Legislature(2013 - 2014)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/29/2013 08:00 AM Senate EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation: University of Alaska Board of Regents | |
| Discussion No. 3 on Voucher Systems | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE EDUCATION STANDING COMMITTEE
March 29, 2013
8:00 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Gary Stevens, Chair
Senator Mike Dunleavy, Vice Chair
Senator Charlie Huggins
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Bert Stedman
Senator Berta Gardner
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING
University of Alaska Board of Regents
Gloria O'Neill
- CONFIRMATION ADVANCED
DISCUSSION No. 3 ON VOUCHER SYSTEMS
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
See Senate Education minutes for 03/01/13 and 03/22/13
WITNESS REGISTER
GLORIA O'NEILL, Appointee
University of Alaska Board of Regents
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information related to her
confirmation hearing.
PATRICK WOLF, PhD, Professor of Education Reform
21st Century Endowed Chair in School Choice
Department of Education Reform
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented information related to vouchers.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:00:10 AM
CHAIR GARY STEVENS called the Senate Education Standing
Committee meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Huggins and Dunleavy, and Chair Stevens.
^Confirmation: University of Alaska Board of Regents
Confirmation Hearing
University of Alaska Board of Regents
8:00:32 AM
CHAIR STEVENS announced that the first order of business would
be a confirmation hearing for Gloria O'Neill [to the University
of Alaska Board of Regents].
GLORIA O'NEILL, Appointee, University of Alaska Board of
Regents, introduced herself.
CHAIR STEVENS asked Ms. O'Neill to provide information about her
reasons for wanting to serve on the Board of Regents.
MS. O'NEILL related that she was asked by the governor's office
if she would like to serve on the Board. She said she was
ecstatic and very humbled because for many years, as president
and CEO of the Cook Inlet Tribal Council (CTIC), she has focused
on education issues. She opined that education is the equal
opportunity for all Alaskans. She noted the last several years
she has focused her energy on education reform. She shared her
experience on education issues and how to advance opportunities
for rural Alaskans. She related that the Native community needs
to be involved in the education process.
She described how she has moved CITC into a position to make an
impact in the local school district.
8:03:28 AM
MS. O'NEILL related her personal life and education history. She
stressed the importance of education in her life. She concluded
when she was asked to serve on the Board she replied
"absolutely."
CHAIR STEVENS requested Ms. O'Neill comment on the impact of low
income on students and their desire to go to college.
MS. O'NEILL said it is a complex issue. She related that parents
who are engaged make a difference in their students' education.
It is important for children to have an adult in their lives for
support within the schools. She stressed the importance of
counselors in the larger school districts. She noted in rural
areas there are fewer opportunities. She suggested leveraging
technology to assist the community and parents in becoming
involved in education.
8:07:03 AM
MS. O'NEILL spoke in support of residential schools. She
suggested that the education system may need to look differently
in the next five years.
CHAIR STEVENS spoke of working to develop Alaskans as Teachers.
He requested comments on that issue.
MS. O'NEILL was clear that this is an area that she supports; a
focus area that the university needs to prioritize. She spoke of
some successes, such as the Alaska Native Education Science and
Engineering program, but also challenges in rural Alaska. When
looking at what has worked, there is success in investing in a
program which teaches Alaskans to become teachers. She stressed
the importance of turning around the poor graduation rate.
8:10:26 AM
CHAIR STEVENS noted the successes of the Alaska Native Science
and Engineering Program and director Herb Schroeder's innovative
methods.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY moved to forward the appointment of Gloria
O'Neill to the University of Alaska Board of Regents for
confirmation before a joint session of the legislature. There
being no objection, it was so ordered.
8:11:20 AM
At ease
^Discussion No. 3 on Voucher Systems
Discussion No. 3 on Voucher Systems
8:12:27 AM
CHAIR STEVENS announced that the final order of business would
be a continuation of the discussion on school vouchers.
PATRICK WOLF, PhD, Professor of Education Reform, 21st Century
Endowed Chair in School Choice, Department of Education Reform,
University of Arkansas, presented information related to
vouchers. He said he would discuss the effects of private school
choice programs. He related that today 33 private school choice
programs are funded by direct government appropriation or tax
credits. These schools serve 244,000 children nationally.
He said he has spent the last 14 years studying school choice
programs for the federal and state governments and for private
foundations. He explained that he has completed longitudinal
evaluations of the school choice programs in Milwaukee and in
the District of Columbia.
