2008 Education Finance Summit
Sessions Overview Presentations
and Handouts
San Antonio, TX
February 15 - 17, 2008
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2008
PRE-CONFERENCE
11:00 am - 3:45 pm
National Latino Education Summit
In this half-day pre-conference, legislators will hear about the current state of Latino education in the United States and about a national effort called ENgaging LAtino Communities for Education (ENLACE). Legislators will learn how to "scale-up" the best practices of ENLACE programs to the state policy level to improve educational outcomes for all underserved students.
Speakers:
- Claudia Martinez, University of California, Santa Barbara
- Isolda Ortega-Bustamante, Holyoke Community College, Massachusetts
- Karen Sanchez-Griego, ENLACE, New Mexico
- Paul Dosal, ENLACE, Florida
- Paul Ruiz, Education Trust, Texas
- [ Presentation]
NCSL staff contact: Carlos Valverde
PRE-CONFERENCE
12:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Financing Preschool Through the Education Finance
Formula and Other Options
In 2007, 36 states appropriated new funds for preschool. While states are using a variety of strategies, the education finance formula is an intriguing mechanism for financing both school-and community-based preschool. This session provides a snapshot of state experiences with this and other methods and discusses the pros and cons of various approaches.
Facilitators:
- Representative Rae Ann Kelsch, North Dakota
- Michael Griffith, Education Commission of the States, Colorado
Speakers:
- Diana Stone, Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, Washington
[ Presentation]
- Bobbi Lussier, Office of Early Learning, Tennessee
- Lilie Elizondo-Limas, Early Childhood Initiatives, Texas
NCSL staff contact: Julie Poppe
ROUNDTABLES
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Are the Good Times Over? What's Ahead for State Budgets
After several relatively strong years, states are likely to once again face severe budget pressures in the years ahead. Come and hear about the latest NCSL outlook for state budgets and the implications for K-12 and higher education.
Speaker:
- Ronald Snell, National Conference of State Legislatures, Colorado - [ Presentation]
NCSL staff contact: Ron Snell
ROUNDTABLES
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Controlling Text Book Costs: What Role for State Policy?
As student costs to attend post-secondary education continues to escalate, attention is invariably drawn to a significant cost driver -- the price of textbooks and other required course material. This session will look at some of the reasons behind rising textbook prices, as well as examine recent strategies undertaken by state legislatures to address textbook costs.
Speaker:
NCSL staff contact: Vincent Badolato
RECEPTION AND OPENING SESSION
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Designing and Education System for the 21st Century
If an American living in 1900 was able to travel forward in time to 2008, there is little he would recognize except America's classrooms and educational system, which still operate as if we live in a 19th century agrarian culture. While a few schools or districts have begun to reform education to meet the needs of a technology and information-driven economy, most have not. Legislators play a crucial role in reforming education for the 21st century. Our speakers will discuss how education needs to change and the legislature's role in doing so.
Welcome:
- Senator Leticia Van de Putte, Texas
Speakers:
NCSL staff contact: Heather Chikoore
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2008
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
9:00 am - 10:15
School Finance 101, Part 1
New to education finance? Learn the basics of education finance through participating in a simulation that follows a dollar from the time it is collected through taxes to the time it is spent in a public school. While following the dollar through the simulation, participants will see an education finance system in action. The session will conclude by asking participants to formulate a hypothetical school budget.
Speakers:
- Michael Griffith, Education Commission of the States, Colorado
- John Myers, Augenblick, Palaich and Associates, Colorado
- Education Finance 101 Simulation Worksheets [ Handout ]
- Property Taxes and School Funding [ Handout ]
NCSL staff contact: Daniel Thatcher
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
9:00 am - 10:15
Investing in 21st Century Learning: Understanding the Research on Education Technology
Legislators interested in creating a 21st century learning environment often see technology as an important tool to provide teachers and students. But what do we know about technology's effectiveness in improving student achievement? Recent research from the U.S. Department of Education has raised questions about when and how it works best, while additional research uncovers the most important elements to effectively integrate technology into the classroom.
Facilitator:
- Heather Chikoore, National Conference of State Legislatures, Colorado
Speakers:
NCSL staff contact: Heather Chikoore
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
9:00 am - 10:15
What's Driving the Cost of Higher Education?
Legislators are very concerned about the high cost of college and the recent increases in tuition, but what is behind these increased costs? During this session we'll hear about what we know is driving the cost of higher education and how states are addressing the increased price.
