Markell, Denn Unveil Education Reform Legislation

The three bills, if passed, would replace the DSTP, support our teachers, and allow more decision making power at the local level

For Immediate Release: April 8, 2009

Governor Jack Markell and Lieutenant Governor Matthew Denn joined Senate Education Committee Chair David Sokola and House Education Committee Chair Terry Schooley today to unveil legislation designed to dramatically improve Delaware’s public schools and qualify Delaware for federal dollars that President Obama’s administration will be awarding to states with forward-looking public school systems. The elected officials were joined by Education Secretary Lillian Lowery and leaders of the Delaware Parent Teachers Association and the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, who emphasized the importance of reform to parents and the state’s economy.

The bills, co-sponsored by twenty other Senators and Representatives from both political parties, seek to:

• Eliminate the Delaware State Testing Program and replace it with a testing program that measures student progress over the course of a school year.
• Pay the state's highest-performing teachers a comparatively higher salary, and those high-performing teachers in high-risk schools at the state's highest salary level. This portion of the plan would not go into effect until the state's current budget situation improves, and might begin on a pilot basis in individual school districts.
• Provide local schools and districts with substantially more discretion to make financial and other decisions that make sense for the kids they serve, while simultaneously holding them more accountable for spending their funds responsibly.

Governor Markell said, "This agenda will help deliver the kind of change our system needs to prepare students to become active citizens and succeed in an increasingly competitive economy. The historic challenges facing Delaware demand we do more with the limited resources we have and encourage innovation. The reforms we are proposing will make our education system even stronger."

Lieutenant Governor Denn noted that the bills would be important any year, but were particularly important in light of President Obama's focus on funding school innovation. "These bills should be passed on the merits, because they are good for our schools and good for kids," Denn said. "But now there is an additional reason. President Obama, through the federal stimulus bill, has made billions of dollars available in competitive grants for states that demonstrate that they are pursuing real education reform. The types of things these bills do, especially rewarding high-performing teachers, are things the President is specifically seeking, and will make Delaware far more likely to receive substantial new federal money for education."

President of the State PTA, Bud Mullin, added "Delaware PTA supports these bills, as they align with our support of the goals of Vision 2015, which we voted on at our convention in 2007. These bills start the process toward this vision by targeting the goals of transparency in finances, teacher professionalism, and assessment and accountability. We thank the Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary Lowery and the legislative sponsors and hope to see other bills supporting the vision in the future."

The bills were drafted after Lieutenant Governor Denn and Secretary Lowery hosted a dozen "Back to School" briefings to get public input across the state, and drew hundreds of participants in person and online. The briefings started a statewide dialogue on education reform centered on four main topics:

• Rewarding teachers who volunteer to serve in at-risk schools
• Replacing the DSTP with a better system for measuring performance
• Cutting cumbersome regulations and allowing more decision-making discretion
• Giving schools more funding discretion, but also holding them accountable

Each of the Back to School briefings are available to listen to by podcast on the Lieutenant Governor's website, www.ltgov.delaware.gov

Some examples of specific ideas that were spawned by the public and written into the bills are:

• A requirement that teacher evaluation not be based entirely upon formal assessment.
• A requirement that 10% of funds available for performance pay be awarded to schools that show objective improvement in student performance rather than individual teachers.
• A provision allowing performance pay to be implemented on a pilot basis in individual districts.
• A requirement of uniformity and transparency in record-keeping and accounting by local school districts.
• Changing the unit count date from September to April in order to allow districts to compete with other states for new teachers.
• A requirement of consultation with parents and teachers by local schools or districts before seeking relief from any rule or regulation.

"Delaware has got to do better in education, and these bills are the change we need," added Senator Sokola, Chair of the Senate Education Committee. "We must support our teachers, give kids a chance to succeed, and allow more decision making power at the local level, and these bills do exactly that."

Representative Schooley added, "As Chair of the House Education Committee, I know how important it is to support our educators and those they serve. These reforms are vital to help our teachers and students thrive and succeed."

James Wolfe, President and CEO of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce said, "The business community supports the education reform proposals outlined today because they are in alignment with Vision 2015 and they will further the principle that every child in Delaware deserves access to a world class education."

Introduced Legislation

• HB 119 - Citizen oversight and transparency in finances, while giving more local decision making power
• SB 67 - Compensation for teachers - rewarding great teachers
• SB 68 - Getting rid of the DSTP and replacing it with a new test