---

School Board News Bulletin
October 1999

---

State Board revives spring ISAT testing for 10th graders

High school testing schedule for 2000 and 2001

Major school funding issues yet to be resolved

Illinois Learning Partnership to host school change summit

School boards asked to evaluate services of State Board

NEWS FROM IASB

Nominating committee slates IASB officers

IASB Directors win Those Who Excel Awards

1999 Cole Award winners named

ILLINOIS LEGISLATION & LAWS

School bus safety planning mandated by new law

Teacher re-certification bill requires districts to appoint committee members

Out-of-state student transfer rules tightened

RESEARCH REPORTS

Public reaffirms confidence in public schools: Lack of discipline seen as biggest problem

Board members not monopolizing superintendents time

Americans would pay more taxes to support public schools

Small schools hold promise for rooting out violence

TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS

ISBE approves use of Lincoln Foundation criteria to meet state standards

State’s new clearinghouse contains federal & foundation grant details

ADA notice requirement help available

THE NATIONAL SCENE

School enrollment hits all-time high

Arts education awards program invites nominations

Federal agency rules bus seat belts are not needed

ILLINOIS COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM RESULTS

Student scores remain steady in ACT testing

Illinois SAT scores rise again

Recent mailings from IASB

State Superintendent of Education Glenn W. McGee recently announced that the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) will continue to be administered to 10th grade students in reading, writing and mathematics next spring. "There will be no high school ISAT in 2001 unless the law is changed," McGee added. The move to revive the ISAT for grade 10 came after the state became concerned about the lack of data available regarding high school accountability in meeting the new state standards for learning. There was concern the state would not have sufficient PSAE results to gauge compliance with the learning standards until 2002 (see schedule of exams below).

McGee suggested that the move to administer the ISAT next spring results from "an accountability gap." He stated: "trend data from PSAE will not be available until the spring of 2002 and, at the same time, we will have no high school ISAT results to mark progress toward the Illinois learning standards."

"I realize that the short notice of this announcement may cause scheduling inconveniences in your schools. However, these test results will give schools and the state the necessary data to continue charting student progress toward – and being accountable for – achieving the Illinois learning standards," McGee stated.

The state will send further information on the PSAE to school districts soon, McGee added. Districts also will receive information from the State Superintendent’s office about the state’s five-year test development schedule, in order to assist school leaders in long-range planning. For updates check the ISBE website at http://www.isbe.state.il.us. To obtain answers to specific questions, contact ISBE assessment experts at 217/782-4823.

Table of Contents

• All 10th grade students take ISAT in reading, writing and mathematics• All 11th grade students take a one-hour PSAE pilot test

• All 11th grade students take the PSAE in reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies (baseline year)

• No 10th grade ISAT will be administered unless the law is changed.

Table of Contents

Recent legislative sessions in Springfield have yielded significant improvements in appropriations levels, but fundamental problems of equity and adequacy remain within the school funding system itself. So say school management lobbyists, in evaluating what they call "fundamental" issues on the horizon for the Illinois General Assembly.

One problem is that Fiscal Year 2000-2001 is the final year for the guaranteed foundation level of state appropriations for public schools. The end of the foundation-level guarantee means "the funding of public education again will be at the whim of the legislature," one school management lobbyist states.

Meanwhile, tax-capped Equalized Assessed Valuation (EAV) is now a permanent part of the school funding formula, a factor likely to drive up the state’s share of the cost of public education without boosting total school funding. In other words, significant increases in the state’s share of total school funding may be required simply to offset decreases in the local share caused by property tax extension limits.

A third major stumbling block in the area of school funding reform concerns accelerated payments for schools provided by former Governor Jim Edgar in June 1998. Edgar advanced a $102 million school aid fund payment from July to June last year to improve cash flow and financial conditions for Illinois schools. The move offset for one year the effect of a fiscal move the legislature made back in 1992 to stop providing the advance payment annually. Unfortunately, these accelerated payments must be continued every year in order for schools to maintain their existing funding levels.

