#TCEA14 Legislative Panel 2/4/2014

Notes from TCEA 2014 Legislative Panel 2/4/2014

Notes are summaries of what I understood the panel members and questioners to be saying, and as such should not be taken as direct quotes.

Panel Members:

Representative Jimmie Don Aycock - Killeen, TX

Representative Marsha Farney - Georgetown, Texas

Mitzi Neely, Assistant Superintendent at White Oak ISD (Part of High Performing Schools Consortium)

Panel Moderator: Jennifer Faulkner, Director of Instructional Technology, Alamo Heights ISD

The panel began with a viewing of the first four minutes of this TEDxYouth@BFS talk by Nikhil Goyal:

First Question: In the TED talk, Nick Perez was quoted as saying school wasted time until there was no more time. How does HB 5 help students like this?

Aycock: Unless students find relevancy in school, they won't want to be there.

Farney: HB 5 is very student centric. Parents have to sign off on the graduation endorsement a child chooses. More personalized for students. Not one size fits all.

Neely: From school district perspective, values freedom and flexibility that HB 5 brings to the table. Need to focus on options for students that they might not have had before. Parnter with community colleges and universities. Knowing the value of this bill starts at the top to make sure due diligence is done to make sure advantage is taken of this flexibility.

Second Question: HB 5 allows districts to offer five endorsements with many courses involved in the endorsements. How can all schools offer all of the courses?

Farney: Not all school districts can offer all of the courses in the endorsements. Districts in HD 20 are trying to find ways to work together to have students come to their schools for some of the programs or work on online ways to share. Virtual learning and technology is essential. Greater opportunities for businesses to sponsor courses or to come in from the field to help with instruction.

Neely: Virtual or online is anytime/anywhere. May need to partner with other districts or colleges/universities to offer courses for all of the endorsements. Invest in people who can have blended and face to face learning to support online only learning.

Aycock: Partnerships need to be developed between districts, community colleges, and universities. Course delivery and course development are places where partnerships can be essential and beneficial. Legislative and policy needs to modify as well. For example, seat time will now need to include travel time.

Third Question: HB 5 reduced required high school assessments from 15 to 5. How can the education community take advantage of technology to assess student and system performance?

Neely: We look at data when we plan curriculum and assessment for students. There will be challenges to assessing what we offer collectively. Community/stakeholders are now included in accountability. There is a lot of decisions and responsibility before us. It's going to be a growth process.

Aycock: 25% of present juniors are not on track to graduate based on current results and fact that not all of them have taken their social studies exam yet. Rolling forward a few years, there will be more emphasis on real time evaluation. This will take rich digital environments. Teachers can intervene more quickly in this situation. Wave of future is for computers to become tools for instructional assistance and giving immediate feedback to teachers. (Computers will not replace teachers.)

Farney: Great opportunities for staff development as far as system-wide improvements and performance. Texas teachers are currently sharing lessons through Project Share. Gave example of track coach pre-uploading lessons that he could check on the way back from track meets. Also example that her sixth grade son is getting his math videos ahead of time to view at home, then doing the practice and application with the teacher in class the next day. [Personal Note - I know this phenomenal teacher; he is from one of our Georgetown ISD middle schools!]

Fourth Question: HB 5 requires evaluation of the digital learning environment. What did the legislature have in mind for this?

Aycock: It was fuzzy to be frank. Wanted communities to be able to assess where they are and what they need. For some districts, it might be a fundamental discussion of bandwidth. Local districts need to have discussions of what will work in their communities.

Farney: We need to make sure we are investing and prioritizing what is needed in each school/distriict. Flexibility is key.

Neely: A lot of schools are trying to process and evaluate what this means to them. It's about teacher training, evaluating device uses, how far up the tech ladder do we go, knowing there is failure in the learning curve and we can learn from that. Want tech to be second nature, like pen and paper.

Fifth Question: How can the legislature help overcome barriers to getting more technology in schools?

Farney: Said she's putting her neck out and saying it comes down to funding and having technology in place. Some courses, like pharmacy tech, require $15,000 to get started plus a $7,000 fee every other year. Students in one program need $1200 for their uniforms. Businesses can help but many do not know how. Schools need to also communicate with businesses and community, offering them the opportunity to enrich the life of a child.

Neely: Thankful for education foundations who help schools. Legislators need to be courageous to allow local control and flexibility. Need dollars to be invested in teacher professional development. Also to provide students with devices with content on them if they don't have internet at home. Curriculum and tech are seamless in White Oak. All decisions are made collaboratively, and the superintendent gives them the autonomy to do that. All of this needs extra funding to make it work. thankful for true intent of HB 5.

Aycock: Funding, bandwidth, personnel, training, are all critical. Real pushback to getting tech in edu, though, comes from folks who are reluctant to change the way we do things. Fundamental questions about the purpose of education came up at the State Board last week. We like control of all of these things. Great reluctance to allow innovation in education. This is a bigger issue than funding, bandwidth, and all of the other issues combined. Hopefully some of the flexibility in HB 5 will show that less control is a better.

Questions and Comments From the Audience:

TxVSN - Scholarship funds for this are no longer available. Is there any discussion of funding to support course development or to help pay for students who use those courses since virtual courses will be needed to help with meeting new course requirements?

Aycock - Believes funding will be fought for for these purposes.

Comment from Audience - Educators' reluctance toward change is largely tied to the current testing paradigm in education.

Aycock - Agrees that standardized testing has taken the joy from learning and is troubling. Still needs to be looked at.

Farney - It hasn't just changed learning, it has changed teaching. We focus on bubble sheets now. Hopefully HB 5 will help us go back to letting teachers teach.

HB 5 - Virtual course requirements are now higher than requirements for face-to-face courses. What is the plan to deal with reluctance to use virtual courses because of this?

Aycock - Across state many administrators have not yet figured out that the standards have risen. When requirements are thoroughly looked at, a high bar will have to be met by the districts and campuses. They will not earn accolades unless they do raise those standards.

Neely: Over 70 amendments just occurred next week, so we're still wading through it. There is a high level of critical thinking to get national and international certifications. Some will take several years to get students to where they can get to those certifications.

