Myth Vs. Reality: Protect Our [Failing] Schools Act

Publishers Notes: I called the Governor out some time ago about the Solar Bill and Sanctuary State Bill. I challenged the Governor as to why he wasn't screaming at the top of the mountains calling out our elected officials in Annapolis and all of a sudden, (since then) they are doing exactly what I had suggested. I also stated, what power does our Governor have if every time he veto's a bill, the Senate just overrides his veto's. I'm glad to see they finally got their act together on the multiple press releases they've been sending out since we called them out. 

Governor Hogan’s Veto of The Protect Our [Failing] Schools Act Must Be Sustained; Legislation Traps Students in Failing Schools

“Last week, the legislature passed a piece of legislation which, if not reversed, would directly threaten Maryland’s well-earned reputation as a national leader in education. Instead of racing to the top, we would be trapped in a race to the bottom. This bill would make us one of the least accountable school systems in the United States of America.” - Governor Larry Hogan, April 5, 2017

MYTH:

• Teachers Union President Betty Weller Stated That Governor Hogan’s Veto Means That The Governor Is “Out-Of-Touch.” “Maryland State Education Association President Betty Weller released the following statement: ‘Gov. Hogan’s veto of the Protect Our Schools Act isn’t out of left field, but it’s certainly out-of-touch.” (Press Release, MSEA Statement On Gov. Hogan’s Anti-Public Education Veto,” Maryland State Education Association, 4/5/17)

REALITY:

• Governor Hogan’s Veto Is Supported By The Maryland State Board Of Education, Maryland State Department Of Education, And Numerous Education Advocates. “The Maryland State Board of Education unanimously opposes the bill.” "The State Board of Education continues to oppose this legislation because it de-prioritizes student achievement, dictates how we share school-performance information with families and other stakeholders, and limits, instead of expands, the state's ability to address the needs of boys and girls in persistently underperforming schools," board President Andy Smarick said in a statement.” “The state Board of Education is opposed to the bill, as is state schools Superintendent Karen Salmon. She said the state heard from hundreds of people before the draft plan was written. She thinks decisions on education policy are better left to the school board than the legislature.” (Brian Witte, “Maryland Governor Vetoes Bill On Lagging Schools,” The Associated Press, 4/5/17; Pamela Wood, “Hogan Vetoes Bill limiting Maryland School Reforms,” The Baltimore Sun, 4/5/17; Pamela Wood, “Hogan Blasts Bill That Would Limit Education Reforms,” The Baltimore Sun, 3/24/17)       

MYTH:

• Teachers Union President Betty Weller Stated That The Protect Our Schools Act Will Help Close The Achievement Gap In Maryland. "We have a once in a generation opportunity for Maryland to redefine and improve public school success, with less emphasis on testing and a greater focus on closing opportunity gaps,’ said Betty Weller, president of the Maryland State Education Association.” (Press Release, Maryland House Passes The Protect Our Schools Act,” Maryland State Education Association, 3/10/17)

REALITY:

• The Protect Our Schools Act Will Trap Students In Failing Schools; Will Strip Authority Away From The State Board Of Education To Effectively Implement Measures To Help These Students Succeed. “SB 871/HB 978, if enacted, would seriously encroach upon the purview of the State Board as an independent body charged with ensuring that Maryland’s public education system serves and operates in the best interest of all students in the State. The General Assembly has rightfully entrusted the State Board as the head of the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and invested it by law ‘with the last word on any matter concerning educational policy or the administration of the system…’ This includes providing leadership and oversight for the creation and successful implementation of the State Consolidated Plan required under ESSA. The State Board and MSDE are dedicated to developing a high-quality plan that ensures that all students have access to a world-class educational system that prepares them to graduate from high school ready for post-secondary learning, rewarding work and success in society and life. SB 871/HB 978 severely restrict the State Board in its shaping of the accountability system; they also dictate to it and to MSDE key elements of the State’s most important education accountability functions, including (1) deciding how to prioritize student learning, (2) how to report on student learning, and (3) what to do when students are not learning.” (Andy Smarick, Letter To Members Of The General Assembly: Protect Our Schools Act Of 2017, 3/24/17)

MYTH:

• Teachers Union President Betty Weller Claims That Governor Hogan Is Vetoing The Legislation To Appease “Partisan” And “Corporate” Interests. “It’s ridiculous that Gov. Hogan is standing against what overwhelming majorities of Marylanders want simply because partisan and corporate interests told him to do so. We will now ask legislators in the General Assembly to pass the legislation and be prepared to override this misguided veto.” (Press Release, “Hogan Threatens To Veto Public School Protection Bill,” Maryland State Education Association, 3/24/17)

REALITY:

• Members Of The General Assembly Peddled A Horrible Bill Written To Appease Campaign Donors, At The Expense Of Students. “Put bluntly, if this legislation becomes law, the state board won’t be able to prioritize student learning or be clear about school performance or do meaningful things when schools fail. That may serve the interests of the teachers unions, which predictably have been the main pushers of this legislation, but it would not help students, particularly those — minority and low-income — who lag behind their more affluent counterparts.” (Editorial, “Maryland Threatens To Reverse Its Progress In Education,” The Washington Post,  3/23/17)   

MYTH:

