The 80th regular session of the Texas Legislature limped to a close Monday night. Though the Senate adjourned earlier in the evening, the House waited until midnight to bring an end to the contentious 140-day session. It is difficult to characterize how well public education and school employees fared -- on one hand, TCTA was very successful in getting beneficial bills passed and defeating bad legislation; on the other, some important issues were neglected or inadequately addressed.
Session Wrap-up
To see our notes on the action in the final days of the session, go to the Capitol Updates.
So many key education bills were held until the last minute that we are still in the process of analyzing the changes that will affect you and your students. We have compiled a “quick and dirty” summary of major issues such as salaries, TRS and end-of-course exams. You can find more details on these, as well as prominent bills that didn't pass, in the “Politics and Government” section on the TCTA website.
TCTA Legislative Victories 2007
Unless otherwise noted, these bills have not yet been considered by the governor. Gov. Rick Perry has until June 17th to sign or veto bills; any not signed or vetoed will become law without his signature.
HB 973 by Rep. Rob Eissler: 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 973 was signed by the governor and goes into effect Sept. 1, 2007.
HB 1622 by Rep. Dianne Delisi: Provides that district grievance policies must allow an employee to report a grievance against a supervisor to a different supervisor. HB 1622 has been signed by the governor and goes into effect Sept. 1, 2007.
SB 135 by Sen. Jeff Wentworth: 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. SB 135 was signed into law on April 23, 2007.
SB 370 by Sen. Florence 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. SB 370 has been signed by the governor and goes into effect immediately.
SB 1039 by Sen. Eddie Lucio: Ensures that return-to-work retirees who are required to work days in June (but no later than June 15) because of the later start date that begins next school year will still be able to receive a pension check in June. Also provides that if a rehired retiree is required to attend a staff development activity in June or July, that time is not counted as “work” that would potentially endanger the June or July check.
SB 1067 by Sen. Florence Shapiro: Tightens notification requirements regarding potentially dangerous students, and requires placement in a DAEP or JJAEP of a student who is a registered sex offender. SB 1067 was attached as an amendment to SB 6 and HB 2532, both of which passed.
TRS contribution rates and 13th check for retirees: TCTA-initiated HB 468 was the first bill of the session to propose the 13th check benefit increase for retirees. Ultimately, authorization of the 13th check was included in SB 1846, which has been sent to the governor’s desk.
Limitations on field testing: TCTA’s bill limiting field testing of standardized assessment instruments on a particular campus to no more than once every four years did not pass, but the concept was included in the bill that replaces high school TAKS testing with end-of-course exams. In that bill, SB 1031, field testing is limited to no more than once every other year. SB 1031 has been sent to the governor and is awaiting action.
Confidentiality of teacher certification exam scores: When a Houston TV station obtained and released the certification scores of thousands of area teachers in May, TCTA quickly responded by proposing language to address the problem and getting it inserted in a major piece of legislation. The final version of SB 9, the bill strengthening criminal background checks of school employees, includes provisions protecting the confidentiality of teacher certification exam scores. Language insisted upon by the Senate limits the confidentiality only to five takes of the same exam; scores on subsequent exams will not be confidential. SB 9 has been sent to the governor and is awaiting action.
Exemption from return-to-work surcharge for many retirees: TCTA’s bill to grandfather employees who retired on or before Aug. 31, 2005, from the TRS surcharges that districts must pay for rehired retirees did not receive a hearing, but the provision was included in SB 1846, a major TRS bill, and remained in that bill throughout the process.
Disclosure of health insurance information: The TRS Sunset bill discontinued the health insurance comparability study that TRS has performed for the last several years; the study compares the health plans provided by districts to the state employee health plan to determine whether the district offers comparable coverage as required by law. A TCTA-initiated amendment to the Sunset bill requires that the information that districts send to TRS regarding their health plans must still be posted on the TRS website (though TRS will no longer certify comparability) and districts must make available their health insurance policies on their websites or at each campus.
Major issues of the 2007 legislative session
(All of the following bills passed, unless otherwise noted. Gov. Rick Perry has until June 17th to sign or veto bills; any not signed or vetoed will become law without his signature.)
Employee salaries
The state budget includes additional funding to districts for the purpose of increasing educator salaries. The amount works out to around $450 per teacher, or $425 for employees subject to the state minimum salary schedule (teachers, nurses, counselors and librarians). However, there is no requirement that the increase be an across-the-board raise, no specification regarding which categories of employees are eligible, and no prohibition on districts using the funding to subsidize an already-planned raise.
A bill that would have allowed some districts to avoid even state-funded pass-through salary increases passed the Senate but did not make it through the House.
TCTA-initiated language that would have increased compensation for instructional aides by requiring that districts pay aides at least one-half the amount paid to a classroom teacher with the same years of experience was never scheduled for a hearing. It is possible that the funding provided to districts for increased educator salaries could be used to benefit instructional aides, and TCTA will be seeking more information on this issue.
