SBE holds hardline on QEIA performance mandates
By Kimberly Beltran
Monday, July 15, 2013
Despite reporting positive improvements as a result of receiving special funding, three Kern County high schools were denied state approval last week to remain in the Quality Education Investment Act program because they did not meet their academic growth targets.
In denying requests from the Kern Union High School District to waive the requirement that Bakersfield, Foothill and Arvin high schools meet Academic Performance Index targets, the California State Board of Education agreed with a staff recommendation that approval of the waiver would not address the educational needs of their pupils.
A staff report noted that “although Bakersfield HS has experienced gains in API, school year 2011-12 demonstrated negative growth; QEIA funding is expected to result in increased academic achievement over time; and EC Section 52055.760(c)(3) states that funded schools agree to comply with the alternative program requirements and be subject to the termination procedures specified in subdivision (c) of Section 52055.740,” CDE officials said.
“Funded schools with alternative programs shall also be required to exceed the API growth target for the school averaged over the first three fully funded years and annually thereafter,” the report stated.
The QEIA program was created in 2006, the result of a settlement agreement between the California Teachers Association and then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, to improve the quality of academic instruction and the level of