Where will we get the highly qualified teachers to teach courses for endorsements?

Neely: Keep existing staff, look at certifications, use virtual courses, rearrange days. Will need to ramp up our current staff. Multi-year process.

Aycock: It won't happen over night.

Concern that SBOE members and TEA staff do not have an understanding of what we need in education. For example, a student taking vet science should also be able to take a marketing class because a vet will need to be a small business owner.

Aycock: Still hearing one size fits all from higher ed people. But we should not be hemming students in to one spot. Leave them room to maneuver around. Choice in technical education has been dismantled in last 15 or 20 years. It will take some time to build back.

Farney: Everyone needs to know who their SBOE member is. Personal letters to them are very valuable. (Dr. Farney was an SBOE member before she became a rep). Become their friends and experts. Roughly 1.8 million people in each SBOE district. Your opinion matters greatly because you are there. State reps also need to hear from you because you are the experts!

**************************************************************************************************************
All original work in this post by Sandy Kendell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Please see specifics on my re-use policy in the right-hand column of my blog before re-posting/re-using any of my blog content.

Letter to My Representative Regarding Needed Changes to TRS SB 1458

Texas Senate Bill 1458 has passed the Senate in an unanimous vote and is making its way to the House as early as Tuesday, May 14th. The details on what the bill includes can be found here: http://tcta.org/node/13425. The bill is much improved over its original version, but still denies many current educators access to comprehensive health care when they retire and does not grant a cost of living increase to all retirees. Below is the letter I just emailed to my representative. Although personalized correspondence is best, if you want to speak your mind and are short on time, you can use this form to send a letter to your representative as well. You can customize the letter within the form: http://action.aft.org/c/435/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=6393

Dear Representative Gonzales,

Thank you for responding to my concerns about TRS legislation that has been considered during this legislative session. I am greatly encouraged by the efforts made in the Senate to improve the measures being taken to bring the TRS to actuarial soundness while lessening the impacts on currently active educators who are vested in the Teacher Retirement System.

I am writing to ask for your help again. As SB 1458 comes to the House floor as early as Tuesday, May 14^th, I ask that you offer or support amendments to:

- Restore comprehensive TRS Care health insurance benefits for ALL currently vested TRS members when they retire. As it stands now, only current members who meet a “Rule of 70” will be eligible for  full health care benefits when they retire. The rest of us, including educators like myself who have anywhere from six to twenty-four years in the system and are under age 50, will have to wait until age 62 to be eligible for comprehensive health care benefits. These are benefits all retirees are able to access under current law and which should not be taken away from currently active educators.

- Provide an immediate cost of living increase for all retirees, not just the 30 percent who would be eligible for a potential 3-percent cost-of-living adjustment (capped at $100 a month) under the Senate version of SB 1458.

Thank you for your continued efforts to offer and support legislation during this session that is in the best interest of Texas students and educators.

Sincerely,

Sandra Kendell

Constituent, HD 52

Letter to My Representative Regarding Texas TRS

There is some big legislation pending regarding the Texas Teacher Retirement System. Below is the letter I just sent to my state representative. Fellow Texas educators, have you been following this legislation? If not, you should be, and you should be making your voice heard! A very good update can be found here: http://tcta.org/node/13403. Find out who represents you and follow links to their web pages where you can email them. Phone calls are important, too!

Dear Representative Gonzales,

As your constituent in HD 52, I am writing to ask you to vote NO on HB 1884 as currently written. If passed in its current form, approximately 50% of current Teacher Retirement System members will have an average of 10 years added to the years of service required before they become eligible for full retirement.

I am proud to have served the children of Texas for the past 20 years and look forward to serving them for many more. I appreciate the legislature’s work to ensure the actuarial soundness of TRS, but believe the state should not change retirement eligibility for veteran educators like myself. Although many TRS members choose to work past the age of minimum retirement, we should still have the option to retire with full benefits after reaching the “Rule of 80”, in which our age plus years of service adds up to 80, instead of having to wait until we are 62 years old.  The “Rule of 80” has applied to us for most of our professional careers, and this rule should not be changed on us mid-stream. It is my understanding that in the private sector, a change such as this would be illegal. Although legal in the public sector, I believe it would be unethical.

I understand that one of the goals for increasing the actuarial soundness of TRS is to give a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to currently retired teachers because a COLA has not been given in over ten years. I also understand that the COLA provided for if this bill were to pass is not guaranteed, and it would be a maximum of $100 per month only for members who retired in 1994 or earlier. That seems like a very small benefit to a small percentage of retirees in exchange for the substantial change in active members’ retirement eligibility requirements that will take place if this bill passes in its current form.

Please work with Representative Callegari to improve HB 1884. If necessary, raise the retirement age for members entering the system from Fall 2013 forward. I would also advocate for an increase in active members’ contribution percentage to improve the soundness of TRS.

As I ask for your help in improving HB 1884, I also want to thank you for co-authoring HB 1383 which will raise the state contribution to TRS to 6.9% in FY 2014 and 7.4% in FY 2015. This is the type of measure which demonstrates that Texas values its education system and the dedicated professionals who are investing in Texas’s future every school day.

Thank you, too, for authoring HB 103 to authorize a one-time supplemental payment to current retired teachers. This also would demonstrate that our state values the men and women who faithfully educated generations of Texans.

I appreciate the positive education changes you and our legislature are working toward during this session, and thank you for taking time to consider my concerns for the future of the Teacher Retirement System and its members.

Letter to My Senator Regarding Texas TRS

There is some big legislation pending regarding the Texas Teacher Retirement System. Below is the letter I just sent to my state senator. Fellow Texas educators, have you been following this legislation? If not, you should be, and you should be making your voice heard! A very good update can be found here: http://tcta.org/node/13403. Find out who represents you and follow links to their web pages where you can email them. Phone calls are important, too!

Dear Senator Schwertner,

As your constituent in Senate District 5, I am writing to ask you to vote NO on SB 1458 as currently written. If passed in its current form, approximately 50% of current Teacher Retirement System members will have an average of 10 years added to the years of service required before they become eligible for full retirement.

