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COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING BILLS
House Bill 2030 (Jenee’ Lowe) and Senate Bill
1115 (Joan Bray) would establish a good collective bargaining
law for the roughly 400,000 public sector employees
working in Missouri. Missouri's public sector employees
have reclaimed their constitutional bargaining rights
with a recent Missouri Supreme Court ruling on May 29,
2007. Missouri NEA strongly supports both bills.
Public education
is an important portion of public sector employment.
Collective bargaining in schools is about working together
to provide great public schools for every student.
Important
decisions affecting our schools are best made at the
local level. Nothing is more “local” than
a collective bargaining process that gives a voice to
the educators who work closely with students.
Collective
bargaining is a fair process that promotes shared decision
making and results in agreements that are binding for
both educators and school boards. The Supreme Court’s
decision allows public school employees the same rights
as everybody else. Collective bargaining creates a clear,
fair process for educators to engage in decision making
with employers and reach agreements that are legally
binding.
Local educators
are the experts on what students need and how to attract
and retain highly qualified teachers. Collective bargaining
directly involves employees who work with children everyday
in mutual problem solving with school district administrators.
MNEA will
need a strong effort from members throughout the session
to educate Missouri legislators that collective bargaining
in schools is about working together to provide great
public schools for every student.
SPECIAL
EDUCATION VOUCHERS
The Senate Pensions and General Laws Committee voted
out a Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bills 993
and 770 on Feb. 20. The SCS is actually just the language
from S.B. 993 (Jason Crowell), but it also bears the
number of S.B. 770 (Scott Rupp). The SCS creates a tax
credit voucher for special education students to attend
private or religious schools. A similar bill, House
Bill 1886 (Dwight Scharnhorst) was voted out of the
House Special Committee on Student Achievement on Feb.
13. The bills would create an 80 percent tax credit
for donations to private scholarship funds providing
payments for disabled students to attend private or
religious schools or out-of-district public schools.
The
bills allow an unlimited total amount in tax credits
for “contributions” to scholarship funds.
The use of special education students to further the
school privatization agenda is an emerging trend across
the nation. As with previous school privatization efforts
in previous years, this bill does nothing to fulfill
the state’s primary duty: to establish and maintain
quality public schools. In particular, the bills will
do nothing to build the capacity of public schools across
the state to offer high quality programs to disabled
students. The credits would reduce state revenues by
nearly a like amount and force the state to forego real
opportunities to help all public school students or
to fund specific programs to help disabled students
attending public schools. Missouri NEA strongly opposes
any measure to transfer state funds to private, religious
or home schools that are not accountable to the standards
placed on public schools.
ABCTE
MANDATE
The Senate gave first round approval (Perfection Vote)
to Senate Bill 1066 (Luann Ridgeway) on Feb. 21. The
quick action was not unexpected, since the bill’s
proponents wanted the bill taken up this week while
the most vocal Senate opponent of the proposal during
the last session, Sen. Joan Bray, was absent. S.B. 1066
requires the State Board of Education to create another
alternative teacher certification based on certification
by the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence.
A companion bill, H.B. 1911 (Scott Muschany), was voted
“do pass” by the House Special Committee
on Student Achievement on Feb. 13.
Several amendments
were offered before the bill was perfected. Senate Amendment
1 (Luann Ridgeway) adds a sunset clause to terminate
the ABCTE certification process in 2014 unless reapproved
by the legislature. S.A. 1 also clarifies that the ABCTE
process cannot be used for early childhood certification.
The bill already excludes elementary education and special
education. S.A. 1 was adopted. S.A. 3 (Tim Green) allows
the state auditor to audit school districts. The amendment
was adopted. S.A. 4 (Maida Coleman) provides that the
commissioner of education must get the approval of the
Joint Committee on Education for the expenditures of
the $18 million allocated annually to address statewide
areas of critical need.
Missouri
NEA remains concerned that the bill would grant a full
professional certificate to an ABCTE teacher, rather
than an alternative certificate which allows a teacher
to be employed on a renewable basis in an employing
district upon maintaining successful teaching evaluations
and leading to a professional certificate after passing
the Praxis test and demonstrating teaching competencies.
