106th General Assembly Begins Special Session on Education
Dear Friend,
Last week the Legislature passed the
Governor's "Race to the Top" legislation. While I
began the week with many concerns about the bill, I
ultimately feel it is a positive step forward for
students and teachers. There are many issues that
have not specifically been addressed in the bill, that
will be decided by a new committee appointed
primarily
by the Governor and primarily composed of
educators. I trust that this committee will make the
right decisions to improve education and help
teachers improve their performance, without adding
tremendous additional burdens. I believe we need to
equip teachers and provide the resources they need
to do their job, help them along the way, and hold
them accountable for what they do in the classroom.
We must be reasonable in how we measure teacher
performance when dealing with students with
discipline problems and students with learning
difficulties, and we do not need to
place additional paperwork burdens on teachers just
for the sake of paperwork. I know that our county is
full of exceptional educators, and I believe this
legislation will help us to improve even more. We will
be watching closely over the next year to see if
changes are needed to
this bill. As the bill is implemented
next school year, I want to hear feedback from
teachers and parents on how the changes are
implemented.
The decision to support the education legislation, in
my opinion, needed to be based on the legislation
itself, and not the promise of federal grant money. If
Tennessee was to receive the maximum amount of
grant money requested under the grant application
($485 million), it could mean up to an additional $1.34
million of direct one-time (non-recurring)
educational improvements for Robertson County.
While these funds would be of great help to our
school system, I believe our decision to make major
changes to our education system should not be
made on the hope or promise of possible federal
money. Further, it was important to make sure neither
the state nor the local government would have
continuing financial commitments created because of
the grant, after the grant money ends in four years.
The state department of education made strong
promises that we were not placing ourselves in that
situation; that is a commitment I intend to ensure is
kept.
Below is a quick summary of our Session last week.
In addition to the Education legislation, we also
passed a delay in the Workman's Comp legislation
as it relates to contractors working as a sole
proprietorship or LLC. The legislation passed will
delay the implementation until March 31 of 2011. Our
hope is that we will be able to completely repeal the
legislation, or come to an agreement that is more
palatable for contractors, before that date.
This week we will continue in Special Session as we
discuss making changes to the higher education
funding formula. Up for consideration is a plan that
would fund our state's colleges based on graduation
rate instead of enrollment. Presently our state's
schools are only graduating 40 to 50% of the students
who begin at that institution. This will also be an
important area for us to study.
As always, it is an honor to serve you in this capacity,
and your feedback is very important to me. I look
forward to hearing from you on the issues we are
working on.
May God Bless,
Lawmakers discuss worker's compensation law delay
Last Friday the General Assembly approved
HB7007, co-sponsored by Representative Evans,
calling for the
immediate suspension of a new law to require sole
proprietors and partners engaged in the construction
industry to carry workers' compensation coverage on
themselves due to unintended effects of the act. The
law will be suspended until March 28, 2011. In the
meantime, the legislature will discuss alternative
ways to address gaps in coverage for workers in
construction companies of all without harming small
business owners.
General Assembly overwhelmingly passes "First to the Top" legislation late Friday
The General Assembly passed the
Governor's "First to the Top" legislation late Friday
night, in time for the state to meet the deadline to
apply for the federal grant funding. Passing 84-9, the
legislation was only slightly amended from what the
Governor originally proposed. The main components
of the bill include utilizing Tennessee Value-Added
Assessment System (TVAAS) data in teacher
evaluations, creating a committee to oversee
implementation of reforms and develop certain
standards, and implementing an Alternative School
District in which failing schools will be placed.
Governor addresses legislature
Governor Bredesen opened the Extraordinary
Session on education with an address to the General
Assembly on Tuesday evening, urging swift passage
of the K-12 and higher education proposals
presented to the legislature. He stressed the need for
a bold plan so that Tennessee could fairly compete
for the federal government's Race to the Top program.
Race to the Top, a portion of the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act, provides $4.35 billion in
competitive grants designed to encourage and
reward states that are moving forward with bold
initiatives in four education reform areas:
- Adopting standards and assessments that
prepare students to succeed in college and the
workplace and to compete in the global economy.
- Building data systems that measure student
growth and success, and inform teachers and
principles about how they can improve instruction.
- Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining
effective teachers and principles, especially where
they are needed most.
- Turning around the lowest-achieving schools.
