NEWS RELEASE

August 26, 2010
Contact: Mark McGriff, Jon Mills

Judge rules legislature can be held accountable for public school quality

In a decision that some legal experts are calling historic, a judge has ruled that the Florida Legislature can be held accountable for the quality of the state's public schools.

Circuit Court Judge Jackie Fulford has denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by education advocacy groups and public school parents across the state. The lawsuit claims that lawmakers and other state officials have not met their constitutional obligation to provide high quality public schools for all students in Florida.

The ruling means that the lawsuit filed by the non-profit Southern Legal Counsel on behalf of the local group Citizens for Strong Schools, an Orlando-based group called Fund Education Now and several parents from Duval County can now move forward.

"I'm very glad that we'll have our day in court," said Mark McGriff, chairman of Citizens for Strong Schools. "The state has not fulfilled the wishes of Florida's voters when it comes to supporting public education, and it should be held accountable."

Back in 1998, 72% of Florida voters approved new language for Article IX of the Constitution which makes public education the state's 'paramount duty' and requires state leaders to provide a 'high quality system' of public schools. Despite that language, the state has cut school budgets dramatically and shifted more of the responsibility for funding schools onto local communities.

Lawyers representing the legislature, the Board of Education and the Department of Education raised a number of objections to the lawsuit, including a contention that the courts have no role in interpreting Article IX and that the Legislature has absolute discretion in carrying out the language in the Constitution. The judge rejected that argument.

"This conclusion renders the citizens' vote to create a new education article as meaningless and this provision as a nullity," she wrote in her opinion.

Jon Mills was Speaker of the Florida House in 1986-88 and was a member of the Constitutional Revision Commission that drafted the new Article IX. He is currently teaching law at the University of Florida. Mills says the judge's ruling is extremely significant.

"This is the first case in Florida history to find that the state can be held accountable to deliver a high quality education system," he said. "The court rejected the argument that the legislature has absolute discretion. By doing so, the court basically says 'Yes, the people's requirement for high quality matters.'"

"As parents and advocates, we are not going to stop until every member of the Florida Legislature realizes that their oath of office means they have to uphold the constitution of this state and that they owe their allegiance to the Florida voter," said Kathleen Oropeza, chair of Fund Education Now.

The state now has until the 9th of September to respond to the lawsuit.

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Hot Topics in Schools

With the start of a new school year, Citizens for Strong Schools will be renewing its focus on a number of key issues that will affect our students, families and schools in 2010-11 and beyond.

We've listed those issues below. Just click on an issue for more details and links to related information.

Class size/Amendment 8

The class size law that voters approved in 2002 must be fully implemented this year. The law limits the number of students in core academic classrooms, which include language arts, reading, math, social studies, science and foreign language.

Until this year, the state used schoolwide averages to measure class size. This year, averages will be measured classroom by classroom. Florida lawmakers also decided to fine districts for every student over the limit in every classroom.

Unfortunately, the Florida Legislature failed to fully fund the law, as it is required to do. State education officials told lawmakers it would cost more than $350 million to fully implement the class size law. They allocated about $80 million-which means districts and schools are left to pay the tab, and those who can't face massive fines.

The Legislature has placed Amendment 8 on the November ballot, which would change the way the class size law is implemented. Although Citizens for Strong Schools is not taking an official position on Amendment 8, we encourage you to learn more about this important issue.

A copy of a letter from the Superintendent to parents regarding class size and the impact on students and schools is available here.

FCAT/School Grades

As you are probably aware, FCAT scores were announced very late this year. Writing scores were released two months behind schedule. Math, reading and science scores were one month late. The state's testing contractor, Pearson, cited problems with its student data base for the delays.

Since the release of the scores, concerns have been raised about their accuracy. A majority of districts found anomalies in the results, particularly at the elementary level. The state hired two organizations to review the results. Their reports indicate that the FCAT scores are within historical ranges, but the authors also say they cannot fully explore the districts' concerns because they do not have 'inside knowledge.' This, of course, has raised more questions. The Florida Association of District School Superintendents has filed a formal protest with the state over the FCAT scores.

