California Senate OKs school changes to seek federal funds

Posted at 12:37 AM on Thursday, Nov. 05, 2009

California may be gaining ground in its race to the top.

Senate Bill X5 1, approved by the Senate Tuesday, would make the state more likely to get a piece of the $4.35 billion in Race to the Top federal stimulus funds offered to the nation's schools.

The bill repeals California's charter school cap, calls for a strategy to turn around its lowest performing schools and allows students at these institutions to attend any school in the state. It also encourages school districts to reward teachers who consistently improve student scores.

These measures address the criteria President Barack Obama and U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan said would make a state competitive in vying for the funding.

"We believe we will be able to meet every one of these provisions," said Camille Anderson, a spokeswoman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But the bill isn't a done deal. It still must pass the state Assembly. And teachers unions have been digging in their heels in opposition to it.

"We feel right now it's unnecessary and being rushed through," said Sandra Jackson of the California Teachers Association. She said federal criteria aren't final and legislation should wait. The union was lobbying hard. "We did have our people – all of our people actually – board members, local teachers, as well as our officers in Sacramento Monday meeting with senators and talking about their opposition to it," Jackson said.

Paul Navarro, the governor's deputy legislative secretary, said Wednesday he knows the bill will face challenges in the Assembly and that a lot of the resistance comes from associations that don't want to see change.

Navarro said the governor plans to meet with Assembly leadership to garner support for the bill.

"We will be asking the members of the state Assembly and the speaker of the Assembly to get this done in the next few weeks," Navarro said.

Last month, Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 19, which removed California's biggest hurdle to obtaining the stimulus funds. The bill lifted a statewide ban against tying student test scores to teacher evaluations. Duncan had warned California leaders that the state would not see any of the Race to the Top stimulus funds if they did not change the law.

On Wednesday, Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, the author of SBX5 1, lauded the bipartisan effort to pass the bill. "In order to race to the top we have to become competitive," she said. "That means breaking from the status quo and being innovative."

Schwarzenegger has aligned himself with the Obama administration on Race to the Top.

"The measures in SBX5 1 will bring real progress and real reform to California schools," said California Secretary of Education Glen Thomas. "I'm proud of the governor for standing with the president and secretary Duncan in these efforts, because they are so important to California."