8:15:17 AM
MR. WOLF described the impacts of the Choice Program on the
Milwaukee School District, all of them favorable. He said the
value of a private school voucher program is that it is less
expensive than the amount spent on public school students and it
saves taxpayers money. The Choice Program also produced better
outcomes for students.
He reported that researchers use scientific methods to evaluate
school choice programs. The positive effects of such programs
are similar for both government-financed voucher programs and
for tax credit-financed scholarship programs.
8:16:40 AM
MR. WOLF quoted data from Education Week: "Of the ten gold
standard experimental evaluations of voucher and voucher-type
programs, nine have reported achievement gains from the voucher
programs for all or some subgroups of participating students."
He related that in the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program,
after three years, students who used the federally sponsored
vouchers gained an additional four-and-a-half months of learning
compared to students in the control group. The D.C. students
also graduated at much higher rates, with a 30 percent gain in
the graduation rate.
He discussed the Florida Statewide Tax Credit Scholarship
program which showed a significant increase in reading scores.
He concluded that in Milwaukee, D.C., and Florida, there were
similar findings regarding reading scores. He pointed out that
public schools deliver better educational results for their
students when they face competition from private school choice.
He related that private school choice programs serve highly
disadvantaged students. Of the 33 voucher and tax credit
programs, 19 serve lower income families, six are limited to
students in underperforming public schools, and two programs are
targeted to both. Ten voucher programs are limited to students
with disabilities.
8:19:29 AM
MR. WOLF shared information about the D.C. voucher program which
began in 2004. Over 99 percent of the students were African-
American or Hispanic-American with the average annual family
income of just over $17,000. He said that 17 percent of the
students had a diagnosed disability. The students served by this
federal school choice program were highly disadvantaged.
He reported at the start of the Milwaukee study in 2006,
students in the program were matched with the lower performing
students in the public schools. He quoted John Witty as saying,
"The evidence is overwhelming that voucher programs do not cream
the best and the brightest kids. In fact, it is the opposite.
They attract more disadvantaged students out of the public
schools."
He maintained that vouchers programs often improve racial
integration, political tolerance, and volunteerism. He said
research has confirmed that students and adults volunteer at
higher rates if they have exercised private school choice.
MR. WOLF provided statistics about parent satisfaction with
school choice. Every study shows that parents are much happier
with their child's school if they played a role in choosing it.
In the D.C. program, 80 percent of parents graded their child's
school with an A or a B, compared to 50 percent of parents in
the control group.
He made concluding comments about the benefits of private school
choice programs. He quoted a parent in a D.C. voucher program
explaining why the program was important to her.
8:22:48 AM
MR. WOLF offered to answer questions.
CHAIR STEVENS asked Mr. Wolf to describe the types of schools he
works with.
MR. WOLF replied that the majority of private school choice
schools are religious schools. In D.C. about 60 percent of the
students attended Catholic schools. In Milwaukee about 45
percent attended Catholic schools and about 30 percent attended
Lutheran schools. In Milwaukee there are several Jewish,
Islamic, and Evangelical schools. There are also some secular
private schools.
8:24:25 AM
SENATOR DUNLEAVY inquired if schools in New England were the
first voucher schools.
MR. WOLF replied that there is some disagreement as to whether
they are private or voucher schools. Some rural communities
never established public schools in Maine and Vermont. The state
decided to pay the tuition for students in those areas. The
schools looks like voucher schools, but they are run by the
state. He said he liked that there are a variety of models.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY noted Alaska is in the process of trying to
change the constitution to allow for public money to be used for
private or religious schools. He mentioned contradictory studies
and how much they vary, pro and con, regarding vouchers.
MR. WOLF opined that some programs do a selective reading of the
literature. He noted he presents all results of all studies in
his presentations. Sometime the samples are too small to get a
clear significant impact of a program. Many critics seize the
one result that was not significant and then characterize the
study as such. He deemed that not fair.
He pointed out that all four studies show that voucher kids
graduate at a higher rate.
8:29:21 AM
SENATOR DUNLEAVY spoke of NEA's resistance to school choice and
their claim that such an approach will seriously negatively
impact public education and will cost taxpayers more money. NEA
claims there is no federal protection in terms of discrimination
and that some schools are teaching religion. He opined that the
argument boils down to money and religion.
