They
told me I was twenty years before my time.
So, is it time yet?
Permission granted to repost in its' entirety.
Please notify me, by brief e-mail,
of such postings
Text from 1979 Hickey-Canfield
Performance Voucher Initiative
Content of Blue Brochure
One year ago parents in Pacific Palisades, a
wealthy Los Angeles county suburb, opened their own neighborhood grammar school.
One hundred students attended; one hundred sixty-five were on the waiting list
This year two more schools in this parent-controlled system will
open.
Nearly twelve years ago one parent began a school,
Wednesday nights and Saturdays, for children in her predominantly black East
Palo Alto ghetto community. Today, the Nairobi Schools system corporation offers
one of the best K-12 educational programs for black students in the
country.
More and more ordinary citizens are now teaching
their own children at home, or sending them to private schools at considerable
financial hardship.
What do these seemingly disparate
individuals and communities have in common?
They share an
increasing disenchantment with the California public school system. Their
aspirations for educational opportunity have not been met, and they are pursuing
them elsewhere.
"Each time a battle for quality education is lost, public
support ... diminishes and people begin to look for radical alternatives to the
present system.''
---Assemblyman Robert Naylor, San Mateo Times, August
1979
We all know what's wrong
with our public school system.
Many schools are scenes of
chaos and violence. Drug and alcohol use is often uncontrollable. And compulsory
attendance laws force students to remain in these unhealthy
environments.
Students lack motivation. Test scores
slip lower each year. Many graduates can't read or complete a simple job
application form. They have no "salable" skills.
Teachers lack motivation. An obsolete education code inhibits creative teaching.
And good teachers are routinely discouraged
by tenure
law inequities.
Public schools are expensive. Between ten
and twelve billion dollars(nearly $3,000 per child) will be spent this year in
California alone, a sum controlled by the public school monopoly. Yet the
administrators and educators are not accountable for the failures.
Never has so much
produced so little for so many!
"There's a national epidemic of failure. It isn't black. It
isn't white. It isn't inner city. It is a national epidemic of failure of public
schools in this country -- all of
them.
--Reverend
Jesse Jackson
CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS
Public school
administrators admit there are problems. They say parents and taxpayers are to
blame. Parents don't care; taxpayers reject tax initiatives and bond
issues.
The administrator's solution: more money Teacher unions have
suggestions also: smaller class size, higher salaries and benefits for teacher
incentive, more basic skills or "special" education programs.
Their
solution: the same, more money Research has shown no appreciable relationship
between class size or money spent and student performance.
Lack of money is
not the cause! More money is not the solution!
"Ask yourself what activities in the U.S. have participated
least in the technological revolution of the past century. Schooling, mail
service and legislative activity head the
list."
--Milton Freidman, Nobelprize winning
economist and proponent of the "voucher" concept. New York Times
Magazine.
Over a year ago Jack
Hickey had seen enough of the problems. He had an idea. Hickey, a 45 year old
Redwood City inventor and electro-optic consultant, father of seven children
ranging from kindergarten to college age, began researching the
causes.
While spreading the word about his idea, Hickey
was soon joined by Roger Canfield, a college professor, management consultant,
father of two young children and last year a candidate for San Mateo Congressman
Leo Ryan's vacant seat Together they have created the Hickey-Canfield
Performance Voucher Amendment
THE PROBLEM REDEFINED
The Real
Causes
Hickey and Canfield know that
the California public school system has failed due to its lack of
accountability, coercive attendance policies (including forced busing),
over-regulation of educators, and the wasteful, inefficient educational
bureaucracy. A motivational crisis now exists among parents, students and
teachers.
"The bottom line is quality education. We want productivity
and results. Right now, we've got a lot of charades going
on."
-- Roger
Canfield
THE ALTERNATIVE
An
Amendment
Hickey and Canfield concluded that
an amendment to the state constitution was in order. Without constitutional
prohibitions, the state legislature would continue to be vulnerable to the
enormous pressures exerted by special-interest lobbies --- pressures that have
resulted in the creation of our present outmoded, ineffective public education
code.
The Hickey-Canfield Performance Voucher
Initiative, an amendment to the California Constitution, offers an
alternative for improved education in California. It will:
+ Return to
parents the responsibility and authority to provide
quality education tailored to the needs of their child.
+ Give parents
the financial means to secure this education.
+ Make educators
accountable to taxpayers and parents.
+ De-regulate the educational
establishment
+ Cut bureaucratic
waste.
+ Ensure a return
to Basics.
+ Motivate children to learn, parents to care and teachers
to respond.
THE PERFORMANCE VOUCHER
The performance voucher
is a Certificate representing $2,000 in shares of the State Educational
Performance Fund, issued annually. It acknowledges the value entrusted by the
people in each child's education. Use of the performance voucher is the right of
every parent and child in the state.
