IRS Update on Withholding for Retirees
The IRS has issued a notice addressing an unintended consequence of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act regarding retiree pension withholding. more

June 25, 2009

Perry Calls Legislature Back for Special Session on July 1
Gov. Rick Perry today signed a proclamation calling the 81st Texas Legislature back to Austin for a special session to address matters it did not resolve during the recently concluded 140-day regular session. The special session will convene at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 1. The three items the governor wants lawmakers to handle are:
 

“To consider legislation that provides for extending the existence of several state agencies that were subject to sunset review by the 81st Legislature and will be abolished without legislative action under the state's Sunset Act, that changes the review schedule for certain state agencies to balance the workload of the Sunset Advisory Commission.

“To consider legislation relating to the issuance by the Texas Transportation Commission, pursuant to Article III, Section 49-p, of the Texas Constitution, of general obligation bonds for highway improvement projects, and to the creation, administration, financing and use of a Texas Transportation Revolving Fund to provide financial assistance for transportation projects.

“To consider legislation relating to the date on which the authority of the Texas Department of Transportation and a regional mobility authority to enter into a comprehensive development agreement expires.”

Political observers expect the session to last only a few days dealing with these issues that should not be particularly controversial or partisan. Although no public education issues are in the governor’s call, he could add them to his call at any time before the special session adjourns. TSTA will monitor the special session; however, we do not expect Perry to ask lawmakers to deal with any public education issues this time.

June 18, 2009

TSTA Testifies on SBEC Disciplinary Rule Changes
The State Board for Educator Certification met at the William B. Travis Building in Austin on June 18.

Texas Education Agency staff gave a report regarding significant legislation affecting the board. The 81st Legislature this year gave SBEC more authority to inspect and evaluate teacher preparation programs.

After the legislative briefing, Vice Chair Christie Pogue introduced the work of an ad hoc committee that met to improve SBEC disciplinary structure. SBEC’s legal department had asked for guidance regarding when it should dismiss a case. The policy statements would be used to inform judges from the State Office of Administrative Hearings of the expectations that SBEC has beyond the Texas Education Code regarding what SBEC deems acceptable teacher behavior.

While Pogue called the document a “draft,” she also stated that this document was nothing new and that TEA sent it to stakeholders as a “courtesy document.” Pogue also stated, “If there had been any changes whatsoever, we would have absolutely have invited any input from the stakeholders to be part of this meeting.”

TEA counsel insinuated that it was the Office of the Attorney General of Texas that believes this policy document does not constitute a rule in and of itself. Because of this, there is no real need to consider the rulemaking process. As a result of this document, teacher testimony in front of the SBEC board will be limited to 10 minutes. It was previously 15 minutes.

TSTA is concerned that the recommendations will become de facto laws. While state judges are not required to follow the “recommendations,” they are bound by law to consider them.” TSTA General Counsel Joey Moore spoke against the adoption of the draft disciplinary policy on several key points. Her detailed written testimony is here.

The board approved alternative educator preparation programs. After the board voted to approve the programs, the chair was told that testimony was supposed to have been taken on this item. It then was taken; however, the board did not revote on the item.

The board approved new members of the Division of Educator Standards Advisory Committee. The committee is designed to standardize preparation programs rules.

The board considered minor changes to the principal certificate and superintendent certificate. Newly passed legislation may affect principal certification and review, so the board tabled the motion until all information is available. The board then unanimously passed the superintendent certificate changes.

The board also passed several new educator preparation programs and expanded current ones.

June 17, 2009
TAKS, End-of-Course Exams Will Be More Difficult
The State P-16 Council met June 17 at the William B. Travis Building in Austin, with Commissioner Robert Scott of the Texas Education Agency, Commissioner Terry Murphy from the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, Larry Temple from the Texas Workforce Commission and Phyllis Snodgrass attending. Snodgrass is the president of the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce, and she is the newest member of the board. Commissioner Raymund Paredes of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board did not attend and sent a substitute representative.

