It’s that time of year when legislators get requests from organizations and media to do surveys. One organization sent out a survey to all the Delaware State Representatives recently. What was interesting was how this organization managed to offend many of them before the introductory paragraph! As well, the actual survey is EXACTLY what I would expect from this organization.
DE House of Representatives
Get Ready For A War Between Governor Carney & Democrat Legislators!
Governor CarneyWhen the Delaware Democrat leadership in the House and Senate decided not to bring House Bill 460, the budget smoothing bill, up for a vote, Governor Carney was NOT happy. As a result, he decided to go ahead and do it anyway. With an Executive Order! Well, not yet. That will go down at 4:30pm today. This will not go down smoothly with the Democrats in the General Assembly! Get ready to rumble! This all but assures Carney will get a Primary in 2020!
Delaware Governor John Carney
MEDIA ADVISORY
TODAY: Governor Carney To Sign Executive Order on Budget Smoothing
DOVER, Del. – At 4:30 p.m. today at Legislative Hall, Governor John Carney will sign an Executive Order to implement recommendations of the DEFAC Advisory Committee on budget smoothing. Following the signing, Governor Carney will be available for media to answer questions on the final day of the 149th General Assembly.
WHAT: Governor Carney will sign an Executive Order on budget smoothing, and hold media availability on the final day of the 149th General Assembly.
WHO: Governor John Carney
Mike Jackson, Director, Office of Management and Budget
Rick Geisenberger, Secretary, Department of Finance
Jeff Bullock, Secretary of State
Michael Houghton, Chair, Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council
WHEN: Saturday, June 30
4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Governor’s Office
Legislative Hall
###
A Dangerous Bill In The Delaware General Assembly Could Cost School Districts Millions Of Dollars!
House Bill #454If a certain bill goes through, look for future referenda in several school districts!
Teacher License Suspension and Pay For Success Bills Pass General Assembly
Education LegislationTwo bills closely tied with public education passed in the Delaware House of Representatives today which clears them through the General Assembly and await Governor Carney’s signature. Another bill passed but goes back to the Senate due to an amendment.
Senate Bill #234, which gives the Delaware Secretary of Education the ability to suspend a teacher’s credentials due to an arrest from abuse or other egregious crimes, passed the House with a 41-0 vote. As written in the synopsis of the bill, this will… “include situations involving felony crimes against children or where there is a clear and immediate danger to student safety or welfare“.
Senate Bill #242, which will establish Pay for Success programs in Delaware passed with 39 yes, 1 no, and 1 absent. The sole no vote belonged to State Rep. Rich Collins. An amendment placed on the bill in the Delaware Senate would create a working group to explore how Pay For Success would be implemented in public education, both early childhood education and K-12 education. I am still torn on Pay For Success but this would allow some time for the Working Group to really take a look at how this would work to make sure it didn’t conflict with existing federal laws (such as IDEA) and to set up parameters. Pay For Success is where an outside investor would come in, pitch a program with measurable outcomes, and if approved, would set out on this program. If the program works with those outcomes, the State would pay the company back. If it doesn’t, they wouldn’t. The bill sets up Pay For Success for all state agencies.
Senate Bill #172, which is meant to increase the transparency of education funds, passed the House but an amendment clarifying some language on the bill which causes it to go back to the Senate for a final vote (provided they don’t put any amendments on it). That bill passed in the House with 41 yes votes.
On the Senate side, they passed House Bill #268 which deals with Senior property tax credits, but due to an amendment placed on the bill in the Senate, it will go back to the House.
Finally, Delaware Governor John Carney signed both the budget bill and a bill giving one-time bonuses to state employees and retirees. Both the Bond bill and the Grant-In-Aid bill will come up for a vote on the last day of the Delaware General Assembly, Saturday June 30th.
Big Vote In The House Today On School Suspension Bill
Out-Of-School SuspensionsSS1 for Senate Bill #85 should get a final vote in the Delaware House of Representatives today. If it passes and Governor Carney signs the legislation, it should mean Delaware students won’t receive out of school suspensions for ridiculous offenses. The bill would make schools report the offenses they suspend students for and, data shows, schools don’t like being called out for zero tolerance policies!
The bill came out two years ago as part of the 148th General Assembly but it didn’t make it out of that session. Senator Margaret Rose Henry tweaked the bill and after more than two months, the bill comes down to the House vote today. If this is Senator Henry’s education bill swan song, it will be a good one! Senator Henry is retiring after the end of this session.
