Legislative Report #6

Our thanks to Bob and Mary Bedford and Jon Conley for the following update. This represents Legislative Report #6

Emergent Design and Development, Inc.
Legislative Update
December 15, 2008

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Full Appropriations Council on Education & Economic Development
David Rivera, Chair
Marti Coley, Vice Chair
Ron Saunders; Democratic Ranking Member
Faye Culp
Greg Evers
Anitere Flores
Richard Glorioso
Eduardo Gonzalez
Adam Hasner
John Legg
Seth McKeel
Dave Murzin
Stephen Precourt
William Proctor
Ron Reagan
Will Weatherford
Ronald Brise
Joseph Gibbons
Bill Heller
Evan Jenne
Martin Kiar
Geraldine Thompson

PreK-12 Appropriations Committee
Anitere Flores, Chair
John Legg, Vice Chair
Martine Kiar, Democratic Ranking Member
Ellyn Setnor Bogdanoff
Erik Fresen
Kelli Stargel
Gwyndolen Clarke-Ree

Education Policy Council
Faye Culp, Chair
Marti Coley, Vice Chair
Bill Heller, Democratic Ranking Member
Anitere Flores
John Legg
Seth McKeel
Stephen Precourt
William Proctor
Will Weatherford
Charles Chestnut IV
Martin Kiar
Betty Reed

PreK-12 Policy Committee
John Legg, Chair
Anitere Flores, Vice Chair
Martin Kiar, Democratic Ranking Member
Rachel Burgin
Clay Ford
Erik Fresen
Charles McBurney
Scott Plakon
Kelli Stargel
Ritch Workman
Dwight Bullard
Mia Jones
Rick Kriseman

SENATE

Education PreK-12 Appropriations Committee
Stephen Wise, Chair
Gary Siplin, vice Chair
Larcenia Bullard
Nancy Detert
Rudy Garcia
Garrett Richter

Education PreK-12 Committee
Nancy Detert, Chair
Frederica Wilson, Vice Chair
Larcenia Bullard
Lee Constantine
Don Gaetz
Eleanor Sobel
Rhonda Storms
Stephen Wise

Select Committee on Florida’s Economy
Don Gaetz, Chair
Jeremy Ring, Vice Chair
JD Alexander
Mike Bennett
Dan Gelber
Mike Haridopolos
Tony Hill
Jim King
Ken Pruitt
Garrett Richter
Eleanor Sobel

Interim Committee Meetings – Week of December 15

The House and Senate will meet the week of December 15 to for budget hearings. The Senate was not scheduled to meet, but decided to meet on Wednesday and Thursday to begin discussing budget reductions for this current fiscal year. A special legislative session on the budget is expected in January.

Senate Special Meeting

The Full Senate met for a briefing on the budget and revenue projections. Here’s the bad news.

• Unemployment rates are climbing – ranking (by county) from a low of 4.5% to a high of 13.0%
• Population growth is slowing – growth hovered between 2.0% and 2.6% from the mid 1990’s to 2006, continuing to slow only reaching 0.7% in 2008.
• U.S. economy simultaneously buffeted by three major shocks: home prices have fallen across the nation for first time since the Great Depression (down 17% so far); financial markets are experiencing worst credit crunch since the late 1980s at best – maybe since the Great Depression; and U.S. recession is spreading globally, causing additional feedback loops.
• Florida has been particularly hit hard by two housing-related shocks: home prices and credit tightening.
• National inventory of homes is above 11 months.
• In Florida, excess supply of homes is likely greater than 300,000.
• Using most recent sales experience, Florida needs significant time to work off current excess of homes – January to March, 2010 is optimistic, and July to September 2010 is pessimistic forecast.
• Florida has 2nd highest number of foreclosure filings (54,324 in October) and 3rd highest foreclosure rate (1 in every 157 housing units).
• Recession is now reality and is longer than last two recessions – projected to last two more quarters.
• Florida will recover but revenue concerns are more persistent relative to some past events and economic strength will be slow to return; credit markets remain frozen; global recessionary conditions affect international migration, tourism and spending decisions, as well as exports; U.S. Consumers will be responding to massive wealth destruction and tighter credit conditions; and recovery in Florida housing market not anticipated until April 2010, at least.
• Five areas of concern: slower population growth; loss of wealth effect on declining home prices and portfolio/investment losses; growing home inventory; spreading credit crunch; and reality of national and global recession.

For the current fiscal year (2008-09), the current projected deficit is $2.3 billion. Assuming the 4% holdback is enacted by the Legislature which accounts for approximately $1 billion, an additional $1.2 billion remains. This must be addressed now in order to balance the budget.

For the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year, the projected deficit is $3.8 billion (this deficit is beyond any cuts that have been made this year).

Legislative Report #5

Our thanks to Bob and Mary Bedford and Jon Conley for the following update. This represents Report #5.

EMERGENT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT, INC.
Legislative Update
December 3, 2008

1. SPECIAL SESSION
The feeling in Tallahassee is that a special session is not likely. Usually, before a Special Session is called, there is some agreement on the proposed outcome. While everyone agrees that there will be a significant shortfall for this year, there is not yet agreement on the possible next steps to balance the budget.

2. REVENUE ESTIMATING
The Revenue Estimating Conference has met and shared bleak news with Florida leaders. Chief Legislative Economist, Amy Baker indicated that the state is $2.1billion short of expected and budgeted revenue for the current year. She also indicated that the economy may not turn around for 2 years. Education leaders have suggested that districts may receive less money in the Base Student Allocation than they received in the 20065-06 school year. We would expect that discussions will include both cutting the budget as well as seeking new sources of revenue.

3. SENATE AND HOUSE COMMITTEES
Committee structure and membership are currently being released. We are pleased that Senator Steve Wise will Chair the Senate K-12 Education Appropriations Committee. He will also be a member of the Senate K-12 Education Committee. (Senate Education K-12 will have their first meeting on December 10, 2008, from 9:00-11:00am in Senate Room 301.) We will send out a complete Education Committee for both the House and the Senate as soon as they are released.

4. COMMITTEE WEEKS

Proposed Senate Interim Committee Schedule
December 8-12
January 5-9
January 12-16
February 2-6
February 9-13
February 16-20

Proposed House Interim Committee Schedule
December 15-18
January 5-8
January 12-15
February 2-5
February 9-12
February 16-20

The first day of the 2009 Regular Session is March 3, 2009

5. Education Bills filed as of December 1

HB 0003 Relates to athletic coaches
HB 0011 Cigarette uses fees
HB 0013 Social Studies in the FCAT
HB 0017 Student non-traditional options for graduation
HB 0019 Deletes abstinence as part of instruction in human sexuality
HB 0012 Childhood vaccinations

6. SENATE SELECT PANEL

Today, Senate President Jeff Atwater named a select panel to analyze the Florida Budget and Economy and make recommendations for legislation and Constitutional amendments to jump start the economy. Named were; Senators Gaetz (Chair), Ring, Alexander, Haridopolis, King, Pruitt, Bennett, Gelber, Sobel, and Hill.

Rep. Bev Kilmer's Letter Why Social Studies Can't Be Tested

Legislative Report #2

Legislative Update # _____
September 26, 2008










EMERGENT DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
LEGISLATIVE REPORT
September 26, 2008

Things are relatively quiet in Tallahassee, as the national elections are the main news stories of the day. There are still many Florida Legislators facing election or re-election and this uncertainty results in a slowdown of Tallahassee action. The biggest news continues to be the Supreme Court’s removal of the three proposed Constitutional amendments from the ballot and the continued decline in the Florida economy.
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
As of September 24th, 28 relief bills have been filed in the Florida Senate. These are bills by which individual citizens can appeal to the Legislature seeking monetary relief (usually for actions of a governmental agency, which are held harmless past a certain monetary amount).
There are not any regular bills filed in either the House or Senate at this time. This is not unusual in an election year. We still expect many bills to be filed dealing with education for the 2009 Session.
We will continue to monitor and report to you as soon as filing begins. We are also waiting for the appointments of committee chairs and members.
ENROLLMENT
The 10 day enrollment figures for Florida School Districts reported 36,574 less students than anticipated. (1.37%)
The decline was fairly evenly distributed across the state. Duval County reported the largest loss in anticipated enrollment with a loss of 4,148 students. Reported losses among the large school districts were as follows; Miami-Dade (-1,684), Broward (-2,439), Hillsborough (-2,249), Orange (-1,933), Palm Beach (-1,493), and Pinellas (-2,076).
Three counties reported an enrollment growth of more than 200 students. Pasco County lead the gainers with a 1,598 student increase, followed by Flagler county (+262) and Sumter County (+239). Other counties reporting small increases were; Baker, Calhoun, Franklin, Glades, Lafayette, Martin, Okeechobee, Suwannee, and Union.
Many districts are expected to show student enrollment increases by the 30 day count. We will report the new numbers as soon as they are received.