Criss Cloudt, the associate commissioner of education for assessment, accountability and data quality, spoke about the new end-of-course examinations. She offered charts to illustrate the rulemaking process for each subject. She informed the council that all state standardized tests, both the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) and end-of-course exams, will rewritten to include college-readiness standards and renamed. “These tests will be much harder,” she said.

House Bill 3, which the 81st Texas Legislature just passed, mandates that students deemed “college ready” will not need to take remedial courses in college. This led Scott to ask Cloudt whether this rule required research on students’ scores in English and mathematics courses in college. Cloudt affirmed this and said efforts to make these determinations are starting.

Recent pilots and initiatives seem successful, according to all who testified. One pilot program had college professors spend time in high school classrooms, while high school teachers observed college courses. Another program brought education professors from around the state to college campuses to determine P-16 strategies. Murphy spoke of an autism pilot program for ages three through eight that is very successful. The pilot is being expanded to reach more autistic children in Texas.

Temple spoke of school development toward the working world and customizing training for businesses. The $90 million in federal stimulus money from President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has left him with what he called, “a building full of experts.” He called on all P-16 councils to rephrase terminology into terminology the business community understands. Although the council’s goal is to create college graduates, Temple believes that business people are more important. Snodgrass concurred, saying someone once told her, “I don’t care what’s on that piece of paper; I’m the one who decides who gets hired."

June 16, 2009
Health Care Reform - Now
Urge your U.S. senator to support health care reform that:

• ensures that every person in America has quality, affordable coverage

• provides a choice of plans and providers through a private health insurance plan (including one that employees may currently have through their employer) and a government sponsored public health insurance plan options.

• rejects proposals that would limit or cap the employee tax exclusion for health benefits in any way (tax employer-provided health benefits).

See NEA's website or visit the President's Health Care Action Center.

June 12, 2009
TRS Stays with Investment Company
The Teacher Retirement System Board of Trustees met on June 12 to hear proposals from companies wishing to handle overall investment strategies as actuaries, as well as fiduciary counsel. Each of the positions had been narrowed to four finalists, with the actuarial group presenting first. The actuary choice, consistent for over a decade, was in question because the long-term advisor to TRS was retiring. Thus, TRS would be changing advisors no matter the corporation that it chose. After a short deliberation, the board decided to keep Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company for actuarial valuation and pension consulting services. It took a longer time, and an official discussion, to choose Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren, S.C. to act as fiduciary counsel. 

An informal query to staff revealed that the current valuation of the TRS fund was in the lower $80 billion range. The board also discussed TRS holdings in Chrysler and General Motors. Regarding Chrysler: There was no direct exposure during bankruptcy, but indirect through a limited partnership of $100 million. Regarding General Motors: There was no direct debt exposure, but TRS had about $1 million in common stock and indirect exposure through several limited partnerships. 

TRS has officially certified to the Comptroller the estimated amount of state contribution to be received by the retired school employees group health benefit plan. The board will continue its current committee appointments until the fall, when three new board members will join. 

TRS is considering ways to better communicate with both members and the general public. They are implementing a means that allows retirees to register their email addresses. The system staff are also considering ways to broadcast meetings online. 

TRS Considers Benefits, Budget, Elections
The Teacher Retirement System (TRS) Board met June 11 to discuss, in several committee meetings, everything from current benefits to the TRS budget to the upcoming elections of several board positions. 

Regarding TRS Ethical Conduct: The morning began with results from multiple internal audits, as well as one external audit.  The State Auditor’s Office presented a report to the Ethics Committee which noted two potential weaknesses: real-time board access to TRS financial decisions and a lack of ethics training for TRS staff.  Both issues will be addressed. 

TRS had a standing policy of maintaining a step system (minimum of two percent per year, at least $50/month) to a “performance pay” system.  The Performance Incentive Compensation is 80% quantitative and 20% qualitative (through peer review). 