• Teachers Union Lobbyist Sean Johnson, Asserts That Governor Hogan Is “Teaming Up With President Trump” To Privatize Schools In Maryland. “We know Gov. Hogan is teaming up with President Trump to drive a school privatization agenda, but it doesn’t mean he has to use his misleading communications tactics, too,’ said Sean Johnson, legislative affairs director for the Maryland State Education Association.” (Press Release, “Maryland General Assembly Passes The Protect Our Schools Act,” Maryland State Education Association, 3/28/17)

REALITY:

• The Maryland State Board Of Education Has Been Working For Over A Year To Develop A Strong Plan To Comply With The Obama Administration’s Every Student Succeeds Act. “The state board of education developed a draft policy after dozens of meetings with stakeholders, surveys, committee hearings and other efforts to gather and evaluate input, and it planned at least two more drafts before submitting its proposal to the federal government this summer.” (Editorial, “Protect Our Schools … From What?,” The Baltimore Sun, 3/29/17)    
• The State Cannot Unilaterally “Privatize Schools In Maryland,” The Legislature Must Approve Any State Intervention In Failing Schools. “The second major impact of the bill is to restrict how the state could intervene in failing schools. Among other things, it prohibits establishing a state-wide "recovery district" for failing schools, creating a school without the approval of the local board, converting a school to a charter, using vouchers or some other means to send public school students to private schools or contracting with a for-profit educational company. But the state board can't actually do those things without the legislature's approval anyway. It could include them in the accountability plan it sends to the federal government — indeed, Governor Hogan sent a letter to the board encouraging it to adopt some of them — but it couldn't actually put them in practice without the legislature's approval.” (Editorial, “Protect Our Schools … From What?,” The Baltimore Sun, 3/29/17)

MYTH: 

• The Teachers Union Suggested That Governor Hogan Opposes The Protect Our Schools Act So That More Funding Can Go Toward Private School Vouchers. :But Gov. Hogan is trying to use this opportunity to double down on using test scores to identify public schools as failing so they can be converted into charter schools or so more funding can be sent to private school vouchers.” (“Join MSEA In The Fight to Protect Our Schools,” Maryland State Education Association,  Accessed: 4/6/17)    

REALITY: 

• Senate President Miller And Speaker Busch Support Funding School Vouchers; Both Created And Supported The BOOST Program In 2016. “It’s a win-win for not just the people of the state of Maryland, but for all students,” said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert). “It’s a good compromise.” “Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller supported the scholarship program last year.” (Ovetta Wiggins, “After 10-Year Fight, Md. Lawmakers Vote To Fund Private-School Scholarships,” The Washington Post, 3/29/16; Amanda Yeager, “Busch, Teachers Union Vow To Fight Privatization Of Public Schools,” Capital Gazette, 2/7/17) 

MYTH:

• Teachers Union President Betty Weller Suggested That By Vetoing The Protect Our Schools Act, Governor Hogan Supports Increased Standardized Testing. “It’s also inconsistent with the bipartisan agreement that an over-reliance on standardized testing has led our schools astray from what really matters for our kids.” (Press Release, MSEA Statement On Gov. Hogan’s Anti-Public Education Veto,” Maryland State Education Association, 4/5/17)

REALITY:

• Governor Hogan Has A Long Record Of Opposing Increased Testing; He Stated that He Agrees With The Teachers Union On This Matter. “The governor said he agrees with the teachers union on overtesting ‘in general,’ noting that ‘we don’t agree on everything every day, but that’s one we 100 percent agree on.’” (Ovetta Wiggins, “Why Gov. Larry Hogan Won’t Propose A Bill To Reduce Testing This Year,” The Washington Post, 1/13/16)

MYTH:

• Teachers Union President Betty Weller Stated That Governor Hogan’s Veto Would Be “Misguided” As The Protect Our Schools Act Would Have Schools Be Held To “Stronger, Smarter, And More Transparent Standards.” (Press Release, “Hogan Threatens To Veto Public School Protection Bill,” Maryland State Education Association, 3/24/17)

REALITY:

• Education Trust, An Education Advocacy Group Led By Former Obama Administration Education Secretary John King Jr., Voiced Strong Opposition To The Protect Our Schools Act; Noting That It “Would Allow Schools To Shirk Their Responsibility To Educate All Maryland Students.” “Lynn Jennings, education advocate and interim field director for the Education Trust, spoke out against the bill for its disproportionate, adverse effects on children and families of color: ‘HB 978 would allow schools to shirk their responsibility to educate ALL Maryland students to high academic levels by making student learning a lower priority in the school accountability system. And it would withhold from families and communities critical information about how all groups of students—including low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities and English learners—are doing. The result would be less urgency to act when any group of students is struggling. We urge the Maryland legislature to keep their commitment to serving all students well by rejecting this proposal.’” (Press Release, “Maryland Education Coalition Statement On The Protect Our Schools Act Of 2017,”MarylandCaAN, 3/23/17)

MYTH:

• Gustavo Torres, Executive Director Of CASA De Maryland Stated That By Vetoing The Protect Our Schools Act,  Governor Hogan Is Trying To Advance An “Anti-Public Education Agenda.” “By promising to veto the act, the governor is showing yet again that the needs of our state's children are secondary to his need to advance Trump's anti-public education agenda." (Press Release, “Hogan Threatens To Veto Public School Protection Bill,” Maryland State Education Association, 3/24/17)  

REALITY:

• Claims That Governor Hogan Wants To Advance An “Anti-Public Education Agenda” Are Completely False; Governor Hogan Has Allocated Record K-12 Public Education Funding In Each Of His Three Years In Office, Totaling Nearly $19 Billion. (Maryland Department Of Budget And Management)