By Frank Wells
The passage of Senate Bill 1133, the CTA-sponsored Quality Education Investment Act, accomplishes on major CTA goal and makes major progress toward another.
It settles a lawsuit filed against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger after he took money from public education in 2005 and refused to pay it back. And it uses the $2.9 billion in recovered Prop. 98 funds to help targeted low-performing schools reduce class size, improve teacher and principal training, and add counselors.
The funding, which will be paid out over seven years, will also give targeted school districts flexibility to support programs that best meet their students’ needs.
CTA President Barbara E. Kerr and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell took time during visits to two Riverside schools to discuss the importance of the legislation as it awaited the governor’s signature.
He has since signed it into law.
“This legislation will give students in schools throughout the state a solid foundation of support, and it’s a major step in CTA’s campaign to help our schools of greatest need,” said Kerr.
“It’s an exciting program with real potential,” agreed O’Connell. “It will help us address an achievement gap we know is real. Reducing class size and providing better training for staff will make a big difference for students who need the most help.” O’Connell wrote the original class size reduction law in 1997 while serving in the state Senate.
SB 1133 by Senator Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) will target between 500 and 600 of the more than 1,600 public schools ranked in the two lowest deciles, as measured on the state’s Academic Performance Index (API). CTA research and other studies confirm that lower-performing schools have the highest percentages of students living in poverty and English language learners, as well as fewer fully credentialed teachers.
SB 1133 would require targeted schools to maintain the 20-to-1 pupil-teacher ratio in grades K-3, and expand the class size reduction program to grades 4-12 with a maximum class size of 25. It would establish a teacher quality index to ensure teaching experience at these schools equals or exceeds district averages, and it would provide high-quality training for all staff, including paraprofessionals and administrators.
“It’s great to see the Legislature is finally recognizing what our members have been saying for so long,” said Kerr. “With this and other legislation that targets schools that need the most help, California students have a much brighter future.”