This new system will demand more funding, and it requires additional funding from the legislature.  Plus an additional $10 million for their performance pay plan. 

For the first time in a decade, the legislature has been allocated money from general revenue.  This amounts to $7.5 million for the biennium.  If the board takes any monetary action (not approved by the Legislative Budget Board), then the SB 1 monies would drop dollar-for-dollar.  The money would go only to upper positions not in a retirement system.  The board saw this as the legislature trying to make them, “play in their sandbox.”

Senate Bill 1 increased overall TRS funding 18-19 percent for the current biennium. TRS staff felt shorted and let the board know of their frustration. TRS has decided to exceed its employment cap for the current year by 11 employees. The system will expand to another office on South Congress and require the corresponding fees and services. The legislative increase allows for a total of 20 new employees, but TRS plans to hire an additional 20, for a total of 40. The board determined to request an additional $6 million from the Legislative Budget Board. 

Senate Bill 1 holds that interns do not count against the employee cap, so TRS will develop a “robust” intern program. The legislature mandates that state dollars cannot be used for external communications; thus, TRS will hire one using internal monies. The committee saw this as a means of “optimizing budget resources.” 

Board members were apprised of the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) and its function in state monetary policy.  The board is considering three options to further their operations.  

1. Accepting the current legislative funding, which will fund current staffing (20 more positions). It will preclude the performance incentive plan, more additional staff and any unforeseen issues.

2. Asking the legislature for an additional three million dollars. This will allow for the 40 new employees, fund the performance incentive plan and add modest contingencies.

3. Asking the legislature for $6 million.  This will increase staffing by the expected 40 employees, provide $1.25 million for professional services and operating expenses and fund the Performance Incentive Compensation plan. 

Regarding the Budget: The Budget Committee was briefed on TRS’s current status. The budget remains in line, though the system encountered unexpected costs from a broken water main between buildings, required notice of ARRA funds and related legal services. 

The committee, and perhaps the board, will be considering strategies to address budget constraints in FY 2010 without seeking a fiduciary finding. 

For the first time in a decade, the legislature has been allocated money from general revenue. This amounts to $7.5 million for the biennium.  If the board takes any fiduciary action (not approved by the Legislative Budget Board), the SB 1 monies would drop dollar-for-dollar.  It would apply to exempt positions, only.  The board saw this as the legislature trying to make them, “play in their sandbox.” 

Plus an additional $10 million for their performance pay plan.

The legislature authorized a one-time $800 payment to certain employees. The payment requires the Attorney General to issue an opinion to the effect that it will be legal. Currently, the money sits in a special fund with the Comptroller, awaiting the AG opinion. 

TRS conducted one-on-one counseling appointments in 10 Texas cities during the past year. Overall, customer satisfaction remains high. 

TRS is in a much better standing than most of its counterparts throughout the country. In the past year’s reports, the portfolio has dropped to the bottom quartile in performance, but staff informed the board that the fund’s performance has already changed for the better. 

Ennis Knupp presented on various models to improve the overall TRS investment portfolio. The advisors repeatedly mentioned the 10 percent constitutional cap on the state’s contribution to employee retirement systems. Several of the models involved an increase of teacher contributions to 10 percent, amounting to a 20 percent contribution.  Models focused on the effort to reach full, 31-year funding. 

TRS Full Board Meeting: The next meeting was moved from August 13-14 to August 20-21. 

Staff reported on the performance on the TRS fund. Although this year has been especially rough, the fund has failed to meet the eight percent threshold, which is needed to keep the plan solvent, for the past 10 years. 

Britt Harris presented a thoughtful and meaningful presentation titled, “Inflection Point?”  He has given similar information to the U.S. Congress, as he is on the Presidential council. Harris believes that the economy may be at a precise point to match the TRS investment philosophy.