I am proud to have served the children of Texas for the past 20 years and look forward to serving them for many more. I appreciate the legislature’s work to ensure the actuarial soundness of TRS, but believe the state should not change retirement eligibility for veteran educators like myself. Although many TRS members choose to work past the age of minimum retirement, we should still have the option to retire with full benefits after reaching the “Rule of 80”, in which our age plus years of service adds up to 80, instead of having to wait until we are 62 years old.  The “Rule of 80” has applied to us for most of our professional careers, and this rule should not be changed on us mid-stream. It is my understanding that in the private sector, a change such as this would be illegal. Although legal in the public sector, I believe it would be unethical.

I understand that one of the goals for increasing the actuarial soundness of TRS is to give a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to currently retired teachers because a COLA has not been given in over ten years. I also understand that the COLA provided for if this bill were to pass is not guaranteed, and it would be a maximum of $100 per month only for members who retired in 1994 or earlier. That seems like a very small benefit to a small percentage of retirees in exchange for the substantial change in active members’ retirement eligibility requirements that will take place if this bill passes in its current form.

Please work with Senator Duncan to improve SB 1458. If necessary, raise the retirement age for members entering the system from Fall 2013 forward. I would also advocate for an increase in active members’ contribution percentage to improve the soundness of TRS.

As I ask for your help in improving SB 1458, I also want to ask you to support HB 1383 if it comes to a vote in the Senate. HB 1383 will raise the state contribution to TRS to 6.9% in FY 2014 and 7.4% in FY 2015 and has the support of over 100 representatives at this time. This is the type of measure which demonstrates that Texas values its education system and the dedicated professionals who are investing in Texas’s future every school day.

I would also ask you to support HB 103 if it comes to a vote in the Senate. This bill will authorize a one-time supplemental payment to current retired teachers. This also would demonstrate that our state values the men and women who faithfully educated generations of Texans.

I appreciate the positive education changes you and our legislature are working toward during this session, and thank you for taking time to consider my concerns for the future of the Teacher Retirement System and its members.

Please Avoid Unnecessary & Harmful Changes to Education Law

Texas Capitol © 2006 Larry D. Moore
Used Under a Creative Commons ShareAlike License
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Texas_capitol_day.jpg

Below is the text of an email I just sent to my representative in the Texas legislature. When Senator Wendy Davis forced a special session to bring to light the major changes to education funding in our state that were being ramrodded through at the end of the regular session, she did a good thing. Unfortunately, the special session has also provided opportunities for harmful education legislation that died in the regular session to see the light of day again. If you are a Texas parent, educator, or concerned citizen, please look into these issues for yourself and write your representatives ASAP with your concerns. The session is moving at a furious pace...time is of the essence in communicating with your legislators!

I am thankful for the many educators and organizations who are helping to keep me informed of these quickly evolving issues via email and social media. By working together and letting our voices be heard, we can make a difference!

---

Dear Representative Gonzales,

I recently wrote about my appreciation of you during this legislative session on my blog. You can visit the post here if you are interested: http://edtechsandyk.blogspot.com/2011/05/learnings-from-participation-in-texas.html. It's a lengthy post, so you can scroll to the My Representative Listens section toward the end if you want to just read what I wrote about you.

As bills regarding Texas school children, their parents, and their teachers are being rapidly filed during the special session, as your constituent I would ask you to avoid unnecessary and harmful changes to Texas education law. As my blog post stated, I have appreciated your listening ear throughout this legislative session, and I know I can count on you once again to consider my views on these matters. 

My understanding of education issues this session is that they revolve around the overall state budget shortfall. I know that the House and Senate are close to an agreement on how to cut $4 billion in spending on public education from the 2011-2013 Texas budget. While the issues surrounding this shortfall have been frustrating to me, I am even more frustrated with the "related" legislation that is working its way through the special session and is potentially harmful to students, parents, and teachers involved in our education system.

As I list the bills below and ask you to oppose them, my fundamental questions about each one are: 

• What is the purpose of the proposed legislation in light of the current education funding crisis? 
• Does the proposed legislation help mitigate the the present budget crisis, and if so, how? 
• If it does indeed help to mitigate the crisis, should it not be a temporary measure to answer what should be a temporary crisis?
• How will the proposed legislation, be it temporary or permanent if passed, negatively or positively impact the educational experience of students, the right of parents to be informed about their child's education, and the professional and ethical treatment of educators in Texas?

I realize that some of these bills may not make it out of committee, but given how quickly things seem to be moving, I feel it is prudent to express my opinions now rather than later.

Please Oppose HB 8 (Eissler - still in Public Ed. Committee)

• HB 8 would eliminate the state minimum salary schedule for teachers, replacing it with a single minimum salary of $27,320. What is the purpose of this elimination? The minimum salary schedule is not breaking Texas public schools (most schools pay over this salary schedule already) and it gives persons who choose education as their profession assurance of a minimum salary which increases based on experience over time. If Texas wants to keep attracting potential educators to our schools, we need to stay competitive with the multiple other states who guarantee minimum salaries for their teachers.
• HB 8 would also make it easier for districts to fire teachers in the middle of the school year if needed for a reduction of force. Such a provision would allow districts an "out" if they plan poorly for the number of staff they can afford at the start of a school year. It would also negatively affect students who would loose teachers with whom they've already bonded and who know their educational progress and needs well. There is no reason a properly run school district should have to declare a RIF in the middle of a school year.
• HB 8 includes a provision for increasing class sizes to up to 25 students without directly notifying parents. Parents should be notified individually in writing, not simply via a website posting, if their child's educational experience is going to be impacted by increased class sizes.
• HB 8 strikes the requirement that in the event of a RIF teachers on continuing contracts are to be let go in reverse order of seniority. Getting rid of this requirement will put long term, experienced educators at greater risk for losing their jobs because they make higher salaries than teachers with fewer years of experience. To deprive students of the most experienced educators is not in the students' best educational interest, nor is it in the best interest of less experienced teachers who depend on the mentorship of their more experienced colleagues. Throwing out seniority as a factor in RIFs is also disrespectful to teachers who have dedicated themselves to the profession and their district for the long term.
• HB 8 strikes the requirement that in the event of a RIF teachers are to be let go in reverse order of seniority. Getting rid of this requirement will put long term, experienced educators at greater risk for losing their jobs because they make higher salaries than teachers with fewer years of experience. To  deprive students of the most experienced educators in a district is not in the students' best educational interest, nor is it in the best interest of less experienced teachers who grow in their educational practice under the mentorship of their more experienced colleagues. Throwing out seniority as a factor in RIFs is also disrespectful to teachers who have dedicated themselves to the profession and their district for the long term.

