TASPA Legislative Update
By Dr. Gary Reeves, Garland ISD Assistant Superintendent of Administration and Chair of the TASPA Legislative Committee
The Texas 80th Legislature convened Tuesday, January 9, 2007, marking the start of the 140-day regular legislative session, which ends Monday, May 28, 2007.
Key events that greatly impact this session took place in the primaries and the November election of last year, when 11 pro-public school candidates won key races against voucher proponents either in their primary or in the general election. The defeat of Rep. Kent Grusendorf in District 94 (Arlington) by Dr. Diane Patrick, a former Arlington ISD school board member and education professor at UT Arlington, heralded a clear change in tone at the House of Representatives: Speaker of the House Tom Craddick referred to educators and superintendents as “valuable stakeholders” for the first time, compared to former remarks describing the education community as “the entrenched education establishment”. In fact, on Tuesday, February 30 the Texas House of Representatives passed HR 174 by newly elected Rep. Diane Patrick of Arlington, in which superintendents are recognized for their essential role in meeting the needs of our students. Dr Patrick has been appointed to the House Public Education Committee. A full list of the members of that committee can be found at http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/MembershipCmte.aspx?LegSess=80R&CmteCode=C400
Another interesting event was the challenge by Rep. Jim Pitts (R-Waxahachie) against Midland Rep. Tom Craddick for the post of Speaker of the House. The challenge represented discontent from the members on the heavy-handed style with which Craddick has run the house the past two sessions (all the special sessions in between!). Up to the day of the vote (January 10) representatives would pledge to one or the other, names would switch lists, and lists of pledges sometimes had the same name on both lists. The challenge was serious and strong, but the whole movement hung on the support of five key representatives—one of them chose in the end to support Mr. Craddick and in a test vote it became clear the challenge would not hold.
Before yielding to Craddick, Pitts approached Craddick and asked: “do you get the message?” [that we want a kinder, gentler house]. Although Craddick said “yes”, this did not bear out when he made his committee assignments on Friday, January 26, putting Jim Pitts in the proverbial doghouse and removing him from the powerful Appropriations Committee, where Pitts was chair in the 2005 session. Loyalists were rewarded, and challengers were most often given less desirable committees and positions within them.
As a consequence of the committee assignments, which suggest that “kinder, gentler” is not in this session’s future, members again sent a message on January 30—by failing to allow a suspension of the rules that prevent committees from hearing bills in the first 30 days of session and keep the House from considering bills in the first 60 days. The net effect is arguably minimal, as in the past sessions only 5-10 bills have been heard and past in that time-frame, yet the message is powerful and clear—this is a divided house, and the Speaker is weakened by it. Only once before, in 1981, has the suspension of the rules failed to pass.
At a session during the TASA Midwinter Conference on January 30, Ramiro Canales, Assistant Executive Director of Governmental Relations at TASA had the following update:
- Representative Rob Eissler from the Woodlands is the new Chair of the House Public Education Committee.
- Senator Florence Shapiro of Plano continues to be Chair of the Senate Education Committee.
- While both are pro-voucher, both are supportive of public education and have always been cordial to educators.
- Expected bills to be brought up this session include
- Salary schedule
- Property taxes
- Elimination of the TAKS and replacing it with end of year exams
- Modifying the top 10% rule for state college admissions (to a lower number, or capping the % of an incoming class from the top 10%, or requiring a standard GPA)
- Vouchers (program for autistic students)
- School calendar (they are already feeling the heat from angry parents about the late start of the school year)
- DAEPs—accountability, and requiring students who are sex offenders directly to DAEPs
- TRS is under sunset review
- Raising the state contribution to TRS
- Modifications to retire-rehire
The 80th legislative session has started off slowly. We anticipate the pace to quicken after Spring Break.
Probably the biggest change so far has been from the House Public Ed Committee. New chairperson, Rob Eissler, will be much more receptive to feedback from educators than the previous Chair.
We will track and testify on all bills that have personnel implications throughout the session.
Alex Martin, TASPA Executive Director, testified on two bills on February 27 in the House Education Committee.
We are continuing to align our organization with others to strengthen our position.
The following bills were heard the week of February 27th:
HB 263 by Phillips, relating to expansion of the minimum salary schedule for certain professional public school employees.
This bill phases in changes to the minimum salary schedule beginning in 2007 so that by 2021 the schedule contains 35 steps (currently contains 20). A school district, including a school district that is otherwise ineligible for state aid under this chapter, is entitled to state aid in an amount, as determined by the commissioner, necessary to compensate the school district for additional salary costs the district incurs because of the increased number of years covered by the minimum salary schedule.
We will support this bill!
HB 1136 by Hochberg, relating to the assignment of students to classroom teachers. This bill would keep a student in grades Kindergarten through 6 from being assigned for two consecutive school years to a teacher who has less than one year of teaching experience or does not hold the appropriate certificate issued by SBEC. In a subject for whom a student takes an assessment or, a student in grade 7 or higher may not be assigned for two consecutive school years to a teacher who has less than one year of teaching experience; or does not hold the appropriate certificate issued by SBEC.
Alejandra Martin, Texas Association of School Personnel Administrators (TASPA), testified on the bill.
HB 1432 by Giddings, relating toe the assignment of a public school student to an inexperienced or uncertified teacher. This bill applies only to school districts with an enrollment of 5,000 or more students. A student in kindergarten through grade six may not be assigned for two consecutive school years to a teacher who has less than one year of teaching experience, or does not hold the appropriate certificate.
Alejandra Martin, TASPA, testified on the bill.
HB 973 by Eissler, relating to the eligibility of certain educational employees to participate or be enrolled in certain group health benefit programs. An employee of a district participating in the uniform group coverage program or providing group health coverage whose resignation is effective after the last day of an instructional year is entitled to participate or be enrolled in the uniform group coverage plan or the group health coverage through the first anniversary of the date participation in or coverage under the uniform group coverage plan or the group health coverage was first made available to district employees for the last instructional year in which the employee was employed by the district. The net impact of this bill is to allow employees to be covered through the summer of the year in which they resign.
We will support this bill!
From TASPA’s broader perspective of a legislative agenda, in addition to monitoring all personnel bills and responding based on how they would impact HR in Public schools and ultimately the students we are called to serve, we are looking into proposing a modification to retire-rehire allowing ISDs to pay rehired retirees up to the same % of the penalty less to those retirees compared to active teachers (if the “penalty is currently 12%, this would allow an ISD to pay a rehired retiree 12% below the pay for an active teacher with the same years of experience). The ISD would therefore have no financial incentive to hire a retiree over an active teacher since their overall cost remains the same, and TRS still gets the same amount of money as with an active teacher. ISDs would also not be PENALIZED for hiring a retiree under the proposed model. We are seeking this flexibility only for the acute shortage areas, especially in light of the recently passed 4X4 rule requiring 4 years of math and 4 years of science at the high school level.
TASPA is also advocating for more funding for SBEC so they can hire more staff to do what is needed to fulfill their tasks without a constant backlog of cases.
If you have other suggestions or concerns please contact your TASPA Legislative Committee representative or email amartin@taspa.org. The full list of committee members can be found at http://www.taspa.org/committees.html#LegislativeCommittee
TASPA will be sending email alerts and action requests when hot bills are about to be heard, or when key events are going on. |