June 9, 2009
NEA's Eskelsen Honored by Hispanic Business Magazine
Hispanic Business Magazine has recognized Lily Eskelsen, vice president of NEA, as 2009 Woman of the Year finalist. The business magazine honored Eskelsen for her hard work as well as her unwavering dedication to the teaching profession and commitment to improving the lives of all children. Each year, the magazine salutes a select group of Hispanic women who have made a national impact by demonstrating the highest levels of achievement in their professions.

Eskelsen began her career in education as a lunch worker in a school cafeteria.  She became a kindergarten aide and was encouraged by the teacher to think about going to college and becoming a teacher herself. She worked her way through college on scholarships, student loans and as a starving folk singer, graduating magna cum laude in elementary education and later earning her master’s degree in instructional technology. For additional information, please visit www.nea.org.
 

June 3, 2009
Update on Withholding Issue for Retired Members
The IRS has issued a notice addressing an unintended consequence of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act regarding retiree pension withholding. You may recall that in implementing provisions regarding the Making Work Pay credit, the IRS created a situation where retirees subject to new withholding tables could have an under-withholding on pension income and find themselves unexpectedly owing taxes at the end of the year. The IRS has now announced an optional procedure for pension plans that would offset the withholding reduction created by their earlier instructions. www.irs.go`v/pub/irs-pdf/n1036p.pdf

May 28, 2009
Health Care Could Be Next on Congressional Agenda
NEA has been a long-time supporter of health care reform, and we are actively engaged in the current federal reform efforts. Health care reform is important for the national economy, state budgets, the children and students of all ages whom we serve, and all educators.

As with all legislative activity, this timeline is subject to change, but the current timeline appears to be as follows:

Watch for u
May 22, 2009
SBOE Makes Changes to TEKS Adoption Process
The State Board of Education met Friday at the William B. Travis Building. After making some changes to courses in the agricultural strand of career and technical education (CTE) for Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards, the board approved another course as a capstone course in the 4x4 curriculum, allowing two courses in agriculture to qualify as a fourth science course for high school students. The board rejected another course, designed to use agricultural concepts to teach math. 

The board also voted to include a course written by the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Concerns regarding proprietary issues will be investigated before second reading and final adoption. 

The board voted to make minor adjustments to the TEKS review and revision process. The Texas Education Agency will contact parties such as the Texas Association of School Baord for assistance in providing non-educators. The current TEKS will serve as the basis for any changes, and any changes must be justified by the TEKS revision committees. The experts appointed by board members will be more involved in the overall process, attending all TEKS revision committee meetings. Representatives from both the TEKS revision committees and appointed experts will be invited to attend relevant board meetings. 

The Committee on Instruction presented two items to the board. The first was the approval of selection criteria for college and career readiness, which was presented yesterday. The second item was the approval of proposed personal financial literacy materials. Both are supplied at no cost to the state. The financial literacy materials will be used primarily in high school economics courses. 

The board heard that Permanent School Fund has dropped by 6.29% this year. The PSF group met both Tuesday and Wednesday before the SBOE meeting. The full board heard testimony and participated in a question-and-answer session of current trustees. The board is considering real estate as a potential investment tool. 

The Committee on School Initiatives considered certification rules regarding professional educator preparation and certification, assignment of public school personnel, categories of classroom teaching certificates, and disciplinary proceedings. The committee voted to take no action on these items, allowing the rules to go into effect by default. TSTA helped create these rules and supports the committee’s decisions. 

May 21, 2009
SBOE Again Discusses TEKS Adoption Process
The State Board of Education today considered the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards. These TEKS cover 16 different strands of learning structures. Although some of the CTE strands were contested at various points, the board adopted most as originally written. Many comments noted successful writing effort. Unlike the two most recent adoptions, these TEKS were much less controversial. Despite the current peace, another storm looms on the horizon.