The state board should retain authority to supervise
and revise any teaching certification. Missouri NEA
continues to recommend that all alternatively certified
teachers should have to pass the Praxis II exam and
complete a course of study that covers all key teaching
competencies before being given a full professional
teaching certificate.
Missouri
NEA also supports establishing state teaching standards
so that state policy is clear on what teachers are supposed
to know and be able to do, how those standards will
be assessed and how mentoring, beginning teacher assistance
programs and other professional development will help
teachers meet those teaching standards.
Action
needed: Please call, write or e-mail to urge your state
senator to oppose S.B. 1066, the ABCTE mandate bill.
The following link will connect you to the MNEA Legislative
Action Center Action Alert on S.B. 1066. The action
alert contains a brief summary and an editable message
box to help you send an e-mail to your state senator
on the issue. http://capwiz.com/nea/mo/issues/alert/?alertid=10968031&type=ST
EDUCATION
OF FOSTER CHILDREN
The Senate Seniors, Families and Public Health Committee
heard Senate Bill 1000 (Jolie Justus) on Feb. 19. The
bill establishes the “Foster Care Education Bill
of Rights Act.” Each school district shall select
a staff person as the educational liaison for foster
care children. The liaison shall ensure and facilitate
the proper educational placement, enrollment in school
and checkout from school of foster children. Missouri
NEA supports the approach of S.B. 1000 in improving
continuity of placement and school district involvement
in the planning of educational service for foster care
students.
The bill
provides that a child placing agency shall promote educational
stability for foster care children by considering the
child’s school attendance area when making placement
decisions. The foster care child shall have the right
to remain enrolled in and attend his or her school of
origin pending resolution of school placement disputes.
In addition,
each school district shall accept for credit full or
partial coursework satisfactorily completed by a foster
care pupil while attending a public school, nonpublic
or nonsectarian school. A school district may permit
access of school records to any child placing agency
for educational case management needs and to assist
with the school transfer or placement of a pupil.
S.B.
1000 also contains language relating to education decision
making for foster children placed in private residential
care facilities by the Department of Social Services.
The bill creates a mediation process when the child’s
family support team does not agree with the local school
district's determination of the amount of educational
service to be provided to the student. The bill requires
the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
to create an ombudsman to help the district and the
family support team work together to meet the educational
needs of the child. Missouri NEA supports the assumption
expressed in the bill that every child in public school
deserves a full educational school day, and will continue
to work with the sponsor to ensure a fair process for
decisions regarding the education of children in such
residential care facilities and fair compensation to
school districts for services provided to such students.
“INTELLECTUAL
DIVERSITY” MANDATE
The House Higher Education Committee heard House Bill
1315 (Jane Cunningham) earlier in the session and may
vote the bill out at a subsequent committee meeting.
H.B. 1315 establishes the “Emily Brooker Intellectual
Diversity Act,” which 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.” Missouri NEA opposes this additional
layer of bureaucracy and unneeded intrusion on local
control of our public higher education institutions.
Also, MNEA is concerned that a rigid mandate to promote
“intellectual diversity” could undermine
the cardinal value of academia: the pursuit of truth.
This mandate does not serve an academic purpose; rather,
it serves a political agenda to promote controversy
at all costs and the politicization of educational programs.
Action needed:
Please call, write or e-mail to urge your state representative
to oppose H.B. 1315, the “intellectual diversity”
mandate. The following link will connect you to the
MNEA Legislative Action Center Action Alert on H.B.
1315. The action alert contains a brief summary and
an editable message box to help you send an e-mail to
your state representative on the issue.
http://capwiz.com/nea/mo/issues/alert/?alertid=10967976&type=ST
SPECIAL
COMMITTEE ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
The House Committee on Student Achievement heard the
following House Bills on Feb. 20:
1. H.B. 1706
(Brian Baker) allows retirees of the Public School Retirement
System of Missouri to teach full time or part time for
up to two years without losing their retirement benefits.
The bill clarifies that the existing provision allows
for less than full-time employment in shortage situations.
Missouri NEA supports the bill.
2. H.B. 1707
(Brian Baker) allows school districts to enter into
design-build contracts for construction projects costing
more than $15,000.
