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The 80th Legislature got off to a faster start than in previous years, perhaps due to the lack of a school finance bill overshadowing all other education legislation. The House and Senate education committees began hearing bills earlier than usual, and a TCTA bill was the first education bill of the session voted out of committee!

With literally hundreds of education bills filed, it can be hard to know where to focus. By the end of the filing deadline on March 9, TCTA was tracking over 600 education-related bills. Though there are always a few surprises – bills that suddenly gain traction or bills that fizzle out – a few key topics have arisen early in the session.

NOTE: Given the large number of education-related bills, this article does not list every bill falling into each category; be sure to check the GAIN section of the TCTA website for more information on bills impacting schools and teachers.

Budget

The session began with much discussion and eventually action on a provision in the Texas Constitution commonly referred to as a “spending cap.” This provision limits growth in the state’s budget by preventing increases in state spending that are disproportionate to economic growth in the state. The kicker in this session’s budget was the increased state expenditure needed to pay for reducing local property taxes to $1 per $100 valuation for maintenance and operations, as promised in the legislation passed in the 2006 school finance special session. This increased spending, while not representing any change in state programs, would push the state well over the spending cap and force significant budget cuts in state agency programs and operations. Legislators eventually passed a resolution allowing the budget to include the additional spending needed to reduce property taxes, despite the spending cap.

Though the state’s finances look robust overall, when spending for the property tax cuts and other necessities is factored in the extra revenue available diminishes quickly. On the education front, enhanced funding seems to be on the agenda for enrollment growth and facilities, and an allocation of around $600 million is included in the base budget for funding of the third and largest phase of the incentive program approved last session. However, budget drafts currently contain cuts to other programs such as the Student Success Initiative. TCTA is working to encourage enhanced funding beyond enrollment growth, restoration of key programs, and the diversion of incentive funding to programs such as mentoring, shortage area stipends and other priorities. Budget writers are also focused on potential increases in state funding for the Teacher Retirement System (see “TRS” section below).

Salaries

Early in the session, when the House was considering legislation authorizing the additional spending for property tax reduction, an amendment was proposed that would bring minimum salaries to the national average minimum salary. Somewhat surprisingly, given the lack of attention to salaries to that point in the session, the amendment was tabled on a close vote (75-65).

Though not identified as a priority by the leadership, several salary bills have been filed. Rep. Jim McReynolds (D-Lufkin) has re-filed TCTA-initiated legislation (HB 359) from previous sessions that would add 10 steps to the state minimum salary schedule over the next 10 years. Working closely with TCTA, Rep. Larry Phillips (R-Sherman) filed a similar bill, HB 263, that adds 15 steps over the next 15 years; that bill has had a committee hearing and was left pending.

Rep. Dianne Delisi (R-Temple), a member of the House Public Education Committee, has filed a bill that also would provide larger increases to those with more experience. HB 1371 adds increasing stipends for teachers who have at least met the Rule of 80, ranging from $1,000 for teachers whose age and service credit total between 80 and 84, to $4,000 for teachers whose age and service credit total 95 or more.

Several across-the-board pay raise proposals have been filed by other legislators, including HB 1675 by Rep. Richard Raymond (D-Laredo), which provides a salary increase of $2,000 for employees with less than six years of experience, $3,000 for 6-10 years, $4,000 for 11-15, and $5,000 for 16+ years; and HB 2071 by Rep. Ryan Guillen (D-San Diego) and HB 1025 by Rep. Dwayne Bohac (R-Houston), both providing a $3,000 across-the-board increase.

At TCTA’s request, Rep. Kevin Bailey (D-Houston) has filed HB 1859 to provide a minimum salary schedule for instructional aides of at least 50% of the teacher salary schedule; the advantage to this approach, in addition to setting a baseline for aides’ salaries, is that salaries for aides would rise with teacher salaries.

TRS

As the TRS fund’s financial situation improves along with the economy, legislators are looking at several ways to ensure a benefit increase for retirees, who have not had a raise since 2001. On the House side, the Appropriations Committee is considering an increase to the state’s contribution rate, from the current 6% to 6.7%. This amount is expected to bring the system into a position where a retiree benefit increase could be afforded next year. The Senate may instead consider increasing both state and active contributions to achieve the same result; one proposal would increase both to 6.6%.

