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By Otto Fajen
MNEA Legislative Director

SENATE MAY TAKE UP ABCTE MANDATE
Senate Committee Substitute for House Committee Substitute for House Bill 620 (Scott Muschany) is likely to come up for debate soon on the Senate floor and certainly before the session is over. Similar language was incorporated into HCS for SCS for Senate Bill 64 (Jack Goodman) and passed by the House. The Senate is also preparing to take up SCS for HCS for H.B. 469 (Maynard Wallace) relating to school safety and many amendments, perhaps including American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, are expected to be offered to H.B. 469.

The bill requires the State Board of Education to create another alternative teacher certification based on certification by the ABCTE. Missouri NEA strongly opposes the ABCTE mandate as harmful to high standards for teachers and ultimately harmful to ensuring great public schools for every child.

The SCS creates a four-year initial ABCTE professional certificate that actually leads directly to a permanent, career certificate. In contrast, the existing alternative certificate is temporary, renewable for up to three years and leads to the initial professional certificate.

The proposal also overrides the constitutional authority of the State Board of Education to supervise instruction in our public schools and ensure standards for teacher quality. The bill names ABCTE, a private entity, as a state-qualified certifying test, without state board approval now or oversight in the future. Missouri Advisory Council for the Certification of Educators, the state board’s certification study committee, has looked carefully at ABCTE and decided it was not right for Missouri.

The S.B. 64 version of the bill allows ABCTE certificates in all certification areas, including those prohibited for the current alternative certification due to the obvious need for extensive training in working with students. Those excluded areas are elementary education, early childhood education, early childhood special education, blind and visually impaired and deaf and hearing impaired.

The ABCTE certificates will be granted with no requirement to ever pass the Praxis II. The Praxis II is a nationally recognized test that has passed all national validity tests and is used by 35 states as the main test of teaching competency. The ABCTE test is used only as an alternative in five states.

The ABCTE certificates will be granted with no requirement to take any college course work in any teaching competencies. These competencies include critical teaching skills, such as special education, behavioral management, measurement and evaluation, teaching methods and strategies, methods of teaching reading, developmental psychology and beginning teacher assistance. Current alternatively certified teachers must take nine college hours per year in those core teaching areas to renew their temporary certificate.

SENATE PASSES HOUSE PENSION TAX CUT BILL
The Senate passed Senate Substitute for Senate Committee Substitute for House Committee Substitute for House Bills 444 et al. on May 2. Sponsor Jason Crowell offered a S.S. version which offers the same six-year phase in elimination of state income tax on Social Security and other public pensions, up to the same limits established under federal regulation for Social Security, but only for taxpayers over 62 years of age. The Senate returned in the evening to take up H.B. 444. Later, a deal was reached to allow the bill to pass, but to cap the pension income tax exemption at an income level of $85,000 for single taxpayers and $100,000 for combined returns.

The SCS version of the bill phased in a state income tax exemption for social security benefits only over the course of six years. This would have resulted in a loss of nearly $25 million per year in state general revenues, with a final impact of over $125 million per year once fully phased in. Apparently, the Senators did not have a detailed estimate of the actual cost of the S.S. version on state revenues. However, the S.S. version is likely to have a significantly greater long term cost to state revenues, perhaps in excess of $150 million, and, thus, a larger reduction in state services over the long term due to the expanded exemptions in the bill.

Missouri NEA believes taxes should be fair, adequate and sustainable. The Social Security tax cut bills violate each of these three principles. Accordingly, Missouri NEA strongly opposes S.S. for SCS for HCS for H.B. 444. Since Social Security income is already exempted from taxation for many low-income people under federal rules, low-income seniors who rely heavily on Social Security payments will not pay lower taxes under these bills. Most of the total reduction in tax payments will go to wealthier seniors.

Overall, this is a regressive change and undermines tax fairness. Worse, the permanent tax cut will significantly reduce state revenues and force more cuts in vital services as the tax cut is phased in. The bill has been referred to the Senate Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee and was not heard May 3. The bill will likely be heard on May 7, assuming a fiscal note is complete. Once the bill passes the committee and is finally passed by the Senate, it will go back to the House.

NEW INCLEMENT WEATHER MAKE UP DAY BILL TRULY AGREED TO
A new version of language to provide forgiveness for days missed due to inclement weather has passed the legislature and is on its way to the governor’s desk. The Conference Committee Report on Senate Bill 376 (John Griesheimer) was adopted by both chambers on May 1 and is now Truly Agreed To, meaning that the same version has passed both chambers. The bill has been presented to the governor and awaits his signature.

