Chapter 6- The Major Education Policy Actors

1. Chapter 6- The Major Education Policy Actors Dr. Dan Bertrand LEEA 554

2. The Dramatis Personae of the Policy Drama • The individuals or groups who are actively involved in the policy process. • Collectively they make up the Dramatis Personae or cast of characters. • Why focus on state level policy actors • US Constitution 10th amendment. • Ranking of State Level - Education Policy Actors • Individual legislatures • Chief state school officer • Educational interest groups • Teachers organizations

3. Most Influential Education Groups • Teacher Unions • State Departments of Education • School Board Associations • Administrators Associations • PTA • Who are the most influential education and business interest groups in IL?

4. Government Actors • Legislative Branch • Function and Structure • Functions • Development and passage of Statues • Approve the State Budget • Exercise investigatory function • Review laws, hold hearings, establish task forces • Structure • Senate- President of the Senate and Lt. Governor • House of Representatives-Speaker, Majority Leader, Minority Leader, Whip • Committees • Political Party Caucuses

5. Other Government Actors • Legislative Staff • Clerical, professional, centralized staff agency • Important Legislative Actors • Education committees • Finance committees • Powerful speaker

6. EXECUTIVE BRANCH • Governors • Institutional power • Little influence over education policy. • Powerful governors • National Governors Conference • State Board of Education • Responsible for K-12 and CTE (Voc. Ed.) • Policy Tasks • Education laws, certification requirements, assessment programs, graduation requirements, accreditation

7. Other Executive Positions • Chief State School Officials • State Departments of Education • Important in policy process • Provide education committee with data • Oversee and monitor compliance of new laws • May ignore, block or dilute legislation when writing rules • Can monitor districts to varied degrees • Activity p. 162- determine how the SBE and CSSO are selected in IL.

8. JUDICIAL BRANCH • 2 tiered (11states) – trial or circuit court and supreme court • or 3 tiered court systems- circuit, appellate and supreme • Higher courts only rule on correctness of legal procedures and the soundness of the judges legal interpretation. • Judges can be influential over education policy through their interpretation of statute. • Groups with policy agendas try to influence courts.

9. Non- Governmental Actors • Education Interest Groups • Teachers unions • NSBA • AASA • PTA • Non-Education Interest Groups • Business • Religious • Ethnic • Policy Networks • Education Commission of the States • Business Coalition for Education • Children’s Defense Fund

10. Policy Planning Organizations • Think Tanks such as the Gates Foundation and the Center for Education Policy • Gather data about public policy issues and communicate to government • Widget Effect • Determine which social problems will be considered public policy issues. • The most important actors in the policy process. • Sponsor policy entrepreneurs. • Robertson Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, Carnegie Corporationand the Walton Family Foundation.

11. Identifying and Learning about Policy Actors • Locating elected government officials • District office, telephone book, public library, the internet, League of Women Voters, Politicians offices, Newspapers • Identifying Appointed Officials and Groups • SDE directory • Telephone book • Organizational Headquarters • Identifying Policy Planning and Related Org. • Recent policy papers • Newspapers • Education Week

12. Media • Print • Broadcast • Wire services • On-line services • Internet • Report on policy issues and their stages but are also important actors in it.

13. Activity • Read the News Story for Analysis- New IEA Chief Seeks to Unify Members p. 162