they talked to a lot of people to address a lot of running issues, and then brought them to the table.
This is a smart strategy. If you are going to be forced to eat a shit sandwich, don't eat it dry, load it down with condiments.
Some may take exception to that characterization of the voucher bill, but let's keep it real - Lee served up a shit sandwich to the General assembly during an election year when they could least afford it. His proposed legislation was god-awful. and without some House secret sauce, wasn't going anywhere.
It still may not go anywhere, but at least House leadership has given it an honest attempt and included several things that would benefit Tennessee's students and teachers. These are real potential benefits, not the usual what-we-think-you-want variety.
Yesterday, the bill made its debut in the House K-12 subcommittee. After two and half hours of discussion, the bill advanced by a vote of 6-2, with 2 voting present.
Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood - Yes
Rep. Sam McKenzie, D-Knoxville - No
Rep. Bryan Richey, R-Maryville – Present
Rep. William Slater, R-Gallatin- Yes
Rep. Robert Stevens, R-Smyrna - Yes
Rep. Todd Warner, R-Chapel Hill - No
Rep. Chris Hurt, R-Crocket County- Present
Rep. Mark White, R-Germantown - Yes
Rep. Kirk Haston, R-Lobelville - Yes
Speaker Pro Tem Pat Marsh, R-Fayetteville - Yes
During the discussion preceding the vote, committee members questioned the cost of the bill, the lack of accountability, and the potential effect on traditional public schools. The conversation, from both supporters and critics of the bill, showed a general lack of understanding of how schools work. Especially the workings of private schools.
There seems to be this idea that private schools are this oasis where students show up and their learning is never measured. Student happiness and parent satisfaction are the sole benchmarks, That is just not an accurate portrayal.
Private schools take their own standardized test and the data is collected. It is just not shared with the Department of Education. The majority face accreditation requirements just like traditional schools.
In her testimony before the subcommittee, Commissioner Reynolds presented an argument that supported what I'm saying but also seemed to undermine both the role of public education and the existence of the Department of Education.
"Private schools administer tests. They administer tests frequently. And they administer tests for their parents to know their academic achievement." Said Reynolds, "With that said, the curriculum they have is different than the curriculum we have in our state. Because our public schools must adhere to the Tennessee state standards. Private schools have their own separate curriculum, While many of the curricula are similar, it's not necessary in the same scope and sequence. Public schools must teach these because they have to teach to Tennessee State Standards."
The Commissioner goes on to explain that public schools take referenced-based tests, while private schools take normed tests, so there isn't really a way to compare.
That's a little concerning because it sounds to me like an admission to the creation of two separate education systems. Furthermore, why are Tennessee taxpayers paying for the creation of Tennessee State Standards if the agency charged with enforcing those standards is going to champion an alternative system where those standards are not required.
Commissioner Reynolds makes $255K to lead the Department of Education which is charged with ensuring public schools are employing the necessary standards and practices to best serve Tennessee students, yet she doesn't feel those standards are essential. She promotes a school system that does not adhere to the policies written by the legislators, the State Board of Education, or her own department.
That's troubling. On so many levels.
Voucher policy critics continually try to define vouchers as being a means to cover all private school expenses. That's not entirely accurate. Private schools offer considerable amounts of financial aid. In some cases that proposed $7k could be the bridge that makes it all work. It is disingenuous to equate vouchers to seats. Vouchers offer the potential for a student to secure a seat at a private school, but that is not the same as offering a seat at a private or alternative school.
Important distinction.
During yesterday's committee hearing, Representative Sam McKenzie ((D-Knoxville) seized upon a portion of the proposed legislation that required any student-athlete awarded a voucher to sit out for a year. That is consistent with current policy. If an athlete transfers schools, they must sit a year. That's a policy I'd advocate for changing.
The way high school coaches move around, there is no guarantee that a program will remain consistent for the duration of a student-athlete's career. Yet that student has no option to explore other schools without sitting out for a year.
Case in point, Nashville's Antioch HS just hired the Head Coach at Overton to be their new head coach. That leaves a void at Overton, with players having few options unless they are willing to sit a year.
Still, that's a debate outside of the voucher bill.