This revised language offers blanket, statewide forgiveness from make up of any days missed during the period from Jan. 11 to Jan. 22, 2007. The bill also waives the two-thirds make up requirement for the school calendar for next school year. This revised language for S.B. 376 appears to be the language destined to be enacted and signed into law by the governor.

The broader question remains as to whether the legislature will adopt more comprehensive long term requirements regarding school calendars and make up days, such as in House Committee Substitute for Senate Committee Substitute for S.B. 64 (Jack Goodman). S.B. 64 has been passed by the House and is now in conference, where the more comprehensive school calendar provisions may be stripped out in order to ensure passage of the original school start date provision of the bill.

HOUSE PASSES PSRS/PEERS CHANGES IN OMNIBUS RETIREMENT BILL
The House passed House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 406 on May 1. The bill relates to the Missouri State Employees Retirement System and includes all the school retirement provisions voted out in the HCS for S.B. 244 (Rob Mayer). Numerous floor amendments were offered and most were adopted, but none of the floor amendments pertain to school retirement systems. The bill will now likely go to conference to reconcile the many provisions added by the House to the original Senate bills combined in this omnibus bill.

The omnibus bill is an attempt to keep the 25 and Out and 31+ years benefit factors moving through the process. The HCS for S.B. 406 includes a five-year extension for two key provisions of Public School Retirement System law: the 25-and-Out option and the enhanced 2.55 percent benefit factor for retirees with 31 years of service or more. Both provisions will expire on June 30, 2008 if not re-enacted prior to that date.

Missouri NEA strongly supports both of these provisions in the omnibus bill. A logical system for teacher retirement must take several factors into account. Teachers and other education employees who have 25 or more years in the profession should continue to have the option of retiring with a fair return for their years of service. At the same time, educators who choose to give more years of service, from 30 to 35 years, should be rewarded with higher levels of retirement benefits.

The HCS for S.B. 406 also includes an additional benefit for already retired members over age 75 by July 1, 2008, providing an additional $5/ month per year of service for PSRS retirees and $3/ month per year of service for Public Education Employee Retirement System retirees. Both benefits will extend for a five-year period. The HCS also includes an addition to limit increases in final average salary used for calculating PSRS retirement benefits to no more than 10 percent, unless a member changes to a longer contract or reaches a higher level of educational attainment. These latter provisions are likely to be stripped out in conference.

SENATE MAY DEBATE “BACK DOOR” VOUCHER ATTEMPT
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Senate Committee Substitute for House Joint Resolution 1 (Jane Cunningham) “do pass” on April 2 by a party-line vote. The Senate is expected to debate the HJR before the end of session. The Joint Resolution, if passed by both chambers and approved by statewide vote, would prohibit a state court from instructing or ordering the state legislature or any local government to levy or increase taxes. The amendment states that “the appropriation of state revenues is the exclusive province of the elected members of the general assembly.” The HJR is an obvious attempt to avoid accountability for the failure to meet the constitutional demand to adequately and equitably appropriate funds for public education. The resolution is also an attempt to allow private school vouchers by indirectly repealing constitutional prohibitions on spending public funds on private schools. Missouri NEA strongly opposes HJR 1.

SENATE AMENDMENTS PILED ONTO SPECIAL EDUCATION BILLS
House Bill 265 and H.B. 267 (Jane Cunningham) are two minor bills requested by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to bring state special education law into compliance with federal requirements. The bills were knocked off the consent calendar in the Senate and thus subject to amendment. Both bills were taken up on May 1 and a sort of feeding frenzy of amending followed.

The same set of four provisions were amended onto both bills. Language offered by Sen. Victor Callahan would allow a school boundary change to be voted on at the next election without waiting for a general municipal election. The language also provides that, if the districts don’t agree and the matter is appealed to the State Board of Education, the state board shall approve the boundary change if the sending district is unaccredited and the receiving district is accredited. Sen. Tim Green’s amendment will allow the state auditor to audit any school district without having to receive a request from the district. Sen. Michael Gibbons’ amendment clarifies that a district’s special education pupil count shall include nonpublic school students being provided special education services by the district under the requirements of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Sen. Jolie Justus offered the Senate Committee Substitute version of H.B. 827 regarding residential care facilities as Senate Amendment 5 for H.B. 265, and H.B. 265 was laid over with the amendment pending. Sen. Maida Coleman added her S.A. 4 for H.B. 267 to require the State Board of Education to report on the factors considered in not declaring a low scoring district as “unaccredited.” Sen. Jeff Smith offered a provision from his S.B. 690 to require DESE to create a content-based assessment to be periodically required for current teachers. H.B. 267 was laid over with the amendment pending.

