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Louisiana Federation of Teachers Weekly Legislative Digest- March 28, 2014

Louisiana Federation of Teachers

Weekly Legislative Digest

March 28, 2014

Steve Monaghan, President * Les Landon, Editor

2014 Regular Legislative Session

Now available on the Web at http://la.aft.org

Check out all things legislative on the LFT’s Legislative Resource Page!

Data protection bill approved by committee

Efforts to protect student data from improper access moved ahead when the House Education Committee approved HB 1076 by Rep. John Schroder (R-Covington). The bill is a substitute for Rep. Schroder’s HB 946, the subject of emotional testimony in a March 12 hearing that ended with the voluntary deferral of the bill and a pledge to find a compromise version.

Supporters of the bill argued that the State Department of Education has improperly released individually identifiable student information to various vendors, and that the data has been shared without the knowledge and consent of parents. Third parties, they said, can easily access personal information about public school students.

Opponents said that passage of the bill could prohibit collecting information that the federal government requires. That could jeopardize hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for schools. There was also concern that the bill could stop the collection of data used to determine TOPS awards and other financial aid for college-bound students.

In an effort to satisfy both sides, the new version limits access to student data and requires the Department of Education to create a system of identification numbers for public school students instead of using social security numbers. The bill provides for penalties including fines and imprisonment for violations.

LFT supports the bill, which was recommended favorably without objection.

Three similar bills have been voluntarily deferred, but remain on the calendar in case the need arises.

Senate panel approves COLAs for retirees

About 100,000 retired public servants, including teachers and school employees, are closer to receiving a cost of living adjustment to their retirement benefits.

The Senate Retirement Committee approved a package of bills aimed at funding COLAs from the experience accounts of retirement systems for teachers, school employees, state employees and state police. The increases amount to a bit less than $30 per month for each retiree.

The bills, SB 16, SB 18, SB 19 and SB 21, are all authored by the chair of the Senate Retirement Committee, Sen. Elbert Guillory (R-Opelousas). Because of the way Sen. Guillory linked the fates of the four bills, all of them must pass in order for any of the retirees to get a COLA.

The bills must pass by a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of the legislature and be signed by Gov. Jindal before the COLAs go into effect.

Substitute wage bill wins approval

The House Education Committee gave unanimous approve to an LFT-sponsored bill that allows school employees to be paid the full rate of a substitute teacher when they are asked to sub or to take on other duties outside their scope of their job description.

HB 242 by Rep. James Armes also requires local school systems to establish a uniform way for employees to report when they serve as substitutes.

LFT Legislative Director Mary-Patricia Wray testified on behalf of the bill, saying that it is only fair to pay employees for the extra work they are asked to do. The bill will be heard on the House floor.

Truth and transparency bill temporarily stalls

A bill aimed at making sure that appointed officials tell the truth in affidavits stalled this week when it was voluntarily deferred in the House Civil Law Committee.

HB 181 by Rep. Randal Gaines (D-LaPlace) and Sen. Bob Kostelka (R-Monroe) would prevent appointed officials from falsely certifying that the grant of an injunction would create a deficit, so that plaintiffs who sue the state can have better access to justice.

The issue was raised in 2012 when the LFT filed suit to overturn Act 2 of 2012, which created Gov. Jindal’s voucher scheme. LFT asked the court to enjoin the state from funding vouchers through the Minimum Foundation Program while a final decision was awaited from the Supreme Court. But because administration officials claimed that enjoining the voucher scheme would create a budget deficit, the judge was powerless to enjoin the program.

Under current law, the truthfulness of an affidavit like the one produced in 2012 cannot be questioned. HB 181 would allow courts to decide if an affidavit is factual.

The bill was voluntarily deferred to work out some amendments.

School district secession bill proceeds

A bill aimed at making it easier for school districts to fracture passed the Senate Education Committee without objection. SB 354 by Sen. Bodi White is a proposed constitutional amendment inspired by thus far unsuccessful efforts to create a new school district in southeastern East Baton Rouge Parish.

Under current law, several conditions must be met before a section of a school district is allowed to secede. A new district must be defined by constitutional amendment, which requires a two-thirds vote of both houses of the legislature and approval by a majority of the voters in the state.

In addition, the constitution has usually been interpreted to mean that a new school district must be inside a defined political subdivision such as a city or parish. A petition drive is now underway to create a new city in southeastern East Baton Rouge Parish.

Sen. White’s proposal would amend the constitution to say that any system created by the legislature would be eligible to receive public education funds.

LFT opposes the bill because creation of new school systems has a negative effect on funding for districts across the state.

The bill now moves to the Senate floor for action.

Panel rejects tenure reform bill

A proposal to loosen the restrictions placed on teacher tenure by Act 1 or 2012 stalled when no members of the Senate Education Committee would move to either approve or defer the bill.

