House Joint Resolution #7 Passes, Allows For Continuing Committee To Advance Educator Compensation

Delaware State Rep. Kim Williams is on a roll tonight! First her House Bill 186 passes the House (on the way to the Senate), and now her House Joint Resolution #7 just passed the Senate an hour and a half ago.  This resolution will continue the Committee To Advance Educator Compensation, which many teachers had continuing issues with last year.

This allows the committee to take a further look at how Delaware’s educators are compensated and the final report will be due to Governor Markell by March 31st, 2016.

Delaware Senate Agenda Experiencing Technical Difficulties But Agenda Is Up For Today, Ignore The Date

After tweeting the Delaware Senate about their agenda not being up on the website while they are in session, this happened:

@ExcptlDelaware @bethanyhalllong @NicolePoore12 Thanks to your persistence we discovered a technical glitch. The current agenda is now live.

— Delaware Senate Democrats (@DESenateDems) July 1, 2015

@ExcptlDelaware On it.

— Delaware Senate Democrats (@DESenateDems) July 1, 2015

@ExcptlDelaware The agenda is correct. The date atop the page is incorrect and we are working with our tech people to have it removed.

— Delaware Senate Democrats (@DESenateDems) July 1, 2015

You can view the agenda for today, despite the date, here: http://legis.delaware.gov/legislature.nsf/FSMain?OpenFrameset&Frame=right&src=/LIS/lis148.nsf/senateagenda

UPDATED, 11:34pm: I had to run out for a bit, but it’s all good now. Agenda is up with the correct date!  And this fun little tweet happened earlier but I forgot to put it up:

@DESenateDems I know. You guys aren't the DOE!

— Exceptional Delaware (@ExcptlDelaware) July 1, 2015

House Bill 186, Charter School Post-Audit With State Auditor Legislation, Passes Delaware House!

Delaware State Rep. Kim Williams just presented House Bill 186 to the full Delaware House of Representatives, and it passed the House in a 23-17-1 vote.  Every single Delaware House Republican voted no on the bill, along with Earl Jaques.

Rep. Daniel Short brought Academy of Dover’s independent auditor Ms. Baker to testify against the bill, but she gave no compelling reason why the bill shouldn’t pass.  When Rep. Williams asked her how long she has audited Academy of Dover, she couldn’t answer.  Williams asked: one, two, three years?  She still couldn’t answer.

After some back and forth about “interrogating” the witness, backed up by Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, the bill went to a roll call.  All the Republicans voted no, along with Democrats Earl Jaques and Schwartzkopf.  The bill still has to go through the Senate Education Committee, unless the rules are suspended, and it is allowed to go to a vote with the Senate tonight.  The Senate has yet to put their agenda up for tonight’s last day in this legislative session…

I guess Republicans are dead set against charter schools being held accountable.  Not sure why they are on the side of the Delaware Charter Schools Network.  This will be very interesting going forward…

Whats Up With The Delaware Senate Not Putting Their Agenda Up? They Have Been In Session For An Hour!

So much for transparency in Delaware!  The Delaware Senate still hasn’t put up their agenda for the last day of legislative session, and they have been on the floor for an hour!  Is that even legal?  It has to make me wonder what bills they might be trying to pass without anyone the wiser.  Yes, you can listen online, but that’s not the same thing.  For a legislative body that makes transparency laws, this is very disturbing.  The Delaware House of Representatives had their agenda up yesterday afternoon…

This is all that shows up on their website: http://legis.delaware.gov/legislature.nsf/FSMain?OpenFrameset&Frame=right&src=/LIS/lis148.nsf/senateagenda

If You Thought Mark Murphy Would Be Gone After Today, Think Again….

Well, well, well, looks like Delaware Secretary of Education Mark Murphy is here to stay.  At least until we get a new Governor.  Yesterday it was announced Murphy joined the Council of Chief State School Officers Board of Directors.  From the press release yesterday:

Monday, June 29, 2015

Delaware Chief Joins CCSSO Board of Directors

Contact:Melissa McGrathmelissa.mcgrath@ccsso.org202-336-7034

Washington, D.C. (June 29, 2015) — The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) today announced Delaware Secretary of Education Mark Murphy will join its 2014-2015 Board of Directors.

CCSSO’s Board of Directors manages the overall business affairs of the Council and is the governing body of the organization. The board is composed of the president, the president-elect, the past president, and six directors elected by CCSSO members.

“Whether it’s through his work on educator preparation or college readiness for kids, Mark is dedicated to ensuring all students have access to a high-quality education. We are honored to have him join our Board of Directors,” said Chris Minnich, executive director of CCSSO.”

I can tell you Delaware isn’t thrilled at this news.  We were hoping he would fade into the woodwork after today, which is the last day of our fiscal year.  But it sounds like Delaware Governor Markell has the utmost faith in the man who the Delaware State Educators Association, the two largest district education associations, the Delaware Association of School Administrators, and a legion of parents have publicly stated they have no confidence in the Secretary.

Rumors have been going around for years that Murphy would either resign or be removed from his position, but it never happens.  Most feel Markell holds on to Murphy at the risk of his own reputation, and the Secretary is an anchor on a ship that is no longer holding water.

This is not good news for folks who were hoping for change.  The Delaware DOE’s approval rating is at an all-time low, and with more charter scandals popping everyday under their watch, parents opting out of the Smarter Balanced Assessments, and legislators wanting massive change in this Department, Murphy remains intact with even more power now.  Only in Delaware…

Where Are The Special Education Ratings For Each State? US DOE & OSEP Dropping The Ball!

Nothing has been released for the 2015 Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) annual report for how the states are doing with special education.  Why is this?  Last year, this information was released on June 23rd.  They did switch how they do things, so this could play a factor.  It used to be a Results Driven Accountability rating, and now it is called the State Systemic Improvement Plan.  So perhaps they are extending the timeline for this.

Last year, California, Texas, Delaware, and Washington D.C. were rated as needs intervention in special education.  For Delaware, this was their 2nd year in a row, and if they hit this mark for a third year, it could have serious consequences for the First State.  From what I could see from Delaware’s submission to OSEP, things aren’t looking much better for special education in Delaware.  With the rise of Smarter Balanced Assessment and Standards-Based IEPs, I can’t see a lot of room for improvement.  As usual, the students suffer…

Meanwhile, the US DOE and OSEP shouldn’t wait too much longer.  States need to plan for school starting in a couple months, and if they don’t know how they might need to improve, it’s like cutting them off at the knees.  Or perhaps the Feds want that.  It’s no wonder so many parents of students with disabilities are saying enough is enough and opting their kids out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment or the PARCC…

Timecapsule edition: An Open Letter to Jack Markell, our Governor. #SignHB50NOW