The State Board of Education today voted five to one in favor of new education standards for all public schools.
The final draft of the minimum standards will now go to the legislature for approval.
Some of the biggest items in the original proposal were not approved -- including requiring smaller class sizes and requiring that all districts offer Kindergarten by 2007.
New Hampshire Public Radio's Amy Quinton reports.
The State Board of Education spent months coming up with a final draft for new public school standards.
Members held public hearings across the state, and all-day work sessions.
In the end, board members approved some big changes.
Students will now have to complete more coursework, and now have the opportunity to get credit for work outside the classroom, so-called real world learning.
But school districts won’t be forced to provide smaller class sizes or offer kindergarten by 2007.
Board members instead softened the language to ask districts to strive to offer smaller class sizes and kindergarten.
Board Member Fred Bramante.
(we don’t have the right to move anything forward that has a cost to it regardless of whether its kindergarten or whether its any issue in that 80 page document )
At issue is whether doing so would violate the state’s constitution by approving unfunded mandates.
Bramante says legislators suggested to him that it would be.
But Board member Will Boc of Dover – who’s also an attorney – disagrees. And his was the only vote against the standards.
(The opposition that I’ve heard on this board is that we don’t wish it to be an unfunded mandate, it’s not an unfunded mandate if the legislature funds it, I think the AG’s office should be consulted to see if they think it’s an unfunded mandate, because I don’t think it is.)
As written, there could be as many as 25 students in Kindergarten through second grade classrooms, and 30 students in third through 12th grade.
Children’s advocates were particularly concerned with the board refusing to go forward with the Kindergarten requirement.
Ellen Shemitz with New Hampshire’s Children’s Alliance urged board members not to cave to pressure from legislators.
(my request to you is that the board of education de-politicize this issue and what you do is your job as a policy setting board, your job is to do the policy end of it, not to determine the funding end of it.)
But some state board members feared that if the language requiring smaller class sizes and kindergarten were too strong, lawmakers would reject the standards.
Board member John Lyons of Portsmouth.
(I’d rather make sure that folks know that we’re supportive of public kindergarten and supportive of smaller class sizes and bring the legislature in with us in finding a way to make it happen as quickly as possible as opposed to just mandating it in the minimum standards. )
The one thing all board members agreed on is that they were in a difficult spot in making a decision.
Board member Deb Hamel of Keene wanted the board to approve the Kindergarten requirement, but ultimately voted for the standards anyway.
(I don’t know how better to put it than I think it stinks, and I think it’s a disservice to all the five year olds in the state, and I think it’s an embarrassment.)
The standards now go to the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules for approval.
For NHPR news, I’m Amy Quinton.