This Act draws attention to the types of discipline used in schools by capturing data about out-of-school suspensions and publishing that data, in an effort to help schools identify areas where the data regarding out-of-school suspensions indicates there is room to reduce such suspensions. This Act is meant to increase transparency, improve overall school climate, resulting in improved student outcomes. The collection and publication of this data will also help the Department of Education and community partners identify opportunities to provide greater supports to schools, students, and their families. According to data provided by the Delaware Department of Education (“DOE”), thousands of Delaware students receive out-of-school suspensions each year for minor infractions, such as being unprepared or late for class, dress code violations, and disrespectful behavior. In 2013, only 2% of out-of-school suspensions were for serious offenses such as weapons, drugs, or serious violence. Out-of-school suspensions do not address the root causes for the misbehavior, and only serve to put the students further behind in class. Furthermore, DOE data shows that, in 2013, African-American students made up only 32% of the student body, but accounted for 62% of out-of-school suspension, and students with disabilities made up 13% of the student body, but accounted for 24% of out-of-school suspensions. Federal discipline guidance, developed jointly by the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice, instructs schools to commit to regular evaluation of school discipline policies and practices, and monitor progress toward the schools’ climate and discipline goals. The federal process requires schools to collect and publicly report disaggregated student discipline data and solicit feedback from students, staff, families, and community representatives. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the guidelines of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual. This Substitute Bill makes the following changes to Senate Bill No. 85: 1. References the existing definition of “disruptive behavior” in Title 14. 2. Includes “disability” as a category for data collection. 3. Extends by 1 year the years stated in the requirements to retain the same time frames. This is necessary because this Act will be enacted in 2018, not 2017 when it was drafted. 4. Clarifies what information is required for reports and provides deadlines for the required plans and reports. 5. Clarifies that schools must develop plans and strategies with stakeholder input. 6. Clarifies content for professional development.
FINAL ** All Delaware 149th General Assembly Education Legislation Passed, Defeated, Pending, Tabled & Vetoed
Delaware Education LegislationThe 149th Delaware General Assembly is finished! All bills either passed or didn’t. If it is in black, it passed. If it is in red, it didn’t.
Legislators: If you find any errors, omissions, or want to provide clarification on the status of a bill, please let me know.
Breaking News: Delaware House Passes The Diploma Bill!
Diploma BillThe Delaware House of Representatives just passed HS1 for House Bill #287 which would allow for a small portion of special education students who would otherwise be given a certificate of performance to be given a diploma with modified standards. The vote count was 34 yes, 4 no, 2 not voting, and one absent.
The representatives who voted no were Stephanie Bolden, Rich Collins, Deb Heffernan, and J.J. Johnson. Those who refused to vote were Gerald Brady and Charles Potter. Only one Republican voted no and the rest were Democrats.
The next stop for the bill will be the Senate Education Committee. If it is released from there, it would go up for a full Senate Vote. Should it pass in the Senate, it would go to Governor Carney for signature. Upon signature, it would go into effect for the 2018-2019 school year. A great day for this segment of our special education students!
17 Who Made An Impact In 2017: State Rep. Andria Bennett
DE State Rep Andria Bennett
One Democrat State Representative in Delaware turned the cart upside down in the late days of June when she voted no on tax hike legislation. She also put forth legislation that mandates cursive be taught to Delaware students in their early elementary years. Andria Bennett definitely had an impact in 2017.
Behind The Scenes Discussion At Legislative Hall Could Result In 2% Pay Cut Or Major Increase In Healthcare Costs For ALL State Employees
State Employee Pay Cuts*Please go to the end of the article for an update on this developing situation.
While it has not been “officially” confirmed, I am hearing leadership in our state government is talking about giving ALL Delaware state employees a 2% cut in pay for FY2018. The only exception would be prison guards due to the negotiated agreement with them. The other possible option is increasing health insurance premiums by 50%. This is going on behind closed doors folks with ZERO transparency. None. It is the day before they are supposed to be passing a budget and it has not been released to the public at all. There is NO option to get your voice heard.
The House and Senate are taking a break to eat dinner. They should be back on the floor around 8:30pm. Longhurst’s House Bill #240 which could gut itemized deductions in Delaware and raise YOUR taxes will get a vote. From the legislators and folks down there I’ve been talking to, the legislators are in a panic mode with Governor Carney seemingly clueless. No budget has been written. This is not good folks. At all. I’ve heard the cuts in the budget referred to as a “bloodbath”. We have school boards able to raise taxes through the match tax scam. We have charters keeping their transportation slush fund. We axed the estate tax. There is ZERO organization here folks. And I won’t even get into the damn bickering between the Dems and the Republicans. Grow up. We don’t care. Do the right thing for our state!