Under Act 1, teachers must be rated “highly effective” for five out of six years in order to earn tenure, and those who have tenure automatically lose it if they are rated “ineffective” even once.

SB 94 by Sen. Rick Gallot (D-Ruston) would grant tenure to teachers who are rated highly effective for three consecutive years, and revoke it for teachers rated “ineffective” for two consecutive years.

In the 2024-25 school year, when new education accountability standards are completely phased in, the law would revert to the Act 1 of 2012 rule.

LFT President Steve Monaghan said the bill is a “modest proposal” that should help teachers who are already stressed by the confusion caused by the imposition of new standards.

“Constant change has disrupted faith in the system itself,” Monaghan said.

The only testimony against the bill came from a spokesperson for the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. When Committee Chair Sen. Conrad Appel (R-Metairie) asked for a motion on the bill, there was no response from the panel.

Dues deduction for engineers approved, and why it’s important

The House Appropriations Committee approved without objection a bill allowing professional engineers employed by the state to pay their Louisiana Engineering Society dues by payroll deduction.

Why is HB 137 by Rep. Kenneth Havard (R-Jackson) being reported in the LFT’s Weekly Legislative Digest? Because this week yet another bill, HB 1059 by Rep. Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge) was introduced that would prohibit the LFT and other public sector unions from collecting dues via payroll deduction.

That brings to four the total number of bills aimed at making it difficult for unions to collect the dues that finance their operations. If HB 137 is adopted, it would be further proof that some lawmakers want to single out unions for unfair treatment, while allowing payroll deductions for various other purposes.

Jindal budget raises funding for technical and community colleges

Community and technical colleges will see a $6.1 million increase in funding under the higher education budget proposed by the Jindal administration, the Senate Finance Committee was told this week.

According to Commissioner of Administration Kristi Nichols, the money will be directed toward schools with a rapid growth rate. Nichols specifically mentioned Baton Rouge Community College, Delgado Community College and Bossier Parish Community College as recipients of the funds. It should help the schools’ ability to compete for a share of some $40 million that the governor had previously earmarked for schools that offer courses aligned with the state’s workforce needs.

That $40 million is not new funding; it supplants an appropriation for operations and maintenance that is in the current year’s budget.

All told, the governor has proposed a higher education funding increase amounting to $142 million for next year, finally reversing a five-year trend of annual budget cuts.

But that figure can be deceiving. About $88 million of the increase will come from tuition increases. According to a report from the Louisiana Budget Project, that means the actual increase of state funds to higher education’s $2.6 billion budget is just $14 million.

Click here to see the Louisiana Budget Project’s analysis of the higher education budget.

Unconstitutional creationism bill to remain on the books

A bill to repeal a law requiring the teaching of creationism in Louisiana science classes was overwhelmingly rejected by the Senate. That law, the Creation Science and Evolution Science Education Act, was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1987.

The repeal bill, SB 70 by Sen. Dan Claitor (R-Baton Rouge) had been forwarded to the Senate without any recommendation and after little debate by the Senate Education Committee.

Why would lawmakers retain a law that has been declared unconstitutional by the highest court in the land? Supporters of creationism as science are hopeful that the Supreme Court may one day change its ruling, and want to have a law already enacted to promote creationism in Louisiana schools.

Bills that expand tax credits are deferred

Two bills that would expand tax credits and help abandon public education were voluntarily deferred by their author in the House Education Committee.

HB 779 and HB 780 by Rep. Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge) would have expanded tax rebates for contributions to nonpublic schools and given rebates for donations to cover the tuition of students whose parents believe they are “unsafe” in public school.

LFT opposed these bills because they encourage the abandonment of public schools and do nothing to help make public schools better funded and more successful.

Senate passes textbook adoption bill

A bill that sets new rules for textbook adoption was passed by the Senate and sent to the House for further action.

SB 336 by Sen. Conrad Appel (R-Metairie) establishes an online review process for new textbooks, but leaves most of the decisions about who will review the materials up to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

LFT opposes the bill because it differs from the recommendations made by a textbook task force in which the Federation participated.

The bill does not establish a cycle for the purchase of textbooks, doesn’t provide for a textbook depository to ensure that school systems get the benefit of volume purchases, and gives BESE wide latitude over selecting the stakeholders who will be involved in the review.

In a related issue, the House Education Committee approved HB 690 by Rep. Chris Broadwater (R-Hammond), which would allow school districts to set up cooperatives to buy instructional materials at a group rate. LFT supports this bill.

Sick leave bill progresses; LFT questions unintended consequences

After winning approval by the Senate Education Committee, bill that could affect the benefits allowed to teachers who are assaulted on the job was adopted by the full Senate and sent to the House side for further action.

