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CLASS SIZE CHANGE WINS SENATE VOTE
By KATHLEEN HAUGHNEY
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, March 25, 2010..... The Florida Senate voted Thursday to try to roll back a 2002 constitutional change that would ensure Florida schools had small classes, but the proposal still needs to win approval from the Florida House and 60 percent of Florida voters.
The move to change the class size provision, which phased in a class size capping system, began almost immediately after voters overwhelmingly approved it in 2002. But the Senate has long struggled with the issue. While the House passed a measure to roll back the class size requirements in 2009, the Senate didn't have the votes.
That changed this year, when lawmakers said that schools, with diminishing funds and fewer resources, needed flexibility within the class size law. Under current law, classes are capped at 18 students for kindergarten through third grade, 22 in fourth through eighth grade, and 25 in high school. Smaller classes have been phased in since 2002, but at the start of the 2010 school year, every classroom would have to meet those hard caps.
The bill (SJR 2) would ask voters to go back into the constitution to allow schools to meet a grade level average of those numbers, rather than an individual classroom cap. It passed by a 26-10 vote in the Senate, garnering two more than the 24 votes it needed.
Proponents of the measure have argued that the smaller classes achieved by the caps have indeed helped students, but that there would not be much change if one or two students were added to a classroom. What would cause chaos, they said, is if a student moved into a district in the middle of the year and pushed a classroom over the cap. State lawyers have said that would put a school in violation of the law.
To avoid those problems, several lawmakers have said that allowing a grade level average cap would still create small classes without tying a school principal's hands.
"There is no repeal, no roll back," said Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville.
But the state teachers' union has railed against the change, saying there was no need to alter the constitution. Instead they have proposed statutory changes that would allow for a school to meet the class size caps at the beginning of the year, but not be penalized if students move into the district later in the year.
Schools have also gotten an immense amount of funding specifically dedicated to ensuring small class sizes and some school advocates have cautioned that the funding could decrease.
Democrats, who largely voted against the measure, debated at length on the issue, and said that voters were clear when they voted in favor of the class size amendment in 2002. They wanted small classes, opponents of the class size tweak said.
"We've seen test scores improve and we believe it has to do with class size because students who have problems now get the attention that they need," said Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood. "Class size is a fundamental educational tool."
The attention now turns to the House, where the proposal will likely win easy passage. Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, who has championed the change for the past few years, said the House will likely take up his class size change in the next few weeks.
"We love having small classes in the state of Florida," Weatherford said. "It's very important to our children. All we're doing is trying to create a little bit of flexibility so that our administrators and our teachers and our principals can run their schools."
The bigger challenge is getting the proposal past the voters. In order to change the constitution, 60 percent of the voters need to approve it in the November 2010 election. Weatherford said he believes the numbers are shifting in the favor of the change, but said that it might take a little campaigning to reach the 60 percent threshold.
"It will probably take some campaigning between now and November, but we've got to get it on the ballot first," Weatherford said.
Ron Sachs, a prominent Tallahassee publicist, said his firm has done some work with proponents of the measure and expects to be involved in the effort to convince voters.
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STATE CAPITOL BRIEFS (EVENING EDITION)
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2010
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
GRADUATION STANDARDS
Florida students will have to take harder classes in order to graduate high school, under a bill passed by the Senate Wednesday evening 36-1. Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami, was the lone no vote. The measure (SB 4) would greatly heighten graduation standards. It would eventually require students to take geometry, two years of algebra, biology, chemistry or physics and an additional "rigorous' science course. The class requirements would be phased in as would end-of-course examinations.
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MERIT PAY BILL IN HOUSE'S HANDS NOW
By KATHLEEN HAUGHNEY
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, March 24, 2010..... Florida Senate Republicans narrowly rammed a bill through the Senate Wednesday that would effectively end the long standing tradition of paying teachers based on years of service and instead base pay raises on standardized tests.
