Since the last legislative update, the people of Alabama have seen numerous actions taken by legislators that pertain to the education system, namely the numeracy act and the education trust fund.

In April, the Alabama Numeracy Act and the Education Trust Fund budget were signed by Gov. Kay Ivey. Both were sponsored by Senator Arthur Orr (R-3) who resides as the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee Chairman.

“We are 52nd in eighth grade math across the country,” said Orr during this morning’s update. “We’re going to put the resources behind this legislation to get math coaches and better training for our teachers and to have accountability.”

The legislator had previously passed the literacy act, which will prevent a student from not advancing into the fourth grade if they cannot read by the end of third grade, according to Orr.

He went on to explain, “we do all sorts of interventions for summer schools, after schools, pullout sessions, etc. so they don’t get retained.”

He explained that with the numeracy act, legislators took intervention a step further, saying if after years of intervention and assistance from the State Board of Education a school still doesn’t meet acceptable math proficiency, “we will have a state takeover and a reconstitution of that school. So that means everybody walks because they failed.”

There are currently 28 schools in Alabama where there is not a single student proficient in eighth grade math.

“What kind of education are those children receiving? I believe that calls for drastic measures,” said Orr. “We’ve got to demand accountability. We’ve given the resources, but we’ve got to demand accountability on the back end.”

Speaker of the House Mac McCutcheon explained that previously Alabama did not have the funds necessary for education and that is how it came to be 52nd in math education and 50th overall, but “now we’re in a position to where we do have funds. The education budget is solid.”

McCutcheon explained he was embarrassed while discussing math scores during the legislative session and they “began to take a deep dive and begin to really look at education from the standpoint of our reading initiatives and scores.”

During the discussion, the legislators discovered Alabama was suffering from a shortage of math teachers qualified to teach at the level necessary.

“We’ve got to start with some programs, number one, to get qualified teachers in the classroom. Number two, to hold these schools accountable for the product that they’re producing,” said McCutcheon.

The education trust fund addressed the recruitment and retainment of educators in Alabama.

“I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for, and if we want to be serious about our ability to attract and keep educators, then we must make a substantial investment to support these individuals,” said Orr.

McCutcheon assured attendees that each of the legislators present were committed to supporting the education system.

“I’ve never seen a more deliberate work being done on an issue than in education,” he said.