BUDGETARY CONCERNS
I want to share some information concerning the current Education Budget and the projections for the future. This will help us establish the scene surrounding the 2009-2010 budget. There are no quick and easy solutions to the declining budget especially when expenses are escalating and revenue is declining. These are random facts, not to be taken as all inclusive or to add up to a specific total. They are more to help explain a very huge problem, the funding of our Education budget.
1. The 2008-09 fiscal year overall State budget has already been cut by $1.8 billion. (This has resulted in revenues for 08-09 being less than revenues in 07-08.)
2. General revenue for the current year has been projected to reflect a deficit of $1.5 billion. By law, this shortfall must be resolved prior to the end of this fiscal year – June 30, 2009. (We have been told that this shortfall will be covered by using non-recurring funds.) If so, while that is good news for this year, it will mean that these dollars won’t be available for future needs – i.e., these funds will not be available to cover shortfalls in the 2009-10 budget.
3. Lottery dollars are declining, with a deficit in projected revenue of $48 million. Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund dollars are not expected to grow. Additional dollars from these funds will not be available, if needed for next year’s budget.
4. Slot machine dollars have not lived up to expectations and the projected revenue from this source is down by $750 million over the next three years.
5. Almost $300 million is needed over the next two years to meet the class size Constitutional requirements. This is an updated figure which accounts for districts that have already met the requirement. There is some early discussion of revisiting the class size issue by the Senate. I don’t believe that there is any Legislative solution available to overrule a Constitutional Amendment.
6. In Education, the normal increase costs associated with workload and enrollment are projected to require an additional $232 million over the next two years. Major expense items such as gasoline, electricity, and textbooks, coupled with expected inflation, could add expenses of up to $600 million a year.
7. If millage rates remain unchanged, ad valorum revenues for Education could increase by $725 million by 2011-12.
8. The bottom line is that budget prognosticators expect that the maximum available General Revenue for the State in 2009-10 will be $24.7 billion. The State will require $28.2 billion to operate. This leaves a potential shortfall of $3.5 billion.

9. Article 9, Section 1 of the Florida Constitution states, “It is the paramount duty of the State to make adequate provision for the education of all children residing within its borders.”
10. The Constitution also requires that the Legislature must balance the budget before it can be approved. Either reductions must be made or new sources of revenue must be found in order to balance this potential shortfall.
11. If an increased revenue scenario is chosen, the questions become:
• Do you chose to increase taxes? (An additional one cent sales tax would generate $3.78 million) or
• What items do you tax that are currently exempt? The list of tax exemptions is huge and appears untouchable. I don’t think anyone will propose an income tax and if proposed, it wouldn’t pass.
I’m sure that we will receive a great deal of conflicting information involving revenue and costs, between now and May. However, we can be assured that this Legislative Session will be both challenging and very interesting.

Legislative Update # 3 Oct. 27. 2008

FASSS/FCSS Update#3 October 27, 2008


Greetings ---
At the far left is a weekly update from the NCSS Legislative Advocacy group Washington Partners that discusses news about Achieve, Inc. -- the consortium of 34 states that Florida D.O.E. has partnered with and with whom our Chancellor was just in Washington with signing the Algebra II contract with! It also contains some valuable information about the recently convened Forum for Education and Democracy. The report is worth a quick read. (The other files pertaining to Achieve, Inc. were distributed at Friday's FASSS meeting and in an earlier email.)

Achieve, Inc. seems destined to be an increasingly important group on national educational issues. Unfortunately for us in Social Studies, without some intense lobbying to Achieve, this group seems very likely to replicate the SCANS initiative from an earlier generation. (SCANS = Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills which 'left out' the social sciences at that time and which initiated our long decline as a basic core academic subject.) Achieve, Inc. is composed of Governors and CEOs (similar to the SCANS Commission) and seeks improvement in ‘employability skills and increased problem-solving skills to compete in a global economy.’ There is little or no reference to social studies on its national website. The group is often consulted with on the development of rigorous curriculum standards and their review of the new social studies standards for New Jersey represented about the only reference to our curriculum area that I could locate. Another area the group is very interested in is assessment. It assists in the development of rigorous, high quality end of course exams for many states. According to my meager sources, Achieve Inc. has no social studies assessment on the horizon. Without the Governors of some states lobbying for the need of this, such assessments probably won't happen in the near future. (Remember that no governor need worry about how his/her schools compare to any national profile with regard to civic, geographic or historical understanding -- thus I doubt they'll be asking for this without some pressure.)

Section four in the left most PDF file is an update on the Forum for Education and Democracy initiative. This last forum was sponsored by Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Representative John Yarmuth (D-KY) and it appears clear that in all the testimony given here that there is absolutely nothing wrong with not holding any state accountable for its civic mission. The group seems to wish to denigrate current ‘knowledge tests’ such as NAEP and promote activities that ensure ‘team building’, ‘problem solving’ and ‘communication skills’. Interestingly, although NAEP is cited as a test of knowledge, there are performance based items on the social studies tests within NAEP that call for students to do all of these things. Moreover, the clear connection between the lack of state accountability in social studies and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush's signing into law a measure ELIMINATING American History and American Government as high school graduation requirements seems to have been lost on this group. How do we ensure the survival of “democracy” in this nation with such acts?

Again, the absence of noting this inequity of holding states accountable in our area by folks at the national level almost seems to be 'conspiratorial.' The trend from this week's NCSS news doesn't bode well for us. It appears that without more aggressive lobbying on our part we'll continue to have more "contentless-writing" assessments -- as Will Fitzhugh likes to call the SAT -- where students can just get "A's" for their skill of writing and yet demonstrate total ignorance of history or of world events. They can lie, cheat and ‘steal’ their way to a good grade on such ‘writing’ performance assessments. We appear to be going through still another round of re-engineering our math, reading, language arts, writing and science assessments and totally ignoring social studies. With the current state of ignorance about our nation and the world among youth today, this is not only dangerous but suicidal. Unfortunately it appears no voices to counter these recent developments seem evident.

Note: The position of FCSS and FASSS has always been that the best assessments remain those that BALANCE knowledge and skill (such as AP Exams, the NY State Regent's test, etc. Such sentiments and testimony and almost any discussion of the civic mission or our schools seem absent from this week's update.) Let’s hope some folks at the national level will raise their voices to counter this dangerous trend.

NCSS Loses an Opportunity to Lobby for National Equity on NAEP

The National Council for the Social Studies sent letters to both Presidential candidates shortly before the November election. Although the letters clearly addressed the desire for continued support of many Congressional appropriations related to Social Studies, the letters neglected to mention the long standing attempt over the last four Congresses to give our curriculum equity on the National Assessment for Educational Progress tests which hold the states accountable for how well they compare to one another and to a national standard. NCSS has refused, despite repeated urging by FCSS, to make public to its members a request for support for these measures for many years. This letter to Senator McCain was identical to that sent to Senator Obama and represents still yet another lost opportunity to address the inequity of our curriculum at the national level on NAEP.

_________________________
October 8, 2008

Senator John McCain
John McCain 2008
P.O. Box 16118
Arlington, VA 22215

Dear Senator McCain:

As you and Senator Obama compete for the highest office in the land and share your views and plans for US policies home and abroad over the next four years, the importance of a strong and accountable public education system cannot be understated. As you know, training and retaining a quality teaching workforce, addressing the dropout crisis that plagues public high schools, giving young people crucial 21st Century Skills that facilitate success in the workplace and college, addressing the persistent achievement gap and a maintaining a strong higher education system are crucial to an effective citizenry and healthy economy.

On behalf of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and its more than 25,000 members, we would like to share our views and priorities on a number of issues that will be considered by the next Administration. As you and your prospective Secretary of Education work with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to consider policies that affect K-12 schools and classrooms, we ask you to consider these views.

NCSS defines social studies as "the integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence." The mission of the Council is to provide leadership, service and support for all social studies educators. During this presidential election year, we are reminded how important it is that citizens know their civic responsibilities. It is important that federal investments validate the role of social studies in exposing young people to civic engagement, economics and financial literacy, global awareness, historical reasoning and other subjects that yield increasingly crucial 21st Century skills.

