PIE Network Guest

This session focused on the politics of education reform; namely the politics at work in moving the dial or pushing it back in six states where major legislation was recently passed—Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, Florida, Colorado, and Indiana.

Wisconsin and Ohio – battling over collective bargaining

The conversation began with Wisconsin, which saw a highly partisan, bitter battle over limiting collective bargaining for public sector employees, including teachers. DFER’s Joe Williams called the measure an “overreach” by Governor Walker. “There are cases where you have to fight hard, but there are times where you can punch too hard,” said Williams. Williams said Walker set back education reform not just in Wisconsin, but all around the country. “The collateral damage will have a profound effect on Democrats,” he said.

The Fordham Institute’s Chester E. Finn, Jr. said that Gov. Walker is a union reformer, rather than an education reformer. In this case, he tried to do both at the same time, hence the overreach, said Finn.

Restrictions on collective bargaining for teachers were also passed in Ohio. Finn said that while SB 5 received most of the attention for that issue, Ohio did make advances around teacher evaluation and school choice. However, Finn said mandating teacher evaluations through incentives may not be a good thing. “We may not have the know-how to do this,” he said. Finn said smart states like Massachusetts instead mandated content tests for teachers before they begin teaching. “If you have catastrophically awful schools, one reason might be that teachers don’t know their stuff,” he said.

Illinois and Colorado – models for collaboration

Cynthia Brown of the Center for American Progress held up Illinois as a positive example compared to Ohio and Wisconsin. “Everyone is collaborating,” she said, demonstrating what’s possible when there is strong leadership from both lawmakers and union leaders. She added that the teachers unions “worked to come up with proposals of their own… they were reform minded and eager to engage in a real debate to move forward in the best way.”

When asked whether the coalition that passed will hold, particularly if districts can’t commit, Brown replied that a lot depends on obtaining buy-in from teachers. Brown said, “We cannot go to war with our workforce.”

Colorado was hailed as a national leader in education reform when SB 191 was enacted last year, thanks to a broad coalition. Colorado wasn’t very jugular to begin with, observed Williams. “Reforms happened because of a brilliant legislator that created a sense of inevitability.” Williams admitted one year later, implementation has been a real struggle, but the coalition created to pass SB 191 has kept up the momentum—“keeping the bar raised high.” The ultimate goal is lasting change. “Victory comes when you get to the point you want to get to, not just the legislation,” said Williams.

Florida and Indiana – major advances in 2011

Doug Tuthill of Step Up for Students suggested reformers may have the most to learn from Florida’s experience. Tuthill credited A Foundation for Florida’s Future with much of the advances in Florida this year, along with its executive director, Patricia Levesque. He said education reform has been happening in Florida on two fronts: the move to improve productivity in the current system and moving away from the current factory education model by empowering parents, teachers, and communities with more choice via charter and online schools, and tax credit and McKay scholarships. Tuthill said reformers moved ahead on both fronts, forcing opponents to “pick their battles.”

Tuthill said the encouraging story on reform from Florida is that “ideas matter and good ideas win, with everyone – educators, parents, and students all benefiting.”

Finally the conversation turned to Indiana, which Finn noted was Fordham’s “Ed Reform Idol” winner for good reason—the state is led by a true education reform governor, and they had a unified legislature, with a comprehensive education reform agenda. Furthermore, unlike his Wisconsin counterpart, Gov. Mitch Daniels chose to separate union reform from education reform which made it easier for Democrats to come on board, said Finn.

Lessons for advocates in other states

So what lessons can reformers glean from these experiences? What should advocates do to move the ball forward in their own states?

• Be very clear on your theory of organizational change and messaging, said Tuthilll. “We have a fairly simply message – it’s about empowering families and teachers, and customization. We beat it to death. Having a vision that’s consistent allows you to organize around that vision.”
• Know the politics in your state really well, advised Brown. You need to approach Democrats and Republicans differently from a process point of view. For example, talking with the teachers unions is critical for dealing with Democrats.
• “Make education reform bipartisan, find intrepid leaders, and start a PAC,” said Finn.
• Flexibility is needed for advocacy with multiple organizations filling different roles, recommended Williams. “Ask if you have the right pieces in place to move forward.”