State school chiefs seek Obama'sState school chiefs seek Obama's ear ear

Task force: Closer coordination between states, federal government is needed

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released a list of recommendations Dec. 15 it says President-elect Barack Obama should focus on during his first 100 days in office--including the promotion of state innovation, equitable access to technology for all students and their families, and continuous school improvement.

A task force of 11 state school chiefs met Dec. 1 with Linda Darling-Hammond, Obama's transition chief for education, as well as other members of Obama's transition team and members of Congress and the U.S. Department of Education (ED).

"We just want to be able to get our ideas in front of Obama's team and express where we are and where we want to be in the future," said Judy Jeffrey, director of the Iowa Department of Education.

CCSSO's 11-member presidential transition task force focused on redefining and strengthening the state-federal partnership to improve education.

"The task force and I are both very interested in having a much stronger partnership between [ED] and state agencies," Jeffrey said. "We need to work together for the benefit of all of the students."

To create a more collaborative atmosphere between state and federal education departments, the task force recommended that Obama and his education secretary work to promote innovation and continuous improvement, strategically invest in state and local capacity building, accelerate change through an improved focus on teachers, and promote better integration and coordination of federal child-focused programs.

Both Jeffery and Kansas Commissioner of Education Alexa Posney said they hope to see better coordination of federal child-focused programs such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and Perkins Act.

"This is near and dear to my heart," Posney said. "They need to reorganize the U.S. Department of Education office to make certain leadership in key offices work together to ensure better coordination. And they would report to the same assistant secretary. It would really reduce duplication in the acts."

Jeffrey said the language also needs to be consistent across the acts.

"A lot of times we're scrambling for different ways that the data need to be reported, or we might not have the ability to report [information] in the way they're asking for it," she said.

The school chiefs also recommended that Obama focus on innovation and improvement. The recommendations say federal education laws and leadership should encourage, not stifle, innovation and provide a policy environment that supports multiple educationally sound models, rather than enforcing narrow compliance with a single, federal approach.

"We're looking at innovation and using new technology and the importance of having access to technology. Most of all, there needs to be equitable access to technology for students and their families,"

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released a list of recommendations Dec. 15 it says President-elect Barack Obama should focus on during his first 100 days in office--including the promotion of state innovation, equitable access to technology for all students and their families, and continuous school improvement.