As you know, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is a law that has had an enormous impact on public education throughout the nation and has brought vital focus to the need to define school wide academic success as success for every child. NCSS wholeheartedly endorses this goal, but believes the law can be both strengthened and improved. NCSS is concerned that social studies is getting short shrift in the classroom as teachers and administrators focus almost exclusively on achievement test results in math and reading. If American students are to succeed in the global market place of the 21st Century, it is the teaching of social studies, science and other core disciplines that will serve as the means to stimulate interest in academics and prepare students for their roles as citizens.

The Center on Education Policy (CEP) released a report in 2007 that asserts that since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, 44% of districts surveyed have reduced time for social studies. That percentage leapt to 51% in districts with “failing schools.” Denying students the opportunity to build social studies vocabulary and background knowledge lowers reading comprehension and ironically increases the achievement gap. This is clearly an unintended consequence of NCLB and one that deserves the attention of policy makers.

Powerful social studies teaching begins with a clear understanding of the subject’s unique purposes and goals. Social studies is a discipline that facilitates the teaching of a number of subjects and arms young people with the knowledge and skills they need to be effective and responsible citizens. An emphasis on reading knowledge alone ignores the value of important content and analysis. Rigorous and relevant social studies curriculum can—and does—teach reading skills while imparting important knowledge and skills. The same is true in mathematics. Economics, financial literacy, geography and other disciplines have mathematics lessons and content imbedded in their teaching. NCSS firmly believes that by incorporating a social studies curriculum into the school day, the reading and math skills of the students will actually be enhanced.

Finally, as social studies educators strive to give young people the skills and knowledge they need to become effective citizens, it is crucial they have access to quality professional development to meet the demands of the ever-changing classroom. There are a number of federal programs that assist districts, administrators and principals in their efforts to support their classroom teachers. We ask you to adequately fund these initiatives, including the Teaching American History grant program, National History Day, Civic Education, Excellence in Economic Education, Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants and NCLB Improving Teacher Quality State Grants. Adequate federal funding for existing programs and innovative new ideas can and do help tens of thousands of students and teachers to gain important skills and experiences, ultimately producing responsible citizens.

No matter who takes up residence in the White House in January, he and his staff will face challenges, and we look forward to working with the team as it faces appropriations battles, considers the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act and addresses important issues that affect classrooms, teachers, administrators, parents and students.

Thank you for your attention to these views. As the campaign continues, if we can provide you with any additional information, please contact NCSS Executive Director Susan Griffin at 301.581.1800 or sgriffin@ncss.org.

Sincerely,

Susan Griffin Michael Yell
Executive Director President

Legislative Committee Submits Letters of Concern to Chancellor Haithcock and FL Education Commissioner Dr. Eric Smith

On October 3, 2008, a delegation of Florida Social Studies educators and FCSS/FASSS Lobbyist Bob Bedford met with both the Commissioner and Chancellor of Florida public schools. Letters of concern with supporting documentation were left with both officials. Although both officials expressed some dismay that the organizations were not entirely happy with the newly revised state social studies Next Generation Sunshine State Standards, they were very supportive of other requests contained within the letter. Later that day, FASSS president Jason Caros, emailed a thank you letter to both persons. (See other postings for this and his report of the meeting.) Promises of support for the announced goals contained within this letter were made, especially with regard to implementation of an accountability program for social studies within the state of Florida.
____________________________________

Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors
Florida Council for the Social Studies

October 3, 2008

Dr. Frances Haithcock
Chancellor, Florida D.O.E.
Turlington Building, Suite 514 325 West Gaines Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399

Dear Dr. Haithcock,

Florida educators are anticipating the curriculum changes that will soon result from the State Board of Education adoption of the Next Generation Standards for Social Studies. Since at least 1986 social studies teachers have gone on record with the Department to urge state accountability for our discipline area. Knowing the success of any such accountability program depends upon the quality of the state’s curriculum standards, we have also long urged the revision of Florida’s social studies curriculum standards. We applaud the Department for undertaking this initiative. Draft standards have been produced with the input of representative stakeholders and experts in the field. The standards apparently will soon be approved by the State Board of Education and then be permanently released to educators and the public.

We would be remiss, however, if we did not inform you at this that we have concerns both as the developmental process and the current status of these draft standards. We are unanimous in our belief that in order to have produced exemplary standards, the revision process should have been given the time that it deserved. Unfortunately, this has not been the case.

There were problems from the onset of the curriculum revision process. Too few classroom teachers with elementary experience were part of the initial meetings. There were many months of inactivity for members of the committee as leadership changes and funding issues delayed its work. The draft standards were released at the worst possible time – literally at the end of last school year – when teachers had little time to review them and offer constructive comments. Finally – based upon the limited time that was available to writers this past summer – the writing teams were unable to correct some of the gaps and weaknesses which still remain. As a result, although the standards are exemplary in many respects and in some ways superior to the previous standards, we feel additional time and resources should be devoted to this initiative.


Page two October 3, 2008



Perhaps not surprisingly, we found our colleagues in the area of science and language arts voicing similar concerns over the same process when they developed their curriculum standards. We therefore urge that the process of developing and refining the Next Generation social studies standards be continued and that additional resources be provided for their development.

We additionally urge that the Department take steps to move forward with plans to develop end of course high school assessments that will include social studies. We recommend in particular that the Commissioner commit to the development of an exemplary assessment in American History at the high school level. At no time in Florida’s history have we been able to accurately determine to what extent districts live up to the civic and historical mission of our schools. Many national reports and our own state’s rapid demographic changes increasingly make such an assessment vital to the preservation of the Republic. The draft standards for American History at the high school level would facilitate the construction of such an assessment even as work on these standards might continue to be refined at other grade levels.

It is our hope and expectation that the vacancy left by Mr. Levon Terrell be immediately filled by a full time experienced and qualified specialist for Social Studies within the Department. We also wish to once again urge that social studies be added to the state’s Student Progression Law for the elementary grades and to FCAT as soon as this is practically possible. We urge that increased attention be devoted to the importance of non-fiction reading on all Departmental curriculum packets and on FCAT. The revisions to the Third Grade Assessment Portfolio, for example, are insufficient in meeting the vital need for our students to acquire the necessary background knowledge so essential for improved reading comprehension. Nor do these selections model exemplary social studies readings. We welcome your support for the elementary teacher survey being currently conducted by the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship. This survey seeks to ascertain the status of social studies teaching in grades K-5 and to evaluate the impact of testing in our area. Finally, we welcome your presence at the upcoming Florida Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference being held October 24-25 in St. Petersburg in order to establish and maintain an excellent link of communication between yourself and Florida’s social studies teachers.

We look forward to your thoughts on the above ideas and in discussing with you ways that Florida students may be better prepared to lead productive lives as responsible citizens in a truly interdependent world.

Sincerely,

Jason Caros
President, Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors
Vice President Elect, Florida Council for the Social Studies

Legislative Committee Meets with Commissioner Smith!

October 13, 2008

Dr. Eric Smith
Commissioner, Florida D.O.E.
Turlington Building, Suite 1514 325 West Gaines Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399


Dear Dr. Smith,


Please allow me to express personal thanks to you on behalf of Florida’s social studies teachers for taking the time to recently meet and discuss with us ways to ensure the best education possible for our students. We are encouraged to hear that the Department plans to send an appropriate person to our upcoming state conference later this month and that you will move to fill the now vacant position of Social Studies Specialist within the Department. We also applaud your desire for the Department to move forward with plans for several end-of-course social studies assessments at the high school level. With regard to this, we additionally encourage you to formally submit to the consortium of states that are working to develop such assessments Florida’s desire that these become an urgent priority. They are especially needed in light of the fact that Florida and many other states have never been able to determine to what extent school districts fulfill their vitally important civic mission. Additionally, we welcome your desire to see increased use of non-fiction readings in the social sciences be developed and used by the Department for Reading purposes or for FCAT preparation and assessment. We agree that it is vital that children be equipped with the necessary background knowledge that comes from their exposure to the social studies curriculum and which so often leads to increased reading achievement.

The subject of the Next Generation social studies standards will soon be taken up by our Board at our upcoming annual meeting. We look forward to discussing this with our members and promise to continue to work with you on the implementation of quality standards for Florida’s children.

Sincerely,

Jason Caros
President, Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors
Vice-President Elect, Florida Council for the Social Studies

Legislative Committee Meets with Chancellor Haithcock!

