Three Dancing Figures. Sculpture by Keith Haring. Photo by Phil Roeder.
Of all the policy debates going on with the American education system, certainly one of the most intriguing is defining the “appropriate” role of the federal, state, and local actors and agencies. For me, it’s difficult to argue any of these levels are unimportant when it comes to education policy in the United States – the rub comes in trying to define what the best role for each of them should be.
Perhaps rather than engaging in what will be an endless debate over the “appropriate” role of the federal government in education, or at the state level reigniting the cyclical debate over Dylan’s Rule versus Home Rule as the best policy approach, we should consider how we can engage each of these important levels in their strength areas and find the right balance across them.
The national perspective is critical in establishing high level goals and connecting ideas. One wonders if students with disabilities or minorities would have the same kind of access to education they do today if not for the leadership of the federal government. Or, if the knowledge base for something like Response to Intervention would have grown at the pace it has without national support. States play an absolutely critical role as well. It is important for states to set high expectations, fairly monitor progress toward those expectations, provide adequate funding and accounting oversight, and continually build educational system capacity within each state. Finally, districts (and I would include everyone working at the local level here, right down to that crucial classroom teacher) have a role to make the critical day to day and tactical decisions about how teaching and learning happens.
Rather than spending energy trying to push one group out of the picture (and this is a fantasy, in my opinion), or try and imagine a world where one group stands completely alone in making all the educational policy decisions (this is also a fantasy), we should consider what are the strengths each has and how to play to those – and find the right balance among the three to move the whole system forward.
It’s got to be about balance and playing to strengths.
Jason Glass
7 comments
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May 9, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Andrea Farrier
Don’t forget about the communities and parents in the mix, too!
I can see your point about the unlikelihood of equal opportunities for minorities or children with disabilities without federal guidance and the perspective they bring, and I know that the U.S. Dept. of Ed does have a role to play. However, they are a mere infant in America’s educational system, and it’s alarming to me how quickly the power has been shifted away from local communities and given to state and federal agencies instead.
In my opinion, schools from 30, 50, and 100 years ago were being successful in meeting the needs of students precisely because they were so closely tied to and governed by the families and communities in which those students lived.
I couldn’t agree more with the article about the need to *carefully* consider what role each and every educational agency should play in our pursuit of excellence. However, let’s be sure to remember that we are being hired by parents to provide a service for their children in order that those children will be able to find their own place in their communities and their world.
Education doesn’t take place in a vacuum, has a very specific purpose, and is not an end unto itself. We are all middle-men to those who create and have all rights to our ‘raw material’, and the marketplace for which it is ultimately intended. Let’s not leave those vital pieces of the puzzle out!
May 12, 2011 at 3:31 am
Jason Glass
Hi Andrea – thanks for the comment. To clarify, my post wasn’t intended to exclude the importance of any stakeholder group, especially parents. Rather, it was to clarify my position on the issue of federal, state, and local control.
Thanks again!
JG
May 11, 2011 at 12:38 am
Christine
I would love to learn more about Dylan’s Rule vs home rule. I don’t really understand what that means for schools. Our school board often uses Dylan’s Rule as an excuse for not doing what the parents/community asks for, but I’m not sure how it really affects education.
Thanks!
May 12, 2011 at 3:36 am
Jason Glass
Hi Christine,
To probably over-simplify, Dylan’s rule holds that school districts are “creatures of the state,” meaning that they have no powers on their own and only have those powers that state governments specifically confer to them. This restricts what school districts have the power to do. So if your district decided to, for example, start building chicken franchises (as a silly example) they wouldn’t be allowed to do so by law unless the legislature specifically gave them the authority to do that.
Standing in opposition to this is the notion of Home Rule, which is a situation where the legislature basically empowers the school districts to be agencies that can decide for themselves what they want to do and they have much broader authority. For the state to regulate them in a home rule scenario, the state legislature must specifically prescribe what, what not, and how school districts are to do anything or the district can do whatever it pleases.
This discussion is probably worth another post all on it’s own, but my position on it will be pretty much the same as with this one – that there should be a balance between these two notions.
Great question and thanks for asking!
JG
May 17, 2011 at 3:22 am
Andrea Farrier
Jason – I don’t know how you manage to run the DoE, visit school districts, shape exciting new policy, AND find time to personally answer comments on your blog. All that, and you’re a U2 fan to boot. Iowa is very grateful!!!
May 18, 2011 at 4:04 am
Jason Glass
It’s easy when you love it Andrea! Getting to do this work is a dream come true for me. I aim to make the most of every moment I have!
JG
June 4, 2012 at 1:53 am
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