SB 172 by Sen. Page Cortez (R-Lafayette) has several sections that could reduce benefits for teachers on long term leave after being assaulted or otherwise injured on the job.

LFT opposed the bill in committee. The Federation is waiting to see if it is amended to prevent unintended consequences that could mean teachers who are injured on the job do not have the choice to use all of their sick leave before using workers’ compensation benefits, which are lower than full salary.

House blocks bill barring union employees from retirement system

A second bill that would prevent future employees of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and three other organizations from participating in the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana was blocked in the House of Representatives.

HB 45 by Rep. Alan Seabaugh (R-Shreveport) is similar to another bill, HB 25 by Rep. Kirk Talbot, which was approved by the House Retirement Committee earlier in the session and sent to the House for a vote.

Because Rep. Seabaugh requested a hearing for his bill less than 24 hours prior to a retirement committee meeting, it required a two-thirds vote in the House to suspend the rules. A largely party-line vote, in which most Democrats voted “no,” denied Rep. Seabaugh the opportunity to hear his bill in committee.

Higher Ed retirement bill advances

Higher education faculty members of the Teachers’ Retirement System’s optional retirement plan will get an increase in the employer’s share of contributions if HB 6 by Rep. Kevin Pearson (R-Slidell) continues its progress.

Over a four-year phase-in, the bill will increase the employer’s share from 5.5% to 6.2%, which is still lower than the 6.8% contributed by many other schools across the country.

The bill was approved without objection after being amended, and will proceed to the House floor.

Share My Lesson reaches milestone, offers free lesson plans

Share My Lesson has reached a milestone of 300,000 user-generated online lesson plans and other classroom resources. It is now the largest digital collection of free materials for educators, paraprofessionals, parents and community organizations. The joint venture between the American Federation of Teachers and TES Connect, which launched in June 2012, has a community of more than 480,000 registered users.

Just recently, Share My Lesson posted “Care Packages,” making it easier than ever for users to find the most applicable resources for their classroom. The virtual Care Package is specified by grade or subject and features relevant Common Core-aligned resources for each category.

Share My Lesson allows educators to collaborate with each other through the sharing of teaching and learning best practices. Resources are easily accessible and quality checked through a peer-review process.

House panel defers bills

The House and Governmental Affairs Committee voluntarily deferred two bills that had been endorsed by LFT.

HB 424 by Rep. Ledricka Thierry (D-Opelousas) would authorize the legislative auditor to conduct audits of schools that accept vouchers. The auditor already conducts such audits, but this bill would have explicitly authorized the practice.

HB 92 by Rep. Marcus Hunter (D-Monroe) is a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow municipalities to adopt their own minimum wage practices.

 

The week ahead

Monday, March 31

House Ways and Means Committee:

HB 780 by Kirk Talbot 9R-river Ridge) expands the now uncapped tax rebates for donations to private schools, by allowing for eligibility of any student whose parents deem them to be unsafe in a public school. LFT opposes this bill.

Senate Finance Committee:

SB 19 and SB 21 by Sen. Elbert Guillory (R-Opelousas), which grant COLAs to retired members of the Louisiana School Employees Retirement System and the Teachers Retirement System, will be considered. These bills have already passed out of Senate Retirement and are fully funded with investment earnings from the Experience Accounts of both systems. LFT supports these bills.

Senate Retirement Committee:

SB 29 by Mike Walsworth (R-West Monroe) would allow diagnosticians and reading specialist to return to work without forfeiting their pension during reemployment. LFT supports this bill, and acknowledges the significant actuarial cost that would be created by its passage.

SB 555 by Blade Morrish (R-Jennings) allows all retirees 65 and older to return to work without suspending their benefits. LFT supports this bill, but its actuarial cost makes it unlikely to be adopted.

Wednesday, April 2

House Education Committee:

A whole package of bills aimed at the Common Core Curriculum will be considered by the committee. HB381 by Brett Geymann (R-Lake Charles) would create a commission, of which LFT would be a member, to design new state-based content standards. Of all the “common core opt out” bills, this one is closest for a plan to replace those standards with new ones. For that reason, LFT supports this bill.

Also being heard this week in House Education are HB 558 by Rep. Cameron Henry (R-Metairie), HB 996 by John Schroder (R-Covington) and HB 163 by Henry Burns (R-Mandeville). All of those prohibit the implementation of PARCC tests, and require use of LEAP tests instead. HB 988 by Rep. Schroder allows local school districts to develop and implement their own curriculum content. HB 1054 by Rep. Jerome “Dee” Richard (No party- Thibodaux) would require all public and voucher school teachers to take Common Core Aligned assessments themselves before administering them to students.