The original Social Studies TEKS working document was in its first, private and early format. At this point, it is typical to let the TEKS team reconsider the document one or two more times before releasing an original document. Somehow the document was leaked to the Texas Public Policy Foundation. This led to disturbing testimony in March from this right-wing think tank. The testimony led the board to convene a meeting of its Committee on Instruction. The COI heard testimony from selected members of the vertical teams. The committee shared the information they learned with the board. Board members and some testifiers voiced frustration that their original, private working document became public knowledge before it was ready to be released. Discussion ensued, and board members generally agreed to keep initial drafts in-house.

This discussion was followed by heated discussions and testimony regarding the process of creating the Social Studies TEKS. The process the board has created is causing challenges regarding the appointment of experts. While Geraldine Miller, R-Dallas, felt that this is the most undemocratic thing she has ever seen, Terri Leo, R-Spring, felt that the process is working and that such situations always occur in a standardized process. Miller responded by vigorously disagreeing.

Anita Givens, the deputy associate commissioner of education for standards and alignment, spoke to the problematic nature of adopting the Social Studies TEKS. These TEKS are scheduled for final adoption in July; however, such a schedule does not allow adequate time for posting in the Texas Register. The board will consider options tomorrow.

David Bradley, R-Unknown Residence, moved to postpone SBOE’s Ethics Training until the July meeting. The motion passed, with Miller casting the sole dissenting vote.

The Committee on Instruction heard a report from a Texas College and Career Readiness employee. He showed the committee through the http://www.txccrs.org website. The site is still in development and will eventually contain links to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board site to show its initiatives. The committee also approved financial literacy tools to be used in high school economics classes.

The Committee on School Initiatives is doing nothing of substance. The Permanent School Fund Committee finished its work on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

May 20, 2009
SBOE Considers TEKS for Career & Technology Education
The State Board of Education met Wednesday to hear testimony regarding the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards for career and technical education (CTE). Only three people signed up to testify on these new standards.

The first and second testimonies came from members of the agricultural sciences vertical team. The team had developed three courses of interest to the board.

Texas Education Agency staff is comfortable using the first course, advanced animal science, as a fourth science course in the 4x4 curriculum. TEA staff has concerns with another of the vertical team’s courses, food science. Finally, TEA staff is counseling the board to reject mathematical applications in agriculture, food and natural resources as a fourth math course in the 4x4 curriculum.

The issue raised by the vertical team was to require courses that require greater skills than algebra II. The testifier replied that the course required students to directly apply the mathematics requirements they had learned the previous three years. The question as to whether teachers with only agricultural degrees would be highly qualified according to TEA standards. TEA had assured the teachers that this would be possible, though the speaker stipulated that professional development would be necessary

The final testimony came from Cathy Seeley from the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin. She proposed a completely new course as a course to follow algebra II, rather than calculus or similar courses. The course would b e an applied course, using previous knowledge gained through previous, required coursework. Seeley, when questioned, told the board that she wanted to “ride that wave” of CTE course approvals.

After testimony, the meeting adjourned. The board meets tomorrow at 9 a.m.
 

May 19, 2009
TSTA Member Named International Educator of the Year
The World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth presented its 2009 International Educator of the Year award to teacher Joe Mendenhall of L.D. Bell High School in . The selection was announced in front of several hundred educators and business leaders at the WAC's April luncheon at The Fairmont Dallas. The featured guest was Fareed Zakaria, bestselling author of The Post-American World, host of "Fareed Zakaria GPS" on CNN, and Newsweek International editor.

The annual award is given to a local educator who has shown great commitment and dedication to international education in the Metroplex. A lifelong world traveler who speaks five languages, Mendenhall has brought his passion to see and understand the world to his German classroom at Bell for 14 years. He will receive $1,000, a trip to the World Affairs Councils of America Conference in Washington, D.C., and a one-year Council membership. The L.D. Bell library will receive $500 for international publications subscription fees.
 