In a 21-17 vote, the Senate approved SB 6, which will base teacher pay raises on the learning gains of their students. The bill, a political hot potato that is sponsored by Republican Party Chair Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, was in direct opposition to the state teachers' union, typically a backer of Democratic candidates.
Four Republicans, Sens. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, and Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, broke from the party in objection to the bill. Dockery, a candidate for governor, sent out a statement immediately following the vote saying she could not support a bill that does not take into account external factors that could affect a child's performance on standardized tests.
"The idea that teachers are solely responsible for a child's performance goes against everything we know about what makes children successful," she said in a statement.
But most Republicans have stood in firm support of the notion that education can't be improved without holding educators more accountable for the gains of students, also long a pet proposal of former Gov. Jeb Bush. The merit pay plan approved by the Senate would also bring the state in line with its Race to the Top proposal, a bid for a chunk of $4.35 billion in federal grant money. The underlying idea isn't completely partisan with elements of it championed by the Obama administration.
The state Department of Education hasn't yet determined exactly how it will measure learning gains should the bill become law, but has been consulting with various academic researchers on the issue. According to the legislation, 50 percent of a teacher's evaluation would be based on learning gains, as measured by an exam taken by the teacher's students. The other 50 percent would be an overall performance grade. A last minute change to the bill ensured that advanced degrees earned by teachers could be counted as part of their overall performance grade.
Teachers have protested that many of the accomplishments they make with students cannot adequately be tested. Many teachers showed up at committee meetings over the past few weeks and told stories of children who have special needs or have a difficult home life. Some warned that teachers would be less likely to go to problem schools out of fear that they would be unsuccessful with students who are in unstable environments.
Several Republicans vigorously defended the proposal, saying it would weed out bad teachers. The best teachers will produce learning gains from their students, several lawmakers argued.
"Why do we tolerate incompetent people taking the most precious thing we've got, the most valuable thing we've got, and allow them in the classroom?" asked Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton.
The future of the bill is now left up to the Florida House, which has drafted its own version. Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, who is the chair of the Education Policy Council said the House had been waiting for the Senate to pass its version before it acted, and said the House version will likely get to the floor in the next few weeks. It is slated to be heard by the Prek-12 Policy Committee Thursday morning.
"We need to make sure we're rewarding our best teachers," Weatherford said. "We have so many great teachers in the state of Florida and we've got to find creative ways to reward them."
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Florida Senate passes overhaul of teacher contracts
By Brandon Larrabee
TALLAHASSEE - A broad overhaul of teacher contracts and pay narrowly passed the Senate on Wednesday, with Republicans saying the plan would prove to be a draw for teachers and Democrats saying the bill "ends the teaching profession."
The measure, sponsored by Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, passed the upper chamber 21-17. Four Republicans, including gubernatorial candidate Paula Dockery of Lakeland, broke with their party to oppose the measure.
"I didn't come here to be satisfied with the status quo, and you shouldn't be either," Thrasher told colleagues shortly before the vote.
Debate over the measure focused on competing visions of how it would reshape education.
Supporters of the bill touted its positive effects for teachers who will do well under its provisions, which are aimed at tying teachers' compensation more closely to student performance and ending a set of employment protections generally referred to as tenure.
Read more
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MERIT PAY BILL IN HOUSE'S HANDS NOW
By KATHLEEN HAUGHNEY
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, March 24, 2010..... Florida Senate Republicans narrowly rammed a bill through the Senate Wednesday that would effectively end the long standing tradition of paying teachers based on years of service and instead base pay raises on standardized tests.
In a 21-17 vote, the Senate approved SB 6, which will base teacher pay raises on the learning gains of their students. The bill, a political hot potato that is sponsored by Republican Party Chair Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, was in direct opposition to the state teachers' union, typically a backer of Democratic candidates.
Four Republicans, Sens. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, and Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, broke from the party in objection to the bill. Dockery, a candidate for governor, sent out a statement immediately following the vote saying she could not support a bill that does not take into account external factors that could affect a child's performance on standardized tests.
