Dear Jeff,
The House of Representatives today passed Senate Bill 2149 calling for the removal of any superintendent in a school district that is determined to be underperforming for 2 consecutive years under that superintendent’s leadership. The bill was amended, however, to remove the language requiring that affected elected superintendent posts become appointed. While elected superintendents in underperforming districts will be prohibited from running for reelection, their successors will be elected under the amended version of the bill. I will email you the votes on SB 2149 tomorrow.
The bill will now go back to the Senate where that body can concur with the current language or invite conference. It is likely that the bill will go to conference, in which case 3 members from the House and 3 members from the Senate will negotiate compromise legislation.
We at The Parents’ Campaign believe this is an important move toward significant education reform in Mississippi. We are disappointed that the amended version of the bill means that children in districts with elected superintendents will continue to have their leaders chosen from a limited pool of candidates, but we are hopeful that this can be addressed in conference.
I am very grateful for the many calls and emails to Legislators generated by members of The Parents’ Campaign. They made a difference. Many of our members wrote me to say that they believe this is the most significant bill to come before the Legislature this session. Parents across the state have expressed their gratitude that school leaders will be held accountable for the quality of education provided our children.
We will continue to update you on other education legislation as we move through the Legislative Session. You can see the progress made on other education bills on our website at bill status.
We took a big step forward for our kids today!
Many, many thanks,
Nancy
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
SB 2149: Parent's Campaign Update
I received this from Nancy Loome and the Parent's Campaign on Senate Bill 2149 right after my earlier post. Here is the text:
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Does anybody know if there is a current state law that limits the number of years a principle can remain at an under-performing school?
ReplyDeleteUnless there's something under No Child Left Behind (federal law) I don't believe so.
ReplyDeleteYes part of NCLB, the whole school can be fired and forced to reapply for their jobs, if they are Level 1 for several years. When I say whole school I mean from the cafeteria workers to the principal. This happened at Jackson Lanier a few years back.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like the 2 year thing would make more sense if it applied to principals rather than supers. I would think so much more could be accomplished by someone who is over one school rather than someone who is over an entire school system.
ReplyDeleteI also understand that the state dictating over the hiring and firing of principals would step on the toes of many school boards.
Well, whenever Mississippi's babies stop having babies of their own our education system will be the greatest in the land.
No matter what happens, my children will attend public schools as I and their mother did.
Hey guys, any updates to the status of this bill?
ReplyDeleteIn particular, I need to know if all school boards will now be elected or not(need to form my exploratory committee if so:).