House Health and Welfare Committee:

HCR 1 by Rep. John Bel Edwards (D-Amite), HB 174 by Jared Brossett (D-New Orleans), HB 759 by Rep. Barbara Norton (D-Shreveport), and HB 261 by Rep. Herbert Dixon (D-Alexandria) would all expand Medicaid to provide health coverage for those who aren’t eligible for a subsidy under the Affordable Care Act, but are also too poor to afford health insurance on their own. That would bring an additional $15 billion worth of health care dollars to Louisiana.LFT has supported Medicaid expansion in our state for some time. Expanding Medicaid will bring jobs to Louisiana, and stop the flow of our federal tax dollars to other states to cover their uninsured citizens.

House and Governmental Affairs:

HB 374 by Rep. Brett Geymann (R-Lake Charles) would make all BESE positions elected. LFT supports this bill.

Thursday, April 3

House and Governmental Affairs Committee:

HB 322 by Rep. Sam Jones D-Franklin) would require all rulemaking bodies in Louisiana, including BESE, to publish a rulemaking docket to give notice to the public of deadlines for public comment on rules in development. Rules promulgated by state agencies have the force and effect of law, and citizen involvement is often hampered by the difficulties associated with accessing information about rules and regulations as they move towards final adoption. This bill will help ease the challenges to concerned citizens who want to have an impact on agency rulemaking. The bill is part of LFT’s legislative package.

 

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CPSB votes for planning time – RRU victory!

Monday night, at the Caddo Parish School Board meeting, there was an agenda item called, Request for Level IV Grievance Hearing, Re: Planning Period. The process is for the board to decide if they will hear the grievance (typically at the next meeting), to move to uphold the lower decision or to move to uphold with additional information or directive from the board. To date, five high schools had signed onto a class action grievance over the lack of planning time.

 

The first motion was from Larry Ramsey, moving to uphold the lower decision, Jasmine Green countered with a motion to hear the grievance. After consultation with us, the motion was adjusted to include moving to a 7 period day for next school year, planning will be daily (minimum of 225 minutes per week), before and after school will not be used or considered as planning time. The motion passed unanimously.

 

What does this mean?  The message Red River United members sent in filing the grievances and coming before the board last fall was heard. They formalized it last night.  You won!  You stood up for your professional rights and the very purpose of what you do – teaching and learning.  We should feel a sense of satisfaction and pride. This vote applies to every elementary, middle, and high school teacher in Caddo Parish.

 

We will remain vigilant.  We must continue to watch for additional elements such as student hours, overcrowded classrooms, lunchtime, and of course, encroachment on planning.  We are also moving legislation to have BESE define ‘planning’.  Representative Norton is presenting that this session.  At this point, we do not foresee any problem with it moving. All this work just sets the stage if we need to address any of it again, including the possibility of litigation.

 

Finally, let me say, I will forever remain in awe and humbled by what you said and did throughout this process.  You are true heroes.

 

Please contact Jackie Lansdale with your personal circumstances if you are still short planning time. School Principals have a list of interim solutions that should be put into practice to resolve planning concerns.

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CPSB Unanimously Passes Resolution In Support of Payroll Deduction

 

CPSB Thanks Payroll Deduct

Red River Parish is deeply grateful to the Caddo Parish School Board for taking a stand in support of payroll deduction. This resolution was a join resolution of all the professional associations in the Parish. Here is the text from the resolution: Resolution Opposing Elimination of Payroll Deduction of Professional Dues

 

WHEREAS: Employees of the Caddo Parish School District enjoy the right to have deductions made from their paychecks for various purposes, and

 

WHEREAS: Those purposes are as varied as contributions to United Way, insurance policies, credit unions, automobile purchases, home mortgages, professional organization dues and other recognized vendors, and

 

WHEREAS: Bills have been introduced in the 2014 Louisiana Legislative Session that would prohibit professional organizations from collecting dues through payroll deduction, and

 

WHEREAS: Passage of those bills would directly impact organizations in Caddo Parish, including Association of Professional Educators of Louisiana, Bus Drivers Association, Caddo Association of Educators, Louisiana Association of Principals, Louisiana Association of School Executives, and Red River United/Louisiana Federation of Teachers, and

 

WHEREAS: Membership in the affected organizations is a strictly voluntary donation of an individual’s salary and not an expenditure of public funds, and

 

WHEREAS: Contributions made through payroll deduction are at negligible cost to employing agencies, and

 

WHEREAS: The purpose behind bills prohibiting payroll deduction to certain organizations is strictly political and aimed at silencing the voice of public employees, therefore be it

 

RESOLVED: That the Caddo Parish School Board opposes legislation that would discriminate against professional organizations by prohibiting the deduction of member dues, and be it further

 

RESOLVED: that copies of this resolution be sent to the governor and the members of the Louisiana Legislature.