MR. WOLF commented that when a private school choice program is
implemented there is only a small exodus to the new program.
About 3 to 5 percent of eligible students participate the first
year. The financial impact depends on how the program is
designed. If the money follows the student, the public school
gets less money. The purpose of the funding is the education of
the student, so the money going with the student is legitimate.
He said most parents like that religious education is included
in the curriculum in order to help with the child's formation.
Most parents don't care which kind of religion is associated
with the school. The voucher schools accommodate kids with
diverse backgrounds.
MR. WOLF spoke to the legality of vouchers. Because parents are
deciding where the resources are going, it does not represent a
government endorsement of religion. He emphasized that when
public schools face competition, they tend to improve their
performance and student test scores go up.
8:34:53 AM
CHAIR STEVENS requested more information about how all schools
improve with competition from private schools.
MR. WOLF said the research is not sufficiently advanced to
ensure that is so. He said there are general trends, such as
public schools tend to communicate more effectively with parents
and clarify what their school provides. This has a positive
effect on school achievement and on parental involvement. These
are modest improvements. He concluded that private school
competition causes schools to be more outward looking.
8:37:08 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS inquired about socio-economic status as it
relates to school choice in high school and in college.
MR. WOLF shared his uncertainty about the inequity surrounding
Pell Grants for disadvantaged students and vouchers for K-12
students. He stressed that disadvantaged students benefit most
from private schools.
SENATOR HUGGINS provided an example of previous resistance to
cyber schools, charter schools, and correspondence schools,
which now are popular. Parents are now promoting those programs.
He asked if Mr. Wolf is seeing the same thing.
MR. WOLF described the Florida Virtual Academy, the largest
private school participating in a tax credit scholarship
program. He said, in general, a policy infrastructure that
allows school choice is the future of education. It is a blend
of virtual learning and alternative teaching methods, such as
coaching students. He said that states can put the policy
structure in place now in order to accommodate the transition to
blended learning.
8:42:35 AM
SENATOR HUGGINS referred to data that reflected that Alaska
received a C grade for education in a poll of Alaskans. He
wondered why school choice evolved in Milwaukee and D.C.
MR. WOLF said key leaders of those communities demanded it. In
Milwaukee, Pauley Williams worked with Governor Tommy Thompson
and Republican leadership to craft the first urban school
voucher program. In D.C., the Republican Congress proposed a
school voucher program and Mayor Anthony Williams and the
superintendent promoted it. He pointed out that most initiatives
are bi-partisan and driven by a coalition.
8:45:13 AM
CHAIR STEVENS described Alaska's low population and inquired how
school choice applies to rural districts, of which Alaska has
many. He said rural students are having difficulties on national
tests.
MR. WOLF reported that he visited Anchorage in 2012. He agreed
that Alaska is unique. He though private school choice would
have the most impact in urban areas such as Juneau, Anchorage,
and Fairbanks. He understood that existing private schools are
under-enrolled. The most immediate effect would be felt in urban
areas. Rural areas are not impossible to incorporate into school
choice by the use of residential schools or hybrid and virtual
schools.
8:48:45 AM
SENATOR DUNLEAVY noted he is a prime sponsor on SJR 9, a very
controversial bill. He said in Alaska there is a home-school
correspondence program, which he described as a voucher to
purchase materials and equipment. He wished to allow children to
integrate into private schools for classes. He asked if there is
a similar model in the Lower 48.
MR. WOLF said very few states provide financing for home
schooling. He said this type of customizing of education is the
direction of the future. Private school choice helps support
that customization of education. Parents like to have their
children socialize, so a hybrid model would be very attractive.
SENATOR DUNLEAVY said opponents paint a negative picture of
school choice. He asked if there is any evidence of this.
8:53:11 AM
MR. WOLF said he has seen bad public schools in urban settings
have to close due to public charter schools in D.C. and in
Milwaukee. He opined that the students in public schools win by
moving to better schools. He said he did not consider that a
disaster.
CHAIR STEVENS said it was a very informative presentation. He
thanked the presenter.
MR. WOLF related his excitement about what is happening in
Alaska. He listed states that are also interested in making
private school choice available: Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia,
Minnesota, and Montana.
8:55:53 AM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Stevens adjourned the Senate Education Committee at 8:55
a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Patrick Wolf_bio.pdf |
SEDC 3/29/2013 8:00:00 AM |
Vouchers #3 - Patrick Wolf |