So this is what you need to do citizens of Delaware: get to Legislative Hall tomorrow night around 5pm and swarm every single legislator you can. Show up IN PERSON.
Ironically, the “Find Your Legislator” portion of the Delaware General Assembly website appears to be not working. At least for me. But you view a full list in the blue links here:
Delaware State Representatives
This absolute crap and farce of a state government has been operating in the shadows for far too long. They know this is going to hurt every single state employee but they want to rush this budget and then head off on Summer vacation. This is shady and it is happening now. We have State Reps joking around about last names, taking up time when there could be meaningful conversation that the public can here about all this. I heard one state rep ask for a bill to be tabled until January because of the public’s need to know more about the budget. Schwartzkopf shot him down. I don’t know which rep it was, but we need to hear more of that.
Remember, tomorrow. Make YOUR voice heard LOUD and CLEAR!
Updated 6/30/17, 1:24pm: David Burris, the Chief of Staff for the Delaware Senate Republicans put a response up on Facebook that there has been zero discussion about pay cuts on their side of the aisle.
Is This The Last Term For State Rep. Earl Jaques?
DE State Rep. Earl JaquesOne vote last night signifies that it might be. The VERY controversial Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 5 passed the Delaware House last night and goes to Governor Carney for signature. The bill dealt with late-term abortion. Without getting into the whole pro-life/pro-choice argument, I was against this bill at first but did grow to support it. State Rep. Earl Jaques, along with Rep. Gerald Brady, were the sole Democrats in the House who voted no. Jaques claimed it was because the majority of his constituents were against the bill.
No matter what side of the political fence you are on, Roe v. Wade is one of the cornerstones of politics. Pro-choice is about as Democrat as you can get. Could Jaques’ vote indicate he will not run in 2018 for his House seat? I would say yes. In conversations with Earl over the past couple of years, I can sense a feeling of closure. I believe his swan song will be some type of school district consolidation bill which I anticipate will come out in the next three weeks. By voting no on this bill, even though he stated many of his constituents were against the bill, it is a very un-Democrat vote.
This would leave a vacancy for the Chair of the House Education Committee. Could Vice-Chair, State Rep. Kim Williams, fill the void in 2019? It is very early in the guessing games for this stuff. But I would say out of all the State Reps involved in education, she has certainly earned that position.
Will The Delaware House Repeal The Estate Tax Today? And Which State Rep Had A “Folder” Incident Yesterday?
Estate Tax RepealHouse Bill 16 will get a vote today. This bill would repeal the estate tax in Delaware. State Rep. John Kowalko issued the following statement last evening concerning this bill:
Today 5/18/17, a bill to repeal the “estate tax”, has been placed on the House Agenda by Speaker Schwartzkopf. It will require a suspension of rules due to notification inadequacies but more importantly it will guarantee less revenue for the state and amounts to a giveaway to the Republicans and the wealthy. This tax garnered $9.3 million in revenue in 2016 and to date there have been no suggestions from leadership of either party or the JFC as to how that revenue loss will be replaced. I have asked this question of all of my Democratic colleagues and have not received one suggestion. This bill should not receive one Democrat vote but it will as deals have been cut to the detriment of Delaware’s taxpayers to ensure passage. This is irresponsible and abhorrent behavior that contradicts true Democratic party principles and ideals and all Democrat legislators should reject this or be held accountable. -Representative John Kowalko
I fully expect Kowalko to make his voice heard when he opposes this bill. I’m not sure what the notification inadequacies are. The bill came out of committee on 5/3/17 and is on the ready list. Perhaps it is the timing of when it was put on the ready list.
Delaware Liberal is reporting the deals are flying left and right down in Dover. This isn’t a new phenomenon. It happens ALL the time. It is how politics works (or doesn’t work in many cases, but I digress). Del Lib believes Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf is letting this bill up for a vote if the House Republicans will at least do a roll call on House Bill 175, which would raise corporate taxes. Expect more of this in the next 43 days folks! And watch for the sneaky-snake charter lobbyists getting their hooks into the Joint Finance Committee and the Bond Committee.