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LFT Weekly Legislative Digest

LFT Weekly Legislative Digest

March 14th, 2014

Controversy swirls around new MFP formula

After the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education was unable to agree on a public education funding formula at its regular March meeting, members convened in special session on March 13 to try again. In a contentious session, members were able to adopt a $3.5 billion Minimum Foundation Program plan, but considerable opposition from stakeholders raised questions of the MFP’s viability when it gets to the legislature.

Opponents such as LFT President Steve Monaghan were disappointed that the Department of Education deviated from the recommendations made by a special MFP Task Force which met for months. The proposal did not annualize a 2.75% increase to public education funding, which would have added another $69 million to the MFP. The plan does, however, drain resources from local school boards to pay for state schools and for the scandal-plagued Course Choice program.

“You are taking money for state schools and course choice away from local school districts that are already stressed,” Monaghan said. In essence, he said, the plan asks school boards to stretch basically the same amount of money to cover programs that may not have the approval of local voters.

In addition, he said, the Federation is disappointed that BESE does not want to direct half of the MFP funds to salary increases for teachers and school employees.

Lawmakers who testified complained that a standstill MFP will not help with growing expenses for retirement, insurance and classroom technology. Spokesmen for school superintendents and school boards also opposed the MFP, saying that changes made after the task force completed its mission were not shared with stakeholders.

Passage of the MFP was no sure thing. After BESE members voted once to defeat the plan, BESE President Chas Roemer recessed the board to meet with staff and write a compromise. A hastily written addition suggested that the legislature will be allowed to pump more money into the formula provided that funds are identified and that lawmakers refrain from watering down educational standards and accountability.

LFT Weekly Legislative Digest Now available on the Web at http://la.aft.org

 

Tell Jindal and White to stop the lawsuits and work together

For the second time, a state court has struck down Act 1 of 2012, the so-called “talent act,” because it violates a prohibition on bundling too many objectives in a single law.

Act 1 is a reflection of the governor’s very wrong opinions about teachers. We strongly believe that the law has harmed teachers. If each of its elements had been introduced as separate laws, we would have opposed all of them.

We wish the lawsuits were not necessary. But until the Jindal administration respects both the rule of law and the teachers who dedicate their lives to the children of Louisiana, we have no choice.

To learn more and send Gov. Jindal and Supt. White a letter, please click here. Tell Gov. Jindal and Supt. White that it’s time to stop the lawsuits and work together in the best interest of all our children and the professionals who work in our schools.

LFT Weekly Legislative Digest Now available on the Web at http://la.aft.org

 

Textbook selection bill passes committee

A plan to change the way textbooks are selected in Louisiana was approved by the Senate Education committee.

SB 336 by Sen. Conrad Appel (R-Metairie) would give parents and local school system more of a say in choosing textbooks. Public comment would be allowed on every text considered by the state, and the ultimate authority to choose a book would be up to the local school board.

Some controversy erupted over the bill when parents opposed to Common Core standards complained about a section that requires Louisiana textbooks to align with state content standards. Sen. Appel told the parents that Common Core has nothing to do with this bill, and noted that many opportunities will arise to discuss Common Core as the session progresses.

LFT opposes the bill because of the bill could result in increased costs to local school systems. The bill goes to the full Senate for a vote.

An identical bill in the House of Representatives, HB 867 by Rep. Frank Hoffman (R-West Monroe), was deferred by the House Education Committee.

LFT Weekly Legislative Digest Now available on the Web at http://la.aft.org

 

Panel okays bill to give principals more power

Over the objection of the Louisiana Principals’ Association and LFT, the Senate Education Committee approved a bill that enhances the authority of certain principals.

SB 385 by Sen. Eric LaFleur (D-Ville Platte) would allow schools with a principal rated “highly effective” to be declared “empowered community schools.” The principal would have much more control over hiring decisions, instructional planning, budget decisions and more.

LFT opposed the bill, along with the principals association and other groups. Saying that there “has not been a lot of empowerment for teachers over the last few years,” LFT President Steve Monaghan questioned whether a principal should be given so much of the credit for a school’s success.

It’s wrong to “celebrate one leader without acknowledging all those who make a school work,” he said.

The bill is identical to one that passed the Senate last year before being deferred by the House Education Committee.

LFT Weekly Legislative Digest Now available on the Web at http://la.aft.org

 

Sick leave bill progresses; LFT objects

A bill that could affect the benefits allowed to teachers who are assaulted on the job was approved by the Senate Education Committee over the objection of the LFT.

SB 172 by Sen. Page Cortez (R-Lafayette) has several sections that could reduce benefits for teachers on long term leave after being assaulted or otherwise injured on the job.