Despite the protests, the state has released school grades for elementary and middle schools and each district based on the FCAT scores. High school grades, which will now also reflect factors such as graduation rates and AP scores, will not be released until November.

Statewide, one in three schools lost at least a letter grade this year, an unprecedented drop. Most of those were formerly 'A' elementary schools that dropped due to the scores of their lowest performing students, which was a key area of concern for districts. That trend was mirrored here in Alachua County, although the district did maintain its overall 'A' grade for the fifth straight year.

The FCAT is a very high stakes test for students, families, schools and districts. The scores are used to determine if students will move onto the next grade, if they must take remedial courses and if they will graduate from high school. Schools are penalized or rewarded based on their grades, which are in turn based on the FCAT scores. Citizens for Strong Schools and other grass roots groups like ours throughout Florida will be carefully monitoring this situation in the coming months.

New High School Graduation Requirements

Florida's new high school graduation requirements were adopted with very little fanfare during the 2010 legislative session, but they will have an enormous impact on students and schools in the coming years.

The new requirements will be phased in beginning in the 2010-11 school year. They cover primarily science and mathematics courses. Although the total number of math and science courses needed to graduate with a standard diploma will remain the same (4 credits in math and 3 credits in science), the specific courses required within each category have been revised to include Algebra 1 and 2, geometry, biology, chemistry and physics.

Students will not only be required to take and pass these challenging courses. In Algebra 1, geometry and biology, they will also be required pass new standardized state tests called End of Course exams (EOCs). These tests are being developed and implemented by Pearson, the same company that handled the FCAT test this year. Not surprisingly, school districts across Florida have expressed reservations about adding more standardized tests to students' schedules in light of this year's problems with the FCAT.

Educators are also concerned about the impact of the new requirements on career/tech programs, elective classes and ultimately, graduation and dropout rates. State officials say they do expect fewer students will graduate and more will drop out of school entirely due to the new standards. A local perspective on the new graduation requirements is available here.

Senate Bill 6/Teacher Evaluation

Senate Bill 6, approved by the Florida Legislature during its 2010 session, would have required the use of test scores to evaluate and compensate teachers. While SB6 was vetoed by Governor Charlie Crist, it is extremely likely that the bill will be brought back in some form during the 2011 legislative session.

A number of concerns were raised about the bill. For example, more than half of all Florida teachers teach subjects not covered by the FCAT (career/tech, social studies, the arts, PE, etc.) How would those teachers be evaluated? Would new tests have to be created and implemented for those subjects? Would there be stakes attached to such tests for students? If not, what incentive would they have for doing well? Also, is it appropriate to penalize teachers for test performance that is often affected by factors outside the teacher's control, such as parent involvement? These questions were not addressed in the bill, but have been raised in the media and in other forums.

The recent controversy over FCAT scores also raises concerns about the use of the test to evaluate and compensate teachers.

Citizens for Strong Schools and other educational groups across the state will be watching this issue closely during the coming months and will provide the public with more information as it becomes available.

The Budget

The budget outlook for schools continues to be poor. Because of the weak economy, sales and property tax revenues are down, which are the primary sources of funding for schools in Florida. And unless Congress takes some action, federal stimulus dollars for education will run out after this year.

Unfortunately, the state legislature continues to shirk its constitutional obligation to fund high-quality schools. Here in Alachua County, state funding is down 28% per student in the last two years, while local funding is up 25% per student. Local funding means property taxes, but what most people don't realize is that property tax rates for schools are mostly set by state lawmakers, not the local school board. Essentially, state leaders are shifting the responsibility for funding education onto local communities.

Meanwhile, they continue to pass more unfunded and underfunded mandates onto schools, including the new high school graduation standards and class size requirements.

We are very fortunate in Alachua County that voters approved the one mill increase in property taxes back in 2008. That money is funding full time art and music programs in our elementary schools, guidance counselors, media specialists, career/tech and academic magnet programs and other vital people and services. However, that source of funding will run out in 2013 unless the school board decides to put it back on the ballot and a majority of local voters approve it.