Speaking of Legislative Hall, State Rep. Mike Ramone smacked me in the face with a folder yesterday! I was at the House Education Committee meeting talking with one of the Superintendents. Ramone came over and the Super asked him an education question. Ramone didn’t know the answer so he asked me. I told him “I’m just a blogger, find out for yourself!” Ramone took his House Education Committee folder and smacked me in the face with it. It didn’t hurt. He laughed. I told him I was going to blog about it and I am a man of my word! Just a playful moment down in Dover folks, no scandal here. He usually gives me a lollipop, not a physical assault!
Full details of House Bill 16 can be found here.
Did A Delaware Veteran Help Bring Down The Nazis In World War II?
UncategorizedThe Delaware General Assembly honored an unsung hero last week. Richard Mootz, a Milford veteran, received a tribute from the Delaware House of Representatives for his role in an astonishing find from World War II. The House Republicans sent this in their weekly email last week.
The House of Representatives this week honored a man whose discovery of a vast cache of hidden German treasure may have helped end World War II and limited the spread of Nazi ideology in the conflict’s aftermath.
In February 1945, more than 3,900 Flying Fortress bombers attached to the U.S. Eighth Air Force dropped hundreds of tons of munitions on the German capital of Berlin.
To safeguard the monetary assets of the waning Third Reich, currency and gold from the Reichsbank — the central bank of Germany — were sent to a deep salt mine at Merkers, located about two hundred miles southwest.
Two months later, General George Patton’s 3rd Army swept into the region, moving so rapidly the Germans were unable to relocate the concealed hoard.
Enter Private First Class Richard C. Mootz, a Delawarean serving as an infantryman with the 3rd Army’s 90th Division. On April 6th, Pvt. Mootz was escorting two women who had just been questioned by the 12th Corps Provost Marshal’s Office back to Merkers. As they neared the Kaiseroda Salt Mine, he asked the women about the facility. They told him that weeks earlier German officials had used local and displaced civilians as labor for storing treasure in the mine.
Pvt. Mootz passed the information to his superior. Later that day, American forces entered the mine. What they found was startling.
According to the National Archives and Records Administration, the mine contained over eleven thousand containers, including: 3,682 bags and cartons of Germany currency; 80 bags of foreign currency; 4,173 bags containing 8,307 gold bars; 55 boxes of gold bullion; 3,326 bags of gold coins; 63 bags of silver; and one bag of platinum bars.
The money and precious metals were in the company of an immense collection of valuable artwork. Sheltered in the mine were one-fourth of the major holdings of 14 state museums.
The find was so extraordinary that General Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Omar N. Bradley, and Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, toured the site together.
The mine’s shafts, some 1,600-feet below the surface, also housed an estimated 400-tons of intellectual riches in the form of patent volumes from Germany, France, and Austria.
“Germany was one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world at this time,” said David Deputy, a former Delaware National Guard brigadier general and Mr. Mootz’s nephew. “Information on rocketry and other German advances were being sought by both the Americans and Russians. It was the sensitive nature of this data that resulted in some details of the discovery being kept secret,” he said.
Mr. Deputy said it was not until military records were declassified decades later that Mr. Mootz’s role in the discovery became evident.
To give Mr. Mootz his overdue recognition, State Reps. Harvey Kenton (R-Milford) and Tim Dukes (R-Laurel) sponsored a House of Representatives’ Tribute presented in the House Chamber Thursday afternoon. Mr. Mootz was a long-time resident of Laurel and currently lives in Milford.
“We recognize this exceptional individual for his outstanding service to his country while serving in the United States Army,” said Rep. Kenton. “Private Mootz assisted the ‘Monuments Men’ in the discovery of a massive collection of gold, silver, artwork, and German currency. This was the remaining paper currency and gold reserves of the Nazi regime, hence, this discovery bankrupted the German Army, bringing an earlier end to the war.”
The find may have had repercussions beyond the war.
In internal correspondence a week following the discovery at Merkers, Col. Bernard D. Bernstein (deputy chief, Financial Branch, G-5 Division) wrote the finding of the trove “confirms previous intelligence reports and censorship intercepts indicating that the Germans were planning to use these foreign exchange assets, including works of art, as a means of perpetuating the Nazism and Nazi influence both in Germany and abroad.”
Exclusive: Secretary Godowsky’s Willful Misconduct Against A General Assembly Directive
Delaware Secretary of Education Dr. Steven Godowsky, House Resolution #22
Delaware Secretary of Education Dr. Steven Godowsky has violated a directive issued to him by the law-making body of the State of Delaware, the Delaware General Assembly.
New Delaware Charter School Audit Bill Unanimously Passes In The House!!!!!!