A
Contract
Basically the performance voucher
is a contract between the state and parent. It allows parents to assign a
voucher to any suitable educator(s). This educator may be a school, organization
or teacher, whomever parents choose to teach their children. Or parents may
teach their children themselves.
Performance first, payment later
Most
important, the performance voucher is not "instant money." It cannot
be redeemed until the student first demonstrates progress--or that learning has
taken place. It is this performance first, payment later principle that ensures
accountability. It is a unique feature of the Hickey-Canfield performance
voucher plan.
Divisibility
Another unique feature is the divisibility of the voucher itself. Parents can
assign all or part of the performance voucher to one or several different
sources of education. It may be used to secure educational materials as well as
services, to provide music and art lessons as well as lessons in the
Basics.
Never loses
value
Performance vouchers have a built-in
cost of living factor. They can only increase in value as a student's
performance improves. Students will learn at their own rates, without fear of
failure.
Choosing a
school
Neighborhood Schools: Continuation of the
present neighborhood schools is encouraged. Persons or organizations willing to
operate existing school facilities will receive encouragement from the state in
the form of low cost loans and shared use of choice school sites. In return,
these openenrollment schools must accept voucher assignments as tuition in
full.
Private Schools:
Admission to private schools will continue to be based on the school's own
standards. Although not required to accept voucher assignments, most private
schools will find it profitable to do so.
Schools without walls: Learning can take place
anywhere under the performance voucher plan: in libraries, homes or parks--
using a teacher, home micro-computer, cable television or tapes.
"Quality education will grow as rapidly as creativity allows.
Teachers, unencumbered by bureaucracy, will establish schools they have, in the
past, only dreamed about."
--Jack Hickey
WHAT THE HICKEY
CANFIELD
AMENDMENT PROVIDES
Economic
Incentive:
Parents can use performance voucher
Certificates to secure education suited to each child's needs. Families will not
have to move to a different neighborhood to find a better
school.
Accountability: Educational
accountability will be assured under the performance First, payment later
voucher system
De-Regulation: Compulsory
attendance laws and other obsolete sections of the education code will be
abolished. Parents and students will be free to seek education whenever,
wherever and however they choose. Teachers will be free to pursue their chosen
profession in their own special
ways.
Emphasis on Basics: The
initiative places a minimum value of 70% on basic skills education. The
remaining 30% may be used for other
subjects.
Cost Reductions: The
Hickey-Canfield initiative is not designed to redress social ills. Nor does it
provide busing. It will reduce the public education budget by at least 20%, or a
minimum of two billion dollars.
Constitutionality: The
initiative does not violate separation of church and state as established in the
U.S. Constitution. The performance voucher contract exists only between the
state and the parent, not between the state and a
church.
Rekindled Family Unity: With
parents and children learning together, the family unit will grow in strength
and purpose.
Motivation: The
Hickey-Canfield performance voucher initiative will increase parents' motivation
to resume responsibility for their child's education, the students' motivation
to learn effectively at their own rate, and the teachers' motivation to create
the best possible environment in which to teach and
learn.
The
Hickey-Canfield Performance Voucher Amendment offers you an alternative. It
offers all Californians a chance to expand the range of educational
opportunities available to every child. Won't you help make this alternative a
reality?
PROPOSED
AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA
I. ARTICLE IX, SECTIONS
1-8 AND 1-16 ARE AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS:
Sec. 1. INTENT OF
THE
PEOPLE
a. A general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence being essential to the
preservation of the rights and liberties of the people, the Legislature shall
encourage, by the means provided for in this Article, the promotion of
intellectual, scientific, moral and agricultural
improvement.
b. The Principles of Subsidiarity and Accountability being the
essence of
this Article, and acknowledging the diversity of lifestyles in this State, it is
the will of the people that the Legislature shall enact no
laws restricting how, where, why or when the education of the people
occurs, and, unless otherwise provided for in this Article, all monies
expended by the State or any of its agencies for the education of the people,
shall be allocated, in the form of Performance Payments. directly to the
student, or legal guardian or assignee thereof, for subject-related
performance.
c. Nothing in this section shall affect the provisions of Article
XIII.
Sec. 2
EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE
FUND
The Legislature shall establish an Educational Performance Fund providing for a
lifetime total of payments for students under the age of 21 years not to exceed
the lesser of,$25,000, or; the product of $2,000 multiplied by the difference
between 21 and the age of such student on June 30,
1981.
Sec.2.
