2010 Fall Forum Education Highlights

Biltmore Hotel
Phoenix, Arizona
December 8-11

NCSL Standing Committee on Education Agenda 

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Wednesday, December 8

Thursday, December 9

Registration

NCSL Partnership Project on Education Effectiveness

NCSL's Foundation for State Legislatures Partnership Project for Educator Effectiveness will host its first meeting to establish a work plan for the year.  NCSL Staff Contacts: Michelle Exstrom and Sara Shelton

NCSL Steering Committee of the Standing Committees and Committee Officer Orientation

The steering committtee consists of the overall Standing Committee officers and the legislator and staff chairs of the individual committees.  Members will review plans for this Forum, any policies under consideration, and the rules of procedure in the committees and business meeting. 

NCSL Standing Committee Staff Officers Luncheon

This luncheon gives staff officers of the committees an opportunity to discuss their role in the committees and the committee agenda at the Forum.  All staff officers of the committees are invited to attend.

The Realities of Virtual Charter Schools

Come learn all about virtual charter schools and how they fit into the future of digital learning.  Hear the basics of these distance learning schools and how state policies affect them. Discuss what virtual charter schools can offer to reach K-12 educational goals in your state, as well as the limitations and challenges.  NCSL Staff Contact:  Yilan Shen

Presiding:

• Senator Rich Crandall, Arizona
  Vice-Chair, NCSL Standing Committee on Education

Speakers:

• Allison Powell, International Association for K-12 Online Learning, Virginial 
• Mary Gifford, Arizona State Board for Charter Schools

 Presentation - Powell

Resources:  Keeping Pace Report
   Funding and Policy Frameworks Promising Practices Paper
   Fast Facts
   Online Learning Now More Than Ever

Helping Kids Succeed in School and Life
(Joint with NCSL Human Services and Welfare Standing Committee)

Strategies to better prepare young peoople for college and work can help reduce the dropout rate and ultimately lead to higher college completion and succesful entry into jobs.  Hear recommendations from NCSL's Dropout Prevention and Recovery Task Force and NCSL's Youth Advisory Group.  NCSL Staff Contact:  Sunny Deyé

Presiding:

• Representative Wes Keller, Alaska
  Co-Chair, NCSL Human Services & Welfare Committee'
  Member of the NCSL Task Force on School Dropout Prevention and Recovery

Speakers:

• Senator Rich Crandall, Arizona
• Representative Gregory Porter, Indiana
• David Spence, Southern Regional Education Board,Georgia
• Peggy Walton, Corporate Voices for Working Families, Washington, D.C.

Friday, December 10 

Wake Up with Inspiring Teachers and Leaders

Join us for a stimulating breakfast conversation with inspiring educators.  Learn about their personal challenges and successes of turning around persistently low-performing schools.  Visit the continental breakfast buffet and bring your breakfast to the session.  NCSL Staff Contacts:  Michelle Exstrom and Sara Shelton

Presiding:

• Cheryl Reinhart, Bureau of Legislative Research, Arkansas
  Staff Chair, NCSL Standing Committee on Education

Speakers:

• Daniela Robles, Mitchell Elementary School, Phoenix, Arizona
• Kiela Bonelli, Julius Corsini Elementary School, Desert Hot Springs, California

Federal Update

Hear perspectives on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind from a representatiave of the U.S. Department of Education and discuss state priorities and concerns regarding this important legislation.  NCSL Staff Contact:  Lee Posey

Presiding:

• Senator John Goedde, Idaho
  Co-Chair, NCSL Standing Committee on Education

Turning Around Low-Performing Schools Through Take One! and National Board Certification

Principals and teachers continue to search for effective tools to turn around low-performing schools and close the achievement gap.  During this session, we will hear from educators who have used Take One! and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification as a tool to meet this challenge.  NCSL Staff Contacts:  Michelle Exstrom and Sara Shelton

Presiding:

Representative Betty Komp, Oregon
Vice-Chair, NCSL Standing Committee on Education

Speakers:

• Daniela Robles, Mitchell Elementary School, Phoenix, Arizona
• Kiela Bonelli, Julius Corsini Elementary School, Desert Springs, California
• Nancy Shakowski, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Colorado
• Craig Thibaudeau, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, Virginia

State Immigrationn Laws:  Crossing the Constitutional Border
(Joint session with the NCSL Human Services and Welfare, Law and Criminal Justice Standing Committees and the Task Force on Immigration and the States)

State immigration-related legislation remains at an all time high.  As state lawmakers test their role in immigration policy, they're finding their laws under review in federal courts.  Explore the debate around Arizona's 2007 worksite enforcement law currently before the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as issues surrounding in-state tuition for immigrants, Arizona's new immigration enforecemnet law, and the latest trends in legal and illegal immigration.

Moderator:

• Representative Joni Cutler, South Dakota

Panelists:

• Senator Curtis Bramble, Utah
• Kathleen Campbell Walker, Cox/Smith, Texas
• Representative John Kavanagh, Arizona
• Representative Sharon Tomika Santos, Washington

Funding Higher Education in Tight Fiscal Times
(Joint session with the NCSL Budget and Revenue Standing Committee)

The recent recession produced such deep cuts to higher education that lawmakers are beginning to rethink fundamental funding and policy issues.  Hear about recent trends in state higher education budgets and discuss some of the strategies policymakers are considering to revamp funding and improve productivity.  NCSL Staff Contacts:  Julie Davis Bell and Brenda Bautsch

 Moderator:

• Lana Oleen, Oleen Consulting Services, Kansas

Panelists:

• Dennis Jones, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, Colorado
• David Longanecker, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Colorado
• Jane Wellman, Delta Cost Project, Washington, D.C.

Reception at the Biltmore