Charter School Audits, House Bill 435House Bill 435 passed the Delaware House of Representatives today with not a single no vote. This is in sharp contrast to last year when the majority of the House Republicans voted no on the former charter audit bill, House Bill 186. With 39 yes votes and two absent, HB 435 will now head to the Senate. Whether it is placed in the Senate Education Committee or the Senate Executive Committee remains to be seen. Since the Senate Education Committee won’t be meeting again between now and the end of the 148th General Assembly on June 30th, a suspension of rules would have to be used for a full Senate vote if it is placed in that committee. I reported earlier today the WEIC bills passed by the House were sent to the Senate Executive Committee instead of the Senate Education Committee for this very reason.
Congrats to State Rep Kim Williams and State Senator David Sokola for coming together and working on this new bill!
House Bill 399 Passes Delaware House of Representatives With Unanimous Vote
House Bill 399As expected, House Bill 399 passed the Delaware House of Representatives with a unanimous vote of 39 yes and two absent. An amendment was added to the bill to take out some redundant language for an administrator’s role in terms of the teacher evaluations. The amendment passed on a voice vote.
Jaques told his peers in the House that he serves on the DPAS-II Advisory Committee as the Chair of the House Education Committee. He indicated that DPAS fails in surveys constantly. He said this bill would allow for all five components to be weighted equally in 2017-2018. The bill said a single test would not be an indicator of a teacher’s performance. There would be a pilot program for the legislation.
Kilroy’s School Board Audio Recording Bill Passes House With 40-0 Vote!
House Bill 61, School Board Audio RecordingsKilroy’s School Board Audio Recording bill, sponsored by State Rep. Deb Hudson, passed the Delaware House of Representatives unanimously just now. The final vote was 40 yes and 1 absent. House Bill 61 is the second time this bill has been in the General Assembly. House Bill 23, from the 147th General Assembly, never got a full House vote.
This is Kilroy’s legacy to Delaware. He has fought hard for this bill for years. The first time I ever went to Legislative Hall was for my failed attempt to get House Bill 23 up on the agenda. This was my thanks to Kilroy for letting me write a very long story about my son on his blog before I started this one. A lot has happened since then and the need for transparency from our school boards has never been greater. It still has to go through the Senate, with the Senate Education Committee first. But there is no reason why it shouldn’t pass there.
Congrats Kilroy! I’m glad I got to hear it live!
State Rep. Earl Jaques said it was a great bill!
State Rep. Kim Williams thanked State Rep. Hudson for sponsoring the bill!
I emailed Kilroy a VERY BAD audio recording of the vote on the school board audio recording bill!
State Rep. Joe Miro : Doesn’t Care About Parental Rights But Loves Big Business
DE State Rep. Joe Miro, Delaware House Republicans, UncategorizedDo you trust Secretary Godowsky?
This question was posed to me yesterday after the Delaware House of Representatives voted down the suspension of rules on the veto override of House Bill 50. Asked by State Rep. Joe Miro, I immediately responded: “I’m sure he’s a nice person, but it doesn’t matter who holds that title. Santa Claus could be the Secretary of Education, but they would still be a puppet to Governor Markell.”
The latest trumpeter to actually think they were instrumental in Mark Murphy’s “resignation” is Miro. His warped belief that most legislators voted in favor of House Bill 50 last spring as a protest of Mark Murphy is filled with delusions of grandeur. If he is correct, than I would like the names of all those legislators who voted yes for a bill supporting student and parent rights. Put your money where your mouth is Joe…
Meanwhile, the Delaware House Republicans issued their latest weekly newsletter with some very interesting thoughts in here, which I will be redlining in the Transparent Christina tradition.
Veto Stands on Opt-Out Bill, but Issue Moves Forward
with New Proposals
An effort to override Gov. Jack Markell’s veto of a bill that sought to codify parents’ right to remove their children from academic assessment testing failed in the House of Representatives Thursday.
Because of cowards like Bolden, Brady, Briggs-King, Carson, Dukes, Gray, Heffernan, Hudson, Jaques, J. Johnson, Q. Johnson, Kenton, Longhurst, Miro, Mitchell, Mulrooney, Outten, Peterman, Potter, D. Short, Smith, Smyk, Viola, Wilson, Yearick, and Schwartzkopf. And Ramone, can’t forget the cowardly not voting.
Last July, the governor vetoed House Bill 50, as amended. The measure sought to allow parents and guardians to opt their children out of the statewide Smarter Balanced Assessment and any district-level assessment.
