GWINNETT COUNTY: Hearing today on schools opt-out

Gwinnett County Schools officials will go before the public today to discuss the district’s plan to raise student performance by opting out of state mandates some school officials believe restrict their ability to significantly elevate standardized test scores.

Officials expect a packed hall of parents and teachers at the district headquarters in Suwanee as well as scrutiny from afar, from interested state lawmakers studying the proposal.

Architects of the state’s flexibility law Investing in Educational Excellence (IE2), which authorizes schools that apply for leniency to be granted the freedom they need to improve achievement, applaud Gwinnett’s bold steps.

“They are looking for ways to better serve the children, especially in hard economic times,” said state Rep. Brooks Coleman (R-Duluth), Education Committee chair. “I will be very interested in hearing how it progresses. I feel like if flexibility and the exemption of many state regulations are good for charter schools and private schools, that public schools ought to have the same rights.”

Gwinnett Schools is seeking to bypass education laws regarding funding, class size, teachers’ pay, and limitations on using aides to staff classrooms, among other things, in exchange for increased accountability for student success. If the school board approves the proposal, which has not yet come up for a vote, administrators can enter into a five-year flexibility contract with the state to improve student achievement or face consequences.

Teachers and parents are concerned, however, that the proposal has reached the public hearing stage without any input from them on how to improve schools. The IE2 legislation asks that parents and teachers be part of the process. Today’s hearing, set for 6:30 p.m., is the only one scheduled so far to seek that input.

A draft of the proposal was posted on the school system’s Web site Monday for those interested in the issue. Individual school plans were not released.

“For the life of me I don’t know why they are rushing to have this hearing with such short notice,” said state Rep. Brian Thomas (D-Lilburn), who has concerns about IE2 and will be watching how it plays out in Gwinnett. “The school board should be doing everything they can to ensure that the public understands what they are proposing to do. Clearly the board thinks it is going to be a good thing, but there are some serious consequences to their being wrong. Parents and teachers need to know what those consequences are as well as potential benefits.”

One punishment under consideration is the conversion of low-performing campuses into charter schools.

Gwinnett County school board members say that flexibility could be one of the best things to happen to school districts since the special purpose local option sales tax passed, providing more funding for expansion.