LFT President Steve Monaghan said the bill is unclear about whether its passage could “force or pressure a person to retire” early in order to retain benefits.

Sen. Cortez agreed to address the LFT’s concerns before the bill is heard on the Senate floor.

LFT Weekly Legislative Digest Now available on the Web at http://la.aft.org

 

Move to change Regents appointments proceeds

A plan to restrict the governor’s ability to appoint members of the Board of Regents and to further define the requirements for serving on the board was partially approved by the H9use Education Committee.

HB 588 and HB 696, both by Rep. Steve Carter (R-Baton Rouge) require passage of a constitutional amendment by voters. HB 588, the proposed amendment, was approved by the committee but HB 696, which spells out the new requirements to serve on Regents, was delayed until later in the session. Rep. Carter expressed optimism that the two bills will ultimately pass and be sent to voters for a decision.

LFT Weekly Legislative Digest Now available on the Web at http://la.aft.org

 

 

Campus gun auctions approved by committee

HB 244 by Rep. Chris Broadwater (R-Hammond) would allow non-profit organizations to hold higher education campuses fund raising events on that include the auction of firearms. The bill was unanimously approved by the House Education Committee.

LFT Weekly Legislative Digest Now available on the Web at http://la.aft.org

 

Single college application bill proceeds

A bill that would create a single application process for all Louisiana colleges and universities was approved by the Senate Education Committee. No one spoke in opposition to SB 62 by Sen. Conrad Appel (R-Metairie), and it was unanimously approved. It moves to the Senate floor for debate.

LFT Weekly Legislative Digest Now available on the Web at http://la.aft.org

 

Return to work bills heard

One bill that would allow educators to return to work as substitutes without a requirement that they earn no more than 25% of their retirement income was defeated by the House retirement Committee, while another was voluntarily deferred for clarification.

HB 29 by Rep. Kenny Cox (D-Natchitoches) would allow all members of the retirement system to return to work without the cap on their income. It was rejected by the committee when Reps. Nick Lorusso (R-New Orleans, Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge), Barry Ivey (R-Baton Rouge), Paul Hollis (R-Covington), and Kevin Pearson (R-Slidell) voted no. Supporting the bill were Reps. Gene Reynolds (D-Minden), Sam Jones (D-Franklin), Jack Montoucet (D-Crowley) and Ed Price (D-Gonzales.)

A second bill, HB 82 by Rep. Sam Jones, was voluntarily deferred in order to get a new fiscal note and work out other details. The bill is intended to make sure that more certificated classroom teachers can return to work as substitutes in the future.

LFT Weekly Legislative Digest Now available on the Web at http://la.aft.org

 

Rep. Landry plans bills to re-enact Act 1

An Acadiana lawmaker has introduced a package of bills aimed at recreating the effects of Act 1 of 2012 in case the Louisiana Supreme Court agrees with a lower court and rules the act unconstitutional. A Baton Rouge court has ruled the act unconstitutional either entirely or in part three times; a final decision is awaited from the Supreme Court.

In case the act is indeed ruled unconstitutional, Rep. Nancy Landry (R-Lafayette) has asked the colleagues to pass a package of bills that recreate the most egregiously offensive sections of the 2012 law.

HB 651 restricts the authority of local school boards and grants it to superintendents instead.

HB 652 bases teacher salaries mainly on evaluations, requires new salary schedules, and prevents teachers rated “ineffective” from receiving raises.

HB 653 requires teachers to be rated “highly effective” for five of six years to earn tenure, to immediately lose tenure if rated ineffective once, to make non-tenured teachers at-will employees, and guts due process protections.

A related bill, HB 1022, removes school boards from virtually and personnel decisions, grants that authority to superintendents, and makes it very difficult for a school board to terminate a superintendent.

LFT will oppose all of these bills when they are heard in committee.

LFT Weekly Legislative Digest Now available on the Web at http://la.aft.org

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AFT to host educators’ summit on school discipline: March 21-22 2014

On March 21-22, the AFT will host an educators’ summit on school discipline.

The summit will bring together teachers, support personnel, school-based mental health professionals, superintendents and administrators to help change school climates by identifying alternatives to suspensions and developing strategies involving restorative practices. The summit comes at a time when the buzz around school discipline policies continues to grow. On Jan. 8, Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced new guidelines aimed at ensuring that school discipline policies are equitable and effective. That same day, the AFT and the Albert Shanker Institute hosted a symposium to explore how rigid school discipline policies like “zero tolerance” are effectively discriminatory and steal opportunity from great numbers of students, particularly children of color.

Read Loretta Johnson’s Column on School Suspensions here

A New Path Forward On School Discipline Practices- AFT Statement

Later this month, on March 21-22, the AFT will host an educators’ summit on school discipline. The summit will bring together teachers, support personnel, school-based mental health professionals, superintendents and administrators to help change school climates by identifying alternatives to suspensions and developing strategies involving restorative practices.