Moderator:
- Joni Finney, National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, California; Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania
Speakers:
- Jane Wellman, Delta Project on Postsecondary Costs, Washington, D.C. [ Presentation ]
- Dennis Jones, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, Colorado
NCSL staff contacts: Julie Bell and Vincent Badolato
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
School Finance 101, Part 2
Part 1 of Education Finance 101 explored how states derive revenues to fund public K-12 education. Part 2 will explore how states can direct the spending of those funds to meet state student achievement goals. Join two of the nation's top education finance experts, professors Allan Odden and Larry Picus, for the second part of our informative Education Finance 101 series for a discussion on the ABC's of linking state resources to student performance.
Speakers:
- Allan Odden, Consortium for Policy Research in Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Larry Picus, Center for Research in Education, California [ Presentation ]
- [ Handout ]
- [ Handout ]
NCSL staff contact: Daniel Thatcher
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
The Fiscal Implications of Collective Bargaining for State Budgets
Collective bargaining has been the most common method for determining teacher pay and benefits since the 1960s. This session discusses the opportunities and challenges that both state laws and collective bargaining creates for state policymakers, such as fiscal issues and various options that they have when dealing with teacher pay, pensions and benefits. A review of the research on teacher quality will frame this discussion.
Facilitator:
- Representative Rob Eissler, Texas
Speakers:
NCSL staff contact: Michelle Exstrom
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
10:30 AM - 11:45 AM
Increasing Higher Education Productivity While Maintaining Quality
State legislators are paying serious attention to making higher education more productive–specifically, getting more students successfully through the system and increasing degree attainment. In this session we'll use individual state profiles to examine the gaps between current levels of student performance and high performance, and discuss the investment that will be required by states to reach high levels. We'll discuss promising strategies that states are engaged in to improve student preparation, retention, and completion.
Moderator:
- Travis Reindl, Jobs for the Future, Massachusetts
Speakers:
NCSL staff contacts: Julie Bell and Vincent Badolato
LUNCHEON SESSION
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
The Funding Gap for Poor and Minority Students
This session examines the state and local funding disparities for school districts serving the highest percentages of low-income and students of color as well as several state efforts to create a more equitable funding formula. The session also will highlight a new report that illustrates how school districts can sometimes reverse the state legislatures effort for equity in the district's allocation of funds to individual schools. The presentation will include several ideas for legislators to better analyze this situation in their states.
Speaker:
- Dr. Paul Ruiz, Education Trust Southwest, Texas - [ Presentation ]
NCSL staff contact: Carlos Valverde
ROUNDTABLES
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
The National Council on Teacher Quality's Collective Bargaining Database
At this session participants will walk through NCTQ's recently unveiled database which tracks Collective Bargaining Agreements in the nation's 50 largest districts. In April, NCTQ will be adding all state laws and regulations pertaining to teacher governance for all 50 states in addition to 50 more school districts, with at least one district represented from every state. NCTQ considers this database a central depository for teacher policies, and their goal is to make it accessible and easy to use. This interactive session will discuss the relevance of the database for policymakers, fiscal analysts and educators.
Speakers:
NCSL staff contact: Michelle Exstrom
ROUNDTABLES
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Rethinking Student Financial Aid
This roundtable focuses on how student financial aid needs to be reconfigured for a new century. Given increasing college tuition, changing student populations, decreasing federal assistance, and confined state budgets--how can states design a system that better meets the needs of students and maximizes the state investment?
Facilitators:
- Jane Wellman, .Delta Project on Postsecondary Costs, Washington, D.C.
- Joni Finney, National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, California; Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania
NCSL staff contacts: Julie Bell and Vincent Badolato
ROUNDTABLES
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Paying Teachers for Performance
This roundtable features one of the newer–and most talked about–policy approaches to teacher pay. Professor Odden will address the roundtable with his research on what may be plaguing current pay structures and whether or not pay for performance holds promise as a possible reform.
Speaker:
- Allan Odden, Consortium for Policy Research in Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison
NCSL staff contact: Michelle Exstrom
ROUNDTABLES
3:45 pm - 4:45 pm
Investing in High-Quality Principals
Landmark research tells us that leadership is second only to classroom instruction among all school-related factors that contribute to what students learn at school – and a critical element in making school reform succeed. What has been less clear, however, is the cost-effectiveness or potential cost-savings of investing in high-quality principals. This interactive discussion will ask participants to share their successful leadership development practices as well as focus on areas that positively impact school leaders' effectiveness–principal training programs, mentoring, internships, incentives and ongoing professional development. The session will also address the potential costs and benefits associated with these initiatives. This work has been part of The Wallace Foundation's national education leadership initiative.
