Florida teachers fearful GOP will push bill that kills tenure, says advanced degrees don't count.

madfloridian

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Tue Nov-09-10 12:44 AM
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Florida teachers fearful GOP will push bill that kills tenure, says advanced degrees don't count.

It was a terribly scary bill, one so bad that teachers would not come to Florida to teach...and would not be attracted to the profession in this state at all.

Governor Crist vetoed it, Governor-elect Rick Scott says he will not veto it. And the legislature is totally in Republican hands. They have veto-proof majorities in both houses.

Teachers growing anxious about likely new tenure bill

In the wake of last week's election results, teachers across Florida are growing anxious that nothing can stop another version of Senate Bill 6, the controversial tenure reform measure that passed the Republican-dominated Legislature in the spring but was dramatically vetoed by Gov. Charlie Crist.

..."In the aftermath, "everybody's riding a wave of emotion," said Joe Vitalo, president of the Hernando County teachers union. "Right now, we're on a surfboard and headed right for the seawall. I'm hoping there's a lifeguard."

To date, nobody has filed a new bill that echoes SB 6.

But Patricia Levesque, executive director of Jeb Bush's Foundation for Florida's Future, has been circulating a draft of teacher quality legislation that, like SB 6, includes changes to teacher salary schedules and professional contracts.

Scott's office has indicated he will oppose any tenure for teachers.

Asked for Scott's thoughts on another SB 6, Scott spokesman Brian Burgess pointed to the education plan that's posted on the campaign site. Among other things, it says, "Rick supports eliminating teacher tenure for new teachers."

It really was a rotten bill, and it would have been so damaging to teachers. It would take away any job security, and it would make advanced degrees mean nothing in determining salary.

FL bill forbids teachers from earning salary based on advanced degrees or credentials.

Senate Bill 6 subjects teachers to firing without cause at the end of each school year. Principals will be able to fire teachers at will. If a teacher disagrees with a principal on anything -- anything at all -- that teacher can be terminated, even if her students are successful based on test scores.

Graduate degrees will have no value. Senate Bill 6 forbids teachers from earning salary based on advanced degrees or credentials. The very professionals who are to encourage, mentor and develop students to be college-ready are now told that their education credentials are worth nothing. Is that the message we want to send to our children whom we want to see go on to college?

Crist vetoed the bill, but that won't happen under Scott.

Here is even more of the idiocy in that bill.

Here are some of the more controversial elements:

�School districts are required to base 50% of teacher's pay each year on student gains on standardized tests. But there is no special provision made for teachers with disadvantaged students, which means there is no consideration given to the large number of factors affecting student performance over which a teacher has no control (home environment, for example, which effects everything from reading ability to whether they went to bed on time and had a decent breakfast before test day). The bill also doesn't address the fact that the lowest-performing students also tend to be the most transient -- the makeup of a teacher's classroom can change as much as 80% in the course of a year. How do you decide which kids' scores affect which teacher's paycheck with that kind of turnover?

�School districts will no longer be allowed to consider teaching experience or advanced degrees in determining salary. In fact, they will face financial penalties imposed by the state if they choose to do so. If the goal is to increase teacher quality, why remove incentives for teachers to seek graduate education? And why remove incentives for experienced teachers to remain in the public schools? Critics suggest that these measures punish all teachers, especially the best, rather than just ineffective ones.

It's an unintelligent, punitive bill made up by small minds. Unfortunately it sticks pretty close to the goals of this administration. Would Arne want things carried so far? It would be hard to say.

But he set the climate for this with his attitude toward the profession of teaching.