BETWEEN THE LINES: Assembly Bill 8 on Education Reform: Will Greed and Special Interests Stall California's 'Race To The Top?'

     Called "Race To The Top," the federal initiative is a competitive grant opportunity for states and educational innovators to apply for money to promote educational innovation and best practices expansion in public education systems.

     It also provides dollars to enhance alternative education initiatives such as charter schools and private schools that demonstrate a success beyond what public schools (in the aggregate). However, the states have to demonstrate that they have education reform legislation in place to be eligible to apply for the funds.

     California is defnitely a state in need of educational reform. California ranked 43rd in ACT (American College Testing) scores in 2007, the worst of any big state in the union, except Pennsylvania (which ranks 46th). Even so-called "poor states" like Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma and West Virginia out-tested (and outscored) California.

     Some attribute California's lack of performance to its historical lack of educational funding. Three decades ago California shifted its priorities from improving education to building prisons. Now Cali is one of the nation's best example's of how public education becomes the feeder for the prison industrial complex. According the U.S. Census' 2007 Report on state rankings on "Per Pupil Spending" (Census of Government Survey of Local Government Finances), the national average states spent "per pupil" was $9,666.

     The highest was New York who spent $15,981 per pupil. The lowest was Utah, who spent $5,683. California was 24th in spending at $9,152 (below the national average). You can't find a state more in need of reform than California. Nor can you find a state more in need of money. Not just money for schools--money for everything. So California pays close attention to the economic stimulus offerings of late, but it found it wasn't positioned to receive any of the "Race To The Top" funds. The state legislature went into overdrive trying to fashion an educational reform bill. Thus, AB 8 was born.

     We spend so much time talking about the achievement side of education, we often forget about the economic side of education. The economics of education has always been the "great separator" in our society. Education is a privilege, not a right, thus has always been aligned with all the other societal priliveges of American society, namely wealth, work (employment) and land (housing). Prilivege in education goes consistent with societal "status quo." Disparities in society reflected in education. Public education is broke because of the failure to close educational disparities.

     There are two types of people in American society; "those who know" and "those who don't." Knowledge is the basis by which socio-economic disparities are closed. The much publicized "achievement gap" is a direct function of public education's ability to correct "Separate But Equal." Quality of education is tied to educational funding and the creativeness associated with how children learn. Public education is a monopoly in that it receives funding whether children learn or not and whether teachers demonstrate the ability to teach all students. Like most monopolies, public education has become inefficient because it doesn't have to compete. Until now.

     The controversy centered in alternative education, whether it's "choice," charter schools and culturally competant pedagogy, is centered in the fact that public education failures are exposed with so-called "unteachable" and "incorrigible" segments of the public education populations. Those are code words for inner city, rural and poor students, but are mostly commonly terms associated with black children.

     Yet, it's alternative education models that have proven that these disadvantaged populations CAN learn in the right environment despite the fact that public education continues to receive disproportionate sums of money. The dirtiest words in the public education vocabulary are "teacher accountability." Yet in alternative education models, teacher accountability is tied to student success and a fundamental staple in their justified existence.

     Finally, there's something that can make public schools compete for its funding. And there's finally the political will to further explore why children who can't learn in public schools can learn when the environment is modified to fit the child's learning needs.

     For the longest, California has sought to buck the alternative education trends of the rest of the nation. But now that there's at least $700 million that the state is eligible for, to explore alternative learning. AB 8 seeks to position California to apply for funding consistent with the federal guidance. And guess who's first in line? That's right...Governor Schwarzenegger and public education. And as political processes tend to do, special interests and political opponents are now seeking to impede the legislation to sincerely challenge the integrity of alternative learning.

     Amendments like "no caps" on charter schools (to allow historically well-funded schools to access "road to the top" funds). Then there's the "open enrollment" and majority "parent involvement" schemes that put false barriers in front of success models are now being advanced as "necessary riders" to get the legislation signed. Neighborhood schools are good enough for the good schools underserved students can't get in-but now that everybody stands to gain, the demand is for open enrollment that allow student to school shop and cherrypick their enrollment. Now that successful alternative learning environments have money on the table, they (public education, the unions and the charter school warehouses) want to turn over the table if they can't get their cut.

     Even though the federal legislation doesn't require such riders. 'Race to the top" is about to become a political football in California, and the people elected to advance the cause are looking to sack it before the first pass is even completed. We all need to call Gloria Romero, Governor Schwarzenegger and their local school board members to protest this money grab.

     AB 8 needs to be passed in its original form, without all these riders, so that education reform has a fair chance in California. Now is not the time to stall the only legislation that makes public education compete, and gives children in compromised educational environments a chance to escape a broken system. Otherwise, California will continue lag behind the rest of the nation and the business of education will continue to direct the money away from thos who need it.

     Fifty-five years after Brown, we know exactly what that means--a quality education for some and a race to the bottom for everybody else.

Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D., is a national columnist, managing director of the Urban Issues Forum (www.urbanissuesforum.com) and author of the upcoming book, REAL EYEZ: Race, Reality and Politics in 21 Century Politics. He can be reached at www.AnthonySamad.com.