Dear Friends:
I
thought the below weekly wrap would be of interest to you.
Sincerely,
Donna Rowland
The Tennessee General Assembly
House of Representatives
CAPITOL HILL REVIEW
A weekly
wrap-up of legislative news
January 11th
– January 15th, 2010
Contact: Kara Watkins, 615-741-1975 /
kara.watkins@capitol.tn.gov
General Assembly overwhelmingly passes
“First to the Top” legislation late Friday
The General Assembly passed the Governor’s “First
to the Top” legislation late Friday night, in time for the state
to meet the deadline to apply for the federal grant funding.
Passing 84-9, the legislation was only slightly amended from
what the Governor originally proposed. The main components of
the bill include utilizing Tennessee Value-Added Assessment
System (TVAAS) data in teacher evaluations, creating a committee
to oversee implementation of reforms and develop certain
standards, and implementing an Alternative School District in
which failing schools will be placed.
Governor addresses legislature
Governor Bredesen opened the Extraordinary
Session on education with an address to the General Assembly on
Tuesday evening, urging swift passage of the K-12 and higher
education proposals presented to the legislature. He stressed
the need for a bold plan so that Tennessee could fairly compete
for the federal government’s Race to the Top program.
Race to the Top, a portion of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act, provides $4.35 billion in
competitive grants designed to encourage and reward states that
are moving forward with bold initiatives in four education
reform areas:
-
Adopting standards and assessments that
prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace
and to compete in the global economy.
-
Building data systems that measure
student growth and success, and inform teachers and
principles about how they can improve instruction.
-
Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and
retaining effective teachers and principles, especially
where they are needed most.
-
Turning around the lowest-achieving
schools.
Tennessee already has one of the most
comprehensive data compiling systems in the country, but does
not use the data to determine teachers’ success. The key
component of the Governor’s plan is to use the information to
improve the quality of education and to ensure that student
performance is improving.
The second part of the plan to overhaul education
would improve higher education institutions. The Governor
emphasized the need for increasing the college completion rates,
retooling the higher education funding process, and encouraging
more students to enroll in community colleges and technology
centers.
The Governor proposed making higher education
institutions operate as “a much more tightly organized system,”
that made it easier for students to apply, dual enroll, and
transfer credit.
He concluded by calling on the legislature to
make Tennessee “First to the Top” in education reform by putting
in place common sense strategies and taking bold steps in
reforming education laws.
Teacher Evaluations
Originally the most controversial part of the
bill, proponents hope the utilization of TVAAS data will improve
student performance year over year as principles, directors of
schools, and boards of education across the state will have a
better snapshot of student performance and teacher
effectiveness. TVAAS data can now be used for up to 35 percent
of a teacher’s evaluation, with another 15 percent of the
criteria to be determined in part by an independent committee.
This part of the bill also requires that the teacher and
principal mutually agree with the person(s) performing the
evaluation and on the evaluation measures being used. The bill
also calls for teacher evaluations to be done once a year, and
gives teacher training programs access to TVAAS data on their
graduates to help identify strengths and weaknesses of training
programs.
Teacher Evaluation Advisory Committee (TEAC)
The legislation also creates the Teacher
Evaluation Advisory Committee, which will be comprised of 15
members. The Commissioner of Education will sit on the committee
and serve as its chair, and the Executive Director of the State
Board of Education shall also serve on the committee.
Other members are as follows:
-
One member of the House Education
Committee, appointed by the Speaker of the House;
-
One member of the Senate Education
Committee, appointed by the Speaker of the Senate;
-
Two members shall be K-12 public school
teachers, appointed by the House and Senate Speakers;
-
Three public school teachers, two public
school principals, one director of a school district,
and three members representing other stake-holder
interests, all appointed by the Governor.
TEAC must be a reflection of the racial and
geographic diversity of the state, and at least one of the
appointees must be a parent of a currently enrolled public
school student. Fifteen percent of the teacher evaluation
criteria will be determined by the committee, and TEAC is also
charged with streamlining the evaluation process, making it
easier for schools to submit data.
Many believe that unlocking the TVAAS data will
allow principals and school districts to have a true
understanding of student performance, and assist teachers in
improving their skills.
Achievement School District
The bill creates an Achievement School District (ASD)
that will be managed by the state. Schools who are deemed
“failing” will be moved into the Achievement School District, in
an effort to help under-performing schools get back on track.
The Commissioner of Education has the authority to move any
public school into the newly created Achievement School District
if the school is in the fifth year of improvement status, or at
any time if a Title I school meets the federal definition of
“persistently lowest achieving schools.” The school would remain
in the special district until it begins to achieve adequate
yearly progress for three consecutive years. At that time, the
Commissioner of Education would be required to create and
implement a transition plan to return the school to its local
school district.
Lawmakers believe the Achievement School District
will aide those students who are forced to attend consistently
failing schools. The commissioner can contract with outside
entities to manage day-to-day operations of any or all schools
within the district. The ASD will focus on student performance,
and increase accountability of teachers and students.
Republicans have, for many years, advocated these
types of education reforms on the state level, and were glad to
see a step forward being made for our children and our schools.
STEM
In addition to the K-12 reform legislation, the
state plans to enhance its Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Math (STEM) program, which will be included in the Race to the
Top application. The state is partnering with Battelle, which
manages the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, to provide an
extensive network of STEM programs across the state. This
includes building new science labs, adding new technology, and
creating new curricula to inspire and create new interest in
science and math. Tennessee students must be proficient in
these subject areas to compete in a changing global economy, and
having graduates trained science and math is an important factor
in helping recruit more business to locate in Tennessee.
Tennessee has compelling criteria to place it at
the top of the list for Race to the Top funds. Finalists in
the competition will be invited to Washington to present their
plans to the U.S. Department of Education in March. The winners
will be announced in April. If successful, Tennessee can expect
to begin receiving funds in September 2010 which will continue
in equal increments over four years.
Lawmakers discuss worker’s compensation law delay
The General Assembly approved legislation calling
for the immediate suspension of a new law to require sole
proprietors and partners engaged in the construction industry to
carry workers’ compensation coverage on themselves due to
unintended effects of the act. The law will be suspended until
March 28, 2010. In the meantime, the legislature will discuss
alternative ways to address gaps in coverage for workers in
construction companies of all without harming small business
owners.
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