Data show that boys of color are disproportionately affected by disparate treatment that typifies zero tolerance and other ineffective discipline policies. According to the Civil Rights Project at UCLA, 3.3 million students were issued out-of-school suspensions in the 2009-2010 school year. Of those students, African-Americans were found to be three times more likely than their peers to be issued an out-of-school suspension, a punishment also handed out to nearly 1 in 13 Latinos.
“What started as a push for safe, secure schools now has become the only response to any infraction,” says AFT President Randi Weingarten of zero tolerance.

Divisive approaches like zero tolerance create “a really alienating environment” for many students, Weingarten says, which is made worse by school reforms that cause tests to proliferate rather than provide real supports like counseling for kids and professional help in classroom behavior management.

During its February meeting, the AFT executive council adopted “Reclaiming the Promise: A New Path Forward on School Discipline Practices,” a policy statement that recommends a number of changes in current policies and practices that the AFT believes would have a positive impact on school discipline disparities. They include ongoing professional development for all school staff; funding for mental health services and other supports; investments in social and emotional learning; collaborative analysis of school discipline data; the restoration of critical school personnel such as counselors, psychologists, nurses and social workers; the inclusion of students, families, educators, support personnel, juvenile justice professionals and other community members in the development of school improvement plans; and the implementation of alternatives to suspension and expulsion to manage student behavior.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who took part in the AFT symposium, believes teachers are in a unique position to work with parents and others to develop alternatives to zero-tolerance policies, which often feed the school-to-prison pipeline. Zero-tolerance policies, test-based sanctions and federal sentencing guidelines wrongly take frontline experience and discretion out of key decisions, Ellison says, and they foster a “zero-sum, winners and losers” approach to opportunity and advancement in America.

In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, Robert K. Ross and Kenneth H. Zimmerman noted that “too many schools still use severe and ineffective practices to address student behavior.”

“Large numbers of students are kicked out, typically for nonviolent offenses,” the article continues, “and suspensions have become the go-to response for even minor misbehavior, like carrying a plastic water gun to elementary school or sometimes simply for talking back.”

Rather than teaching kids a lesson, Ross and Zimmerman wrote, “these practices increase dropout rates and arrest rates—with severe social and economic consequences.”

So how do we develop alternatives to policies like zero tolerance that have proven to be discriminatory and largely ineffective—policies, practices and resources that give teachers, administrators and other educators the tools they need to maintain safe and healthy learning environments?

Holder and Duncan announced the new national guidelines at Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore where a new discipline policy has dramatically reduced suspensions. In a recent Education Week column, AFT Secretary-Treasurer Lorretta Johnson, who is a Douglass alumna, called the school “a shining example of a public school that has seen marked student improvement since it changed its discipline practices and implemented other reforms to improve student achievement.”

“I am particularly pleased with what Douglass High School has accomplished and am confident others can achieve success by implementing smart, well-funded revised discipline policies and other reforms that will help reclaim the promise of public education for all students,” Johnson wrote.

Baltimore Teachers Union President Marietta English sees and feels a different atmosphere when she visits Douglass. “The school has definitely turned around,” says English, who credits the relationship building that has taken place between teachers and other school staff and students at the school. “They’ve built great relationships, and you see it in the students’ attitude toward school.”

English says that there are some aspects of the Baltimore school district’s new code of conduct, which was crafted by educators, parents, students and other stakeholders, that need to be revisited. “We’re not proponents of kicking kids out of school, but we do believe that there’s a need for alternative placements for those students who need more intensive supports before they are returned to the classroom.”

She is quick to add, however, that the code of conduct has been a real success, reducing the number of suspensions and expulsions, and bringing down the dropout rate. “Good things happen when teachers and students feel that they have been part of the process.”

Some AFT affiliates, including the United Federation of Teachers in New York City and the Peoria Federation of Teachers in Illinois, are taking on the issue of discipline codes and student behavior as part of a pilot program funded by a grant obtained by the AFT from Atlantic Philanthropies.

The UFT is part of a consortium called the Institute for Understanding Behavior, whose goal is to “improve student achievement and social/emotional competence by providing schools with a systemic approach to understanding, assessing and supporting positive student behavior.”

In Peoria, a broad coalition of stakeholders, including the school district, parent groups, the union and a cross section of community organizations, formed a “school discipline collaborative.” The initiative targets Peoria North, a program housed at Peoria High School, and the Woodruff Career and Technical Center.

Professional development for teachers and other school staff and strong partnerships with community service providers are essential elements of the Peoria program. One of those partnerships is with FamilyCore, which has two full-time staffers based at Peoria North who work directly with students and staff. “The FamilyCore staffers are on hand to provide immediate intervention when there’s a discipline problem,” says Makeba Barnes, a grant consultant for the Peoria program.