There are two approaches on the table for funding the retiree benefit increases. Several bills propose to provide an ad hoc continuing increase for retirees, in amounts ranging from 3% to 5%, while others (including TCTA-initiated HB 468) would provide “13th checks” that represent a larger, but more temporary, benefit increase.

TCTA is seeking to reinstate benefits for active members that were cut in the 2005 session. The TCTA-initiated HB 469 by Phillips would restore the calculation of retirement benefits to be based on the three highest years of salary, rather than the five highest (a benefit reduction that was included in SB 1691 in 2005). SB 475 by Sen. Carlos Uresti (D-San Antonio) combines the three-year calculation with the 13th check into one bill, also filed at TCTA’s request.

Sen. Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock) has filed SB 1846 with several provisions affecting TRS and active members. The bill would allow for an increase in active member contributions to TRS of up to 6.6% (the current rate is 6.4%) to ensure the actuarial soundness of the system. The state’s contribution rate (currently at the constitutional minimum of 6%) could not be lower than active member contributions. The bill would create a new contribution from school districts of between .25% and .75% of payroll. It also includes the salary stipends provided for in Delisi’s HB 1371 (see the “Salaries” section above).

Several other TRS-related bills have been proposed to address more specific issues. TCTA member-initiated bills include HB 1684 to allow proportionate service credit (in Employees Retirement System, Texas County and District Retirement System, Texas Municipal Retirement System, etc.) to count toward TRS-Care eligibility; HB 1685 to grandfather employees retiring prior to Aug. 31, 2005, from the surcharge that employers must pay for rehired retirees; and HB 3239 to allow transfers of credit from the Optional Retirement Program to TRS.

TCTA also initiated legislation to take care of an issue that would affect retired/rehired employees returning to work next school year, in conjunction with the later school start date. Under current law, retirees who returned to work under the six-month exemption are still able to receive annuity checks in June and July, provided that they do not work any days in those months. But revised school calendars are pushing some school years into June, which would mean the loss of a full annuity check for those retirees. SB 1039 provides that as long as the retiree is not working more than one-half of June, he/she can still receive a pension check for that month.

Curriculum/testing

Momentum has been building to move from the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) to end-of-course (EOC) exams, at least at the high school level. There has been considerable media coverage of this interest, which may have created some unrealistic expectations among parents, students and educators with regard to statements made about the TAKS test “going away.”

Discussions have centered around high school level examinations, and decisions have not yet been made regarding how EOC exams, if adopted, would be used for purposes of determining course grades, who graduates, how schools are rated, how teachers are compensated, etc.

Proponents assert that EOCs are preferable to the TAKS because they test the content being learned in closer proximity to the time the coursework was taken. However, the logistics of developing the tests, determining how many additional tests will be required, and aligning the tests with curriculum are extremely complex.

Bills filed to address EOCs include SB 1031 by Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) and its House companion HB 2236 by Rep. Rob Eissler (R-The Woodlands), SB 379 by Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo), HB 2932 by Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Houston)/SB 1403 by Sen. Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville), and HB 2080 by Phillips. As the bill filed by the two education committee chairs, SB 1031/HB 2236 is expected to be the dominant legislation considered; the bill would establish 12 end-of-course exams in English language arts, math, science and social studies. Students would be required to score a cumulative 840 on the tests, or 70 percent on each test, to graduate. The score on the EOC exam would contribute 15% to a student’s overall course grade.

TCTA has initiated legislation to relieve the burden on students and teachers by limiting field testing. HB 2529 by Rep. Diane Patrick (R-Arlington) would restrict field testing to the spring semester after the TAKS is administered, and on the same school campus only once in four school years.

Vouchers/charters

The first education bill filed this session, HB 18 by Rep. Frank Corte (R-San Antonio), proposed a pilot voucher program involving students from low-performing campuses in the state’s six largest districts. Corte’s HB 19 is a separate voucher plan targeting special education students. Shapiro filed SB 1000 providing a voucher program for autistic students. Though the new composition of the Legislature would seem to make passage of a voucher bill less likely, proponents are pushing hard with media campaigns, and public school supporters are working to educate lawmakers about the choices available within the public school system.

