Amending the Ed Reform Bill So That Our Schools and Students Are On an Even Playing Field
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After midnight last night we passed “An Act Relative to the Achievement Gap.” This bill, though not perfect, will help to transform our lowest performing schools. In the coming days I’ll have more to say about the bill as it moves to conference committee and then into law. I wanted to take a quick second today to tell you about an amendment I filed, which was adopted, that will give all of our students a better future.
Over the last decade, charter schools have been able to implement innovative learning techniques and put up impressive test scores. However, what we’ve been hearing in the legislature over the last several months, is that not all of our children are being educated. Whether this is completely true or not is tough to judge fully. My amendment, however, will go a long way to ensuring that charter schools redouble their efforts to teach all of our students, and not just our brightest or those that require the least specialized attention.
My amendment requires that charter schools teach an equal proportion of special education and English deficient students as that of the district schools they draw from. This will help share the cost of our students who require the most attention and ensure greater access to charter schools for all of our students.
Thank you to everyone who has called in or emailed about this bill. You have provided a lot of very important information to our office which was vital in the process.