3. H.B. 1938
(Brian Baker) requires the State Board of Education
to establish a rule to mandate parental participation
in three teacher conferences each year regarding their
child’s performance. The bill provides that student
test scores and attendance data will not be included
in accreditation calculations for the district if the
parent does not participate in the meetings. This new
bill offers an intriguing effort to broaden the notion
of school accountability beyond teachers and schools
to also include parents. This new concept will require
careful consideration of the consequences for districts,
parents, students and teachers. MNEA appreciates Rep.
Baker's initiative in making such a proposal and will
work with the sponsor to explore the advantages and
disadvantages presented by the bill to see if it can
be crafted into a proposal that helps improve schools
and educational opportunities for students.
GPO/WEP
The House Special Committee on Tax Reform heard House
Concurrent Resolution 11 (Jerry Nolte) and HCR 16 (Walt
Bivins) on Feb. 19. Both resolutions urge the United
States Congress to immediately repeal the Government
Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision of
the Social Security Act. Missouri NEA supports this
resolution. A similar resolution, requested and supported
by MNEA, was adopted in 2005. This new HCR would renew
the call on Congress to repeal the GPO and WEP provisions
on behalf of this new General Assembly. Missouri NEA
works with NEA to lead the way toward repeal of these
provisions at the federal level. You can also help support
the MNEA and NEA efforts to repeal GPO and WEP by linking
to the NEA Legislative Action Center page on Social
Security issues to contact your federal legislators:
http://www.nea.org/lac/socsec/index.html.
PSRS
SALARY INCREASE CAP
The Senate gave final approval (Third Reading vote)
to Senate Bill 994 (Jason Crowell) on Feb. 18. The bill
will raise the cap on annual increases in final average
salary used for calculating Public School Retirement
System benefits from 10 percent to 20 percent. This
bill would undo the lower cap enacted in 2007. MNEA
opposed the lower cap that was enacted last session
and strongly supports Sen. Crowell's legislation to
reverse that unnecessary cap on PSRS pensions.
SENATE
EDUCATION COMMITTEE
The Senate Education Committee heard the following Senate
Bills on Feb. 20:
1. S.B. 967
(Rob Mayer) allows the Missouri Higher Education Loan
Authority to originate federally guaranteed student
loans.
2. S.B. 984
(Wes Shoemyer) modifies the Bright Flight Scholarship
Program. Currently, the top three percent of Missouri
ACT and SAT test takers are eligible for a $2,000 grant.
Beginning in 2011, the bill will increase the stipend
for the top three percent of Missouri test takers to
$3,000 and also offer a $1,000 grant for other students
within the top five percent of Missouri test takers.
3. S.B. 995
(Jason Crowell) modifies provisions relating to liability
for school employees and volunteers and school safety.
The bill includes some of the provisions in House Bill
1722 (Maynard Wallace) and will extend employee immunity
to all school board policies, not just the discipline
policy. The bill also offers immunity for employees
administering medication, though the bill does allow
districts to require employees to become trained to
administer medication according to standard medical
practices. This latter provision was removed from H.B.
469 (Maynard Wallace), a similar bill considered in
2007, due to concerns raised by Missouri NEA that the
provision was inappropriate for employees not already
possessing a background of training in providing medical
care according to standards of medical practice, such
as school nurses, and that the provision is unneeded.
Missouri NEA generally supports the provisions in the
bill and will work with the sponsor to ensure the bill
is a positive step in support of safe schools.
The Senate
Education Committee also voted out the following Senate
Committee Substitutes on Feb. 20:
1. SCS/S.B.
942 (Dan Clemens) places caps on loans and loan forgiveness
under the Large Animal Veterinary Student Loan Program.
2. SCS/S.B.
873 (Chuck Graham) adds a voting student curator to
the University of Missouri Board of Curators if the
upcoming congressional redistricting reduces the number
of districts in Missouri. Currently, the Board of Curators
consists of nine voting representatives (one from each
of the current nine congressional districts) plus a
nonvoting student representative.