May 18, 2009
This Week on Schoolhouse Talk
Please join us this Wednesday, May 20, at 2:00 p.m. CT on Schoolhouse Talk (www.SchoolhouseTalk.org) for a lively interview with Jim Carlson, president of the Educator Compensation Institute. He will discuss the future of teacher compensation strategies. Remember, you can call (347) 884-8557 to ask questions live.

Schoolhouse Talk has had two terrific shows featuring special guests Dana Goldstein, education editor at The American Prospect, and former West Virginia Governor Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education. Past shows are always available on www.SchoolhouseTalk.org for listening and download.

Something Unprecedented Will Happen on June 1
Those with a vested interest in education will gather online for 12 days of learning and discussion to advance 21st century education in the United States. And we need your voice in the conversation. With webinars, videos and content from across the education community, the Cyber Summit on 21st Century Skills, cosponsored by NEA, is the place to learn and be heard for anyone who has a stake in improving education. You'll engage in a nationwide discussion to formulate recommendations for education practices and policies; lend your voice to help forward the 21st Century Skills Movement; and participate for free in a unique, nationwide, online event. more

May 15, 2009
Take a Shot at Disease Contest for High School Journalists
The National Education Association’s Health Information Network (NEA HIN) is offering high school journalists a chance to be recognized for their efforts to inform the school community and the public at large about health-related issues associated with vaccines. Take a Shot at Disease is a national contest, judged by professional journalists, for high school print and broadcast journalists. The contest has four categories in print and four in broadcast with a first prize in each category of $500, second prize $300 and third prize $150. There are also up to three $1,000 prizes for schools that have produced comprehensive vaccination coverage. Entries can have been published or broadcast at any time during the 2008-2009 school year. Entries must be postmarked by July 1. NEA HIN will announce the winners in the fall. For entry forms and additional information please go to http://www.neahin.org/VaccinationAwarenessContest/
index.html.

U.S. House Passes Ambitious School Construction Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday “passed a multiyear school construction bill with the ambitious goals of producing hundreds of thousands of jobs, reducing energy consumption and creating healthier, cleaner environments for the nation’s schoolchildren,” The Associated Press reported.

“It passed 275-155, and now goes to the Senate, which did not act after the House passed similar legislation last year. The situation has changed this year. While then-President George W. Bush threatened to veto the measure, objecting to a costly new school construction program, President Barack Obama made school improvement projects an element of his economic stimulus initiative,” the AP added.

The list of grant amounts school districts nationwide will be eligible for under H.R. 2187 is online at http://edlabor.house.
gov/documents/111/pdf/publications/HR2187estLEAgrants-fy09 only-20090513.pdf. The list of eligible Texas districts and amounts begins on page 342.

May 13, 2009
NEA Forms National Partnership to Address Dropout Crisis
In a groundbreaking alliance, NEA (the nation’s largest professional organization representing 3.2 million educators) and Boys & Girls Clubs of America (one of the nation’s leading youth organizations with more than 4,300 Clubs that serve 4.5 million young people) announced plans to join together to  advance dropout prevention efforts, promote high school graduation and increase public engagement, particularly in minority communities.  

According to estimates, approximately one million students or 30 percent of the high school population drops out before graduation each year. Only five in 10 Black and Hispanic students graduate on time with a standard diploma and less than one-half of American Indian and Alaska Native youth  complete high school. 

In addition to the dropout prevention efforts, NEA and BGCA will collaborate on NEA’s newly formed Public Engagement Project/Family-School-Community Partnerships (PEP/FSCP) to create an open dialogue between educators and community members in an effort to find common ground, strengthen ties between NEA state and local affiliates and Boys & Girls Clubs, share speakers and Web sites, and engage all members in such innovative programs as NEA’s Read Across America.