SENATE COMMITTEE EXPECTED TO VOTE ON “INTELLECTUAL DIVERSITY” MANDATE NEXT WEEK
The Senate Education Committee did not schedule an executive session to consider House Bill213 (Jane Cunningham) this week, as committee members continued to discuss two separate Senate Committee Substitute versions of the bill. The committee is expected to meet early next week to consider a revised SCS version of the bill.

The bill defines “intellectual diversity” for reporting purposes at public higher education institutions. This bill adds a dozen state-level mandates regarding bureaucratic requirements for addressing “intellectual diversity.” Sens. Scott Rupp and Norma Champion each distributed proposed SCS versions of the bill, but the committee took no action to vote on the bill.

Missouri NEA strongly opposes this additional layer of bureaucracy and unneeded intrusion on local control of our public higher education institutions. The Association also opposes this rigid mandate to promote “intellectual diversity” and undermine the cardinal value of academe: the pursuit of truth. This proposal is akin to state mandates for “intelligent design” in science instruction, where the proposals mandate presentation of “diverse” views on all subjects, even those where the pursuit of truth has led to the practical certainty of answers to particular academic questions.

These mandates do not serve an academic purpose; rather, they serve a political agenda to promote controversy at all costs and the politicization of educational programs. A mandate to promote “intellectual diversity” undermines the effort to hire the most qualified applicants for faculty positions, since it creates the expectation that hiring committees will pry into the personal lives and ideological viewpoints of applicants and give those factors weight in the hiring process. This undermines an institution’s pursuit of excellence and, instead, promotes controversy and politics in the hiring process.

HOUSE COMMITTEE PASSES MOHELA BILL
The House Higher Education Committee met on May 1 to hear Senate Substitute# 6 for Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 389 (Gary Nodler). After the hearing, the bill was voted “do pass.” S.B. 389 contains many provisions relating to higher education, including the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority asset sale. The bill was perfected by the Senate two weeks ago after the filibuster on the bill was broken by the rare tactical move known as moving the “previous question.” When the filibuster was ended by force, sponsor Gary Nodler offered a new substitute that removed $46 million in funding for projects at institutions in the districts of the senators who continued the filibuster: Chuck Graham and Jolie Justus.

The bill contains many provisions relating to higher education, but the most notable and controversial portion addresses the sale of loan assets of MOHELA and the use of such proceeds for capital projects at various public colleges and universities. The bill also contains language that caps college tuition increases to the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index unless a waiver is obtained from the Coordinating Board for Higher Education. Missouri NEA continues to have strong concerns regarding the impact of the tuition caps on the quality of programs and the effect of the MOHELA asset sale on the ability of that entity to fulfill its core mission of providing financial assistance to Missouri students.

SENATE COMMITTEE PASSES RESIDENTIAL CARE EDUCATION BILL
The Senate Seniors, Families and Public Health Committee voted out a revised Senate Committee Substitute version of House Bill 827 (Scott Muschany) on May 1. H.B. 827 requires the Department of Social Services to provide for the educational needs of children placed in licensed residential care facilities. The “family support team” established for each such child shall meet with school staff to make the determination as to the educational need of the child. Services may be provided by certified teachers employed by the facility with reimbursement from the school district or the school district in which the facility is located may provide services if the child can be served in a regular public school setting. The bill provides that the district may only determine the child to be “homebound” for the purpose of providing instruction if the family support team agrees to that designation.

Missouri NEA supports the assumption expressed in the bill that every child in public school deserves a full educational school day. The Association believes that representatives of residential care facilities and school staff should collaborate in decision-making regarding educational services and that school districts and residential facilities must be fully compensated for all services provided to such students. Adequate state and district oversight is essential to ensure that all charges for educational services provided by residential care facilities are justified and reasonable.

MNEA remains concerned about whether staff of a residential care facility or school district staff will have control in the determination of the education services to be provided for such students. The bill specifies that the “family support team” and school district staff are expected to work together to create the educational plan for each such student.

BUDGET BILLS IN CONFERENCE
The House and Senate conferees met on the budget bills, House Bills 1 to 13 (Allen Icet), on May 2 and made significant progress in resolving the remaining conference items on the bills on an initial basis. As of this writing, the budget conference was not complete, but conferees do not want to meet on Friday, May 4, so the conferees will continue to work in an attempt to complete all remaining issues. Just over one week remains before the constitutional deadline of May 11 for passage of this year’s budget.

Funding for K-12 education, higher education and other services such as health care is already inadequate to meet the real needs of Missourians. Missouri NEA continues to advocate for comprehensive tax reform that will produce adequate revenues for public education and other vital services and allow adoption of a budget that truly meets the needs of Missouri’s citizens.