Please Oppose HB 17 (Callegari - still in Government Efficiency and Reform Committee)

• HB 17 would eliminate the state minimum salary schedule for teachers. My reasons for opposing this are listed above under HB 8 which includes the same elimination.

Please Oppose HB 18 (Eissler - passed out of Public Ed. Committee June 5th)

• HB 18 eliminates the need for districts to show undue hardship to petition for class size waivers during the critical literacy building grades K-4. Class size waivers at these grade levels should only be considered as a last resort.
• HB 18 also allows a district to delegate waiver requests to the superintendent, which would bypass the need for a public hearing before the school board. Parents should have a right to hear from a district why an action which will impact their children's learning opportunities is being considered and should have a forum for asking questions and sharing their opinions about such a decision.
• HB 18 allows notice of a class-size waiver to simply be posted to a district website rather than individually mailed to the families of affected students. As I stated on a similar provision of HB 8, parents should be notified individually in writing, not simply via a website posting, if their child's educational experience is going to be impacted by increased class sizes.

Please Oppose HB 19 (Aycock - passed out of Public Ed. Committee June 5th)

• HB 19 will take away the rights of educators to a hearing in front of an impartial, independent hearing examiner when faced with a mid-contract termination of their employment because of a declaration of “financial exigency” by their school district. This bill changes the non-renewal process for all educators on term contracts. Instead of holding termination hearings before the school board or an independent hearing examiner appointed by the commissioner of education as in current law, school districts could hire outside attorneys to conduct non-renewal hearings with lesser procedural safeguards than under current law. Surely an educator should be able to directly face the persons who are deciding not to renew their contracts and should have the right to an impartial party taking part in the process?

Please Oppose HB 20 (Huberty - passed out of Public Ed. Committee June 5th)

• Like the same provision in HB 8, HB 20 changes the number of days prior to the end of the school year that an employee must be notified of non-renewal of contracts from 45 days to 15. This will lead to increased anxiety for teachers wondering if they will be employed the next school year and lessen by a month the amount of time they have to pursue another position. A 45 day notice allows most teachers in a district to put away concerns about future employment and allows them to focus more energy on teaching students during the critical Spring standardized testing season.

Please Oppose HB 21 (Shelton - passed out of Public Ed. Committee June 5th)

• Like a similar provision in HB 8, HB 21 strikes the requirement that in the event of a RIF teachers on continuing contracts are to be let go in reverse order of seniority. Getting rid of this requirement will put long term, experienced educators at greater risk for losing their jobs because they make higher salaries than teachers with fewer years of experience. To deprive students of the most experienced educators is not in the students' best educational interest, nor is it in the best interest of less experienced teachers who depend on the mentorship of their more experienced colleagues. Throwing out seniority as a factor in RIFs is also disrespectful to teachers who have dedicated themselves to the profession and their district for the long term.
• Additionally testimony was given on this bill that the legislation, if passed, would retroactively change the provisions of continuing contracts and as a result would very likely be struck down when challenged in the Texas court system. 

Please Oppose HB 33 (Sid Miller - still in Government Efficiency and Reform Committee)

• HB 33, the proposed Taxpayer Savings Grant Program, effectively initiates a private school voucher system whereby parents who put their children in private schools will be able to receive partial reimbursement for their private school tuition from the State of Texas.
• The argument that money will be "saved" because the grant will be less than the per-pupil allotment that would have gone toward the child's education in public school is weak at best. Regardless of the amount of money spent, the fact remains that taxpayer money meant to fund public education which is already $4 billion dollars short for the next biennium will be given to private schools which are not accountable through adherence to state law and mandates for how they spend the money. 
• It is the right of every citizen to decide how to best educate their children, however, money collected for the education of public school children should stay dedicated to public schools.

Representative Gonzales, I thank you once again for taking the time to read my views on pending legislation. These requests and opinions come from the heart of an experienced professional educator who is deeply concerned for the future of our public school system and the teaching profession in Texas.

Above all else, on these bills as well as other education and budget related bills, I ask you to make decisions that you know in your heart are in the best interest of and which prioritize the quality education of Texas students. Legislation which weakens parental involvement, reduces the number of experienced educators serving our children, or results in current and potential educators being less attracted to the teaching profession in Texas is not in the best interest of our state's children.

Learnings from Participation in the Texas Political Process

I have been learning a great deal about the political process since the start of the 2011 Texas legislative session by participating frequently in legislative matters pertaining to public education. As the Texas budget crisis and its implications for our public schools drew my attention to politics in a way it had never been drawn before, I called, wrote letters, and emailed Senators and Representatives with my opinions. Thanks to the Texas Computer Education Association's (TCEA) Educational Technology Day at the Capitol on March 21st, I learned how to visit with my Senator and Representative (or their staff) in person to advocate for my views on pending legislation. Also thanks to TCEA's legislative activities, I even had an opportunity to testify before the Senate Education Committee regarding proposed changes to the Texas Education Code which were favorable for moving from traditional textbooks to digital materials in Texas public schools. (It looks like HB 6, the companion to SB 6 which I testified on, is going to pass!)

The Team of Concerned Parents, Educators, and Citizens I
Traveled the Capitol with May 21, 2011

Through my connections on Twitter and Facebook, I learned about the Save Texas Schools coalition and participated in a rally of 11,000+ concerned Texas parents, citizens, and educators on March 12th. I participated again in a Save Texas Schools event just yesterday, as a Rally in the Capitol was held while legislators were working to finish the legislative session before the end of May.

