Demo CA Leg Leadership Join Schwarzenegger in Backing "Race To The Top" Education Privat

Demo CA Leg Leadership Join Schwarzenegger in Backing "Race To The Top" Education Privatization Bills
http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/14225

01/15/2010 GAAS:37:09 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version | ShareThis

Governor Schwarzenegger Signs California’s Race to the Top Application for up to $1 Billion in Federal Education Funds




Building on his commitment to protect and provide a better education for California's children, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed the state’s Race to the Top application and announced that a winning application could bring up to $1 billion in federal funds for California’s schools. Following careful analysis of Obama Administration guidelines and taking into consideration that more than 800 local education agencies have committed to partner with the state, it was determined that California is now eligible for up to $1 billion in funds through President Obama’s national Race to the Top funding competition. In addition to the Governor, the application has also been signed by Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell and State Board President Ted Mitchell.

“When Race to the Top was announced last July, California was immediately counted out of the race – but you should never count California out,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “President Obama issued a challenge and we have responded with strong leadership and bold action to ensure California cannot only apply but be highly competitive in the Race to the Top.

“California’s application contains broad statewide support for implementing historic education reforms to empower parents and transform under-performing schools. It demonstrates that California is ready to break away from the status-quo and work to truly improve education for all students.”

California’s application details the statewide plan – strongly supported by over 800 local education agencies representing more than 3.6 million students – to implement the strategies and reforms necessary to fulfill Race to the Top requirements. The state will partner with local education agencies to create environments for education innovation and reforms that empower parents, embrace accountability, transform under-performing schools and give every student equal access to education.

On July 24, 2009, President Obama and Secretary Duncan announced federal eligibility and competitiveness requirements for states to compete for $4.35 billion in Race to the Top funding. At the time, California was ineligible to apply. Governor Schwarzenegger took immediate action, calling a special session of the legislature and introducing a bi-partisan legislative package to ensure California could become eligible and highly competitive for this education funding. Since then, Governor Schwarzenegger signed the legislation necessary to make California eligible to apply and then signed historic education reform legislation to ensure California would be highly competitive for up to $1 billion in education dollars for California’s schools.

For more information and to view California’s Race to the Top application, please visit:http://www.caracetothetop.org.

http://www.cta.org/action/alert/Alert20100104.htm


Help Defeat 2 Bills Now Carrying Bad RTTT Proposals

Contact the State Assembly and Senate

CTA-opposed SBX5 4 (Romero) has been split into two bills, and your help is urgently needed to defeat both bills in the Assembly and Senate on Tuesday, Jan. 5.

The amended version of SBX5 4 contains two of the most objectionable ideas developed in this special session on education: open enrollment and parent trigger.

The second bill, SBX5 1 (Steinberg and Brownley) adds provisions that do not meet current federal requirements on teacher credentialing. Worse, the two bills are now “double-joined,” meaning that both must be passed and signed by the governor for either to take effect.

The Assembly Education Committee is scheduled to consider both bills on Tuesday, January 5.

If the bills escape from the Education Committee, they will go to the Assembly Appropriations Committee and then to the Assembly floor. If the Assembly approves the bills, the legislation will head quickly to the Senate. That’s why it’s urgent that you contact your Assembly Member and your State Senator right now.

Background: Two Bad RTTT Bills

These CTA-opposed bills aim to make the state eligible for some one-time federal program funding. Taken together, the two bills would:

1. Create chaos in school districts and drain resources from local classrooms.
• Disguised as parental choice, the bills require open enrollment for all students in schools on the state’s list of the 1,000 lowest performing schools. This list would change annually. No state resources would be available for busing or transportation. Schools would be required to use Title 1 funds or School Improvement Grant dollars instead.
• Schools would be forced to take scarce classroom resources and use those funds for transportation costs.
• The bills would create another unfunded state mandate at a time when the legislature has cut more than $17 billion from public education.

2. The bills would punish lower-performing schools without providing needed assistance.
• SBX5 4 and SBX5 1 would allow a majority of parents to sign a petition and add their school to the federal sanction list without providing any resources to help the school improve.

Contact the Assembly and Senate Now!

Contact your Assembly Member and Senator and urge other CTA members at your school to do the same. The message is short and simple: Vote against SBX5_4 (Romero) and SBX5 1 (Steinberg/ Brownley). Then close the loop by e-mailing GR (at lfeldman [at] cta.org) to let us know and to give us any feedback you received from lawmakers.

For more information, contact CTA Manager of Legislative Relations Lori Easterling at 916.325.1500 or GR Communications Consultant Len Feldman at lfeldman [at] cta.org.

http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sbx5_1_vote_20100105_000005_asm_comm.html

UNOFFICIAL BALLOT
MEASURE: SBX5 1
AUTHOR: Steinberg
TOPIC: Public schools: Race to the Top.
DATE: 01/05/2010
LOCATION: ASM. ED.
MOTION: Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations.

(AYES 11. NOES 2.) (PASS)



AYES

****

Brownley Nestande Arambula Huffman
Hill Gaines Garrick Hall
Bonnie Lowenthal John A. Perez Solorio



NOES

****

Ammiano Torlakson



ABSENT, ABSTAINING, OR NOT VOTING

*********************************

Buchanan Chesbro Logue Miller



http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sbx5_1_vote_20091103_1151PM_sen_floor.html

UNOFFICIAL BALLOT
MEASURE: SBX5 1
AUTHOR: Romero
TOPIC: Public schools.
DATE: 11/03/2009
LOCATION: SEN. FLOOR
MOTION: W/O REF. TO FILE SB1 Romero

(AYES 21. NOES 12.) (PASS)



AYES

****

Alquist Ashburn Benoit Cedillo
Cogdill Cox Denham Dutton
Florez Harman Hollingsworth Huff
Kehoe Maldonado Price Romero
Simitian Steinberg Strickland Walters
Wyland



NOES

****

Corbett DeSaulnier Ducheny Hancock
Leno Liu Lowenthal Pavley
Wiggins Wolk Wright Yee



ABSENT, ABSTAINING, OR NOT VOTING

*********************************

Aanestad Calderon Correa Negrete McLeod
Oropeza Padilla Runner
SBX5 1 Senate Bill, 5th Ext. Session - Vote Information
http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sbx5_1_vote_20100105_0712PM_asm_floor.html

UNOFFICIAL BALLOT
MEASURE: SBX5 1
AUTHOR: Steinberg
TOPIC: Public schools: Race to the Top.
DATE: 01/05/2010
LOCATION: ASM. FLOOR
MOTION: SB1 Steinberg Senate Third Reading By BROWNLEY Fifth

Extraordinary Session

(AYES 45. NOES 17.) (PASS)



AYES

****

Adams Arambula Bill Berryhill Tom Berryhill
Blakeslee Block Blumenfield Bradford
Brownley Charles Calderon Conway Cook
Coto Davis De Leon Emmerson
Eng Feuer Fong Fuller
Furutani Gaines Galgiani Garrick
Gilmore Hagman Hall Hill
Huffman Bonnie Lowenthal Ma Monning
Nestande Niello Nielsen John A. Perez
Portantino Ruskin Silva Skinner
Smyth Solorio Audra Strickland Tran
Bass



NOES

****

Ammiano Beall Caballero Chesbro
De La Torre Evans Fuentes Hayashi
Jones Lieu Mendoza Nava
V. Manuel Perez Swanson Torlakson Torrico
Yamada



ABSENT, ABSTAINING, OR NOT VOTING

*********************************

Anderson Buchanan Carter DeVore
Fletcher Harkey Hernandez Huber
Jeffries Knight Logue Miller
Salas Saldana Torres Villines