Governor George Ryan has made a commitment to maintain the accelerated payments. Lawmakers must approve that action, however and, given other pressures on state coffers, schools will need to lobby hard to make the arrangement permanent.

A fourth problem on the horizon concerns the fact that the so-called hold-harmless provision maintains Fiscal Year 1997-98 levels for some school districts. This provision likely will continue to help escalate the cost of public education to the state without increasing the level of funding to local schools that already receive hold harmless revenue. Furthermore, some districts may get fewer dollars than last year yet be unaffected by the hold harmless provision because their funding levels do not dip below the Fiscal Year 1997-98 funding level.

A larger problem will arise from the legislative redistricting coming soon after the 2000 federal census. The November 2000 General Election is the final time lawmakers will be elected in the legislative districts they currently represent. After the decennial census, their district boundaries will be redrawn to meet the one-man, one-vote constitutional requirement.

The problem redistricting presents for school funding reform is that "legislators are uncomfortable addressing controversial subjects like school funding when they are running for re-election in newly formed districts," a School Management Alliance lobbyist explains.

Table of Contents

A one-day educational summit hosted by change guru Patrick Dolan, "Implementing school change: A statewide collaboration," will be held October 29, 1999 at the Northfield Inn and Suites, Springfield. Representatives from the Illinois Learning Partnership and affiliated learning networks throughout the state will explore characteristics of successful learning organizations in education and business. The goal is "to provide existing networks and school leadership teams with a framework and ideas to support your efforts at implementing school change," sponsors say. Attendees also will hear from Harry Litchfield, Deere & Company’s manager of worldwide learning. Litchfield will compare the collaborative efforts of business leadership teams to those of leadership teams in education. Registration is $20 per person or $70 per team of four; the deadline to register is October 20. For more information contact the ILP by fax at 815/588-3571 or by phone at 815/588-3560.

Table of Contents

The state is asking school boards to complete a short evaluation form to review "the nature and quality of services furnished to school districts by the State Board of Education and the regional offices of education." The form, which must by returned by October 29 to the offices of Illinois Lieutenant Governor Corrine Wood, was distributed by that office to all school board presidents in late August. Under a 1997 state law the board president must obtain "input from the district’s administrators, teachers, and teacher organizations to assist the board" when evaluating state services to the local district. For more information call the Lieutenant Governor’s office at 217/782-3734.

Table of Contents

---

THE NATIONAL SCENE

---

School enrollment hits all-time high

Enrollment in America’s schools, public and private, hit a record high this year at 53.2 million, according to the U.S. Department of Education. This year’s enrollment is roughly 500,000 above last year’s level. Growth is expected to continue until a peak enrollment of 54.2 million students is reached in 2009, with most of that growth at the high school level. The "baby boom echo" is largely responsible, along with rising birthrates, immigration, and widening preschool enrollment.

Table of Contents

Arts education awards program invites nominations

The Illinois Alliance for Arts Education is now accepting nominations for the 12th annual Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Awards Program, sponsored in part by NSBA. The program recognizes a local school board for its outstanding support of the arts in education. Local school boards may nominate themselves for the award, but each application will require an endorsement letter from the Illinois Association of School Boards to be eligible for consideration. The deadline for boards to file application materials with the Illinois Alliance is November 15. For more information, contact Nadine Saitlin, Executive Director, Illinois Alliance for Arts Education, at 312/750-0589.

Table of Contents

Federal agency rules bus seat belts are not needed

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended a series of steps in September to prevent injuries in school bus accidents—but the agency said seat belts are not needed in school buses. Adding seat belts to school buses actually could harm children, the board found. Videotaped reconstructions of school bus collisions showed that seat belts secured children in their seats, making their heads snap dangerously back and forth.