ADMINISTRATION
Upon Passage of this Amendment, the Legislature shall establish from within the
Department of Education, a successor thereto to be known as the Department of
Educational Accountability, hereinafter referred to as the Department, for the
purpose
of,
a. providing for initial determinations of subject and grade related performance
levels of all students between the ages of 5 and 21 years, which determinations
shall in no instances exceed the age-related grade
level.
b. providing for bi-annual, objective testing by an outside agency or agencies,
of all students, at the request of the student or their legal guardian, and
maintaining records of student
performance.
c. establishing an Educational Performance Payment Schedule for
subject and
grade related performance for grades K-12, with Basics accounting for at least
70% of
payments.
d. issuing Educational Performance Fund Redemption Certificates, hereinafter
referred to as Certificates, annually beginning June 30, 1981, for
students
between the ages of 5 and 21 years, having a total redeemable value not to
exceed $2,000 per student per
annum.
e. succeeding the Department of Education beginning June 30,
1981.
f. disbursing and recording payments from the Educational Perfor-
mance Fund
for Certificates presented, in amounts dictated by student attainments applied
in accordance with provisions of this section; upon the death of a student less
than 21 years of age, payment shall be made for obligations which would have
accrued as a result of prior testing, as well as a pro-rated payment based on a
presumption of normal improvement from the previous levels, with a maximum
presumption of one grade-level improvement; redeemed Certificates shall be
returned to the student as a permanent record of
attainments.
Sec. 3.5.
DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL
ACCOUNTABILITY
The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall assume the position of Director
of the Department of Educational Accountability, and the Legislature shall
provide for the election, by qualified voters of the State, of the successors
thereto, effective upon passage of this Amendment.
Sec.4
TESTING
a. For the purpose of determining performance, the Department, beginning
June 30, 1981 and annually thereafter, shall specify from norm-referenced tests
in use, those five tests most frequently used nationally in the preceding
twelve month period,
providing that such usage of any one test shall comprise at least 2% of the
total for all
five.
b. The Department may additionally provide for local test
variations.
c. Provision shall be made on Certificates for selection from the above
tests, by the student or their legal guardian, that to be used in testing each
student.
Sec. 5 RESOURCES
UTILIZATION
a. To encourage participation by a broad spectrum of the populace, the
Legislature shall provide that income derived from allocations made in
accordance with provisions of Section 1 of this Article be
tax-exempt.
b. The Legislature shall provide for the utilization and/or disposition of the
publicly-owned educational properties in this State, with monies accruing
therefrom being used to provide initial funding of the Educational Performance
Fund; effective upon passage of this
Amendment.
c. To facilitate a continuity of educational experiences and accreditations, the
Legislature shall encourage participation by large corporations and other
organizations in the formation and operation of open-enrollment schools from
existing government institutions, providing for loans from the Educational
Performance Fund, such loans being secured by Certificate assignments and
totaling not more than $2,000 for any one student. Students may withdraw from
such schools following testing, with the school receiving any Performance
Payments resulting therefrom, and the residual value of the previously assigned
Certificate reverting to the legal guardian.
Sec. 6.
EXPENDITURE
INDEXING
For the purpose of this Article, all dollars are in June 30, 1979 values,
adjusted for inflation by the Consumer Price Index of the U.S. Department of
Labor or successor agency.
Sec. 7.
PROHIBITIONS UPON THE
STATE
a. Neither the State nor any of its creations shall engage in the
operation
or regulation of primary, secondary or technical
schools.
b. Nothing in sections 1-6 of this article shall be interpreted as
empowering
the State to regulate the providers of educational
experiences.
c. The State shall not engage in the specification, preparation,
production or distribution of textbooks or other instructional materials.
Sec. 8. EXPENDITURE
LIMIT
Annual expenditures for administration of the Department of Educational
Accountability shall not exceed 10% of the total projected redeemable value of
Certificates issued in accordance with section 36 of this
Article.
Sec. 10.
SEVERABILTTY
If any section, part, clause or phrase hereof is held to be invalid or
unconstitutional for any reason, the remaining sections shall not be affected
but will remain in full force and effect.
II. All references in
this Constitution to "Superintendent of Public Instruction" shall be
replaced by "Director of the Department of Educational Accountability...
III. The following
deletions are included as a part of this Amendment to remove references which
are obsoleted by
it:
a. Article IV; delete from section 126, the phrase "except appropriations
for the public
schools".
b. Article VII: delete section
4i.
c. Article XIII; delete from section 3d, the words "public
schools".
IV. ARTICLE XVI, SECTION
a IS AMENDED TO READ AS
FOLLOWS:
Sec. 8. The Educational Performance Fund and the Department of Educational
Accountability shall be supported first by sales tax revenues, then by revenues
determined by the Legislature.
V. THIS AMENDMENT SHALL
BE EFFECTED BEGINNING JUNE 30, 1981, UNLESS OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
HEREIN.
Jack Hickey, a 45 year old
Redwood City
inventor and electro-optic consultant,
father of
seven school age children.
Roger
Canfield, a college professor, management consultant,
father of two young children and last year a candidate for Son Mateo Congressman
Leo Ryan's vacant seat.