October 3, 2008


Dr. Frances Haithcock
Chancellor, Florida D.O.E.
Turlington Building, Suite 514 325 West Gaines Street Tallahassee, Florida 32399


Dear Dr. Haithcock,


Please allow me to express personal thanks to you on behalf of Florida’s social studies teachers for taking the time to recently meet and discuss with us ways to ensure the best education possible for our students. We are encouraged to hear that the Department plans to send an appropriate person to our upcoming state conference later this month and that you will move to fill the now vacant position of Social Studies Specialist within the Department. We also applaud your desire for the Department to move forward with plans for several end-of-course social studies assessments at the high school level. With regard to this, we additionally encourage you to formally submit to the consortium of states that are working to develop such assessments Florida’s desire that these become an urgent priority. They are especially needed in light of the fact that Florida and many other states have never been able to determine to what extent school districts fulfill their vitally important civic mission. Additionally, we welcome your desire to see increased use of non-fiction readings in the social sciences be developed and used by the Department for Reading purposes or for FCAT preparation and assessment. We agree that it is vital that children be equipped with the necessary background knowledge that comes from their exposure to the social studies curriculum and which so often leads to increased reading achievement.

The subject of the Next Generation social studies standards will soon be taken up by our Board at our upcoming annual meeting. We look forward to discussing this with our members and promise to continue to work with you on the implementation of quality standards for Florida’s children.

Sincerely,

Jason Caros
President, Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors
Vice President Elect, Florida Council for the Social Studies

Constitution Day Consternations

When Benjamin Franklin emerged from Convention’s final work in Philadelphia, a woman asked of him, “Well, Dr. Franklin, what have you given us?” The elder statesman replied, “A Republic, madam - if you can keep it.” Today’s legislators should take heed of Franklin’s admonition, for the ultimate fate of the Republic may well hinge upon their actions. The world’s longest standing Constitution has withstood the tests of Civil War, Fascism, Cold War and countless other challenges. Whether it will continue to stand, Aristotle reminds us, “depends upon the education of youth.” How stands the ship of state today? ‘Not well’ must be everyone’s unqualified answer.

One year after 9/11 a Roper Survey discovered America’s voting age young adults were last among nine nations in correctly identifying the approximate size of this nation’s population. They were last in knowing that Afghanistan was ruled by the Taliban and was about to be invaded by the U.S. for refusing to surrender Osama bin Laden. They were last in being able to locate Russia, Italy, Argentina, Japan on a world map, and were almost last in recognizing the location of their own nation! Almost half of the students believed the majority population in India is Muslim and less than half could correctly identify the location of New York. Since then, numerous surveys attest to the fact our youth more readily recognize the names of the long dead Three Stooges, Snoop Doogy Dog, the members of the Simpson Family and the identities of Beavis and Butthead than can correctly identify key Constitutional Amendments or basic principles of American Government.

National attempts to rectify the problem in the last two Congresses have been in vain. Despite being told that “American History is the nation’s worst subject”, Congress for the last two sessions has neglected to pass a paltry $8 million measure (S860) that would have provided equity for this subject on “The Nation’s Report Card” – the National Assessment for Educational Progress. Although Congress has been able in that last few years to fund about a half billion dollars in training for American History teachers, the one time allocation of $8 million to hold states accountable for what students actually learned in that subject was apparently too costly.

Shall it be said of this generation of lawmakers that for the cost of a few Cruise Missiles our nation literally risks an implosion like the former Soviet Union? Shall our governors never be held accountable for how poorly they equip our nation’s future citizens with the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to perpetuate this Republic? Despite public education's primary purpose being an informed citizenry, no state’s civic education program has ever been held to the same standards of comparison as that given to such areas as reading, writing, math, science or even teens’ alcohol and drug consumption habits! One can more easily find the last time a typical 13 year-old was offered cocaine in SW Florida than what that student knows about the Constitution or our nation’s past heritage.

And yet Florida continues to promote what is now a tsunami of civic ignorance among youth. In recent years our state was ridiculed by Phyllis Schlafly and condemned on the floor of both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate for its hostility toward civic education. Florida has never known to what extent its students are prepared for citizenship. It seemingly doesn’t care. The legislature has repeatedly refused to amend the state's Pupil Progression Law so that civic understanding may be taken into consideration for grade promotion purposes. The former House Education Committee chair and the current D.O.E. bureaucrat in charge of FCAT have stated in writing that they are opposed any assessment of United States History because due to our ‘diverse population’ it would be ‘almost impossible to assess.” Curiously, various other states and the College Board have successfully been doing this very thing for years.

So where are we today as we celebrate another “Constitution Day”? Well, we’re still a Republic. But for how long? President Reagan warned in his 1989 farewell, “An informed patriotism is what we want. And are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world? . . . I'm warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the American Spirit.”

We are as ignorant today in Florida of this question as we were when Reagan took office. The result of ignoring his warning is that many civic educators today have arrived at the conclusion that the erosion of the American Memory is already well underway. The Florida Legislature can avert this danger to our Republic by requiring an assessment in this vital area of our children’s education -- before it’s too late! Both our children’s future, and that of our Republic rests upon their decision.


Words 816

The writer has been a social studies educator, a former elementary school principal, and serves as Legislative Chair for the Florida Council for the Social Studies. He may be reached at JSBovee@aol.com.

Legislative Goals 2007-2008 -- ONGOING now

FCSS / FASSS
Position Paper on 2007-08 Legislative Issues (These were continued for the future until passage of a comprehensive assessment program for Social Studies for Florida's students.)

Level One Priorities are those immediately pressing needs that the organization is aggressively seeking to secure legislative support for in the coming session. Level Two Priorities represent longer range goals. These allow FCSS / FASSS to take positions supporting other issues when addressing the main priority of the organization.

RECOMMENDATION ONE: Florida Statute 1008.22 should be amended so as to add social studies as an area for statewide assessment. This law should go into effect no later than 2009.
Current status: The case for this is well known. We would be open to a strictly electronic assessment format to reduce fiscal impact, a sufficient percentage sampling of students in each district as opposed to census testing, and other reasonable compromises. Since the Legislature and Commissioner of Education have both called for rigorous end-of-course assessments similar to those for the N.Y. State Regent’s Diploma, we have lobbied key legislative leaders and D.O.E. officials for the purpose of making the American History high school course the next schedule assessment for high school students in Florida.
Priority Level: One


THE FCSS BOARD OF DIRECTORS VOTED TO IMPLEMENT A SINGLE FOCUS FOR THE ACTIVITIES OF THE ADVOCACY COMMITTEE – PASSAGE OF A STATE-WIDE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM FOR SOCIAL STUDIES. As a result, the goals which follow are presented here as secondary issues which teachers may also wish to support.


RECOMMENDATION TWO: FCSS should work with other civic-minded organizations to conduct a statewide campaign to incorporate social studies as part of the FCAT.

Current Status: As a result of efforts by former Governor Bob Graham, Congressman Lou Frey, Chief Justice Lewis and numerous others bills were introduced in the legislature by House and Senate leaders calling for social studies to become part of FCAT.

Priority Level: Two


RECOMMENDATION THREE: FCSS should work with other civic-minded organizations to conduct a statewide survey of student civic and historical knowledge at the elementary and secondary levels, the results of which should be released to the public and the Commissioner of Education.

Current Status: No such survey or assessment has ever been done with large numbers of students in Florida. Sample questions should be based upon N.A.E.P. assessment items and other previously known surveys so that some comparison might be made. Consideration should be given to institutionalizing such a survey for the purpose of annually bringing civic literacy to the state’s attention each September. When possible, the data should be disaggregated by region, gender, grade level, and race/ethnicity. Results should be shared with the Florida’s legislators, various media outlets and the Florida Association of Educational Writers.

Priority Level: Two


RECOMMENDATION FOUR: The state should establish the Florida Commission on Civic Education for the purpose of (1) educating students on the importance of citizen involvement in a representative democracy, and for (2) promoting communication and collaboration among organizations in the state that conduct civic education programs.

Current Status: There are now several organizations with state-wide reach that promote civic understanding – The Florida Law Related Education Association and the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship – which make this priority less critical than in the past.

Priority Level: Two


RECOMMENDATION FIVE: FCSS should continue to take the appropriate steps to communicate with NCSS and other national organizations as well as individual members of Congress on the urgent need for state comparative data regarding this year’s NAEP Civics and US History assessments.
Current Status: Senator Lamar Alexander has for the third time filed legislation (S860, S2721, and S1414) to provide for a pilot assessment of up to ten states to be compared to the national profile which will be obtained from last January’s History and Civics assessments. NCSS during the 110th Congress was able to have Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) introduce an identical measure (H6525) in the House of Representatives for which she is securing co-sponsors. As no action was taken on these measures during both sessions of the last Congress, they will have to be reintroduced for a FOURTH time in the 111th Congress when it convenes in 2009/
Priorit Level: One


RECOMMENDATION SIX: We recommend inclusion of “social studies” in the state Student Progression Law (F.S. 1008.25).

