THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 30, 1996 TAG: 9610300010
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 76 lines
The little red schoolhouse - which in all too many Virginia localities needs a new roof and a new wing - is likely to be a major focus in next year's gubernatorial campaign.
This is good news for Virginia's 1 million-plus public-school children and their families.
Ideas are starting to drift out from the candidates-in-waiting, Republican Attorney General Jim Gilmore and Democratic Lieutenant Governor Don Beyer. The fact that the men generally agree on a couple of courses of action is a good omen. Each man also has proposed educational reform that merits serious consideration.
First, the points of agreement:
Both Beyer and Gilmore are eager to return the Literary Fund to its intended use, financing school construction and renovation. Since that money - which comes from collection of various fines and fees - was diverted early in the decade, schools have decayed.
The politicos are right. It's time to get the Literary Fund building program back on schedule.
Both men also want to strengthen the use of alternative educational settings for disruptive students. This is an important goal. It makes no sense to put troubled youths out on the streets, even temporarily. That only ensures that they're even further behind when they return.
In addition, Beyer is proposing that students who fail their Literacy Passport Tests in the 6th grade be required to attend either summer school or an after-school remediation program until they pass. The state would pick up the bill for the first summer of study, or pay the equivalent amount for after-school tutoring.
This is a sensible idea, even though localities already are required to supply remediation for those who fail. What is unique is narrowing the choices of action, mandating an immediate response and providing an estimated $7.5 million to start funding it.
Caution is almost always wise when it comes to ordering professionals to follow prescribed remedies. Those closest to a situation often are best suited to tailor a response. But failure of the Literacy Test should be viewed with alarm - especially since nearly one-third of the students who took it last year failed.
Providing the sort of intense, focused instruction that could more likely come in summer school or an after-school tutorial program offers the best hope of student improvement. Beyer's willingness to back the mandate with state funds makes this a winning idea.
Of course, catching literacy problems in 6th grade is at least several years late. Tests are being developed to measure new standards of learning at an earlier age. Beyer correctly advocates moving the mandated remedial work down to that level when the testing is in place.
Meanwhile, Gilmore is addressing the safety - both psychological and physical - of Virginia's teachers. The value of the changes he proposes appears to be more symbolic than substantive. But the issue of teacher safety is sufficiently grave to warrant consideration.
First, Gilmore would set a mandatory penalty of 10 days in jail or a detention center for any 18-year-old who assaults a teacher. While this sounds good, assault is already punishable by up to a year in jail and a hefty fine. Nor, statistics suggest, are we talking about more than a few cases a year.
Also largely symbolic, but worth considering, is proposed legislation granting teachers civil immunity from lawsuits when they apply ``reasonable and necessary force'' to break up disturbances, maintain order, or protect themselves. Teachers cannot be given carte blanche to rough up students. But nor should they fear a lawsuit every time they touch a misbehaving student.
Finally, Gilmore would have the state provide liability insurance coverage for teachers.
There's some partisan gamesmanship at work in this proposal because the Virginia Education Association - which often favors Democrats - offers liability coverage as an inducement to membership.
More significant, from a policy standpoint, is the fact that most local school boards also insure their teachers. But it would be reasonable for the state to pick up the tab for any localities that don't. Teachers shouldn't have to rely on a lobbying association for services that their employer ought to provide. by CNB