Facilitator:
NCSL staff contact: Sara Vitaska
ROUNDTABLES
3:45 pm - 4:45 pm
Changing Demographics and the Implications on Education Finance
State population changes over the next 10 to 20 years will create significant new education policy challenges. In this session we will look at how states can prepare and plan for these demographic shifts.
Speaker:
- Ronald Snell, National Conference of State Legislatures, Colorado
NCSL staff contact: Ron Snell
ROUNDTABLES
3:45 pm - 4:45 pm
Investing in Programs that Prevent Dropouts: Jobs for America's Graduates
As state policymakers look to address the alarming dropout rates in their states, they often turn towards specialty programs with a proven track record in dropout prevention. Jobs for America's Graduates (JAG) has garnered the attention of policymakers, and is being directly funded by state legislatures in 17 states. In this session, state legislators who have championed JAG will talk about the program and discuss how JAG can fit into states' dropout prevention efforts.
Speakers:
- Senator Donne Trotter, Illinois
- Senator Steve Wise, Florida
- Illinois
- Florida
NCSL staff contact: Sunny Deye
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2008
BREAKFAST AND PLENARY
9:00 am - 10:30 am
Funding 21st Century Learning
Twenty-first century learning will require 21st century school finance reform to match it. But what does 21st century school finance reform look like? The School Finance Redesign Project (SFRP) recently tackled this question guided by the inquiry: "How can K-12 finance be redesigned to better support student performance?" SFRP's resulting work represents one of the most comprehensive and ambitious school finance research compilations to date with implications central to state policy. Join SFRP director Jacob Adams for a dynamic breakfast discussion about SFRP's findings and what they mean for state policy.
Speaker:
- Jacob Adams, School Finance Redesign Project, California
NCSL staff contact: Daniel Thatcher
ROUNDTABLES
10:45 am - 11:45 am
Funding Longitudinal Data Systems
Robust and high-quality educational data are increasingly being used at the state level to enhance policymaking. The benefits of using data to drive decisions have encouraged states to actively expand capacities and improve the quality of their educational data systems in recent years–moving toward the development of comprehensive longitudinal data systems. In this session, participants will learn how states have funded the design and implementation of longitudinal data systems, as well as how they have maximized the return on their investment in these expensive - yet valuable - systems.
Speaker:
- Nancy Smith, Data Quality Campaign, Texas - [ Presentation ]
NCSL staff contact: Vincent Badolato
ROUNDTABLES
10:45 am - 11:45 am
Supporting Adult Learners
State legislators are not only focusing on how to increase degree attainment among traditional students, but are also designing policies to support adult learners who are coming back into the system. During this session we'll look at individual state data about your adult learners and your "reentry pipeline" and discuss how states can design coherent policy to educate adults who have fallen through the cracks.
Speaker:
NCSL staff contacts: Julie Bell and Vincent Badolato
ROUNDTABLES
10:45 am - 11:45 am
NCLB Implementation: Reauthorization Actions and Legal Findings
An update on the latest actions impacting NCLB reauthorization and a summary of the findings of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which appears to protect states from using their own funds to pay for implementing NCLB.
Speakers:
- David Shreve, National Conference of State Legislatures, Washington, D.C.
- Robert Strange, National Conference of State Legislatures, Washington, D.C.
NCSL staff contacts: David Shreve and Robert Strange
MEETING ADJOURNS
NCSL Interagency CADRE Winter Meeting and Lunch
Issues in Mental Health
12:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Sponsored by the IDEA Partnership, an investment funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and directed by the National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE)
Recent years have seen an increase in effective practices for school-based mental health, as well as a growing understanding that collaboration across agencies is necessary for individuals with mental health issues who are in transition from the K-12 system into post-secondary or workplace settings. Come learn the latest effectives practices for school-based mental health, how response to intervention approaches require both school and other state agency collaboration, what we know about school and workplace violence prevention, and discuss how state legislation can play a role. All meeting attendees are invited to this session. Details will be provided on upcoming opportunities for involvement in the legislative CADRE.
Facilitator:
- Representative Rae Ann Kelsch, North Dakota
Speakers:
- Joanne Cashman, IDEA Partnership, National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Virginia - [ Presentation ]
- Mark Weist, University of Maryland, Center for School-Based Mental Health
[ Presentation ]
- Christy Willis, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
- Tara Faye, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
NCSL staff contact: Jennifer Stedron
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