TRS contribution/13th check
The last-minute compromise on the TRS bill (SB 1846 by Sen. Robert Duncan) led to some confusion on how to interpret the bill. SB 1846 was designed to provide a 13th check benefit increase for retirees, and authorized an increase in the active member TRS contribution rate to 6.58% (from the current 6.4%). It includes an increase in the state contribution rate to 6.58%. Due to confusing language, there are two scenarios:
* TRS could use current figures, which would require an increase in the active member contribution to 6.58% and ensure a 13th check payable to retirees in September 2007.
* TRS could wait for the Aug. 31, 2007, valuation of the fund and use the new figures to determine whether an increase in the active member contribution is necessary. If affordable under the new figures (with or without an increased active member contribution), retirees could expect their 13th check in December or January.
It is now our understanding that TRS intends to wait for the new figures to determine whether the 13th check will be paid and whether active members will contribute more.
SB 1846 also includes a provision that will eliminate the surcharge that districts must pay for return-to-work retirees who retired on or before Aug. 31, 2007.
Student testing/end-of-course (EOC) exams
SB 1031 replaces high school TAKS tests with 12 end-of-course exams in core curriculum courses, beginning with 9th grade students in the 2011-12 school year. Within each broad subject area (language arts, math, science, social studies), students must achieve a cumulative score equaling 70 points on each test in order to graduate. Students must score at least 60 on a specific test to count toward the cumulative score. Scores will count as 15% of the overall grade in the course. The state will pay for students to take a college readiness diagnostic assessment in 8th and 10th grades (both mandatory) and a college entrance exam in 11th grade (optional). While TCTA lobbied to limit field testing to no more than once every four years on a particular campus, the final version of the bill provides that field testing will be limited to once every other year.
HB 2237, a “catch-all” bill that was amended heavily in the final days of the session, also includes testing provisions. It requires that end-of-course exams be developed for college preparatory courses in math, science, social studies and English/language arts; students in danger of not acquiring the necessary cumulative score can take the appropriate college prep course and EOC test to earn additional points.
HB 2237 also requires development of a 7th grade reading assessment that will be administered at the beginning of that grade.
Criminal history checks
SB 9 strengthens the laws requiring criminal background checks of school employees. All school employees will be required to submit fingerprints for a national criminal history background check. Anyone who has been convicted of a felony or an offense involving a child that requires registration as a sex offender may not be employed at a public school. An exemption is provided for offenses occurring more than 30 years ago, if the terms of the court order were satisfied. A teacher’s virtual certificate will be “flagged” if the state receives a report of misconduct that presents a risk to students.
At TCTA’s request, a provision was included in SB 9 to ensure that certification exams are confidential; additional Senate language limits confidentiality to the first five attempts of a given exam.
Fitness initiative
SB 530 will require 30 minutes of daily physical activity for students in grades K-5. Middle schoolers must have at least four semesters of physical activity. A TCTA-supported provision that allows structured recess activities to count toward the requirement was included. Schools must annually assess the physical fitness of students in grades 3-12 and report aggregated data to TEA (students’ and teachers’ names will not be included). The results of the assessment will be confidential, though parents may receive the results upon request.
Dropout prevention
HB 2237 includes several provisions relating to dropout prevention and best practices in secondary schools, including:
* Teacher reading academies for reading, math, science and social studies teachers in grades 6-8
* Teacher preparatory academies in math, science and technology
* Creation of a high school completion and success initiative council
* Grant programs for middle and high school math teacher training, professional development, local collaborative dropout reduction programs, summer bridge programs, technology-based supplemental instruction for rural schools and more.
Religion in schools
Several bills passed that relate to religious issues in the public schools. HB 1287 adds religious literature (specifically including the Old and New Testaments) to the enrichment curriculum and provides guidelines for instruction in those elective courses. HB 3678 requires districts to allow religious expression in the same manner that secular or other viewpoints would be allowed, including religious expression in class assignments. HB 1034 adds the phrase “one state under God” to the pledge to the Texas flag.
We saw the strength that teachers hold evidenced on several occasions this session. Notably, a major bill favored by state leaders (SB 1643, which would have tied teacher appraisals to student test scores) was not able to get through the Senate, due to several senators who stood firm in supporting the teacher position and were backed up by phone calls and e-mails from educators in their districts. Other bills, including voucher proposals, were defeated due to teacher opposition.
House members went out of their way to support teachers at times, adding the teacher salary provision to the state budget on the House floor. The vote was strongly pro-teacher: 90-56 in favor of the amendment, despite opposition from House leadership. The House also held firm until the final days in insisting on fully funding TRS rather than raising active member contributions - a pro-educator stance we would not have expected last session.
Remember to check the TCTA Web site often in the coming weeks. We will update the site regularly with new details on the bills noted above, alert you to other legislation that passed or failed, and inform you of any education-related vetoes that may occur.