My Comfort Zone

I learned from these various experiences that I am much more comfortable with traditional, interpersonal forms of communication on matters of public interest than I am with protest rallies. While rallies are good news makers and can get an issue on everyone's radar, I think dialog has more chance of making a long term impact than does a protest rally. Dialog is also much more in my element, or comfort zone, than shouting protests at the doors to the House of Representatives. The Save Texas Schools Rally in the Capitol actually helped cement these perspectives for me, because it included time to visit the offices of legislators as well as the actual organized "protest" time outside of the House doors. I learned new perspectives by talking with the legislative staffers, and also learned that some of them agree with the positions I hold. I probably learned the most, though, from those who disagree with me. Not that they changed my mind, but they did help me to see a different side of the issue. I think in understanding the positions on all sides we have a better chance of meeting somewhere in the middle, hopefully for everyone's benefit.

Biggest Takeaway

My biggest takeaway from this legislative session? I have a voice, and I need to use it. We elect legislators to represent us; they cannot read the minds of their constituents. Voting in the election is just the beginning of our responsibility. We need to stay informed on the issues and act on the information. And if you want to get past the sound bites in the media, you're going to have to do a little digging, or stay connected to others who are digging like professional organizations or grassroots watchdog/advocacy groups. If possible, get information from a multitude of sources; somewhere in the middle of it all is a course we can all set and live with.

Becoming informed also puts you in the position of being able to inform others. Based on the information I was taking in, I was led to create a website to track educator job losses and try to inform others about how Texas public schools are funded. I can easily point friends and colleagues who have questions to that site. Creating it helped me internalize important information that I used when communicating with legislators, or when I heard our Governor cite statistics that were not accurate.

Second Biggest Takeway

Perhaps my second biggest takeaway was this: The citizens and legislators involved in the political process are all human beings, just like you and me, and I truly believe that citizens and legislators, no matter which side of the issue they come from, want what is best for their communities. We may not all agree on what is best or where the highest priorities should be, but we are all involved for the purpose of making today and the future better for ourselves and those who will come after us.

I may be a Pollyanna, but after all of the interaction I've had with stakeholders and legislators over the past few months, I refuse to believe much of what I've heard and read regarding an unspoken agenda on the part of some political groups to destroy public education. If there are such people out there, I believe they are in a fringe minority. What the majority of us want is improved public education. There is of course, a great deal of disagreement on how to improve our public schools. We need to keep the conversation going around what it takes to improve education. Assertions that there are organized groups trying to undermine education take energy and focus away from dealing with the real issues such as an equitable funding system for Texas public schools and the overemphasis on standardized testing as a measure of educational success for students and teachers. If we can meet at a table in the middle of all this and talk with each other instead of hurling accusations, maybe we can finally make headway in improvement of our public schools.

My Representative Listens

In all of this, I also have to give kudos to my representative, Larry Gonzales, and his staff, for taking time to meet with me and talk with me on the phone on multiple occasions this session. During the March 21st TCEA Educational Technology day, I saw Representative Gonzales at the Capitol elevators and took a moment to introduce myself to him. I could tell he was in a hurry, so I was not going to repeat to him what I had already spoken to his chief of staff about earlier in the day, but he stopped and took time to ask me why I was at the Capitol that day. A few weeks later, he phoned me personally to let me know he had voted for one of the bills I had been there to advocate for. Just yesterday, I stopped by his office, not to share any opinions about anything but just to say thanks for all the work he and his staff were doing and for always politely taking my comments and calls during the session. And he remembered me when I walked in the door, as he mentioned  our meeting at the elevators two months ago and remembered the school district I work for. Wow! He then took time to update me on legislation he had worked on and share some of his perspectives on current legislation. All this while his wife and two kids were there trying to grab a little lunch with him since he has been quite busy the past few weeks.

I do not agree with every vote Representative Gonzales has made, as I'm sure you don't agree with everything your Representatives and Senators have done, but one thing you should acknowledge is this: They stepped up. They ran and now they are in Austin working for you. It is largely a thankless job since you can never make everyone happy. It is truly a sacrifice of time and I am grateful for the men and women who fill these positions and keep our democracy working.

And It's Far From Over

The legislative session may be coming to an end, but my learning in this area is far from over. There are also consequences to be faced based on the at least $4 billion in cuts to education spending that are coming. I only hope we can keep the conversations going in the interim between now and 2013 and that we can work together to find permanent solutions to school finance and do what is best for the future of public education in our state. Even when people disagree, if they are willing to dialog and work together to find solutions, then there is hope.

Texas HB 400 - The Final Stand Thursday, May 12th

Well, today is it! It is the last day that HB 400, legislation which would make PERMANENT changes to Texas law in response to what should be a TEMPORARY budget crisis.

Instead of addressing the real issues - including a structural deficit that has been well documented - legislators are attempting to remove class size caps,weaken the very few contract rights that Texas teachers have, and do away with the state minimum salary scale. All of these moves are detrimental to the quality of education Texas students receive and the caliber of educators that Texas will be able to retain and recruit in the future.

I used this convenient tool from Texas Can Do Better to send an email to my representative on Tuesday, when HB 400 last came up. I customized the email, although you do not have to do that. It is important that you contact your representative TODAY. The Texas Can Do Better tool makes it very easy. You have no excuse for not acting!

Here is my previous post on HB 400 which outlines many concerns (information on the Phillips amendment is no longer pertinent, as sadly, it has been defeated), and the text of the email I sent Tuesday is below.

Please join me in letting our legislators know we want the REAL problems of the budget and deficits dealt with instead of "work-arounds" that wind up hurting public education in Texas. Now, go write and call without delay!

Subject Line: Vote no on HB 400: A temporary revenue crisis is no excuse for permanent repeal of all these educational quality standards and employee safeguards

Dear Representative Gonzales,

I am writing once again to urge you to vote NO on HB 400. I was extremely disappointed to hear that the Phillips Amendment, written by your fellow Republican and which made the provisions of HB 400 temporary, was tabled yesterday. I hope it comes back up for consideration.

I understand you are a co-author of this bill. I do not understand why you believe permanent changes to law that fall heavily on students and teachers are necessary for what should be a temporary budget crisis.