SCHOOL START DATE (AND ABCTE) BILL
House Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 64 (Jack Goodman) has been sent to conference. The original S.B. 64 requires a hearing before early school start dates may be scheduled. The HCS includes several other bills, including House Bill 620 (Scott Muschany), the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence mandate bill. Missouri NEA strongly opposes the HCS because of the ABCTE mandate language in the bill. Senate conferees are Sens. Goodman, Charles Shields, Robert Mayer, Jeff Smith and Yvonne Wilson. House conferees are Maynard Wallace, Jane Cunningham, Scott Muschany, Joe Aull and Sara Lampe.

Several amendments were adopted on April 25:

1. H.A. 3 (Esther Haywood) allows districts to set the sixth birthday age admission date for first grade as late as October 31.
2. HSA 1 for H.A. 4 (Ed Robb) makes a number of technical changes in the provisions relating to educational services for children placed by the state in residential care facilities.
3. H.A. 1 for HSA 1 for H.A. 4 (Brian Baker) allows students in provisional and unaccredited districts to enroll in the Missouri Virtual School and requires their district of residence to pay tuition.
4. HSA 1 for H.A. 5 (Rebecca McClanahan) broadens the ABCTE language to include all “non-traditional” certifications that are approved by the State Board of Education.

The original bill requires a hearing before a school board may set an opening date more than 10 days prior to Labor Day and provides an exemption to the make up days requirement based on inclement weather by increasing the length of the school day. The HCS adds forgiveness for days lost due to inclement weather closing that exempts days eight through 12 from make up requirement for the 2006-07 school year. For all years, the HCS also requires districts to build six make up days into the school calendar and then make up the first six days lost plus half of the days lost over six days.

The HCS for SCS for S.B. 64 also adds a version of H.B. 827 (Scott Muschany) relating to educational services for children placed by the state in residential care facilities and a revised version of H.B. 620 (Scott Muschany) to establish state mentoring standards and to mandate an alternative certification using the ABCTE test. Missouri NEA strongly opposes this new, weaker, alternative certification mandate.

SEX EDUCATION MANDATE PASSES SENATE COMMITTEE
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard House Bill 1055 (Therese Sander) on April 30. The bill includes various provisions relating to abortion services and alternatives to abortions and includes the provisions of Senate Bill 432 (Gary Nodler) to establish additional mandates on human sexuality instruction in public schools. Missouri NEA continues to oppose the additional mandates and restrictions on human sexuality instruction contained in the bill as unneeded restrictions on local control of curriculum and instruction. After the hearing, the bill was voted “do pass.”

FINDING INFORMATION ABOUT BILLS
To find out more about legislation this session, go to:
http://www.mnea.org/capitol/legissues.htm

This page contains numerous links, including the NEA Legislative Action Center, which addresses key education issues at the federal level, and the Missouri NEA Legislative Action Center, which will address key education issues at the state level. This page also will contain links to legislative updates, the MNEA Legislative Platform, legislative priorities and other policy-related links.

To find information about a specific bill currently pending before the Missouri General Assembly, go to: http://www.house.mo.gov/jointsearch/.

Type the bill number (example: HB1000) or sponsor name in the “search” box to find a link to the bill. This link will take you to a “home page” for the bill that provides bill text, bill summaries, fiscal notes and information on legislative action on the bill.

CAPITOL ACTION DAYS
MNEA’s Capitol Action Days continued this week. MNEA members from Governance District 9, including Special School District NEA and Lindbergh NEA, made the trip to the Capitol on May 2. Capitol Action Days are a great chance to meet with legislators and discuss Missouri NEA’s priority issues and how to support great public schools for every child.

Capitol Action Days will be on Tuesdays and Wednesdays continuing through the first week of May. Your MNEA calendar includes the dates that members of the MNEA Board of Directors selected for your governance district.

As your Capitol Action Day approaches, please contact Otto Fajen (otto.fajen@mnea.org) by the preceding evening to confirm your plan to attend. If your travel plans change and you are not able to attend on your designated day, please call and speak to Judy Glover at 1-800-392-0236 by no later than 9:00 a.m. of the designated day to let us know of the change. Feel free to contact Otto Fajen by e-mail to arrange to attend a different Capitol Action Day.

Each Capitol Action Day will start with a briefing at 10:00 a.m. to provide you with the most up-to-date information. Participants should meet MNEA Government Relations staff at the Capitol on the second floor near the rotunda in the Senate side alcove under the grand staircase.

Legislative Update 2007
Missouri National Education Association
1810 East Elm Street
Jefferson City, MO 65101-4174
(573) 634-3202 or (800) 392-0236

Greg Jung, President
Ben Simmons, Executive Director
DeeAnn Aull, Director of Programs and Public Relations
Leila Medley, Political Director
Otto Fajen, Legislative Director
Judy Glover, Secretary