3. SCS/S.B.
846 (Scott Rupp) allows A+ Scholarships to be used at
Ranken Tech and to create the Community College Associate
Degree Transfer Incentive Program which will provide
scholarship funding for qualifying students transferring
from public community colleges and other two-year institutions
offering associate's degrees to four-year institutions.
HOUSE
HIGHER EDUCATION
The House Higher Education Committee heard the following
House Bills on Feb. 19:
1. H.B. 1869
(Kevin Wilson) requires the Revisor of Statutes to change
all references of the term “junior college”
to “community college” in state law.
2. H.B. 1802
(Kevin Wilson) exempts Missouri State High School Activities
Association hearings or proceedings concerning student
participation in school activities from state administrative
hearing law if the parties have right to appeal to circuit
court and have a new trial. MNEA is concerned that the
bill appears to create a presumption that standards
applicable to state entities and local governments should
also apply to a private entity such as MSHSAA. This
appears to represent another attempt to increase government
control over MSHSAA.
HOUSE
WAYS AND MEANS
The House Ways and Means Committee heard the following
House Bills on Feb. 21:
1. H.B. 1695
(Clint Zweifel) expands the senior citizen/disabled
person property tax credit, commonly known as Circuit
Breaker. Missouri NEA supports the bill as an effort
to improve tax fairness in Missouri.
2. H.B. 2079
(Rick Stream) revises property tax laws, primarily to
require school districts and other taxing entities to
roll back levies against the current tax rate, rather
than the district's “tax rate ceiling” when
reassessment causes increases in district assessed value.
This bill is very similar to Senate Bill 711 (Michael
Gibbons).
HOUSE
ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION
The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee
heard the following House bills on Feb. 20:
1. H.B. 1876
(Jane Cunningham) expands the five-business-day notice
requirement for special education due process hearings
to expedited due process hearings.
2. H.B. 1877
(Jane Cunningham) gives the local board of education
authority to identify a designee to bind the school
district in a settlement agreement reached during the
resolution session regarding a special education placement.
PSRS
INCREASE FOR CURRENT RETIREES
The Senate Pensions, Veterans’ Affairs and General
Laws Committee met on Feb. 20 and heard Senate Bill
1042 (Ryan McKenna) that grants additional retirement
benefits to certain current Public School Retirement
System retirees affected by the cost-of-living-adjustment
cap and could require increased contributions by active
members to fund the added benefit. Balancing the concerns
and needs of retirees and active PSRS employees is a
difficult challenge. Missouri NEA supports repeal of
the COLA cap when it is financially feasible, but is
concerned that any new retirement benefit increase at
this time will postpone the restoration of financial
stability of the PSRS system, given the continuing increases
in contribution rates needed to meet the system’s
obligations.
PSRS INVESTMENTS
The House Special Committee on Retirement heard House
Bill 2056 (Jim Viebrock) on Feb. 21. The bill allows
the Board of Trustees of the Public School Retirement
System and Public Education Employee Retirement System
to maintain an investment fund account that combines
moneys from both systems for investment purposes only.
The funds of each system will be accounted for separately
and for all other reporting purposes will be separate.
CAPITOL ACTION DAYS
A series of Capitol Action Days throughout most of the
session will allow planned, face-to-face contact with
legislators throughout the session. Capitol Action Days
will be on Tuesdays and Wednesdays 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.
If
you are not able to attend on the designated days, feel
free to contact Otto Fajen (otto.fajen@mnea.org)
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.
Typical Capitol
Action Day Agenda
10:00 a.m.
Meet for briefing, 2nd floor Capitol rotunda, Senate
side alcove under the grand staircase
10:15 a.m. Visit with your legislator/watch floor debate
12:00 noon Invite legislator to lunch
1:00 - 4:30
p.m. Committee hearings, floor debate, visiting legislators
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 contains 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/billcentral.aspx. Type the bill
number (example: H.B.1000) 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.
PLAN
TO ATTEND YOUR MNEA LEGISLATIVE BRUNCH
Legislative involvement is close to home at your MNEA
Legislative Brunch. The brunch is a great opportunity
to visit with local area legislators and hear a legislative
briefing.
Area legislative
brunch schedule:
St. Charles
– Mar. 8, 2008
St. Louis – Mar. 15, 2008
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