Mckenzie also tried to paint a picture of the bill removing TCAP. Yes, it proposes to remove TCAP, but it also looks to replace the state's current standardized test with a shorter less high-stakes version. If that can be done, it's a huge deal.
Representative Bryan Richey (R-Maryville) per usual, raised eyebrows when he declared that he hadn't really had time to look at the bill.
"I had heard about the bill all the way back in October when the governor's office came and sat down — I'd heard this is what we're looking at doing," Richey said. "Very little of what I had heard is actually even in this bill."
“It must be nice that we have three of the members that sit on this committee that got to actually sit down and figure out what's in here,”
I'm 99% sure Ritchey received a pre-committee briefing, and I'm curious about what was in the Governor's thoughts and not in this bill.
Ritchey also stated that he'd checked with district superintendents in his area and none of them felt the enticements added were of any interest to them?
Really? None of them were interested in saving on benefits for teachers?
None were interested in reducing testing?
None were interested in doing away with the Achievement district?
None of them were interested in reducing teacher evaluations.
That's a little hard to believe. I can understand the argument that the enticements aren't enough, but lack of interest? That's a stretch.
This is also the brilliance of the Republican amendment. It separates the ideologues from those who are looking to craft the best policies. I'm not sure that this amendment does make vouchers palpable, but it does change the conversation.
Ritchy never seems to miss an opportunity to try and wrest away the title of most unpopular house member from the Justins.
I've argued the need to expand the definition of a public school. The world has changed so much in the last 30 years, and the idea that the public schools of today will look like they did 50 years ago is ludicrous. Everything in education is in a state of evolution.
Last night, my son and I had a long conversation about the value of schools. He argued that schools were preparing him to live in a world that wouldn't exist in 20 years. Technologies like PhotoMath and ChatGPT are changing how students learn. As he stated, they are only going to become bigger and more prevalent. Much as you might hate it, technology is not going to suddenly disappear.
Representative Todd Warner attempted to broach that conversation when he quoted the state's constitutional requirement to operate a free system of public school. The constitution requires a system but does not define what it has to look like.
“Any school that accepts public funding is — without doubt — a public school,” said Warner before asking Representative Mark White (R-Memphis) if he considered any private school that accepted public funds through the program a public school.
“Absolutely not,” was White's reply.
Free your mind, and your ass will follow.
Things took a turn for the absurd when Rep Warner called Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds to testify on the proposed bill, Reynolds, who seems loathe to go anywhere without a sidekick, brought former ExcelinED lobbyist and current TNDOE employee Jack Powers to the stand with her.
Former Commissioner Penny Schwinn was a walking train wreck, but she dared to take the stand and throw bullshit without a support animal. But then again, Schwinn knew enough to be dangerous, I'm not sure Reynolds does.
The commissioner continually reminds me of the student who fails an exam because they didn't study, but continually think they can pass tests without studying. They can't, and neither can she.
Reynolds lived up to her billing.
When questioned by Warner about the test results of participants in the state's current voucher program, Reynolds noted that only 53% of current voucher participants ever attended a Tennessee public school. Powers attempted to jump in to provide context to those numbers - 36.5% of participants were grandfathered in as they were eligible for the program before lawsuits challenging its constitutionality were filed, another 15.8% started kindergarten in a private school through the ESA program and a little over 1% had just moved in the state. Not sure the context helped.
The Commissioner refused repeatedly to publicly fully endorse the proposed amendment. Instead, she chose to dance around the subject.
Reynolds clung fast to the argument that parental satisfaction is the ultimate accountability tool for private schools. At one time the Texas resident said, "Students that are not achieving and who are not happy, or their parents are unhappy, are not flourishing in their public schools, and should have an opportunity to get an education elsewhere."
I wish in my younger years, someone would have let me know that my happiness carried that much weight.
Since the bill passed in subcommittee it now moves on. Neither critics nor supporters should make too much of that. This bill has a long way to passage, and in all likelihood make it to the House floor.
Even if it passes on the House floor, it still needs to make it through reconciliation with whatever the Senate passes.
This ride is only getting started.
As always, I need to rattle the cup a little bit before I head out the door.
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Adding to my list of quotable quotes: "Free your mind, and your ass will follow."