"The current seats are not designed for seat belts, and that’s the bottom line," explained Joe Osterman, head of the board’s highway division. The NTSB left open, however, the issue of whether seat belts should be included on next-generation bus seats.

The NTSB found that school bus passengers are safer than they were in 1977 when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration required "compartmentalization." This term refers to a bus design that requires closely spaced, high-backed, padded seats to keep children from being tossed around in a crash. The NTSB now recommends that those standards be expanded.

The NTSB reiterated, however, that school bus travel is one of the safest forms of transportation in the United States. Each year, on average, only nine school bus passengers are fatally injured in bus crashes. In comparison, last year over 42,000 passenger car and truck occupants were fatally injured in highway crashes in this country.

The five-member NTSB has the power only to make safety recommendations, not regulations.

Table of Contents

---

RESEARCH REPORTS

---

Public reaffirms confidence in public schools: Lack of discipline seen as biggest problem

The findings of the 31st annual Gallup poll of attitudes toward the public schools "clearly affirm the public’s belief that our national commitment to educating all our children through the public schools should be maintained." A question new to the 1999 poll asked whether respondents prefer "improving and strengthening the public schools or providing vouchers for parents to use in selecting and paying for private and/or church-related schools." Seventy percent of respondents opted for "improving existing public schools," and just 28 percent favored "providing vouchers." For more information on the poll, contact PDK, P.O. Box 789, Bloomington, IN 47402; phone 800/766-1156.

Table of Contents

Board members not monopolizing superintendents time

Illinois board members "are not taking more of the superintendent’s time," according to the latest IASA survey of Illinois school superintendents, conducted by Western Illinois University Professors Max E. Pierson and Robert F. Hall. "The Illinois School Superintendency" survey shows 71.5 percent of superintendents "spend three hours per week or less with board members." That compares to 72.9 percent five years ago. "While this is not a statistically significant difference, it would seem to indicate that the popular perception of superintendents regarding this issue is flawed," the study says. In other findings, only one superintendent among the more than 600 who responded on the topic received an unsatisfactory rating in their latest board evaluation. Yet 517 district superintendents earned an "excellent" rating, and 99 received a "satisfactory" rating. Roughly 89 percent reported themselves satisfied with their present superintendency. For more information on the survey – which also profiles superintendents’ background and experience – phone IASA at 217/787-9306.

Table of Contents

Americans would pay more taxes to support public schools

A new poll shows a substantial majority of the American public is willing to pay higher taxes to fund improvements to public schools. That word comes from a national poll released September 7 by National Public Radio (NPR). Specifically, three out of four Americans say they would support having their taxes raised by at least $200 a year to pay for specific measures to benefit the public schools in their community. The new poll was conducted on behalf of NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Kennedy School of Government. It was based on a random telephone survey of 1,422 adults nationwide. A summary is available online at http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/poll/education/education.front.html . To order a transcript of the resulting NPR story "Americans Willing to Pay for Improving Schools," phone 877/677-8398.

Table of Contents

Small schools hold promise for rooting out violence

The latest issue of The Progress of Education Reform 1999-2001, a newsletter from the Education Commission of the States (ECS), suggests small schools may hold the key to rooting out violent behavior among the nation’s youth. The newsletter quotes Deborah W. Meier, a former New York City high school principal. "The data are clear that the smaller the school the fewer the incidents of violence, as well as vandalism and just plain rudeness," Meier stated. "Small schools offer what metal detectors and guards cannot: the safety and security of being where you are known well by people who care for you." For further information on this topic, visit the ECS Web site http://www.ecs.org. Order copies of the report from ECS at 303/299-3692.