Tennessee already has one of the most
comprehensive data compiling systems in the
country, but does not use the data to determine
teachers' success. The key component of the
Governor's plan is to use the information to improve
the quality of education and to ensure that student
performance is improving.
The second part of the plan to overhaul education
would improve higher education institutions. The
Governor emphasized the need for increasing the
college completion rates, retooling the higher
education funding process, and encouraging more
students to enroll in community colleges and
technology centers.
The Governor proposed making higher education
institutions operate as "a much more tightly organized
system," that made it easier for students to apply,
dual enroll, and transfer credit.
He concluded by calling on the legislature to make
Tennessee "First to the Top" in education reform by
putting in place common sense strategies and taking
bold steps in reforming education laws.
Teacher Evaluations
Originally the most controversial part of the bill,
proponents hope the utilization of TVAAS data will
improve student performance year over year as
principles, directors of schools, and boards of
education across the state will have a better snapshot
of student performance and teacher effectiveness.
TVAAS data can now be used for up to 35 percent of a
teacher's evaluation, with another 15 percent of the
criteria to be determined in part by an independent
committee. This part of the bill also requires that the
teacher and principal mutually agree with the person
(s) performing the evaluation and on the evaluation
measures being used. The bill also calls for teacher
evaluations to be done once a year, and gives teacher
training programs access to TVAAS data on their
graduates to help identify strengths and weaknesses
of training programs.
Teacher Evaluation Advisory Committee (TEAC)
The legislation also creates the Teacher
Evaluation Advisory Committee, which will be
comprised of 15 members. The Commissioner of
Education will sit on the committee and serve as its
chair, and the Executive Director of the State Board of
Education shall also serve on the committee.
Other members are as follows:
- One member of the House Education Committee,
appointed by the Speaker of the House
- One member of the Senate Education Committee,
appointed by the Speaker of the Senate
- Two members shall be K-12 public school
teachers, appointed by the House and Senate
Speakers
- Three public school teachers, two public school
principals, one director of a school district, and three
members representing other stake-holder interests,
all appointed by the Governor.
TEAC must be a reflection of the racial and
geographic diversity of the state, and at least one of
the appointees must be a parent of a currently
enrolled public school student. Fifteen percent of the
teacher evaluation criteria will be determined by the
committee, and TEAC is also charged with
streamlining the evaluation process, making it easier
for schools to submit data.
Many believe that unlocking the TVAAS data will allow
principals and school districts to have a true
understanding of student performance, and assist
teachers in improving their skills.
Achievement School District
The bill creates an Achievement School District
(ASD) that will be managed by the state. Schools who
are deemed "failing" will be moved into the
Achievement School District, in an effort to help under-
performing schools get back on track. The
Commissioner of Education has the authority to move
any public school into the newly created Achievement
School District if the school is in the fifth year of
improvement status, or at any time if a Title I school
meets the federal definition of "persistently lowest
achieving schools." The school would remain in the
special district until it begins to achieve adequate
yearly progress for three consecutive years. At that
time, the Commissioner of Education would be
required to create and implement a transition plan to
return the school to its local school district.
Lawmakers believe the Achievement School District
will aide those students who are forced to attend
consistently failing schools. The commissioner can
contract with outside entities to manage day-to-day
operations of any or all schools within the district. The
ASD will focus on student performance, and increase
accountability of teachers and students.
Legislators have, for many years, advocated these
types of education reforms on the state level, and
were glad to see a step forward being made for our
children and our schools.
STEM
In addition to the K-12 reform legislation, the
state plans to enhance its Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math (STEM) program, which will be
included in the Race to the Top application. The state
is partnering with Battelle, which manages the Oak
Ridge National Laboratory, to provide an extensive
network of STEM programs across the state. This
includes building new science labs, adding new
technology, and creating new curricula to inspire and
create new interest in science and math. Tennessee
students must be proficient in these subject areas to
compete in a changing global economy, and having
graduates trained science and math is an important
factor in helping recruit more business to locate in
Tennessee.
Tennessee has compelling criteria to place it at the
top of the list for Race to the Top funds. Finalists in
the competition will be invited to Washington to
present their plans to the U.S. Department of
Education in March. The winners will be announced
in April. If successful, Tennessee can expect to begin
receiving funds in September 2010 which will
continue in equal increments over four years.
