Besides, the state Department of Education plans to conduct hearings in each county to receive citizen comments about the panel's recommendations. That's when Ms. Sparks and those representing minority interests or any others should make their specific concerns known. It will be incumbent on the Department of Education to include valid challenges in its final report. The final concern about this student review panel is its secrecy.
Secrecy is never the wise way to proceed, especially when developing new public policy.
Panel discussions and votes should be open, and its members should be known. Delawareans have no taste for clandestine operations and neither should Gov. Carper, who is directly responsible for the Department of Education. Education reform is fast approaching the time when its validity must be proved.