Table of Contents

---

NEWS FROM IASB

---

Nominating committee slates IASB officers

The IASB Delegate Assembly will elect Association officers at the annual meeting Saturday, November 20, from 10:30 a.m. until noon, at the Annual Conference. The slate of officers presented by the nominating committee includes: E. Jerald Eiffert, Mt. Zion C.U. District 3, for President; Dennis McConville, Dimmick C.C. District 175, for Vice President; and for director-at-large Nancy Flouret, Township H.S. District 113, Highland Park; David Kniker, Kewanee C.U. District 229; Milt H. Koppenhoefer, Metamora C.C. District 1; and Michelle Elaine Skinlo, Mattoon C.U. District 2.

Table of Contents

IASB Directors win Those Who Excel Awards

Two members of IASB’s Board of Directors – William A. Jenner, O’Fallon Township High School District 203, and Marie C. Slater, C.U. District 200, Wheaton – earned Those Who Excel awards from the state this year. Jenner won the competition’s highest honor, the Award of Excellence, while Slater won the second-highest honor, the Award of Merit. Those Who Excel Awards are made annually by the Illinois State Board of Education for outstanding contributions to Illinois schools.

In addition to Jenner and Slater, eleven other school board members received the 1999 award. The others were: Julia A. Norem, Belvidere C.U. District 100 (Award of Excellence); Scott Umbreit, Rich Township High School District 227, Olympia Fields; Bruce E. Beckman, Community High School District 99, Downers Grove; Suzanne Crofts, Cass District 63, Darien; Michael W. Kiss, Township High School District 113, Highland Park; Marc Spivak, Kildeer Countryside C.C. District 96, Buffalo Grove; Jeffrey Perkins, Decatur District 61 (Award of Excellence); Donald L. Davinroy, Collinsville C.U. District 10; Janet S. Hood, McLean County Unit District 5, Normal; Anne H. Adler, Moline District 40; David J. Kurlinkus, Hononegah Community High School District 207, Rockton.

Table of Contents

1999 Cole Award winners named

A first-time prize winner and a previous first-prize winner earned top honors in the 1999 Robert M. Cole Awards. The Cole Awards annually recognize the Illinois newspapers that have done the best job of covering issues facing local school boards.

The top winner in the large newspaper category (circulation 8,000 or greater) went to The Courier-News, Elgin, for a series displaying "excellent and balanced coverage of an important school referendum." The Elgin newspaper also won top prize in both 1995 and 1997. The first-place winner among smaller newspapers (less than 8,000 circulation) was the Landmark, Oak Park, for outstanding continuing coverage of major school board issues, a first-time winner.

The Cole Awards are sponsored annually by the Illinois Association of School Boards and are conducted by the Illinois Press Association (IPA) as part of the IPA’s annual newspaper contest. The award is named for the first full-time executive director of IASB and recognizes the most outstanding achievement in continuing coverage of local school board issues.

Second place among smaller newspapers was awarded to the Highland News Leader, while third prize went to the Morris Daily Herald. First honorable mention was awarded to the Chillicothe Times-Bulletin, Peoria; second honorable mention went to The Herald, Bourbonnais; and third honorable mention went to the Breeze-Courier, Taylorville. No other prizes were awarded this year.

Roughly 100 different newspapers have earned recognition in the 20 years IASB has sponsored the Cole Awards competition.

Table of Contents

---

TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS

---

ISBE approves use of Lincoln Foundation criteria to meet state standards

The State Board of Education and the Lincoln Foundation for Business Excellence (LFBE) recently announced that schools participating in the LFBE process will meet all requirements of the State Board’s quality assurance review. By meeting the Lincoln criteria for education excellence, districts will bypass the state board Quality Assurance reviews, school improvement plans, and internal reviews based on the ISAT/IGAP scores.

In short, LFBE involvement offers districts a different path to achieving continual improvement while meeting state standards. Undertaking this process, however, demands greater rigor and discipline from all district stakeholders. It is another way for public schools to show the state that they are succeeding. This approach may be particularly appropriate for districts that "desire more rigor to avoid the ‘averageness’ of the Quality Assurance process," experts on the LFBE say.