Did you people even read the bill? “Sought to allow” is a complete lie and you know it. In the previous paragraph you used the word “codify“. It can’t be both. This intentional misuse of the wording in the bill serves to demean parents even more than most of you did yesterday, with the exception of three who truly knew better than the rest of you. Or did they? More on that later.
In vetoing the bill, the governor said the legislation would weaken “the only objective tool we have to understand whether our children are learning and our schools are improving.”
The only “tool” I see is the one talking in that last sentence.
Opponents of the bill, including the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, also noted the legislation could have resulted in the potential loss of millions of dollars of federal education funding if enough children refused to take the test.
Yes, let’s quote the Chamber of Commerce but absolutely no parents. It shows where the House Republicans loyalties lie. Can’t wait to see the campaign donor lists for ALL of you in the next eight months…
Teachers’ and parents’ groups had supported the bill citing classroom time lost to testing; increased stress on students and teachers; and questions about its usefulness in helping educators identify and address students’ needs.
And yet absolutely nothing about the bullying, intimidation, and pressure put on parents about this test, and the repercussions inflicted on students and parents. That must not have been discussed at all. Maybe if any of you bothered to go to the rally yesterday to hear parents speak instead of trying to get your crappy legislation going you would have realized the difference between reality and fantasy.
As promised last week, House Bill 50’s prime sponsor, State Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark, attempted to override the veto. The two-step process first required a vote on a motion to bring the bill to the House floor. That would have been followed by the override vote.
But you were too weak to allow that to happen. So you used the cowards way out, even though many of you did the complete opposite three hours later over a corporate tax bill. Guess that worked out well for you… paging big business!
Despite the bill getting overwhelming support last year, few legislators appeared to relish the prospect of a veto override attempt and its potential for damaging relations between the executive and legislative branches. The motion to suspend rules failed on a vote of 13 to 26, with one absent and one not voting.
Here is where you start to lose it. Because all who voted no didn’t think about their constituents at all, only how it made YOU look to the Governor. Pathetic. But not as bad as what comes next…
State Rep. Joe Miro, R-Pike Creek, said many lawmakers initially voted for House Bill 50 last year as a means of expressing their displeasure with then Secretary of Education Mark Murphy. Sec. Murphy announced his resignation in August and was replaced last fall.
So you won’t override a veto of a bill YOU passed in your supposed effort to make Mark Murphy look bad, which in a very real sense, would cause “potential damaging relations between the executive and legislative branches”, but then you won’t vote on the override of the veto of that bill cause you don’t want to tick off Jack Markell? Are you out of your mind Miro? You sound like a complete hypocrite. What color is the sky in your world?
Still, many of the factors that inspired the bill remained and lawmakers moved quickly on Thursday to introduce new legislation to address those issues: House Resolution 22 and House Bill 243.
But in your infinite wisdom none of you thought about actually sitting down with Rep. Kowalko or Senator Lawson (a member of your own party mind you) a year ago to discuss those issues? Instead you wait until the day of a veto override to be Superman to Lex Luthor (I knew Markell reminded me of someone)? We know what your efforts entailed, but you have more to say on it, so I will comment then.
The former measure calls for the new Secretary of Education to propose legislative options for implementing a uniform process for notifying parents of their existing right to opt their children out of testing and a standard procedure for accomplishing it. The resolution also makes clear any such option would prohibit education officials from penalizing any student opting-out.
The two key words in this paragraph are “calls” and “option“. I think most parents know of their “existing right to opt their children out of testing“. So if House Bill 50 was accused of “allowing parents to opt-out“, what the hell does your Resolution say? We are going to make sure they know and we will even mail it to them. And once again, a resolution is not enforceable which is why you had to use the words “calls” and “option“. Nowhere are the words “shall“, “mandates” and “law” used. And what are “legislative options“? Aren’t you clowns the ones people elect to come up with “legislative options“? And Godowsky’s reaction to this? “We will have to take a look at that resolution.” How did your Hail Mary pass work out for you?
The latter measure would hold harmless from state action any school that has more than five percent of its students opting-out of an assessment. Current state and federal laws call for potential sanctions against schools with less than 95 percent of their students taking certain assessments. The proposed bill would not have any impact on federal repercussions from falling below the participation threshold.
Yeah, screw the parents but save the schools. What are these state sanctions you speak of? Cause last I looked and spent a considerable amount of time investigating, any sanctions were federally driven through ESEA flexibility waivers. That our ass-kissing DOE and State Board caved on, which were based on federal “guidance” that was not congressionally approved or tied to existing law. The Every Student Succeeds Act indicates states decide on these things, not the feds. But the feds are trying to threaten funding cuts again over opt-out with no enforceable means of doing so. Are you sure your Republican House attorney looked at this?
