Dear ILMPS Supporter:
All
schools that receive public funds should have a common accountability
system so that parents and educators can make apples to apples
comparisons between schools. If you agree with this statement, we need
your action now.
Do
you have five minutes to insist that all schools that receive public
funding should be evaluated by a standard school accountability system?
Legislation was promised but not delivered on school accountability. GOP
lawmakers instead caved to the demands of School Choice Wisconsin and other high-powered lobbyists. Please email or call legislators
now! Tell legislators that if these schools are good enough to receive
public money, then they should be good enough to receive public scrutiny.
There is still time to demand this piece of legislation be taken up
before the session ends. But we need pressure from you to make it
happen. Remember just five calls on one issue is enough to get noticed.
CALL or EMAIL: Senator Luther Olsen (R. Baraboo) Chair of the Senate Committee on Education,
(608) 266-0751,
CALL or EMAIL: Rep. Steve Kestell (R. Elkhart Lake) Chair of the Assembly Committee on Education,
(608) 266-8530
CALL or EMAIL: Senator Kathleen Vinehout (D.Alma) Member of the Senate Committee on Education,
(608) 266-8546
WHY IS SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY SO IMPORTANT?
Despite the fact that Gov. Walker claimed that school accountability was a priority in his 2012 State of the State address, GOP
leaders caved to special interests and backed away from the promise.
They failed to include accountability in the latest education bills.
With only one month left in the current legislative session, GOP leaders
need to hear from us now. As public school parents and teachers, as
taxpayers who have funneled millions of dollars into voucher and
independent charter schools, we deserve to have all publicly funded
schools held to the same standard.
MORE BACKGROUND:
A joint hearing Wednesday on SB 461/AB 558 (education
bills anticipated to be a bi-partisan efforts to tackle literacy, teacher
evaluation, and school accountability) confirmed legislative leaders have
placed earlier commitments to school-accountability legislation on hold,
despite a chain of emails that shows agreements on an accountability system
between the DPI and GOP legislators and the Governor’s office had been reached in
early February.
Democratic lawmakers asked about the missing
accountability measure in Wednesday’s public hearing, and were told that
accountability legislation would be coming soon. But neither Sen. Luther Olsen
(R-Baraboo) nor Rep. Steve Kestell (R.-Elkhart Lake) could offer any timeline
for that legislation. During the public hearing, Kestell at times cut
off testimony that focused too much on the absent accountability piece. At one
point Kestell called fellow lawmaker, Senator Tim Cullen (D. Janesville)
“disingenuous” when Cullen initiated a line of questioning to find out why the
accountability portion was left out.
“Who
is acting disingenuous here?" asks Jasmine Alinder, the parent of two
school-aged children in Milwaukee. "For parents who are trying to
compare schools,
having a standard school report card is essential. All kids deserve
a high quality education, and every parent deserves clear,
apples-to-apples
information about every school in the state.”
“Every school in the state should be treated
equally when measuring performance,” said Angela McManaman, the parent of three
school-age children in Milwaukee. “Every parent deserves to know if the school
their child goes to is getting the job done.”