Thus, participation in the LFBE process may take more time and effort compared to involvement in the State Board’s new standards review process. Yet there are distinct benefits in pursuing the LFBE approach, including the collaborative teamwork that is developed within a school district under the LFBE process.

In the months since the State Board of Education adopted the Illinois Learning Standards the state has been in the process of aligning its efforts at all levels of the education community: students, teachers, administrators, community members and, of course, school board members. The Lincoln criteria fulfills this potential alignment at all levels to create a stakeholder-driven system of education.

The State Board indicates, as well, that schools pursuing the Lincoln Foundation criteria will see meaningful improvement for all those who participate. Experts say the process demands rigor, discipline and responsibility. Application for the Lincoln Awards for education promotes performance excellence, and subsequent improvement. It also encourages sharing successful performance improvement strategies and benefits. It is both a self-assessment process and an external assessment process that uses a team of highly trained examiners.

Under LFBE, seven key areas of education criteria for performance excellence are evaluated. They include: leadership, strategic planning, student and stakeholder focus, information and analysis, faculty and staff focus, educational and support process management, and school performance results. The ultimate aim is continuous improvement in all these areas.

For further information, contact: The Lincoln Foundation for Business Excellence; 820 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 525; Chicago, IL 60607; fax: 312/258-4066 or phone: 312/ 258-5301.

Source: Cynthia Woods, IASB liaison to ISBE.

Table of Contents

State’s new clearinghouse contains federal & foundation grant details

Called the "Illinois Federal Clearinghouse," a new State of Illinois-run Web site (http://www.state.il.us/fedclear/) is a useful repository of detailed information on private state and national foundations, many of which make funds available to schools. (Click on "Foundation Listings" near the bottom of the site’s home page.) The site is designed primarily to ensure that state and local governments receive all of the federal funds possible. Yet it also features federal grant opportunities, listed by topic, with access to original source material. The site also boasts links to the Federal Register, the official source for complete regulations promulgated by federal agencies in administering federal laws. In short, this is an invaluable resource for school district grant seekers and program participants alike.

Table of Contents

ADA notice requirement help available

The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) is now offering notice kits to simplify compliance with notice requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The notice section of the ADA’s Title II regulations (35.106) requires that all public schools inform employees and community members of the ADA’s applicability to school activities, programs and services, and its protections against discrimination. A recent federal district court ruling, Clarkson v. Coughlin et al., 898 F. Supp. 1019 (S.D.N.Y), ruled that a public entity had violated the law by failing to provide these notices. The AASA kits are designed to help schools provide this notice in various forms accessible to those with disabilities (large print, Braille, audio cassette, and computer disk). Color notice posters are included. Each Kit is $69, plus $7.50 shipping and handling. Kits include free updates. For more information or to order, please call toll free 877/ADA-KITS (877/232-5487).

Table of Contents

---

ILLINOIS LEGISLATION & LAWS

---

School bus safety planning mandated by new law

"Your parent-teacher advisory committee now has another task – to develop school bus safety procedures," as mandated under a new state law to take effect January 1, 2000. That news comes from the latest policy update advisory from IASB’s legally referenced Policy Reference Education Subscription Service (PRESS). It states: "The legislation requires the Parent-Teacher Advisory Committee, in cooperation with school bus personnel, to develop bus safety guidelines. These must be included in the district’s pupil discipline policy." Parent-teacher advisory committees already are required to help boards develop policy guidelines on student discipline. An upcoming issue of PRESS will provide sample safety procedures. To subscribe to PRESS, phone the IASB office nearest you, extension 1226 or 1227.

Table of Contents

Teacher re-certification bill requires districts to appoint committee members

Legislation recently adopted as Senate Bill 556 (P.A. 91-102), requires that each local school district assist in developing a Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC) for teacher re-certification, effective next February 15. The committees will approve or deny individual re-certification plans for every teacher in the district. These local committees will be made up of three teachers appointed by the local teachers organization, and two other members appointed by the school district.