Current Status:
- Current law requires educators to review a student’s performance in Reading, Writing, Math, and Science when being promoted from one grade level to the next. Moreover, should a student be found to be deficient in his/her performance in of these core subject areas, parents must be notified and an opportunity for remediation of that content needs to be made available to the student.
- To permit the current law to state that students’ performance in elementary social studies need not even be considered for promotion purposes – when reading, writing, math and science must be – is an intolerable and ominous development for the future civic health of our state and nation. Students must complete three years of successful Social Studies instruction in the Middle Grades and must be remediated before being promoted to the next grade.

Priority Level: Two


RECOMMENDATION SEVEN: The Legislature should require that the Florida Department of Education complete a comprehensive survey on the Status of Social Studies Education in Florida.

Current Status: Due to the lack of data pertaining to student performance in the area of Social Studies and with regard to how districts implement the many legislative mandates under Florida Statute: 1003.42 (Required instruction.), it is imperative that the Florida legislature require the Department of Education to undertake a district analysis of the status of social studies. Two years ago the legislature pass a measure to complete a study on Physical Education throughout the state.

Priority Level: Two


RECOMMENDATION EIGHT: The length of time for which an ESOL student’s F.C.A.T. score should be used for accountability purposes should be extended from two to three years.
Current Status: (TABLED by FCSS in the past although supported by FASSS ) Research states that it takes six or seven years for a student whose native language is different from English to be proficient in reading and writing in our language. Federal guidelines for No Child Left Behind use a three year period of time before such scores are factored into accountability measurements. Florida’s accountability provisions should not be more punitive than federal standards.
Priority Level: Two


RECOMMENDATION NINE: We urge the repeal of the Special Teachers Are Recognized Program.
Current Status: By another statute, Districts must provide differentiated salaries to instructional personal. The S.T.A.R. program was hastily devised and there are not enough reliable or valid measures of student performance to implement it. Through its enactment the legislature has added to the burdens of districts.
Priority Level: Two


Other:

Possibly Recommend the Establishment of a Veteran’s Curriculum Taskforce to consolidate, develop and promote instructional resources related to Florida Statute 1003.42.

Patriot's Day Guest Editorial

April 25, 2005

Re: Guest Editorial or Article

Sadly, most of the nation’s newspapers (Education Week included) seemingly ignored an important event that recently involved several of the nation’s noted historians, key Congressional leaders and educators. The National Council for History Education brought these groups together in the nation’s capitol last week to commemorate both “Patriot’s Day” and to call for a national campaign to “Make History Stronger in Our Schools”. That this is needed, no one denies. Kathleen Manzo’s recent article (“Social Studies Losing Out to Reading, Math,” March 15, 2005) accurately described the deplorable state that the subject has come to in the nation’s schools. She cited a litany of problems in the teaching of History, Civics and Social Studies in states such as California, Maryland, Florida, and Illinois.

But it’s worse than this. Knowledge of economics and geography is equally deplorable. Several international surveys now indicate that American young adults possess less knowledge requisite for U.S. citizenship than even their peers from around the world! A Roper Survey for National Geographic conducted in nine countries in 2002, for example, showed American students coming in last in knowing the correct size of our population, identifying which nation gave sanctuary to the Taliban and Osama bin Laden, and even the ability to identify our nation on a world map! Not surprisingly, noted historian David McCullough recently stated that nothing less than “national security” is at stake due to this rising tide of historical and civic ignorance.

Those assembled in the nation’s capitol for “Patriot’s Day” last week put forth a powerful argument for the revitalization of American History. Senator Lamar Alexander has repeatedly stated that based upon National Assessment for Education Progress (N.A.E.P.) results for all academic subjects, “American history is our students worst subject”.

It’s interesting to note that during the confirmation hearing for Margaret Spellings, not a single question was directed to her as to what plans she has for how the Department of Education might reverse this trend. One legislative proposal filed by Senators Alexander and Kennedy to coincide with “Patriot’s Day” -- Senate bill 860 -- may offer a solution. Aimed at the elimination of ‘second-class status” on N.A.E.P. for History and Civics, it would authorize Spelling to spend $5 million to hold up to 10 states accountable for how well they prepare students in History and Civics. Comparisons of states to one another and to a national average have been done for many years in the areas of Math, Reading, Writing and Science at grades four and eight, but these have never occurred in History or Civics. The federal Department of Education actually spends more money annually to collect comparable state data on the extent of teenage drinking, smoking and drug use than that being proposed by S860! This is the second time the bill has been filed by the senators. In the 108th Congress the measure (S2721) never even came up for a vote. Nor was there much of a cry amongst History or Civics educators that it do so. Surprisingly, it was strongly advocated by social studies educators. These folks, perhaps more familiar with the realities of K-12 public education, realize that until you begin to hold some states accountable, History and Civics will continue to lose valuable time and resources. The old adage, “What gets tested is what gets taught,” holds true today more than ever before. I might add, however, “This only happens if you’re keeping score.” In the case of History and Civics, no one is.

It’s easily argued that when states are not held accountable to a national standard, they need mot worry or do much to improve. Take Florida, for example. Governor Jeb Bush and leading legislators serve as commissioners to the Education Commission of the States. One of the main missions of this group is to improve civic education programs. As a result, a subsidiary of this group - the National Center for Learning and Citizenship (NCLC) - has been formed to carry out this mission and to serve as a repository for civics educators. Perhaps not surprisingly, NCLC argues for increased assessment of civic knowledge by local school districts or by the state. It is mute on the idea of granting Civics parity -- by comparing states’ performance in this subject -- with other subjects on N.A.E.P. As a result, Florida politicians who serve on the Education Commission of the States need not worry about how Florida will compare to other states or to a national average. Incredulously, in recent years Governor Bush and these same legislative leaders have signed into law proposals eliminating American History and American Government as required high school courses for all students. Moreover, despite support from the Florida League of Women Voters and from social studies teachers, the legislature has for three years refused to pass a bill which would require districts to take student performance in history/civics/social studies into consideration when children are promoted from one grade to the next. Nor should it be any surprise that none of these subjects are part of the state’s assessment program.

What is surprising is the near total silence on the subject of revitalizing the upcoming 2006 N.A.E.P assessments in U.S. History and Civics by nationally renowned educators – even those with a strong affinity for the civic mission of our schools! Chester Finn and Diane Ravitch, both well known for their heated editorials attacking “social studies” as the primary culprit for today’s decline of historical and civic knowledge, have never argued for a revitalized N.A.E.P similar to that proposed by former Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander. They argue for, among other things, increased history training opportunities for teachers. They miss the fact that by never holding states accountable, nothing will ever change! What many seem to forget is that Congress has appropriated almost $400 million in the last few years for training teachers in the areas of history and civics. While appreciative of this, I’m amazed that Congress has yet to authorize a paltry $5 million to find out how well the states seem to be living up to their civic responsibilities. When 2006 passes, the opportunity to do this again won’t come around in the N.A.G.B. schedule until 2012 (Civics). The next U.S. History assessment isn’t listed on their current schedule, and can be presumed to come until after 2012.

Equally surprising is the lack of Op-Ed articles from leading national educators decrying the proposal by the National Assessment Governing Board (N.A.G.B.) to possibly eliminate future 12th grade assessments in U.S. History, Civics and Geography. These provide our only window on how well we’ve prepared voting age students in these vital subjects. President Bush, who unfortunately once endorsed a delay in the 2001 Civics assessment so resources might be reallocated to Reading and Math, endorsed this new 12th grade plan some time ago. He did so in order that N.A.G.B. could use their resources to consider initiating for the first time statewide comparisons in Reading and Math at grade 12.

If there is a trend, it is the movement to postpone, eliminate or eviscerate any attempt to hold states and students accountable in these vital subjects. There is a dire need to restore History and Civics to their rightful place in public education. In the rush to do so, however, let’s not lose sight of the important need to hold a few states accountable for what our students have learned! Until this happens, things will only get worse!


Jack Bovee
Legislative Chair, Florida Council for the Social Studies

The writer is a 32-year social studies educator, a former elementary school principal, and now the coordinator for K-12 Social Studies in Collier County, Fla.

Justice O’Connor Again Misses the Big Picture on Civics

Here's 'more of the same' from the former Supreme Court Justice. ("Turning Students Into Citizens" by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, October 27, 2008.)

