Lawmakers, education leaders spar over embattled tutoring program
Legislation proposed in Annapolis could hurt state's NCLB waiver application, education leaders say
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State education leaders say proposed legislation that would force local school systems to continue funding a federal tutoring program could derail their efforts to gain relief from the mandates of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Lawmakers are debating two bills introduced in the House of Delegates and the Senate dealing with Supplemental Educational Services, a federally mandated program that provides thousands of the state's poorest and lowest-performing students with free tutoring services by nonprofit and private vendors.
The program came under fire recently after an Abell Foundation report that found the companies operated with little scrutiny and accountability and used questionable practices in recruiting parents to sign up their children.
The companies set their rates and are paid based on how many children are enrolled in their programs. A Baltimore Sun article last year noted that in one instance, a provider offered a laptop to a city parent if she signed up her five students.
With the support of every district in the state, the Maryland State