HB 400 permanently eliminates the 22-to-1 cap on the size of K-4 classrooms, by changing the standard to a district-wide average. Both this average and a new 25-to-1 cap for individual classrooms also would be subject to waiver. The bill also wipes out special requirements of smaller class sizes for students at risk of failing standardized state tests.

HB 400 permanently eliminates the state minimum salary schedule for teachers, counselors, nurses, and librarians, replacing salary floors with a mandate to districts to institute test-driven “performance pay.”

A "performance pay" driven salary system is unfair in many aspects, not the least of which is the fact that not all teachers teach subjects which are tested by the state testing system, and teachers who do teach those subjects teach vastly different populations of students. The teacher of GT students will have little trouble earning "performance pay", while a teacher who has dedicated himself or herself to working with students who struggle academically will have much greater challenges. Why institute a system which potentially punishes teachers who are working with the neediest students?

HB 400 kills teachers’ contract safeguards. It takes away the right to an independent hearing before an impartial hearing examiner for a teacher faced with a mid-contract termination. It deprives term-contract teachers of timely notice of proposed non-renewal, shifting the notice date to the last day of instruction, so teachers must wait five extra, anxious weeks before they know if they are employed for the coming year. Teachers on continuing contracts meanwhile lose one of the main benefits of those contracts: seniority protection in case of layoffs. In a financial crisis, districts might be tempted to release veteran teachers with the highest salaries for layoffs first. Losing experienced teachers is detrimental to our children's education and leaves no one behind to mentor teachers new to the profession.

A temporary revenue crisis is no excuse for permanent repeal of all these educational quality standards and employee safeguards. I urge you to block HB 400 and work instead on limited, temporary measures like emergency class-size waivers based on undue financial hardship and temporary salary adjustments as a substitute for layoffs. Above all, I urge you to work for adequate funding of our public schools to avoid the need for such measures.

Thank you for your time in reading my concerns and considering them as you vote on HB 400.

Texas HB 400 is Bad News for Teachers and Students #txedbudget #savetxschools

The more I read about Texas HB 400, the more concerned I become about its provisions, and the more grateful I am that it was sent back to committee on a technical point of order yesterday. I hope that time runs out on this bill before it passes.

After reading the information below, if you agree that HB 400 is bad news for teachers and students, be sure to contact your representative today and let him or her know how you feel.

ATPE has a good summary of what this bill will do in their 4-21 legislative update. I will quote the points below for your convenience, but I encourage you to visit their web page as well:

If passed, HB 400 would:

• Eliminate the experienced-based minimum salary schedule for teachers, counselors, nurses and librarians, and require each district to create new compensation systems based on performance factors such as student test scores and teacher appraisals. 
• Eliminate the 22:1 student-to-teacher class-size limit for grades K-4, and allow districts to place up to 25 students in a class. Under HB 400, districts would only have to meet a 22:1 district-wide average student-to-teacher ratio. 
• Allow districts to permanently weaken educator contract and due process rights as well as salary protections. The bill changes timelines and notification procedures as well as eliminates your right to a neutral hearing officer in a contract termination.
• Allow a district to declare financial exigency for a reduction in force (RIF) without demonstrating that it has exhausted the alternatives, as well as give districts the permanent ability to furlough educators’ professional development days and reduce salaries.
• Make permanent changes even though districts are dealing with a temporary budget crisis, and make it easier for districts to terminate educators or reduce salaries indefinitely.

Here are some news stories which shed a little more light on the bill and who supports and opposes it.

• Technicality Slays House Bill on Class Sizes...For Now - Texas Tribune
• Point of Order Delays Contentious Education Policy Bill - Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
• Bill Raises Class Size Limit to Cope With Cuts - El Paso Times

Last Wednesday, I received information on this bill from TCTA, the professional organization that I belong to, and in response, I emailed and phoned my representative. At the time, the bill was set for debate and vote on Thursday, so I used some of TCTA's language in my email to my representative. Below is the email I sent to him.

Dear Representative Gonzales,

First, I want to thank you for taking the time to personally call me yesterday and let me know that you had supported HB 6 and that it had passed the House unanimously. As your constituent, I appreciate the time you took to listen to my concerns and make a vote in the best interest of Texas public education and learning materials for students.

Representative Gonzales, I was encouraged to note during the 2010 election campaign that your wife is an educator. I was hopeful based on your close ties to the education profession that you would be a friend of education and teachers as you make your decisions and represent your constituents in the legislature. Today I am hoping more than ever that you are truly a supporter of education and the education profession in Texas.

I am writing today to ask you to oppose HB 400 in its current form and support the Phillips amendment to HB 400 being brought forth by your fellow Republican Larry Phillips.

HB 400 in its current form is detrimental to public education in Texas because:

• It harms classroom instruction by allowing larger class sizes and removing parent notification provisions. Aside from being very detrimental to young students, larger class sizes = fewer classrooms = fewer teachers. This is not a proposal to save teacher jobs or help prepare students for the new accountability system.
• By permanently eliminating the state minimum salary schedule and other salary-related laws, HB 400 allows districts to reduce teacher salaries significantly and permanently. The salary schedule is one of the few mechanisms the Legislature has to direct money to instruction.
• The bill permanently removes key legal protections for teachers so that districts can terminate contracts mid-year much more easily – making it easier to fire teachers, not save their jobs. This reduces incentives for districts to look for cuts outside the classroom or do good financial planning.

I realize we are in difficult economic times and this bill may seem as if it is intended to give school districts more flexibility during the current budget crunch, but if that is the true purpose, then why does the bill propose to make these changes permanent? Instead of permanently weakening provisions which protect quality instruction (class size limits), forever taking away a guaranteed minimum salary for teachers (making the profession less attractive and allowing districts to direct dollars away from the classroom), and removing legal contract protections for teachers (again making the profession less attractive and reducing incentives for districts to look for budget cuts outside the classroom),it would be wiser to implement temporary provisions to mitigate the current funding crisis.

The Phillips amendment to HB 400 allows some temporary changes to current law to give districts flexibility during the financial crisis and minimize teacher job losses. 

