Dan Lungren's Education Reform Agenda

By Dan Lungren

Bringing accountability to our schools is the single most important reform we can undertake. Students must be expected to meet standards, teachers must be competent, and administrators must spend their resources wisely. The state must be held accountable as well, and must give our schools and our students the tools they need to succeed.

Step One - Safe Schools The first and most important role of government in providing an education is to guarantee a safe environment for our students. Without a safe environment, no significant part of the educational mission will ever be achieved.

Dan Lungren has been an outspoken advocate for school safety programs. In Congress and again as Attorney General, Lungren fought for the creation of gun and drug free school zones - with his support, the program became a reality in California. He introduced a safe schools initiative, and also ruled that local school districts could take the issue of school safety into their own hands, giving them the power to use metal detectors. Lungren was instrumental in reviving the statewide School Crime Reporting System to keep an accurate record of crimes committed in our schools. Lungren sponsored the 1997 law to prohibit the hiring of school employees convicted of serious felonies, and another law to provide that no school district may employ a person without first conducting a background check.

We have done much, but more is left to do. As Governor, Lungren will continue to fight to make the promise of the inalienable right of safe schools a reality for all Californians.

Accountability Bringing accountability to our schools is the single most important reform we can undertake. Students must be expected to meet standards, teachers must be competent, and administrators must spend their resources wisely. The state must be held accountable as well, and must give our schools and our students the tools they need to succeed.

· Class Size Reduction - Dan Lungren will fight to make this program permanent, and empower local districts to expand the program to additional grades. · 180 Days Means 180 Days - California's students spend too little time in the class. As Governor, Dan Lungren will fight to make the school year mean 180 days of instruction. · Investing in New Textbooks for Every Student - Dan Lungren is committed to investing $1 billion over the next four years to buy new textbooks that meet our new state standards. · Rigorous State Standards - The most important state role in education is establishing rigorous, but attainable, statewide standards, and then expecting our students to meet them. · End Social Promotion - Before advancing to the next grade, every student must prove that they have earned that right by meeting minimum grade-level standards. Dan Lungren would also work to develop and fund after-school and summer programs to help those who fail. · STAR Tests - The best means of establishing performance testing. Only if we know how we compare to other schools and other states can we know where we need to improve. · Graduation Requirements - Before receiving their high school diploma, each student should pass a test meeting minimum graduation requirements. · Competency Testing - Accountability does not end with the students. Our teachers must prove their ability by passing a competency test before they can be entrusted with the future of our kids. For those teachers who fail the test, Lungren would support an intensive retraining program that gives them the tools they need to succeed in the classroom. · Credential Requirements - Our current system of issuing teaching credentials is becoming meaningless. We must end the practice of giving out "emergency" credentials that last decades, and we must reinvigorate our credentialing program, restoring it as a useful tool in ensuring excellence. · Alternative Credentialing - California is home to countless professionals who have a wealth of experience they could share in the classroom. We need to revive the state's Eminence Credential program so that these leaders can become teachers and our children can benefit from their experience. · Merit Pay - We must recognize and reward excellence in the classroom. · Differential Pay for Math and Science Teachers - Math and science are among the most difficult but important areas of instruction, but are the areas in which we are most deficient. Given their importance to the future of a student entering today's high-tech workforce, the teachers who succeed in these subjects should receive a greater reward.

Local Control Once the state sets the standards, we should get out of the way and let educators do their jobs. As Governor, Dan Lungren will give parents, teachers and principals the authority and the flexibility to make decisions about how they educate their students. With that authority comes accountability for the results.

· School Site Councils - Dan Lungren is a strong advocate for local control, beginning with the development of school site councils comprised of parents and teachers at every school. Each council would work with their principal to assist in the development of curricula, advise on teacher competence, and help set budgetary priorities for their school. · Charter Schools - Lungren was an early and outspoken supporter of the plan to lift the artificial cap on charter schools, allowing parents and teachers to design a school to better meet the needs of their students. His efforts helped pave the way for significant reform in the charter school process. · School Choice - Every parent, regardless of their socio-economic status should have the ability to choose the best education for their child. That is why Lungren is a strong supporter of school choice as the ultimate form of local control, making every school accountable for the education they provide.

Building and Maintaining Schools While politicians in Sacramento bicker, California's schools are falling apart. Building new schools and maintaining the ones that we have so that our children can learn in a safe and comfortable environment will be one of Dan Lungren's top priorities.

· Statewide Bond Measure -- Dan Lungren supports passage of a statewide bond measure in November to begin the process of rebuilding our aging school infrastructure. · Streamlining the Building Process - The cost of building schools today is so high that we cannot afford to build the schools that we need. Dan Lungren supports a plan to streamline the process for building schools to make it less expensive and faster, without sacrificing safety or quality. · Lower the Threshold for Local School Bonds - We also need to encourage districts to pass local school bonds so that they can pay their share of the cost of the building new schools. But we must also vigorously protect the property owners who will pay the tax. That is why Dan Lungren supports lowering the threshold for local bond passage to 60%, provided it is linked to reforms of the process and a cap on the level of fees that can be passed on to first-time home buyers.