Keep School Reform Ball Rolling

The Legislature should continue California’s momentum on school reform when the first two bills of Gov. Gray Davis’ education package come up for an Assembly vote today.

Both measures would improve teacher quality: The big hurdle is teacher peer review, intended to assist veteran teachers who are struggling in the classroom; less controversial is a measure that would provide training in reading instruction for those assigned to that area.

AB 1X, a $100-million measure, would require teacher peer review statewide. Local school districts would be asked to set up and run evaluation programs in which outstanding teachers would observe, assess, advise and assist their peers who had received unsatisfactory evaluations--a tiny fraction of all teachers, but it’s a firm beginning. Principals would still evaluate teacher performance; this would augment the review process. School districts that refused would lose state funds allocated for teacher improvement. With more than $400 million at stake, local districts would have a real incentive to improve poorly performing teachers or rid the system of them.

Peer review is supported by the two largest national teachers unions, the National Education Assn. and the American Federation of Teachers. Their California affiliates have stayed neutral on the Davis bill, though their representatives objected to parts of it during committee hearings. Some teachers want no change in the current evaluation system, which protects teachers almost no matter how badly they do their jobs. On the other hand, some Republicans, rightly, want bad teachers fired. Peer review is the not-quite-satisfactory compromise that is doable now.

The bill’s coauthor, Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles), has been the bill’s skillful shepherd through several rounds of give and take. He is expected to deliver the Democratic vote, which is all the support needed to send this bill to the Senate for further consideration during the special legislative session on education.

The second bill scheduled for a vote before the full Assembly today will need more than Democrats to advance it. AB 2X, to assist inexperienced teachers, requires a two-thirds vote, and that means Republican support must be sought.

The $94-million measure would set up summer training programs at UC and Cal State campuses for thousands of new teachers as early as this summer. It would also create remedial reading academies for primary-grade students having problems learning to read.

The reading measure is not considered controversial, although Assembly Republicans could use it as a vehicle to send a message to the governor and other Democrats who are seen as not paying equal attention to GOP school reform proposals. Assembly Republicans should follow the example set by Assemblyman Jim Cunneen (R-San Jose), who coauthored the reading bill with Kerry Mazzoni (D-San Rafael), chairwoman of the Assembly Education Committee.

As the Assembly bills speed through the special session of the Legislature, two more of the governor’s education bills are making swift progress through the state Senate, proving that Sacramento can work quickly when the stakes are high.

SB 1X, sponsored by Sen. Dede Alpert (D-Coronado), would strengthen school accountability by ranking all schools and providing rewards for the successes and assistance for the failures. The second bill, SB 2X, sponsored by Sen. Jack O’Connell (D-San Luis Obispo), would require students to pass an exit exam to graduate. Both measures are being fine-tuned in advance of a vote scheduled before the full Senate on Monday.

California schools will not change for the better unless the governor, Democrats, Republicans, principals, teachers and parents all demand that. The Assembly bills recognize the collective will to improve public education and should be approved without being amended into oblivion.