NE2: Amendment to Northeast Education Improvement and Modernization Act (Law)

[cinyc]

Amendment to the Northeast Education Improvement and Modernization Act

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Sponsor: Representative Deus naturae

Debate on this bill shall remain open for 72 hours, or until around 8:45PM on Friday, January 31, unless modified or extended.  The sponsor, Rep. Deus, is encouraged to speak on behalf of the bill within the next 36 hours.  If he does not, the bill will be tabled, as there is other pending legislation in the queue.

The floor is open for debate.

[cinyc]

The Northeast Education Improvement and Modernization Act is too long to quote in its entirety.  Please click on the link to read it.

[Deus Naturae]

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

It appears I made some mistakes when I originally proposed the bill. I would like to introduce an amendment that also repeals Section 4, Part 1, and changes Section 5, Part 3a (which apparently does not exist) to Section 5, Part 3.

I will explain my reason(s) for each of these repeals/amendments:

I wish to repeal Section 3, Part 1 because it gives counties complete administrative jurisdiction over the curricula of all school districts within them. I'm not sure if this is intended to apply to private schools as well, but I think we should clear that up as I don't believe that county governments should be able to exercise such extensive control over private schools.

I wish to amend Section 4, Part 1 to only include public schools because this section represents a massive violation of the administrative rights of private schools. Firstly, it states that only the government may fund private schools. I really don't see what this achieves, other than decreasing the supply of education available to children by preventing people who are willing to invest their money into the futures of Northeast children. In addition, this also gives the government total control over the administration of private schools, which is an unnecessary and unhelpful encroachment upon the administrative rights of these schools.

I wish to repeal Section 4, Parts 1-6 because they also unnecessarily limit the supply of education and encroach upon private schools. Part 1 effectively turns all private schools into public schools. It requires that they be funded and administered exclusively by the government. The main benefit of private education is that it provides a level of education higher that that found elsewhere, and that it may utilize different techniques than a traditional public school. Part 1 negates that forcing private schools into the standardized government education system. Part 2 seems like an unnecessary limit upon the education supply, and is the only necessary because Part 3 requires that the government subsidize private schools. As you may have guessed, I also wish to repeal Part 3 for that reason. Part 4 is only necessary because this law insists on trying to turn private schools into government-funded/controlled public schools. I want to repeal Part 5, because I've never understood what some people have against a selective admissions process. If a school wants to admit students based upon their academic caliber, I see no problem with that. Section 6 just seems like it attempts to micromanage the ways schools operate. If a private school wants to restrict their students' "social entitlements" by disallowing them from going out to lunch or by restricting the number of library books a student can check out, they should be allowed to do so.

I wish to repeal Section 5, Part 3 because it is a ridiculous restriction that limits the supply of teachers. Why should a first grade teacher need a Master's degree? This really just seems like it would hurt education by creating a teaching shortage.

I wish to repeal Section 7, Part 3 because while small classroom sizes are nice, 20 students seems like too much of a requirement. I don't think I've ever had a class with less than 23 students. As someone who has attended a public school struggling with overcrowding, I can tell you that trying to get class sizes down to such a small number going to put a huge strain on our schools.

[cinyc]

I'm bit confused.  Would your amendment now read:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Deus Naturae]

I think I misread Section 4, Part 1 upon my second reading of the bill. I do not wish to repeal that, and instead want to amend it as I originally proposed.

I withdraw my previous amendment, and offer this one instead:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[Napoleon]

Its about damn time. But why are schools being funded by municipalities instead of the regional government?

[sentinel]

This is a lot of info. Deus, would you mind posting how that law would look with your changes? Show us the final version por favor?

[Deus Naturae]

Here's what the amended law would look like:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[sentinel]

3. All teachers, public and private, shall be required to hold a Master’s degree in their field in order to enter the education profession.

Why did you strike that? Thats a requirement IRL -albeit within 5 years of starting a job as a teacher.

[Deus Naturae]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

[cinyc]

The debate period is now over.  We will vote on the bill, as amended.  A markup of the amended Northeast Education Improvement and Modernization Act is as follows:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

This vote shall remain open for the earlier of 48 hours or when all Representatives have voted.

[Deus Naturae]

Aye

[cinyc]

Aye

[Adam Griffin]

Irrespective of my legitimacy to hold office in question, I'll have to ABSTAIN.

[Cincinnatus]

Aye

[cinyc]

The voting period has ended.  By a vote of 3-0 with 1 abstention and 1 absence, the bill passes and goes to the governor's desk for his signature or veto.

[cinyc]

The governor has signed this bill into law.