• The commissioner of education could temporarily ease the requirements for obtaining a class-size waiver, but parental notification provisions should be retained.
• Limited salary reductions and furloughs would be allowed temporarily during the budget crisis, but only to the extent of district funding losses, and only after a public hearing to fully explore all options. 
• Furloughs/salary reductions would have to apply to all contractual personnel, i.e., administrators as well as instructional staff. 

Thank you for your time in considering my concerns regarding HB 400 and my request that you support the Phillips amendment.

It turns out that my representative is one of the bill's co-authors, but that did not dissuade me from writing to let him know my opinion.

Your turn! If you are as concerned as many educators are about the provisions of this bill, make sure you take advantage of its return to committee and let your representative know how you feel.

ACTION ALERT: Texas HB 6 With Vital Instructional Materials Funding- House is Voting April 6th!

The following is a legislative action alert I received today from Jennifer Bergland and TCEA Advocacy. It is reposted here with permission. HB 6 is the companion bill to SB 6 which I testified on before the Senate Education Committee last week. Even if you are reading this late in the day Tuesday, call your rep! I called last week on a different matter at 7:30 PM thinking I'd get voice mail, and I got a live person!

ACTION ALERT: Call your Representative today!

HB 6 will be voted on by the Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday morning.  Call your representative's office today and urge them to support this bill. Attached is a document that highlights the benefits of HB 6. This bill is vital for technology funding for Texas school districts.  

When you call, ask to speak to the legislative aide who handles education issues for the representative. 

• Inform them that HB 6 will be voted on by the House on Wednesday (April 6th)
• Ask them to vote for HB 6 and 
• Oppose any amendment that might delay the implementation of the Instructional Materials Allotment. 

You can find out who your Representative is here: http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/

You can find their contact information here: http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/

You could also follow up with a quick email urging them to support the bill and email the attached document.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Jennifer Bergland
Texas Computer Education Association
Director of Governmental Relations and Membership Services
jbergland@tcea.org
http://tceaadvocacy.wordpress.com/

In response to Jennifer's call to action, I called my representative's office on my lunch break today and spoke with one of his aides. Later, I sent this follow-up email to him:

Dear Representative Gonzales,

I am your constituent and I am contacting you today to

- ask you to vote for HB 6 which will come before the House for a vote on Wednesday, April 6th, and

- to oppose any amendments which will delay the institution of the Instructional Materials Allotment created by HB 6.

HB 6 deletes the word ''textbook'' from current education law and updates it to the phrase ''instructional materials''. It also establishes an Instructional Materials Allotment in place of the current textbook allotment, giving school districts more flexibility and local control in choosing the materials they feel are best suited to instructing their students in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

As a taxpayer, I feel it is a better use of my tax dollars to allow districts to purchase the best materials for their students, whether they be traditional textbooks or digital content and the technology needed to deliver the content. It is a waste of my tax dollars to continue to purchase only textbooks which are often outdated by the time they are printed or which sit on shelves collecting dust because forward-thinking educators are using alternative materials to design instruction based on their students' learning needs.

As an educator, I believe the flexibility afforded by HB6 if it is passed will give my colleagues the opportunity to exercise their professional judgement in choosing instructional materials that will meet the needs of the students in their classrooms. It will also help us continue to work toward the goals Texas has set for its schools, which by 2020 includes students ''hav(ing) on-demand access to all appropriate digital resources and technologies to complete activities that have been seamlessly integrated into all core content areas, providing learning opportunities beyond the classroom that are not otherwise possible.''

(Above quote taken from Texas Education Agency 2010 Progress Report on the Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020; accessed from the TEA website).

For your additional information, please see the following documents:

Information on HB 6 from Texas Computer Education Association. (I shared this same document with your Chief of Staff Chris Sanchez when I visited your office at the Capitol on Monday, March 21st)

http://tinyurl.com/support-HB6-SB6

A copy of my personal testimony before the Senate Education Committee on SB6, the companion bill to HB6. The bills are very similar and my reasons for supporting SB6 are the same as my reasons for supporting HB6.

http://tinyurl.com/SB6Testimony3-29-11

Thank you for taking time to read this information and your consideration of support for HB 6.

OK folks! Your turn! If you are a Texas educator, please email and call your Texas House Representative right away! 

Testimony in Favor of Texas SB 6 Instructional Materials Allotment

Today I gave testimony in favor of the passage of Texas SB 6, which institutes an Instructional Materials Allotment (IMA) in lieu of the textbook allotment and the former Technology Allotment. SB 6, if passed into law, would give local school districts in Texas more discretionary control over how they spend state monies designated for instructional materials. No longer would they be compelled to purchase textbooks each year, but they would have freedom to choose digital content and the technological equipment necessary for students to access the digital content.

Jennifer Bergland has written about the companion bill in the House, HB 6, at the TCEA Advocacy blog here and here if you would like more detailed information. More information than you might ever want to know about the bill can be found on the Texas Legislature website.

Speaking of Jennifer, I owe her a thank-you for getting me involved in this process. I'll be writing more in a later blog post about my sudden involvement in the legislative process, but I don't want to wait until then to let Jennifer know how much I appreciate her guidance and encouragement.

Below is the content of my written testimony, which I summarized in a three minute oral testimony as well.

Thank you for hearing my testimony today.

My name is Sandy Kendell and I am a career educator. I have a master’s degree in Educational Technology Leadership and 18 years of experience in K-12 public education, including 8 years in the classroom, 6 years as a campus-level technology facilitator, and 4 years as a district-level instructional technology specialist in Georgetown ISD.

It is from all of these perspectives that I am here today to support the passage of SB6 and the resulting institution of an Instructional Materials Allotment. There are three primary reasons for my support of this bill.

First, the time when textbooks encompassed the sum of all knowledge needed in a course of study has passed us by. During the master’s degree I just completed, my learning came from traditional textbooks, video and multimedia presentations, articles pulled from research journals in digital format, online web resources, and an online textbook with links and multimedia embedded throughout to help me delve deeper into the curriculum I was studying. Everything I accessed was an instructional material with content relevant to my course of study. Expanding the definition of “instructional materials” to include but also move beyond a traditional print textbook acknowledges what we know to be true about the nature of education in 2011 and beyond – relevant instructional content can be found in a variety of formats, and each of those formats has the potential to speak to the diverse learning styles of our students.