On Thursday, both measures were garnering broad bipartisan support and are expected to quickly move forward.
Passing an unenforceable resolution means as much as the hair on Jack Markell’s head! And this “broad bipartisan support“… would that be with the House Democrats who also screwed parents over? Bolden, Brady, Carson, Heffernan, Jaques, J. Johnson, Q. Johnson, Longhurst, Mitchell, Mulrooney, Potter, Smith, Viola and Schwartzkopf? Added with the Repubs who voted no to student rights if they are opted out? Briggs-King, Dukes, Gray, Hudson, Kenton, Miro, Outten, Peterman, D. Short, Smyk, Wilson & Yearick? And the most cowardly of all, Rep. Ramone who actually thought not voting would prevent the wrath of parents and bloggers everywhere? And for that matter, I saw this legislation RIGHT after the vote. I was given copies of it in the Republican office. It already had Reps. Spiegelman and Hensley on it. Which means the attempt to “file it” before the vote on the suspension of rules would show Reps Spiegelman and Hensley already signed onto it. But they still voted yes on the suspension of rules knowing other members of their party were going to vote no based on legislation they already signed onto? Or was the broad bi-partisan support the deal you guys made with the Governor for the corporate tax bill in return for your Judas votes? Sorry, the only broad bi-partisan support I see is the lack of support two thirds of our General Assembly provided to students and parents yesterday. Possibly higher due to this latest find…
I have to say, I was really hoping to play my daily pin the tail on the state rep on one of the House Democrats who voted no on the suspension of rules, but after reading this House Republican newsletter, I really couldn’t resist. Thank you Rep. Joe Miro, for making it easy!
Jacob’s Opt-Out
Delaware PTA Opt-Out Rally, House Bill 50 Veto Override, Jacob's Opt-OutRight now, I am sitting in a coffee shop while my son is at school. The Delaware PTA sponsored rally to override the veto of House Bill 50 is going to happen today outside Legislative Hall in Dover at 1pm. I hope to attend and speak. Below is what I will be saying and what I emailed to the Delaware House of Representatives today. Should circumstances not allow me to be present at the rally (as I am writing this at 10am), I wanted to make sure this got out there. This is the heart of my personal reasons why I have fought so hard for House Bill 50 and a parent’s choice to opt their child out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment.
Jacob’s Opt-Out
I want to thank everyone who could make it today. Thank you to Yvonne Johnson, Terri Hodges, and the Delaware PTA for their incredible and outstanding support on House Bill 50. Thank you to the DSEA for their support of a parent’s right to opt their child out of standardized testing. Thank you to Rep. John Kowalko and Senator Dave Lawson for seeing the wisdom in bringing this bill forward in support of student and parental rights. Thank you to all the legislators who voted yes for the bill last Spring, and I pray you will find it in your hearts to echo your votes today.
While all of this has been going on for the past year, I have been unable to talk about my personal experience with opting my son out. Many have asked me what kind of response I received, and I said that I didn’t believe there was any. Now that matters have been resolved with my son Jacob’s former district, I feel it is important to let folks know what happened to him and my family when we opted him out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment.
My son had an IEP at his school. It was a very difficult IEP process as my son’s disabilities are very unique. There was a great deal of conflict with some of the members of his IEP team, I will not shy away from that. But we were always at the table and able to work through the issues. Until I opted my son out in a letter to the Delaware State News on October 7th, 2014. Immediately afterwards, my son’s situation at his school deteriorated. We received a very threatening letter from the district superintendent within days of the article posting, even going so far as advising us we would not be allowed to be involved in our son’s IEP process unless we “behaved”. While the letter did not mention opt out, it became more than obvious the school was not in the same collaborative mood they had been previously. At the end of October that year, my son was denied social skills services that were a part of his signed IEP. Accommodations were not being followed with fidelity. Communication over things going on with my son came to a stop. The principal would not address me at all. On December 23rd, after eight physical assaults against my son at his school, he received a concussion. He went on homebound instruction for the rest of the school year, and we had no choice but to pull him out of his district and send him to a private school, at great personal pain and expense to my family.