School safety

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has made school safety issues a priority, and numerous legislative proposals are under consideration on topics ranging from defibrillators at each campus to fingerprinting and criminal history checks for all current and prospective school employees. TCTA has initiated legislation (HB 920 by Eissler, SB 1067 by Shapiro) to enhance notice provisions to teachers of potentially violent students and provide an automatic disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP) placement for any registered sex offenders attending school.

Other discipline-related proposals include increasing standards for DAEPs, providing enhanced training for school peace officers, and prohibiting districts from referring students to police for activities that are not a criminal offense.

Miscellaneous

There are many other bills of interest that are not as easily categorized, but still of widespread interest:

HB 130 by Rep. Vicki Truitt (R-Southlake) would create a waiver process for the new start date requirements scheduled to begin with the 2007-08 school year.

HB 286 by Rep. Abel Herrero (D-Robstown) requires school districts not currently participating in Social Security to hold a referendum by Dec. 31, 2007, to determine whether a majority of employees are in favor of Social Security participation. If a majority approve participation, the board must take action to begin participation as soon as practicable.

HB 350 by Rep. Hubert Vo (D-Houston) provides that legislators’ pensions would be based on average teacher salaries, rather than on the salary of a district judge.

HB 1607 by Rep. Bill Zedler (R-Arlington, vice-chair of the House Public Education Committee) provides that the Attorney General can take any action necessary, including imposing a civil penalty, against a professional association or organization for educators that disseminates false or misleading information, including information that omits relevant facts in order to elicit a particular opinion.

HB 2849 by Rep. “Doc” Anderson (R-Waco) requires districts to adopt policies that would result in a 10% reduction in paperwork for teachers.

Other TCTA-initiated bills

TCTA has been very successful this session in initiating proposals that would have a positive impact on students and teachers. In addition to those noted in this article, TCTA’s bills include the following:

HB 362 by Eissler/SB 135 by Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) provides that a school district’s employment policy cannot restrict an employee from communicating directly with a school board member on a matter relating to the district’s operations.

HB 439 by Rep. Scott Hochberg (D-Houston)/ SB 1625 by Sen. Kirk Watson (D-Austin) provides various means of support for a regular classroom teacher of a child with a disability.

HB 517 by Rep. David Farabee (D-Wichita Falls) includes certified educational diagnosticians and speech language pathologists in the state minimum salary schedule.

HB 893 by McReynolds provides that the campus decision-making committees at exemplary and recognized schools can determine the use for noninstructional days.

HB 973 by Eissler/SB 816 by Sen. Kip Averitt (R-Waco) ensures that a person who resigns at the end of the school year is entitled to health insurance coverage and funding throughout the remainder of the contract year.

HB 974 by Eissler/SB 370 by Shapiro provides that a school district or district policy may not require an employee to assume liability for an act for which the employee is immune, or require an employee to pay for or replace property that was in the employee’s possession due to an act within the scope of the employee’s position. It also specifies that a school board may not require an employee to pay for electronic textbooks or technological equipment that is damaged, stolen, misplaced or not returned.

HB 1622 by Delisi provides that district grievance policies must allow an employee to report a grievance against a supervisor to a different supervisor.

HB 3527 by Rep. Drew Darby (R-San Angelo) provides that the state-level teachers of the year serve as nonvoting members of the State Board of Education, and allows regional teachers of the year to serve on the board of directors of the regional education service centers.

SB 817 by Averitt allows employees to choose whether to use state personal leave or local leave as preferred; also provides that an employee who has sick leave accumulated under the previous laws prior to 1995 can use the sick leave or the state personal leave in the order preferred, provided that the leave used is appropriate to the purpose of the leave.

SB 895 by Seliger extends 22:1 class size caps to prekindergarten.

We’ll keep you informed

TCTA will continue to keep you informed through our daily Update from the Capitol and our Week in Review updates posted on our website and e-mailed to all members for whom we have a working e-mail address. You may provide or update your e-mail address by clicking on the “stay informed” link on our website at tcta.org or by calling us toll-free at (888) 879-8282.

Web posted: 03/22/07, from The Classroom Teacher, Spring '07