Second, one of the aspects of being able to purchase digital instructional materials which excites me the most, and which my superintendent also highlighted when I conversed with him yesterday regarding SB6 and my testimony today, is the frequency with which digital materials can be updated as compared to traditional print materials. Depending on whose research you read, the sum of human knowledge doubles conservatively every five years and less conservatively every 18 months. To rely completely on bound print materials which may not contain the latest information even as they are published is to deny our students access to the latest knowledge. SB6 will allow districts to purchase materials which can be updated as soon as new breakthroughs come to light, whether they are breakthroughs in content or the best methods for delivering the content. Even as we learn more about learning itself, we can incorporate best practices through changing up lesson delivery models. Access to a variety of instructional materials will empower educators to teach students the latest information and problem solving skills using the latest proven instructional techniques.

Finally, inclusion of a provision for purchasing technological equipment and training using funds from the Instructional Materials Allotment is a key provision of SB6. According to the TEA Progress Report on the 2006-2020 Long Range Plan for Technology, released in December 2010, 59.3% of Texas educators rate themselves as developing in their use of technology in their classrooms in a primarily teacher-directed manner with students utilizing technology on an individual basis to complete assignments. Another 37.8% of Texas teachers self-reported as advanced in their use of instructional technology, which means they facilitate students’ use of technology in “work(ing) with peers and experts to evaluate information, analyze data and content in order to problem solve” and engage in higher order thinking and collaborative efforts.

The encouraging news is, Texas teachers are using technology. However, when the 2.1% of teachers who still rate themselves at a very beginning/early tech level are factored in, 99.1% of Texas teachers and classrooms still need to grow to the Target Tech level set by the State by for the year 2020. This level is exemplified by “Students hav(ing) on-demand access to all appropriate digital resources and technologies to complete activities that have been seamlessly integrated into all core content areas, providing learning opportunities beyond the classroom that are not otherwise possible.” School districts have been using the $30 per student Technology Allotment for the last 20 years to continually increase the integration of technology into teaching and learning. In the absence of Technology Allotment funding going forward, it is critical that districts have access to the funds in SB6’s Instructional Materials Allotment to provide the equipment for accessing digital resources as well as the training necessary to facilitate the pedagogical paradigm shift required to fully leverage these resources.

In conclusion, the structure of the proposed Instructional Materials Allotment in SB6 allows districts to move at their own pace in the utilization of nontraditional materials. If they so choose, they can continue to buy textbooks just as they always have. But for those who are moving toward Target Tech, the opportunity to bring in digital resources and the equipment to access those resources is critical. 2020, the date Texas set for Target Tech, is only nine years away, and districts need every resource possible at their disposal reach the target.

I encourage the passage of SB6 and implementation of the funding structure to begin this biennium.

Thank you.

*Statistics and quotations taken from the Texas Education Agency
2010 Progress Report on the Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020, accessed at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=2147490399&libID=2147490397

During the hearing process, Senator Shapiro, Chair of the Education Committee and sponsor of SB 6, noted that she would be bringing forth an amendment to delay the implementation of the Instructional Materials Allottment until after the most recent textbook proclamation 2011 was complete. I think this would be devistating considering that we will no longer have a designated Technology Allotment in Texas under current proposed budgets. To make that point, I went "off script" a little at the end of my testimony. I followed up this evening with emails to all of the senators on the committee regarding the importance of implementing the IMA as soon as possible. I tailored the emails depending on whether or not the senator was present at the committee meeting, but most of them looked very similar to this one:

Dear Senator X,

Thank you again for hearing my testimony in favor of SB 6 in the Education Committee hearing on Tuesday, March 29th.

I would like to reiterate that I believe it is crucial for the Instructional Materials Allotment (IMA) to be implemented in the 2011-2013 biennium. In addition to the decreased contribution of state funds which Texas school districts will receive this biennium, they have also lost the $30 per student Technology Allotment which has been moving technology education forward in our state for the past 20 years. Access to the funds in the IMA for purchasing digital resources as well as the technological equipment to support those resources is essential as we aim for Target Tech levels by 2020 as called for by the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology.

For your convenience, I have posted a copy of my testimony online at the following link:

http://tinyurl.com/SB6Testimony3-29-11

Thank you again for hearing my testimony and considering my request to implement the IMA immediately upon passage of SB6.

Score one for democracy! Most of the day was spent watching others testify on other bills and then getting my own big three minutes to speak. The senators were gracious and encouraging, which made things easier. Except for the senator who asked me not to read since I had submitted a copy of my testimony, but to just summarize the highlights. That had been my intention, but his saying that threw me a bit. Witnesses claim I remained calm and collected on the outside. I'm glad of that, because my insides were Jello!

Speaking of witnessess, the committee meetings are streamed live on the Internet. I was encouraged to receive this Tweet shortly after my testimony:

 

Indeed, let's hope they listened! If you are a Texan and want to show your support for this bill, it would be great if you contacted them before Thursday when SB 6 will be discussed in committee again. Here is a list of the Senators on the committee, and here is where you can go to find out who represents you and how to contact them. 

3-30-11 Update: This afternoon, Senator Wendy Davis, who is on the Senate Education Committee but who is not the senator for my district, took time to send me a personal email (not a computer generated response) in reply to the follow-up email I sent her last evening. Here is what she said:

Thank you for sending your comments. I have printed them to review again.

Thank you also for your work as an educator. I am fighting to preserve funding for programs such as yours and appreciate your testimony and email.

Wendy

I was so surprised and impressed! It's a short note, but it is personal, and knowing how busy legislators are during session, the time she took to write it shows me that Ms. Davis is truly invested in her position as a representative of the people of Texas. In addition, during testimony on several bills Tuesday, Senator Davis was very attentive and asked good questions of those who testified. Thank you, Senator Davis, for your dedication to our state!

Gavel photo courtesy of flikr user steakpinball. Used with permission.
Source Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/60588258@N00/3293465641/