Accountability Act Changes Heading To Senate
After a lot of questions, the new version of the Accountability Act passed its first senate committee.
Among the changes are changing failing schools from the bottom 6 to 10 percent, as well as adding an additional 10 million dollars for the program.Â
President Pro Tem Del Marsh is sponsoring the bill, and says he’s taking all suggestions to improve the law.Â
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“Everybody whether they supported the original accountability act or not agreed that these changes were needed to make it better. Everyone has been at the table. As you know last week I extended it, but far beyond last week,” said Sen. Marsh.
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State Senator Quinton Ross served for years as an educator.
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He’s concerned the scholarship fund set up for this law isn’t actually helping students in failing schools.
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“What individuals are really receiving these scholarships? I think people are generalizing, well 50 percent of the students are from failing schools, so that’s why it’s important to quantify in this legislation who this money goes to. Making sure 80, 90 percent of the scholarship money collected is going to students in failing schools and not just this arbitrary thought,” said Sen. Ross.Â
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Even though Ross voted in favor of the bill to get it to the senate floor, he says he still thinks it’s wrong for Alabama.
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“I don’t support the legislation, didn’t support it from the beginning, but if we’re at the table to make some changes that will make it better to do what it says it’s going to do then I’m going to work my best to make those changes to the legislation,” said Sen. Ross.Â
