The Raleigh Report
From the Office of Cullie Tarleton
February 23, 2009
Attention in the House of Representatives turned again this week towards our increased high school dropout prevention efforts.
House Speaker Joe Hackney joined with about three dozen other legislators to announce his intentions to keep his dropout initiative operating through the next two years. As a member of the Study Commission on High School Dropouts and High School Graduation, I attended the press conference. Obviously, it’ll be tough getting funding for another round of drop-out grants but we can’t let up. It’s simply too important.
The House will again hold a series of public hearings throughout the state and will also visit some of the roughly 120 programs that have active grants. The programs are spread throughout the state and address dropout prevention in a variety of ways. Watauga County Schools received a grant this year and I look forward to getting the results of their work. The whole idea behind these grants is to see if someone out there has found a better way to “skin the cat” so to speak. We want to find programs that work so that they can be offered to other school systems across the state. Not that “one size fits all”, but if we can identify several programs that actually reduce drop-outs then school systems can choose from several and use only those they think will work best in their system.
This program, and the many others run by both public and private groups in our state, will help our state remain competitive. Education is increasingly important in a poor economy, when jobs are at a premium and employers have a greater pool of workers from which to choose.
According to the State Board of Education, the overall dropout rate in North Carolina fell from 5.24 percent during the 2006-2007 school year to 4.97 percent during the 2007-2008 school year. This was the first decline after two years of increase and we must work to keep pushing that number lower.
The following information highlights some of the bills that have been filed in recent days to help improve our education system and keep more students in school.
Dropout Prevention
Money would be appropriated for additional Learn and Earn high schools in North Carolina under legislation filed in the House this week (HB 184 which I co-sponsored). The Learn and Earn initiative is a free program that allows high school students to get a jump start on their college education or to gain career skills. At this time, there are 60 Learn and Earn high schools across the state. The proposed money would be used for 11 additional Learn and Earn high schools that will be operational in 2009-2010. This bill was filed based on the recommendations of the Joint Legislative Commission on Dropout Prevention and High School Graduation.
Communities in Schools of North Carolina, Inc (CIS) would be allocated more than $6 million in recurring funds according to a bill proposed this week (HB 185 on which I was a primary sponsor). CIS would be directed to use the money for programs and services, and to place no fewer than 100 graduation coaches in either middle or high schools statewide. CIS would be instructed to give priority to placing graduation coaches in schools that have a four-year cohort graduation rate of less than 65 percent. Last year, more than 21,000 students at-risk of dropping out were provided case managers by CIS, and 98 percent of them stayed in school.
State lawmakers have filed a bill (HB 187 another bill on which I was a primary sponsor) that would direct local boards of education to work with business leaders and chambers of commerce to encourage employers to allow their employee’s time off to attend conferences with their children’s teachers. The legislation would also encourage local boards of education to adopt policies that would (1) implement programs to provide students with a successful transition between middle school and high school years, (2) increase parental involvement in student achievement and graduation preparation, and (3) reduce suspension and expulsion rates and to provide alternative learning programs for students who receive short and long-term suspensions. In addition, the bill would direct local boards of education to help pregnant students and those who are parents remain in school until they graduate.
The Board of Governors at the University of North Carolina would be directed to order a study of the impacts of increasing the compulsory attendance age for public school students who have yet to receive a high school diploma under a bill (HB 188 on which I was a primary sponsor) proposed this week. If enacted, this legislation would change the compulsory attendance age from 16 to 17 or 18. This legislation is based on the recommendations of the Joint Legislative Commission on Dropout Prevention and High School Graduation.
Education
The offense of taking indecent liberties with a student would be added to the list of sex offenses that requires registration under the Sex Offender and Public Registration Program under legislation filed in the House this week (HB 209 another bill I co-sponsored).
Money would be appropriated to the community college system office for the Minority Male Mentoring Program according to a bill (HB 156) that was proposed this week in the House. The program helps to increase the graduation and retention rates of minority males at our community colleges through mentoring, retreats, community service and counseling and other personal growth opportunities.
Six-year olds would be required to attend school according to legislation filed in the House this week (HB 161 which I co-sponsored). Under the current law, children are not required to attend school until the age of 7.
The State Board of Education would be directed to require one arts education credit for graduation from high school according to a bill proposed this week in the House (HB 149, which I co-sponsored).
Notes
A lot of talk last week in Raleigh about the federal Stimulus Package. We got just bits and pieces as the week unfolded. I want to encourage Governor Purdue to make sure the money N C receives moves quickly into the communities where it’s needed. I suspect there will be some federal strings attached to the stimulus funds but I want to make sure we don’t add to those strings by creating our own bureaucratic layers. Folks are hurting and we need to get monies received into communities, including up here in the high country, where it can create jobs and generate some consumer spending. In Ashe County, for instance, we’ve had 10 plants close since 2004 costing us roughly 1400 jobs. We desperately need jobs and that’s what I’ll be working for.
|
