TEACHERS PRINCIPALS SCHOOLS FUTURE

Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now

A Progress Report on Education Reform in Connecticut

August 2013

Our state leaders must continue progress to ensure great teachers, principals, and public schools for every child. Jennifer Alexander, chief executive officer for ConnCAN
In May 2012, Governor Malloy signed into law An Act Concerning Educational Reform (P.A. 12-116). This law raises standards for educators, demands immediate action to improve failing schools, increases access to high-quality public school choices, and improves accountability and flexibility for our public schools. Passing P.A. 12-116 was just the first step toward improving our schools. The focus now shifts to proper and effective implementation of the law, as well as an acknowledgement that there is still much more work to be done. ConnCAN produced regular public progress reports on the implementation of P.A. 12-116. The first Progress Report was published in September 2012. These Progress Reports identify Connecticuts forward progress in meeting five of the most important components of the law. We are watching the implementation of P.A. 12-116 closely, and we hope that you are too. Despite a massive budget deficit and setbacks during the 2013 legislative session, Governor Malloy and state legislators made the tough choice to put kids and investments in education reforms first. By continuing education reforms, the governor and legislature are helping ensure that kids in Hartford and across Connecticut have access to the great teachers, principals and public schools they deserve.

To find your legislator, go to www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/CGAFindLeg.asp or call (860) 240-0100.

August 2013 Progress Report on Education Reform (P.A. 12-116)

WHAT THE LAW REQUIRES
Educator Evaluations
Pilot of mandatory annual teacher/principal performance evaluations in 10 sites. Evaluations based on core requirements adopted by PEAC and approved by SBE. 45% of the evaluations are based on student learning indicators. A maximum of 22.5% may be based on CMT/ CAPT growth. UConns Neag School of Education will release an evaluation of the pilot by January 2014.

PROGRESS TO DATE
SB 1097, An Act Concerning Revisions to the Education Reform Act of 2012, was introduced in the General Assembly. Originally proposed to delay and water down the implementation of the statewide educator evaluation system, the legislation was not only successfully defeated but the final version strengthened the original legislative language passed in 2012. The evaluation program remains on pace for the coming school year. In April, districts submitted their proposed chosen evaluation system implementation phase-in timeline to the State Department of Education for approval. Some districts have submitted applications for waivers from certain requirements of the evaluation system to the State Department of Education. On July 10th, Gov. Malloy announced his intention to seek flexibility in the 2013-2014 school year from the U.S. Department of Education that: 1) allows districts to administer either the Common Core-aligned Smarter Balanced assessments or CAPT/CMTs, and 2) allows districts to opt out of using student achievement data in evaluations in the 2013-2014 school year.

Commissioners Network

Commissioner and SBE can select up to 25 lowest performing schools for the Network. Turnaround plan developed by committee, subject to approval by commissioner and SDE. Turnaround committee is composed of the commissioner, plus 3 members selected by the union, and 2 by the district. The district superintendent is the non-voting chair. Expedited binding arbitration process will be followed for resolving certain contract disputes. Limits school management to non-profit education management organizations (EMOs). Up to five schools can be managed by EMOs.

On June 5th, the State Board of Education approved turnaround plans for 3 more Commissioners Network schoolsDiLoreto Magnet School (New Britain), P.L. Dunbar School (Bridgeport), and Wilbur Cross High School (New Haven). On July 15th, the State Board of Education approved turnaround plans for two more Commissioners Network schools (Richard C. Briggs High School in Norwalk and Walsh Elementary School in Waterbury). For the four schools currently in the Commissioners Network (James J. Curiale School in Bridgeport, High School in the Community in New Haven, Thirman Milner School in Hartford, and John B. Stanton School in Norwich), the State Department of Education reported preliminary findings from year 1 in the Network.

Alliance Districts

$39.5 million in conditional aid earmarked for lowest performing districts. Districts must provide SDE with reform plans by August 2012.

The states biennial (FY14/FY15) budget includes a total of $151 million earmarked for education reforms in the states 30 lowest performing school districts. The State Department of Education has released the application for Year 2 of the Alliance District program, and districts will be expected to submit amendments to their application for the 13-14 school year. The State Department of Education recently submitted a status report to the Connecticut General Assembly proposing implementation approaches to the Chart of Accounts.

School Finance

Common Chart of Accounts to be implemented starting in 2014-2015. SDE must select a vendor to develop a framework for a statewide Common Chart of Accounts. Increase of per pupil charter funding to $10,500/FY 2013, $11,000/FY 2014, and $11,500/FY 2015. Locally-approved charters eligible for up to $3k per pupil state grant. State charter funding now flows from state to district to school. Locally-approved charter schools will have a separate, dedicated funding stream. 2 of the next 4 state charters must have a dual language or English Language learner focus. SDE will conduct a study of the opt-out lottery for charters to identify feasibility and cost and submit to the Education Committee by February 2014.

Charter Schools

The states biennial budget includes per-pupil funding charter funding at $10,500/FY 2014 and $11,000/FY 2015, delaying the increase by one year and removing the final $11,500 increase from PA 12-116. The states biennial budget also includes funding for 4 new state charter schools (1 in FY14, 3 in FY15) and 5 local charter schools (2 in FY14 and 3 in FY15). The State Department of Education conducted a Request for Proposal for new charters and 7 applications were submitted. On June 5th, the State Board of Education approved two state charter applications, the first new charters in five years (Brass City Charter School in Waterbury and Path Academy in Windham). On July 15th, the State Board of Education approved the local charter application for Elm City Montessori in New Haven the only local charter school in Connecticut. The General Assembly passed HB 6622: An Act Concerning District Partnerships, which fosters collaborative partnerships between charter schools and their host districts by allowing districts to include performance data in their District Performance Index in exchange for in-kind contributions to charter schools.

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