Pushing a reform agenda

How do you push through a reform agenda?

Make reform part of economic stimulus.

Maine is now one of eight states to have successfully applied to the U.S. Department of Education for a first round of funding as part of $787 billion in federal economic stimulus money Congress approved in February. Maine is set to receive $130 million in this initial round of funding. States will reapply for future rounds of the funds.

The funds are, indeed, earmarked for the states. But the state application for those funds is not intended to be some sort of formality. Maine's application -- accessible on this page -- is 38 pages of promises and updates on ongoing reform initiatives. The state even had to revise its submission once before it passed U.S. Department of Education muster.

We've known virtually since the stimulus package's passage that states face stringent reporting requirements on how they spend the federal money. The feds want to know how many jobs Maine school systems have preserved and how many they've created with the funds infusion.

Here's a taste of what else the feds demanded of the states and learned about education in Maine:

• Fewer than 44 percent of Maine districts have met goals to put particular percentages of highly qualified teachers in their classroom. The U.S. Department of Education wants to see a fairer distribution of highly qualified teachers among both low- and high-poverty districts.

• The U.S. Department of Education wants to keep track of student progress, and is asking states to develop longitudinal student data systems. An element of that effort is coming up for debate in the state Legislature's Education Committee as Sen. Peter Mills, R-Cornville, introduces an initiative -- with the Maine Department of Education's support -- to set up that system to track students in that data system by Social Security Number.

• Maine offered an update on state efforts to change up graduation requirements for Maine students. The applications tells federal officials that the state is working with the Legislature to push through those changes. The legislation that would make such changes, of course, has yet to be formally introduced to lawmakers.

• State officials offered their federal counterparts an explanation of the Essential Programs and Services funding formula, the system that determines how state funds are disbursed to local districts.

• Maine offered an update on its plans to drop the Maine Educational Assessment standardized exams in favor of the multi-state New England Common Assessment Program.

• The state agreed to submit annual reports to Education Secretary Arne Duncan for the two fiscal years the stimulus money last to fill him in on the progress it's made spending that money.