While the two committee members chosen by the district must meet community representation requirements of the law, insiders say the law gives teachers full control of the committee decision-making. Thus it could well be frustrating for non-teachers to serve on the committee, and choosing these two members from the ranks of teachers might be the wisest course of action.

Under the new law, the standard teaching certificate is renewable every five years by the State Teacher Certification Board upon proof of continuing education. Proof may include approved college or university coursework or professional development. The new law marks the first time that Illinois has adopted specific professional development standards for teaching certificate renewal.

In helping to develop the legislation, which began as a one-sided Illinois Education Association and Illinois Federation of Teachers plan, the Illinois School Management Alliance secured some protection for school districts in the operation of the LPDC. Improvements secured by the Alliance include: 1) LPDC meetings shall not be scheduled so as to interfere with committee members’ regularly scheduled teaching duties (the same provision was added for the Regional Professional Development Review Committees), 2) each school district shall be paid $1,000 per school year for administrative costs associated with conducting LPDC meetings, 3) the regional office shall receive $2,000 to cover costs associated with the regional review committees, 4) LPDC committee make-up was changed to include three classroom teachers, one administrator or his or her designee, and one at-large member selected by the school district, and 5) the list of union activities that could qualify for continuing education was streamlined.

Under the new law, the LPDC must:

• Review and approve each teacher’s self-prepared Certification Renewal Plan (CRP);

• Review and approve modifications to the CRP;

• Maintain a file of approved plans;

• Monitor the progress of approved plans;

• Assist in the development of the school district’s professional development plans based on needs identified in the CRPs;

• Determine whether the certificate holders have completed the activities listed in their plans, and met the requirements of their plans;

• Issue and forward recommendations for certificate renewal, including supporting documentation.

School management lobbyists currently are advising districts to refrain from bargaining any aspect of this new law, at least until after state regulations are established under it. Districts that bargain provisions now could be bargaining something that is rendered mute by the new rules.

A 3:30 p.m., November 20 panel session at the Annual Conference – "Will the New Teacher Recertification Process Make a Difference?" – will explore the roles of the local board and administrators with regard to this new law.

Table of Contents

Out-of-state student transfer rules tightened

S.B. 648, containing a major revision of Illinois charter schools law, was approved by Illinois lawmakers and sent to the Governor in May. Governor Ryan is expected to sign the bill. Key changes to the charter law would include provisions:

* requiring local boards of education to submit charter school proposals to referendum voting if 5 percent or more of the voters of the district join in petitioning for it

* allowing for transition impact aid to a school district with a non-district created charter school

* stipulating that such transition impact aid must pay the school district 90 percent of the per capita funding of the charter school for the first year, 65 percent the second year, and 35 percent the third year

* establishing grants and interest-free loans to charter schools for start-up costs

Table of Contents

---

ILLINOIS COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM RESULTS

---

Student scores remain steady in ACT testing

Illinois students’ average composite score on the ACT college entrance exam remained unchanged at 21.4 in 1999. Scores by Illinois students remained well above the national average of 21.0, which also was unchanged from last year. Illinois scores topped the national average for the ninth consecutive year, with 67 percent of Illinois high school seniors taking the ACT exam, down from 69 percent last year.

Table of Contents

Illinois SAT scores rise again

After hitting new highs in each of the past two years, SAT scores of Illinois students rose still further above the national average this year. Illinois students scored 569 on the verbal portion of the college entrance exam and 585 on the mathematics portion in 1999, while U.S. averages stood at 505 and 511, respectively. Last year Illinois student scores stood at 564 on the verbal portion, and 581 on the math portion of the SAT. Only twelve percent of Illinois students took the college entrance exam this year, however, compared to 13 percent last year. Nationwide, 43 percent of students took the SAT this year. For more information, contact the College Board, 45 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10023-6992; phone 212/713-8000.