Dr. Dan Bertrand
LEEA 554
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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.
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Ranking of State Level - Education Policy Actors
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Individual legislatures
Chief state school officer
Educational interest groups
Teachers organizations
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Teacher Unions
State Departments of Education
School Board Associations
Administrators Associations
PTA
Who are the most influential education and
business interest groups in IL?
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Legislative Branch
◦ Function and Structure
 Functions
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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
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Legislative Staff
◦ Clerical, professional, centralized staff agency
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Important Legislative Actors
◦ Education committees
◦ Finance committees
◦ Powerful speaker
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Governors
◦ Institutional power
 Little influence over education policy.
◦ Powerful governors
◦ National Governors Conference
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State Board of Education
◦ Responsible for K-12 and CTE (Voc. Ed.)
◦ Policy Tasks
 Education laws, certification requirements, assessment
programs, graduation requirements, accreditation
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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
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Activity p. 162- determine how the SBE and
CSSO are selected in IL.
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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.
Ex.) Supreme Court ruling
Groups with policy agendas try to influence
courts.
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Education Interest Groups
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Teachers unions
NSBA
AASA
PTA
Non-Education Interest Groups
◦ Business
◦ Religious
◦ Ethnic
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Policy Networks
◦ Education Commission of the States
◦ Business Coalition for Education
◦ Children’s Defense Fund
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Think Tanks
◦ 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.
 Gates Foundation, Center for Education
PolicyRobertson Foundation, the Joyce Foundation,
Carnegie Corporation and the Walton Family
Foundation.
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Locating elected government officials
◦ District office, telephone book, public library, the
internet, League of Women Voters, Politicians
offices, Newspapers
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Identifying Appointed Officials and Groups
◦ SDE directory
◦ Telephone book
◦ Organizational Headquarters
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Identifying Policy Planning and Related Org.
◦ Recent policy papers
◦ Newspapers
◦ Education Week
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Print
Broadcast
Wire services
On-line services
Internet
◦ Report on policy issues and their stages but are
also important actors in it.
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Read the News Story for Analysis- New IEA
Chief Seeks to Unify Members p. 162