As we look to the beginning of a new Presidency and Congress, the National Assessment Governing Board makes preparation for the upcoming 2010 NAEP assessments in Civics and U.S. History. I found it interesting that Justice O'Connor continues to ignore this event. She could not bring herself to utter even one word about the inequity which Civics faces at the national level -- that no state has ever been held accountable for how well it imparts to students the knowledge and skills requisite for effective citizenship. For the umpteenth time she has said not a word, nadda, zip, zero!

I find it a bit amusing to see that Justice O'Connor once again begins with the comment "we are failing to impart civics information . . ." and then proceeds to cite the ever famous survey that revealed kids today know the "Three Stooges" better than they know the "three branches" of government. Although she discusses the 'partial answer' to the problem, I keep wondering when she is ever going to address the 'rest’ of the problem? She never has and apparently never will'.

Justice O’Connor, for what reason would the president's brother, Governor Jeb Bush of Florida, sign into law a measure that once eliminated American Government and American History as graduation requirements for all students? For anyone who needs reminding, it was because Florida wasn't being held accountable on these subjects and they weren't therefore 'important' to his mission of 'raising student achievement.' Although we need to thank O'Connor for once again sharing the awareness that we've lost 'instructional time' to civics (I wonder what caused that to happen?), I resent her contention that the major problem for this crisis is that it's being taught poorly by teachers. Or that it's our 'textbooks’ fault. Or that a half billion dollars in teacher training hasn't been enough to get things 'right' by now. Although we all agree with her statement that it’s too ‘important’ to put on the sidelines, it’s just as obvious that until someone starts to keep score, this subject won’t get much playing time on the field. And even if it does, what will keep it that way?

When she does manage to speak to the impact of national testing in areas other than civics, she seemingly can't even mention the everlasting inequity we face on the NAEP assessments that occur every 4-8 years. Worse, she can’t even seem to mention that these assessments are even coming up again in 2010. (Does she even know this, one wonders?) Two bills in Congress (S1414 and H6525) would address this issue by appropriating $8 million in order that the Department of Education could compare the student achievement scores in grades 8 and 12 in up to 10 states against a national profile – something which is routine for all other core subjects. These bills have languished in committee for the last three Congresses as the situation has only grown worse. Justice Connor missed this opportunity in the last NAEP of 2006 and she cannot seem to depart from the role of being Nero while Rome burns! The time to address the need for such a program is now Justice O’Connor, not the year they are to be administered.

Every governor and every state DOE webpage is filled with references to "The Nation's Report Card," as NAEP is called. It appears that hell will first freeze over before anyone at the national level gets some realistic talking points to Justice O'Connor so that when she takes the Bully Pulpit the next time she might be able to describe what the 'rest’ of the problem is.

How could the 'conspiracy of silence' which began long before the NAEP 2006 assessments took place continue to this day? How can it be that Justice O’Connor and other national civic leaders and historians for the most part remain mute on this issue? Why is it that Congress will once again have to -- for the FOURTH time -- watch as civics and history professional organizations practically ignore legislation that would reform NAEP and quite possibly help serve to turn the tide in restoring our curriculum as a core subject area?

Heaven only knows. Perhaps there really IS a conspiracy to destroy the nation. That makes about as much sense as some of the 'answers' to the above questions.

That's just my two cents.


Jack Bovee
199698 Villa Rosa Loop
Ft. Myers, FL 33967
Phone 239-482-8594 email: JSBovee@aol.com

The writer has been a social studies educator, a former elementary school principal, and serves as Legislative Chair for the Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors. He may be reached at JSBovee@aol.com.

Lack of National Leadership 2006

Fellow FCSS Folks & Fellow Civic Educators — (sent September 3, 2006)

Here are still more recent articles on the crisis the nation currently is experiencing (and will continue to experience) concerning civic and historical illiteracy. They will soon be most likely consigned to the national dustbin like countless hundreds of similar articles before them.

The file to the left is from about one week ago and is titled "Civic Illiteracy: A Threat to America's Freedom".
The second article from NCSS repeats the same theme.

These are nothing new. I believe I've got about 250 such articles dating back to the time Warren Burger resigned the Supreme Court to give us his "civics lesson". Apparently, he was a poor teacher. Since those days, civic and historical illiteracy have been an ever increasing threat to the nation. Noted historian David McCullough argues it now constitutes the "greatest threat" to America's future. Who among us would disagree?

So what is the plan for improvement? If you read Diane Ravitch's recent column in the September 2005 "History Matters" entitled "A Job For the Legislature" it appears that the solution lies at the state level. She bemoans what is happening in New York, much as Tom Foley remarked in the second file below that "civics should be a part of the curriculum from the earliest grades". Right . . . . sure. Teach civics in every grade. Let's pass a Declaration of Independence Teaching Bill to go along with Sen. Byrd's Constitution Day legislation. Meanwhile, Rome burns.

What these folks have YET to face is that Senate Bill 860 — which will once again DIE in this Congress — is probably the BEST answer to this national problem. It would place History and Civics on an equitable plane with Math, Reading, Writing and Science on the national assessment program known familiarly as "The Nation's Report Card." It would hold the states, the various Education Commissioners and the respective state legislatures such as Ravitch's own New York state accountable for how well they prepare our future citizens. And it would cost a trifling compared to the buckets of money thrown at teacher training over the past few years. Katrina will undoubtedly end the gravy train of such teacher training workshops. Where is the long term benefit?

Why is it that not a single national organization (except NCSS) among all those historical and civic groups have yet endorsed S860? Despite repeated calls from the Florida Council for the Social Studies to all the major national organizations to get behind S860, we've not seen it mentioned in print in paragraph form from these groups even once. No calls for folks to write their Senators or Congressmen urging it be scheduled for a vote. No guest Op Ed pieces from the nation's preeminent leaders in Civics or History on the possible benefits of this legislation. Natta. Zilch. Zero. Where are the editorials and speeches asking Congress to pass this bill? Why is it Ravitch, who served TWO terms on the National Assessment for Educational Progress can't see past her nose on this issue? [The fact she put so many years in the position with NEVER ONCE bewailing the second-class status accorded to these subjects for which she was the 'sitting expert' makes her in my mind, the enemy, not our friend. But that's just my opinion.] Why is it that Chester Finn, who rails against social studies educators from his bastion at the Fordham Foundation can't deign to mention the lack of equity on NAEP as a possible solution to this crisis? Instead these folks often rail against 'social studies' majors like there is some dark conspiracy that social studies is destroying the nation. I can even put up with that nonsense if they would at least MENTION S860 in passing. They can't even do that! (Read Ravitch's paragraph one which she predicts another NAEP catastrophe for civics and history without even alluding to the reason why! If no state is held accountable, then no single governor nor state commissioner of education need worry! (Read the fourth file to see how hypocritical they can be - like Florida's Governor Jeb Bush has proven to be on this issue.) How many of those watching or reading about the testimony David McCulloch and NAGB chairman Charles Smith gave at this summer's hearing on S860 even knew that Smith's own NAGB planned to eviscerate the national assessment of these subjects at grade 12? Or that President Bush has supported this plan? With 'friends' of history and civics such as these, who needs enemies? Yet where is ANY mention of any of this past history in any paper by anyone? Surely, Ravitch and Finn have selected their battles very carefully.

The 2006 NAEP Assessments on History and Civics are currently in the preparation stage while the reform bill sponsored by Senators Alexander and Kennedy languishes in yet another Congress. As of last week it hadn't even been scheduled for a vote. The ten year battle of FCSS to reform NAEP will apparently die in the 109th Congress as it did in the 108th Congress. It will have died because Ivory Towered folks really don't understand what has been driving K-12 education for the last 20 years. It will have died because many of the national groups were more concerned about consulting contracts than they were about restoring equity to our curriculum. It will have died because some leaders were more alarmed over threats to their fiefdoms than they were about the future of this nation. It will have died for many unknown reasons. [Can anyone explain the reason for the deafening silence on this bill from folks who are seemingly concerned about civic and historical literacy?]

I think there will be plenty of blame to go around as to why all the professional groups have lost yet another opportunity to end the second-class status of our curriculum on NAEP.

Neither Hitler nor Stalin could have devised a better plan for our civic undoing. What IS amazing is how many folks like Diane Ravitch can't seem to see beyond their own backyards. All are agreed we have a national problem — where are we with the reasonable national solution of holding states and hence school districts and students responsible for what they know and understand about these vital subjects? Nowhere.

If and when this bill dies, FCSS should raise bloody hell over this debacle and let the chips fall where they may!

Jack Bovee
Naples, Florida

Attach. 1: Civic Illiteracy Threatens America's Freedom
Attach. 2: Another NCSS alert on the harmful effects of NCLB (but which ommited mention of S860)
Attach. 3: Diane Ravitch Article in NCHE "History Matters"
Attach. 4: my Guest Op Ed piece sent to West VA and FL papers opposing "Constitution Day" legislation as meaningless trop

The Campaign that Wasn't Put Into Play - Part III

The short 'guest editorial' below was the third in a series of hard-hitting articles that were never sent to Florida newspapers. They are provided here as an insight into the frustrations Florida's social studies educators felt after a non-productive twenty year campaign to have the Florida legislature address the state's crisis in public education. They are posted here as ways that today's social studies educators might utilize the print media -- in less strident ways perhaps -- to keep all citizens apprized of the status of social studies education in our schools. The idea would be to submit short, focused, REPEATED letters to the editor or postings to newspaper blogs on the 'current crisis' in Florida's public schools.

Florida’s Sad State of Civic Education – Part III

Florida’s students come increasingly from a wide range of diverse backgrounds. In the near future whites Anglos will make up an increasing minority of students in our schools. Many of the new arrivals come from nations without strong republican or democratic traditions. Indeed, the spirit of revolution might be stronger than a deep understanding of republican institutions. Knowing this, it was with some shock that Florida’s civic educators watched in horror as elites in the legislature two years ago eviscerated a core of civic courses such as American History and American Government as graduation requirements for all students. More surprising was the fact they had to fight an uphill battle to restore these courses in last year’s session. In light of Florida’s rapidly changing demographics and its mania for assessing such important knowledge as the life cycle of a tadpole, the correct use of a comma vs. semi-colon, or how to correctly use a possessive apostrophe – such acts will ultimately contribute to national suicide. We are no longer bound together by a common religion, heritage nor even perhaps a common language. When faced with massive immigration in the 1920s the nation’s schools decisively conducted a campaign to teach the recent arrivals what it meant to be an American citizen. No such campaign exists today, nor do educational elites in the state legislature or D.O.E. think it even advisable to have students demonstrate their degree of civic understanding when being considered for promotion from one grade level to the next. A bill to do just that and which has had four separate unanimous votes in the legislature was bottled up in committee last year to deliberately prevent it from seeing the light of day. We have been continually showing how Florida has designed the worst civic education program in the nation. It’s time for a change. Our future is at stake. To help, contact Jack Bovee at 369-1397.

Word Count 317

The Campaign that Wasn't Put Into Play - Part II

Legislative Committee members should often send short 'guest' editorials to local newspapers in the area for the purpose of educating citizens about the need to strengthen our social studies curriculum. Here's a typical one that could also provide readers with links to documents on the FASSS-FCSS Advocacy Website.

Florida’s Sad State of Civic Education – part II


Florida is meticulous about collecting data. We know with scientific accuracy the number of students in each school who understand the desired algebraic concepts for their grade. Thanks to a very intrusive survey amongst 70,000 teens each year, we know the percent of 14 year olds who have been offered illegal drugs, what number of them smoke and how many took a swig of beer in the last month and even week. We could pave our highways with the math and reading statistics we keep on our children. We will soon know with scientific accuracy the percent that correctly can differentiate between a comma and a semi-colon and those who can correctly use a plural possessive apostrophe. We have no idea how many can identify basic tenets of our form of government or understand the underlying principles of our economic system. What little we DO know isn’t very pretty. Some years ago the James Madison Institute in Tallahassee commissioned a study amongst seniors at the University of Florida and Florida State to compare their knowledge of U.S. History and Government with that of their peers across the nation. Students at 50 other prestigious colleges across America failed a simple test designed for assessing high school students’ knowledge on these subjects. Not surprisingly, students at our two state flagship universities did even worse. Amazingly, elite bureaucrats in the Florida Department of Education and legislature have been sabotaging efforts by civic educators to correct the problem. What’s at stake here? Only the future of the state and nation! Franklin cautioned that Americans could maintain the Republic only through an informed citizenry. There is a ton of evidence that Florida’s leaders have failed their civic responsibilities. It’s time to change this travesty. if you'd like more information, go to http://fasss-fcss-legislative-news.blogspot.com/ . If you wish to help, call Jack Bovee at 369-1397.

Word Count 299

The Campaign that Wasn't Put Into Play - Part I

Florida’s Sad State of Civic Education -- part one

Florida has always feared being the nation’s poster boy for civic ignorance. Following the fiasco of Florida’s role in the presidential election in 2000, millions were spent on electronic voting machines and a $200,000 budget was hastily assembled so that teachers could receive Civic instruction. Laws were passed requiring K-12 students to parrot two sentences from the Declaration of Independence while others mandated larger flags for every classroom. What’s the big deal? How many know Floridians know that elites within the Department of Education and state legislature actually resist real civic reform in our schools? National leaders like Sen. Lamar Alexander, Congressman Jim Davis and Phyllis Schaffley regularly describe Florida as hostile to civic education. Congressman Davis actually introduced a law designed to punish Florida for no longer requiring that all students successfully complete courses in American History and American government before receiving their diploma. What’s sad is that despite being told by civic educators of the need to restore these credits plus other credits in Economics and World History for ALL high school students, Florida Senate Education Committee Chair Lee Constantine’s original bill last year would have required students complete only one course containing ‘the principles of American democracy.’ This was another one of those many attempts to pass ‘feel good’ laws on civic education. Thankfully, some legislators would have nothing of it. Floridians should thank Senator Anna Cowin for amending this shortsighted measure and for restoring the traditional civic core of high school credits as the bill went to the next committee. Her amendment passed unanimously and eventually became law. As a result, a catastrophe in civic education was averted. There is much more to do. Floridians should be asking their legislators to do more to ensure that future generations of students understand the basic principles of American democracy and economics. Visit WWW.FCSS.ORG for more.

Word Count 307

Appeal on Student Progression and 'Fast Track' Omission of Required Courses - 2003

Florida Senate Votes to Eliminate Our Civic Core - 2004

S364 Bill Relating to Accelerated High School Graduation Options GENERAL BILL by Constantine (Chair, Senate Education Committee)
Accelerated HS Graduation Options; amends requirements applicable to
selection of accelerated high school graduation option; amends
requirements for grade point average that must be earned; requires
district school boards to adopt rules allowing students to switch from
one accelerated option to another; provides for default to standard
graduation requirements in certain circumstances. Amends 1003.429.
EFFECTIVE DATE: 07/01/2004.
10/22/03 SENATE Prefiled
10/30/03 SENATE Referred to Education; Appropriations Subcommittee on
Education; Appropriations
12/01/03 SENATE On Committee agenda-- Education, 12/10/03, 1:45 pm, 412-K
12/10/03 SENATE CS by Education; YEAS 12 NAYS 0


Bill Text
Version:

Posted:

Format:
S 0364

10/22/2003

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Fighting for Florida's Civic Core Curriculum

Email sent to Mr. James Durso, legislative aide to Senator Lee Constantine in 2004 over the state’s elimination of required social studies courses for graduation, by FCSS-FASSS legislative chair Jack Bovee. Thanks in part to information supplied by the FASSS/FCSS legislative committee, Florida had been condemned on the floor of the U.S. Congress – both in the House and Senate – for this action, and the desire of Republican leadership in Tallahassee (Senators Evelyn Lynn and Lee Constantine) to amend the statute by requiring at least one social studies course expose students to ‘instruction regarding democracy and the history and principles of the United States of America’ was deemed insufficient by Florida's Social Studies educators. This plea to Senator Constantine fell upon deaf ears and his amendment passed the Florida Senate Education Committee ‘as is’. It was only when Jack Bovee, legislative chair for FCSS/FASSS at that time, was able to contact Senator Anna Cowin to explain our continued opposition that she agreed to amend the measure in the Educational Appropriations Committee by restoring our three required courses. Once Senator Cowin 'moved' her amendment restoring American History, American Government, World History and Economics as graduation requirements for ALL students, no senator dared cast a vote against it. Florida's traditional 'civics core' of three required courses were once again thus required of all students receiving a Florida diploma. The letter below offers insight into this legislative battle and cites many other problems besetting Florida’s social studies curriculum at that time. Florida's Social Studies educators remain forever indepted for former Senator Anna Cowin for her assistance during this time.

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Dear Mr. Durso:

We spoke last week about the amended language for SB 364 that would require at least one of the three social studies credits for graduation "to include instruction regarding democracy and the history and principles of the United States of America."

The Florida Council for the Social Studies, the Florida Association of Social Studies Supervisors, the Sons of the American Revolution and several other civic minded groups are reviewing the amended language to see what our formal response will be. I believe we will have some remaining concerns with the legislation as amended and I would like to share these with you in the hope the proposed language may be improved.

The new required (1) year credit language above is a reduction of the former (2) credits traditionally required in the past and which remain in force for the majority of students who will undoubtedly remain in the 24 credit track. These two credits are (1) in American History and (.5) each in American Government and Economics.

The new language does not address the former CORE civic education 3 credit mandated program which ALL students had to successfully complete. At the present time, students may graduate without World History, or without American Government or Economics. As a result, Florida no longer has a civic education core of courses required for ALL of its students! Better Algebra – the only course now required for all students in all three graduation tracks – be left as an elective than the state disband what has been traditionally its three credit civic core curriculum. We are moving toward a two tiered educational system, one that prepares all students for mastery of algebraic reasoning, but does NOT require they all have the same exposure to civic knowledge! The present language undercuts what has always been a primary purpose of education since the establishment of our public schools. In light of Florida's rapidly changing demographics, the civic core ought to be maintained, not disbanded. This is a recipe for state and national disaster!

Due to FCAT testing in the areas of MATH, SCIENCE, READING, and WRITING, social studies educators affirm that far less attention is being devoted to civic and historical knowledge, especially at the elementary and middle school levels, than in the past. Students are arriving in high school with far less knowledge and aptitude with regard to civic understanding than they have in the past. To now reinstate only one third of the traditional core will merely serve to exacerbate the problem!

The current language, although an improvement over the 'open to any elective' language passed last year, would still allow 1 credit courses such as Psychology or community service to be substituted for the traditional core curriculum courses. Students excelling in math and science may readily opt for AP Psychology and other, sometimes far less rigorous social studies electives, so that they can devote even more time to the AP math and AP science courses that this new law will allow them to substitute for the former ‘civic core’. As a result, some of our best and brightest students may NOT be receiving an adequate preparation for the only job ALL students will have upon graduation – that of citizen!

Since there is no accountability in any way for what Florida’s students know about our nation’s past or civic knowledge, no end of course assessment or FCAT for any social studies area, it would seem that successful completion of "prescribed civic education' courses would be a desirable feature that ought to be retained. Indeed, we have lots of data on how well our students at every grade level do on math, reading and science assessments. We operate in total darkness, however, with regard to civic knowledge. Better to allow students to complete credit in the traditional civic core by demonstrating proficiency on assessments specifically designed for this purpose, than to allow them to skip out on taking such courses!

The new language may not satisfy the bill recently submitted by Congressman Jim Davis (Tampa) that would seek to deny some federal funds to states that do not require students to complete separate "courses" in American Government and American History. Should his bill be approved, Florida will risk of losing millions of dollars in federal funding.

The fact that districts may opt to increase the graduation requirements and specify the return to a civic core, does not lessen the responsibility of the state for providing ALL students with the opportunity to learn about our government and nation. Quite frankly, since the loss of instructional time at lower levels, and the lack of prior civic knowledge students are bringing into high school, a one credit course is simply not enough time to teach the intricacies of our nation's past heritage, the essential principles of our governmental and economic systems, and to equip them with the knowledge of the history of the world and current global issues to prepare them to act as informed decision makers when they graduate.

Finally, whereas the nation and other states seem to be enhancing their civic education programs and requiring more from students in this area, Florida seems to be retreating from its statewide civic responsibilities. There is currently not even the requirement that a student's performance in social studies be even taken into consideration when that pupil is being promoted from one grade to the next. Nor is there any plan at all to develop an assessment instrument to gauge the civic understanding of our students, whether it would be FCAT like or not. Nor is there the movement to improve the social studies Sunshine State Standards, despite past promises from the Florida Department of Education to do so and two independent audits of the state's educational standards which cite that urgent need. The Shanker Institute study found Florida's civic education standards to be in the worst category among the various states. (see attached)

In short, the state has for many years placed its head in the sand with regard to civic education and the amended language does little to restore the previous core of high school courses which earlier legislators saw fit to describe as the 'minimum' required for high school graduation.
I urge that you review the two reports to the right and discuss these concerns with Senator Constantine at once. Hopefully, the bill may be amended to fully restore our high school civic education program during the next legislative hurdle.

Sincerely,

Jack Bovee,
Legislative Chair, FCSS and FASSS

FCSS Lobbyist Job Description

The following will be the responsibilities of the FCSS Lobbyist position


● Be in attendance at selected FCSS Board Meetings

● Familiarize the FCSS Board with the names of key legislators, especially those who serve on education and appropriation committees and others who support education issues

● Report to the Legislative chairperson on a regular basis, including quarterly written reports and summaries of pre-filed bills and weekly reports during the legislative session. All reports shall be composed by electronic means for distribution to FCSS Board Members and FASSS Officers.

● Maintain an appointment log containing information as to date, items discussed, person met with, and outcomes of all such meetings with legislators, Department of Education personnel, or other educational lobbyists. The appointment log should be available to the Legislative Chair when requested.

● Establish a networking relationship with other educational lobbyists to compare agendas and to, whenever possible, seek common cause on educational goals.

● Follow educational issues related to all levels of public and private education, Pre-K through post secondary, as well as issues related to retirement and sick leave for public employee, etc.

● Provide a list of legislative committee members for FCSS. It is suggested that this be annotated with notes as to who are key legislators, who are strong supporters of our goals, who may be opposed to our goals, etc.

● Make recommendations to FCSS to improve the visibility of the organization with the legislature and gain the support of legislators to reach the goals established by FCSS and the FCSS Legislative Committee.

● Help FCSS to gain support for legislative changes and goals of the FCSS.

● Coordinate with legislators the pre-filing of bills to help FCSS obtain its goals.

The primary goal for FCSS for the 2003-2004-2005 Legislature Session is to add Social Studies to the state student progression plan.

Secondary goals are:
- the eventual inclusion of Social Studies on FCAT
- continued support for incentives for districts and teachers regarding the AP program. (Weighted FTE for districts and financial incentives for teachers.)
- continued categorical funding for affiliated groups such as the FCEE and Florida Humanities Council
- funding for curriculum development in the areas of mandated curriculum areas such as Veterans contributions, Hispanic American contributions, African-American History, Holocaust education, etc.
- the establishment of a state-wide report by the D.O.E. on the status of Social Studies in Florida.
- establishment of a Commission on Civic Education to devise a plan for the improvement of civic literacy to be patterned after states such as Louisiana and to have the equivalent funding of similar state commissions on the Holocaust and the African American Task Force.
- the revision of the Social Studies Sunshine State Standards

Legislative Committee Responsibilities

FCSS legislative committee members meet as a group during the quarterly board meetings that are generally held in the Tampa and Orlando areas. “Grassroots” members, however, can serve the committee effectively in their districts and can communicate via email. Below are suggested ways legislative committee members can be of help to FCSS. Contact Jack Bovee at boveeja@collier.k12.fl.us for ways that YOU can become involved.

● Develop a "How to Lobby Effectively" packet as well as an informational "FCSS Legislative Objectives" pamphlet in conjunction with the legislative committee. The pamphlet would be distributed to FCSS Board members to leave with legislators when they lobby/visit with them.

● Maintain a list of local district council presidents and communicate our goals to them

● Develop a list of contact persons of state-wide educational, affiliated groups who share our mission, such as FGA, FCEE, FLREA, Holocaust groups, FHS, etc.

● Develop a list of non-educational groups whom we should initiate contact and lobby to support our legislative goals (such as various Veteran's Groups, patriotic organizations such as D.A.R., Eagle Forum, League of Women Voters, etc.)

● Lobby legislators in our home districts and communicate written reports to the Legislative Chair as to the progress

● Legislators tell us they ‘never hear from social studies teachers’. Consider inviting legislators or their top aides to your classroom or to speak to your local council about governmental issues. While it would be inappropriate to lobby them in front of students, you can offer to supply them with information concerning the state of civic education in Florida afterward. This would be especially appropriate during the “Take A Legislator Back to School Week” which occurs in mid September each year! (See sample press release on this web page.) The FCSS legislative committee has certificates and tokens of appreciation for those teachers who do invite legislators into their classrooms and file reports with FCSS Board Members or Chairperson Jack Bovee.

● Lobby key legislators outside of our local districts with regard to FCSS legislative initiatives

● Conduct "How to Lobby Effectively for FCSS GOALS Workshop" at the October Conference. Make sure we enlist 'ad hoc' committee members in strategic districts to help with visitations to key legislators.

● Write articles to the newspapers in key communities about our goals. Copies of all such editorials should go to Jack Bovee and Dave Sigerson. Use boveeja@collier.k12.fl.us

● Write editorials and publish updates in TRENDS to communicate to our members.