The aim, she says, is to immediately address the situation—with the goal of keeping kids in the school community and returning them to their classrooms as soon as possible.

At Woodruff, training provided by the community organization Positive Action is designed to both empower students and create an atmosphere of mutual respect between students and teachers. In addition, teachers and other staff at Woodruff receive ongoing professional development around such topics as cooperative learning and student engagement strategies.

Improved attendance, less tardiness, increased parent involvement, better student achievement, and reduced suspension and expulsion rates are the major goals of the Peoria program.

 

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AFT helps launch effort to limit student loan debt

AFT President Randi Weingarten and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) spoke March 6 at the Washington, D.C., launch of “Higher Ed, Not Debt,” a new multiyear campaign advocating for affordable access to higher education for all without the burden of debt or financial hardship.

The AFT is one of more than 60 national and state-based organizations supporting the campaign (along with services like ineedmoneytodayasap.com/i-need-money-fast, among others).

“We can no longer be a nation that tells our young people college is really important, while at the same time saddling them with crushing debt and slashing investments in the programs and supports that could enable them to achieve their dreams,” Weingarten said.

Warren said that student debt, which now stands at a staggering $1.2 trillion, is hurting our college students and dragging down our economy. “We need to work together to bring down the rising cost of college, and we need to help existing borrowers deal with their debt by allowing them to refinance their student loans at today’s lower interest rates.” The campaign will provide support to current borrowers struggling with existing debt, address the causes of declining affordability and quality, highlight Wall Street’s role in the privatization of higher education, and demand action on the issue of higher education debt across the country.

 

The work is based on four core principles: 

• Providing support to borrowers currently paying off the existing $1.2 trillion of debt;

• Addressing the causes of declining affordability and quality, including changes to state funding and financial aid policies;

• Educating the public about Wall Street’s complicity in the creation of the $1.2 Trillion student debt crisis; and

• Civic engagement across all geographic, demographic and political lines.

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Update on 2x Monthly pay OPTION in Bossier Parish

At last week’s Bossier Parish School Board meeting, Superintendent D.C. Machen confirmed that employees will be receiving a survey exploring the OPTION of two-times monthly pay in the spring.

The OPTION of two-times monthly pay is something that Red River United pushed the Bossier Parish School Board to consider at the request of its members. 

Red River United urges all employees to fill out the survey. All employees should receive the survey soon. 

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Red River United Members Attend LFT PSRP Conference

On Saturday, February 22, Red River United sent four delegates to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers Paraprofessional and School Related Personnel (PSRP) convention at the Marriott Hotel in Baton Rouge.

Robin Herrin (Sun City Elementary, Bossier), Phyllis Mason (Forest Hill Elementary, Caddo), Valarie Littlepage (Sun City Elementary, Bossier), and Jon Glover (Maintenance, Caddo) were tasked with bringing back as much information about how this year’s upcoming legislative session will affect Red River United PSRPs.

The participants at the LFT Convention were welcomed by LFT President, Steve Monoghan, who reminded the PSRPs how important their role and voice is in education is across the state. Monoghan told the PSRP convention that one of the purposes of the convention was to ensure that PSRP voices will be heard this legislative session.

At the conference, Representative Herbert Dixon addressed the LFT convention by urging support personnel to get to know their local representatives – know who they are, know where they stand on the issues, and get in contact with them in any way possible in order to get them to vote the way you want them to vote on issues affecting PSRPs.

LFT Legislative director, Mary Patricia Wray, gave the PSRPs a lot of valuable information about the legislative session. MP talked about a wide array of issues, retirement, job description bills, maternity and extended sick leave policy for support personnel, salary increases and increases to the MFP (the state education budget).

Many awards highlighting exceptional PSRP members were given, including the Geraldine Bell award honoring late longtime Para activist from the United Teachers of New Orleans and founding member of the LFT- PSRP Chapter. Red River United members were split into workshops, retirement for PSRPs presented by Heather Landry of the Teacher’s Retirement System of Louisiana and legal issues presented by Larry Samuels, General counsel of the LFT.

The keynote address was given by Ruby Newbold, Vice President of the American Federation of Teachers from the Detroit Association of Educational Office Employees. Newbold gave the PSRPs a rousing speech, reminding the PSRPs that support personnel are important, their voices matter, and that by working together, teachers and support personnel can work together to transform our schools and stand up for the issues that affect everyone, however, this will only happen if and when we stand up and fight for change.

As the meeting adjourned, hundreds of support personnel left the LFT PSRP convention inspired to work even harder to Reclaim the Promise of Public Education by being active this legislative session.