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Volume 2, Issue 13 July 17, 2003 published by The Rural Education Finance Center a program of The Rural School and Community Trust  Rural Education Finance Center 3344 Hillsborough St. Suite 302 Raleigh, NC 27607 919-833-4541 Greg Malhoit, Director, greg.malhoit@ruraledu.org Nancy Gottovi, Editor, nancy.gottovi@ruraledu.org Table of Contents for this Issue GROUP SAYS SCHOOL CONSOLIDATION OVERSHADOWING CRITICAL EDUCATION ISSUES The Arkansas Rural Education Association met last week and charged that the ongoing debates over school consolidation are taking attention away from more important school reform issues. The group, which represents 260 of the state's 308 school districts, says the state needs to focus its attention on developing a new school funding formula and dealing with realistic budget forecasts. The Association has been fighting Governor Mike Huckabee's proposed school reform bill which calls for consolidating the number of school districts across the state from 308 to 108. Opponents of the Governor's plan assured those attending the meeting that the governor's plan would likely fail. Arkansas' funding formula was declared unconstitutional, inadequate and inequitable by the state Supreme Court, and has led to months of debate over school reform. The group also called for a more realistic assessment of the projected growth in state revenue which is currently projected at 4.3 percent. However, the state has had to reduce its revenue projections in each of the last three years--a move that has created havoc with school district budgets. Charles Knox, assistant executive director of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators noted that the current growth rate is actually 1.9 percent and that school administrators should plan for "zero growth." More Information Available Online Return to Top RURAL TRUST FILES A FRIEND OF COURT BRIEF IN NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL FINANCE CASE The Rural School and Community Trust (Rural Trust) has joined forces with a number of other groups to submit a Friend of the Court brief to the North Carolina Supreme Court in the landmark Leandro school funding case currently on appeal. Last year, a trial judge ruled that there was overwhelming evidence that many North Carolina children are being denied the opportunity to receive a sound basic education as required by the state constitution and that the state has a duty to address and remedy constitutional deficiencies. The trial court based its decision on a number of factors including low test scores and high dropout rates, especially for low-income and at-risk students. To improve these outcomes, the court pointed to the need for highly qualified teachers in every classroom, special programs to address the needs of at-risk students and preschool education of low-income 4-year-olds. The brief supports the reasoning of the trial judge and urges the state Supreme Court to uphold the lower court's ruling. Key points made in the brief include:
For a copy of the brief contact: Greg Malhoit, Rural Education Finance Center, gmalhoit@bellsouth.net Return to Top RURAL SCHOOLS IN ALASKA USE ONLINE COURSES TO MEET NCLB REQUIREMENTS High school students in nine small rural school districts in Alaska will be offered up to 21 online courses in order to meet No Child Left Behind's requirements that students be taught only by highly qualified teachers. Most of the courses in the program, called Alaska Online, were developed by Alaska teachers, and will allow students to be enrolled in regular schools but have access to courses that aren't offered at their small schools. About 240 of Alaska's nearly 300 high schools have fewer than 100 students, with many ranging from five to 25 students. Some schools such as the Tenakee Springs School, has only 12 students in grades K-12 and only one teacher. Some school districts, such as the Kenai Peninsula School District, are spread over 26,000 miles. In such cases, teachers have to be generalists rather than the "highly qualified" specialists the new federal law requires. Still, it's expensive to develop online courses, so the nine rural school districts have joined together to share the costs and develop broader offerings. Some educators are still concerned that the courses can't take the place of an on-site teacher, and that some students' learning styles won't mesh well with online courses. School districts that participate in the online program will be required to provide a mentor for each student who will be responsible for monitoring the student's progress. Alaska Online will provide a certified teacher for each course offered. More Information Available Online Return to Top NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION PLANS TO SUE OVER NCLB; AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS WANTS TO "TWEAK" IT The National Education Association (NEA) said it may sue the federal government over the federal No Child Left Behind Act, stating that the government has reneged on its promise to fully fund the expensive law. The organization is currently recruiting states to join the lawsuit which will most likely be filed later in the summer. The basis for the lawsuit is a line in the Act that reads "nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize an officer or employee of the Federal Government to mandate a State or any subdivision thereof to spend any funds or incur any costs not paid for under this Act." Lawyers for the NEA say that money that could otherwise be spent on necessary education needs is being spent on expensive new testing requirements, data collection, and transferring students to other schools. Backers of No Child Left Behind say that the federal government has kept its promise by allocating more money for education than ever before. Meanwhile, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has stated that although it has serious reservations about the law, including its severe lack of funding and "totally unworkable" system for rating schools, it will nonetheless advocate for making adjustments to the law instead of fighting it altogether. Return to Top STATES MAY HAVE STRONG CHALLENGE TO NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND According to a memo released by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) last week, states could sue the federal government for not providing them with sufficient funding to fully implement all the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. The memo cited the language in the Act which states that nothing in the Act will require a state or school district to "spend any funds or incur any costs not paid for under the Act." (See NEA article above.) The memo noted that many states are currently facing "adequacy" lawsuits that charge that they are not providing the necessary funding for school districts to meet state performance measures, and that No Child Left Behind is likely to increase those lawsuits. "In other words, as a result of No Child Left Behind, the states will likely face court challenges to their school finance systems just as the federal government could face federal court challenges to the law." The NCSL memo cited a paper by Dr. William Mathis, a Vermont school superintendent and consultant to the Rural School and Community Trust, which concluded that seven of 10 states will have to increase their funding levels by at least 24 percent to avoid adequacy litigation. Hawaii, New Hampshire, Utah, Massachusetts and Vermont have seriously considered legislation that would have the states opt out of NCLB and forfeit federal funds rather than trying to afford the law's requirements. Four states--Colorado, Hawaii, New Hampshire and North Carolina-- have considered eliminating current assessments to save money. More Information Available Online Return to Top COURT SAYS PARENTS CAN'T SUE OVER NCLB PROVISIONS A New York federal district court has ruled that parents of students attending public schools cannot sue to enforce the No Child Left Behind Act's (NCLB) provisions requiring school districts to notify parents that their child's school is "failing" or of the school's obligation to offer tutoring or transfer to another school. The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) filed suit against New York City's Department of Education on behalf of parents of children attending failing schools. The court stated that the notice, transfer and tutoring provisions of the law do not constitute new "rights" created by Congress. In addition, the provisions have an "aggregate" focus, rather than a focus on any individual. Third, the court stated that NCLB does not provide any procedure by which an individual can enforce the law's provisions. Return to Top ABOUT THE RURAL SCHOOL FUNDING REPORT The Rural School Funding Report is a twice-monthly newsletter published by the Rural Education Finance Center (REFC), a program of the Rural School and Community Trust. The Funding Report focuses on important news affecting school finance - particularly equity and adequacy issues in America's rural schools. The purpose of the Center is to help rural people advocate for state school finance systems that provide equal educational opportunities for rural children to achieve academic excellence. The REFC provides information, technical assistance, and strategic support to rural people committed to good schools, equity and adequacy in school finance systems, and efficient fiscal management of schools. We would appreciate your feedback and suggestions for stories and other developments about school finance. More information about school finance as well as other important educational policy issues can be found in The Rural School and Community Trust's monthly newsletter Rural Policy Matters, available free in both e-mail and print versions, which is also available online. To subscribe to this e-newsletter and get it e-mailed directly to you, send a request to subscribe to mbaris@ruraledu.org Events | Services | Newsroom | Contact Us | Search © 2003 The Rural School and Community Trust 
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