I love my son more than anything in this world. He suffered immensely, I believe, due to my decision to opt him out. I wrestle with guilt over that every single day, but I stand firm in my belief that I made the right decision for him. My son is not a test score. He is not data. He is a human being. I support House Bill 50 because it is about protecting a parent’s choice and it gives protection to students. I firmly believe, with every fiber of my being, that if House Bill 50 was put into law in October 2014, my son’s life would be completely different. This is Jacob’s story, and I hope and pray no student ever has to go through the pain, loneliness, and depression my son went through. No parent should ever have to question decisions they make for their child when it is supported by something they feel is right for their child after careful research and consideration. This is something I haven’t shared with anyone until now because of how personal it is, but I believe now is the time.
To the Delaware House of Representatives: Please vote yes for both the suspension of rules and the override of House Bill 50 today. Please put aside the political bickering over suspension of rules for this one issue today and vote for what is right for the students and parents of Delaware. The people of Delaware are watching you and they want their voices to be heard.
How The Legislators Vote Today Will Determine How The People Vote In November
148th General Assembly, Delaware Election 2016, Delaware House of Representatives, Governor Markell, House Bill 50 Veto Override
You are an everyday normal Delaware citizen. You have two kids in school. One of them does well, the other struggles. You usually vote Democrat in elections, but you are on the fence with some issues this year. In your district, a Republican and a Democrat are running. You aren’t sure who to vote for. You get a flyer in the mail from one of the candidates. It talks about how their opponent decided not to vote yes for a bill about parental rights. You look into the issue and see it was a bill about parents opting out of standardized tests. Your one child came home stressed and miserable during those testing days. You thought about opting him out but the school pressured you into having him take it. That bill would have prevented that. You make up your mind: You are now firmly on the side of the candidate that sent the flyer.
For those legislators who are big on not voting yes for a suspension of rules, this could result in you being suspended from office: permanently. For those who wish to side with a departing Governor who WILL profit off education and the very policies he had a hand in after he leaves office, I would think twice about that. Jack Markell is a very shrewd man and he doesn’t care what happens after he gets his very excellent education job a year from now. Education is a fickle beast. It changes and morphs constantly in cycles. Todays big changes will be gone in ten years. But todays changes are things Jack Markell has been working on for the past ten years. He is a futurist. He plots and schemes with American dreams and uses people, legislators most of all. He isn’t a true Democrat. He is a corporatist through and through. He even said so during the 2012 Democratic Convention. It is his job to be against opt-out. Because for Jack, it is NOT about the students. It is NOT about the parents. It IS about the money and big business.
There may be issues among all of us about education and how to best serve the students of Delaware. But selling them out to the highest bidders and their alliance of thieves is NOT the way the students of Delaware will succeed. It is how the businesses succeed. Our children are more than test scores. Remember that today and vote with your conscience.
Opt Out And The House Bill 50 Veto Override Hits The Blogs & Major Media!!!
House Bill 50 Veto Override, Parent Opt-Out of the Smarter Balanced AssessmentThe never-ending saga of House Bill 50 and opt out marches on. Since a couple of days before Christmas, it has grabbed a lot of headlines. When the US DOE issued letters to states about potential funding cuts for opt-out, I knew the conversation would heat up fast. Here is a chronology of links to the latest on the override of Governor Markell’s veto of House Bill 50 in Delaware, with a few other kernels thrown in:
12/23/15
12/24/15
12/29/15
12/30/15
http://www.doverpost.com/news/20151230/update-opt-out-supporters-rally-jan-14–to-override-veto
12/31/15
1/1/16
http://www.sussexcountian.com/article/20160101/NEWS/160109972
1/2/16
1/3/16
1/4/16
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/education/2016/01/04/opt-out-veto/78270050/
https://exceptionaldelaware.wordpress.com/2016/01/04/opt-out-heats-up-again-during-arctic-chill/
1/5/16
http://elizabethscheinberg.blogspot.com/2016/01/dear-rep-jaques-youre-wrong-but-its-not.html
http://delawarestatenews.net/schools/15006/
1/6/16
https://gadflyonthewallblog.wordpress.com/2016/01/06/my-daughter-is-not-a-widget/
1/7/16
http://delawareway.blogspot.com/2016/01/will-legislature-stand-up-for-their.html
https://transparentchristina.wordpress.com/2016/01/07/warning-gates-is-infiltrating-opt-out/
1/8/16
1/9/16
1/10/16
https://www.facebook.com/GovernorMarkell/?fref=ts
1/11/16
1/12/16
http://www.wrdetv.com/index.cfm?&ref=60200&ref2=3461
http://www.wboc.com/story/30948519/2016-legislative-session-begins-in-delaware
1/13/16
http://www.doverpost.com/article/20160113/NEWS/160119913
The Season Of Myths 