Ebb tide for school reform in Tennessee?
The last several weeks have been lousy ones for those who labor to reform public education in Tennessee, even as one of the most controversial reforms, school vouchers, had made it to a full vote in the state House of Representatives for the first time.
Tennessee has made significant progress on education in the last eight years, but seems to be struggling with how, or whether, to build on that success.
Vouchers, using public funding to pay for private school tuition for some Tennessee students, are latest struggle.
The voucher bill sponsor, Rep. Bill Dunn, R-Knoxville, attempted to narrow the scope to a pilot voucher program in Memphis, but ended up having to ask for the bill to lay on the clerk’s desk. That maneuver allows him to bring the bill back this session, though that is unlikely.
“Obviously, if suddenly 50-something people came and said, 'We’re ready to take it back up,' then I would reconsider it. I think we kinda hit a high watermark today, and people are going to move on to other issues," Dunn told reporters Thursday.
Looking to next session, he said: "Next year there will still be failing schools and children on the path to failure, and I am not going to stop."
Though I don’t think that vouchers are, in and of themselves, a significant step on the path to scholastic success for Tennessee’s at-risk students, Dunn’s observation is all too true, and opponents should not be chortling about “victory.”
"Our public schools are safe for another day with the action that was taken today by the bill sponsor, but this is another failure by the governor to pass a key piece of his legislation," said Rep. John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, after the school voucher bill was withdrawn Thursday.
The legislature may also consider rolling back another controversial reform initiative this session, the Achievement School District. Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, and Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, have bills that propose a full abolishment of the ASD.
Counter ‘attack’ on reforms
Tennessee has been the standout state for education reform since Gov. Phil Bredesen assembled the bid for $500 million in “Race to the Top” federal funding, and his successor, Gov. Bill Haslam, embraced its goals.
Targeting the lowest-performing schools, teachers and students, Tennessee has poured its efforts into “failing schools and children on the path to failure.” And, unlike many other states dealing with high-poverty school districts, Tennessee has made progress.
But, in the minds of some Tennesseans, the progress is either too little, too slow and not radical enough, or it is too much, too fast and so radical that it destroys the concept of public education.Ebb tide for school reform in Tennessee?: