IALA » Statutes

Constitutional Law Change Proposed

Wayne Jennings — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:21:41 +0000

David Bly, former President of the Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs and a co-founder of IALA has written a powerful booklet, The Middle Class Amendment, which you can read online. Bly, a Representative from Northfield, is a member of the Minnesota Legislature. While IALA does not make political endorsements, we think the topic of interest to alternative educators and students because Bly like many of us believe education change is nearly impossible. Thus, Bly proposes a constitutional amendment.

Radical New Kind of School Proposed

Wayne Jennings — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 20:08:07 +0000

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick proposed Readiness Schools, as a radical departure from conventional district schools according to an article in the Boston Globe. Officials said these schools would be “freed from many constraints imposed by unions, school districts, and the state. The readiness schools would adapt to community needs and offer new alternatives in school systems across the state.” Readiness schools were described as a hybred of charter schools and Boston’s Pilot Schools.

The Governor will attempt the legislation in January, 2009 with the aim of opening schools by fall, 2009 and 40 within four years. “Readiness schools would be allowed to deviate from state curriculum guidelines and experiment with teaching practices.” The schools would be a choice for parents, students and staff.

This kind of innovation typifies the ferment and impatience about over-regulated schools and the difficulty of reform efforts.

Status of Choices in the U.S.

Wayne Jennings — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 21:30:22 +0000

More options are becoming available to parents and students. The current run down of choices:

Charter laws: 40 states have adopted the charter concept. These vary from strong laws with a high degree of program autonomy to weak laws where the charter school has almost no power to decide anything.

Open enrollment: 42 states give some form of a choice for which school or school district to attend. Some of the statutes provide for voluntary participation by districts and some give the decision totally to the parent.

Vouchers: 6 states have voucher laws usually for a city within the state to have a student

Legislation Favorable to Learning Alternatives

Wayne Jennings — Thu, 19 Jun 2003 16:42:09 +0000

Want to find out the laws in your state about educational alternatives? Want to suggest changes in your state’s laws and need examples from other states? Check our legislation button. There you will see some specific states plus an index to legislation in all states and helpful hints.

Legislation Supporting Alternatives

Wayne Jennings — Wed, 30 Apr 2003 21:01:51 +0000

Many states have laws that support educational options and choices. For a beginning list see our compilation which we would like to add to. If you have a reference to your state’s statutes, please send it to Wayne Jennings through our Contact Us button and we’ll add it to our list. These references can be helpful to policy people and others working to establish and beef up state and national legislation.
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