Two legislators introduced an education reform bill Friday which would attempt to improve student reading programs and create a screening process to prevent early readers from falling behind their peers.
Rep. Steve Kestell, R-Elkhart Lake, and Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, created the bill which would try to ensure every teacher is equipped to give each student a strong reading education. It would also implement a kindergarten reading screener in order to determine which students may struggle with reading later on in their schooling.
It was created based on guidelines made by the three state education task forces: Read to Lead, Educator Effectiveness and the School Accountability group.
Based on recommendations from the first two groups, the education reform package would try to raise student reading outcomes in Wisconsin by increasing the difficulty of the tests in teacher education programs.
School accountability will not be addressed until changes are made to the waiver application from the No Child Left Behind legislation. This has sparked controversy among some lawmakers and other officials.
Gov. Scott Walker spokesperson Cullen Werwie said in a statement released Thursday Walker was happy with the creation of the new reform package.
In an email to The Badger Herald, Werwie said he was confident the bill would pass “as-is.” He said in the statement he was confident legislators will feel the same, despite claims the bill is not complete.
Sarah Archibald, education policy adviser for Olsen, said despite complaints about what the legislation may lack, she firmly believes all of Wisconsin will be on board with the stipulations that do exist.
Bob Delaporte, spokesperson for Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, said Darling, who serves on the Education committee, feels the Read to Lead initiative in the bill is one the building blocks necessary in order to achieve the goal of giving every child a solid base for their education and ultimately, to have a successful career.
“The idea is to believe in the kids and give them a chance as much as possible,” Delaporte said.
Adam Gamoran, sociology professor and Educational Policy Studies Director at UW, agreed the reform package is headed in the right direction but felt the school accountability aspect should have been a larger part of the legislation.
“Many of the reforms that it identifies would be positive steps, but I am disappointed that it’s not explicit about the new accountability program that the state is proposing to the U.S. Department of Education,” Gamoran said. “I think it is going to be the framework for school accountability in the future, and the law should be consistent with it.”
Rep. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, also expressed concern that if this bill was not compliant with all the Obama administration’s guidelines, and passed, the Legislature would probably not come back again and again to try to pass education reform legislation.
“It seems like the Republican majority and this governor only care about placing the blame and dismantling public education to favor private voucher schools that are funded with taxpayer dollars,” Roys said.