"The idea that teachers are solely responsible for a child's performance goes against everything we know about what makes children successful," she said in a statement.
But most Republicans have stood in firm support of the notion that education can't be improved without holding educators more accountable for the gains of students, also long a pet proposal of former Gov. Jeb Bush. The merit pay plan approved by the Senate would also bring the state in line with its Race to the Top proposal, a bid for a chunk of $4.35 billion in federal grant money. The underlying idea isn't completely partisan with elements of it championed by the Obama administration.
The state Department of Education hasn't yet determined exactly how it will measure learning gains should the bill become law, but has been consulting with various academic researchers on the issue. According to the legislation, 50 percent of a teacher's evaluation would be based on learning gains, as measured by an exam taken by the teacher's students. The other 50 percent would be an overall performance grade. A last minute change to the bill ensured that advanced degrees earned by teachers could be counted as part of their overall performance grade.
Teachers have protested that many of the accomplishments they make with students cannot adequately be tested. Many teachers showed up at committee meetings over the past few weeks and told stories of children who have special needs or have a difficult home life. Some warned that teachers would be less likely to go to problem schools out of fear that they would be unsuccessful with students who are in unstable environments.
Several Republicans vigorously defended the proposal, saying it would weed out bad teachers. The best teachers will produce learning gains from their students, several lawmakers argued.
"Why do we tolerate incompetent people taking the most precious thing we've got, the most valuable thing we've got, and allow them in the classroom?" asked Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton.
The future of the bill is now left up to the Florida House, which has drafted its own version. Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, who is the chair of the Education Policy Council said the House had been waiting for the Senate to pass its version before it acted, and said the House version will likely get to the floor in the next few weeks. It is slated to be heard by the Prek-12 Policy Committee Thursday morning.
"We need to make sure we're rewarding our best teachers," Weatherford said. "We have so many great teachers in the state of Florida and we've got to find creative ways to reward them."
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| CRIST OK WITH SB 6
Gov.
Charlie Crist said Wednesday that he supports a measure that would base
teacher salaries on test results. The Senate passed SB 6, a measure
that forces districts to base salary increases on student gains
Wednesday morning. Crist told reporters at a press conference Wednesday
afternoon that he is in favor of the bill. "It pays better teachers
more and that just seems like the right thing to do," Crist said. A
similar measure is pending in the House.
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VOUCHER BILL HEADED TO FULL SENATE
By KATHLEEN HAUGHNEY
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, March 19, 2010..... A bill to massively expand a state voucher program is headed to the Senate floor after winning approval from a key Senate committee Friday.
The Senate Ways and Means committee signed off on SB 2126, which would allow more students to apply for the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program. It would expand the cap on how much in scholarship money can be awarded from $118 million to $140 million and increase the individual award over time from the current level of $3,950 to 80 percent of the per pupil spending awarded by the state to public schools. Currently, the state spends about $6,900 per public school student.
The scholarship is paid for by donations from corporations, which in turn receive a tax credit from the state. The bill would also give tax credits to companies that pay certain other taxes such as oil and gas production taxes, and alcohol beverage taxes.
"In my view, it is not a voucher, it is a tax credit scholarship," said Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart.
Paula Blake, whose son Marquez is a recipient of the scholarship, said he had behavioral and grade problems before transferring to Innovation School for Excellence in Tallahassee. Now, she said, he is in seventh grade, plays sports and enjoys going to school. He has also made the honor roll.
"He's never, ever, ever made the honor roll before," she said.
The legislation does come with a price tag though. The state's general revenue coffers would lose $31 million in taxes, according to Senate staff analysis. Proponents of the bill counter, however, that if all the voucher students went to public school, the state would have to put more into the public education budget.
Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston, said that she could not support taking any more money away from public schools when they are struggling as is.
"It gives me great angst that we would be expanding vouchers and diverting general revenue when we can least afford it," she said.
The legislation now goes to the Senate floor. Its House companion has not yet had a committee hearing.
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