May 12, 2009
Is NCLB Working? Arne Duncan Wants to Hear from You

Science TEKS Now Posted
Copies of the science TEKS, as approved by the State Board of Education on March 27 for second reading and final adoption, have been posted on the following website: http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/teks/scienceTEKS.html. The revised TEKS have not yet been filed and will be subject to review for non-substantive, technical edits by Texas Register editors. The science TEKS will not be effective until 20 days after filing with the Texas Register as adopted. Once the science TEKS are filed with the Texas Register they will be posted on the Texas Education Agency rules page as adopted.

May 11, 2009
'Saturn Thanks Educators' Car Deals
The Saturn Thanks Educators program gives educators associated with a credit union the Credit Union Member Discount¹ on any new Saturn. In addition, qualified buyers can get 0% APR financing for 60 months² on eligible vehicles. Learn more: www.saturn.com/educators. 

¹ Must be a member of a participating credit union. A statement or membership card from the credit union will be required as proof of eligibility at the retail facility. Not available with some other offers. Residency restrictions apply. See retailer for details. Discount available to members no matter where they finance their purchase. Take delivery by 1/4/10.

² Monthly payment is $16.67 for every $1,000 financed. Average example down payment is 11%. Some customers will not qualify. Eligible vehicles include 2009 AURA^TM, AURA Hybrid (very limited availability), VUE^®, VUE Hybrid and OUTLOOK^TM. See retailer for details. Take delivery by 6/1/09.

Aug. 15 Is Teacher Appreciation Day at Staples
Staples stores in Texas will be holding a special appreciation day for educators Saturday, August 15 from 9 am to noon. You'll get a reusable "eco easy" bag filled with all sorts of special values to help in the classroom. www.staples.com/teacherday

May 8, 2009
Education Funding:  Obama Budget Released
This week, President Obama released his fiscal year 2010 budget request.  Because Congress has already passed a Congressional Budget Resolution, the President’s request will serve more as a proposal for the appropriations process in which funding will be allocated to specific programs.  Congress is expected to begin committee consideration of appropriations bills in early June, but initial discussions will likely begin much sooner. 

In a press release, NEA says “the President’s budget has the right priorities, including investing in quality public schools for every student.  It builds on the historic investment in public education provided in the economic stimulus legislation, with new investments in early childhood education and expanding opportunities for students to attend college.”  

Particular areas to note include:

• Funding Increases:  The President proposes $1.5 billion for Title I school improvement grants, which he would achieve by reducing other Title I funding (excluding increases provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.)  This would be a $1 billion increase for the program.  Other increases include early childhood education ($800 million in new expenditures including $500 million for Title I grants); $50 million (new expenditure) to LEA’s for strategies to increase graduation rates in low-performing schools;  and a proposal to increase the maximum Pell Grant to $5,550, index it for inflation in the future, and  convert it to mandatory funding. 

• Level funding: Excluding any increases enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the President is proposing level funding for a number of programs, including IDEA, Teacher Quality State Grants, 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Afterschool), ELL grants, and Career and Technical Education  Since the ARRA money will be available only for two years, NEA will be pushing for increases for some programs above the President’s request in order to avoid the funding “cliff” that would otherwise occur after the ARRA money disappears.   

• Teacher Incentive Fund: The President proposes increasing funding for this NEA-opposed program to $517.3 million, an increase of $420 million.  The money would go to states and LEA’s to develop/implement “innovative performance-based compensation systems.”  In addition, the President is proposing new language that permits “support for performance-based compensation to all staff in a school” as opposed to current language limited to specific teachers/principals.  

• DC Vouchers: The President proposes $12.2 million to fund existing students enrolled in the NEA-opposed program for the 2009-10 school year.  The Administration has indicated an intent to continue funding for students currently enrolled until they graduate.  The proposed funding does not come from the Department of Education budget, but is listed under “Other Independent Agencies.”  

Detailed information on the proposed education budget is available on the Department of Education website at http://www.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget10/
summary/index.html.

School Modernization/Green Schools
This week, the House Committee on Education and Labor approved the NEA-supported 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act (H.R. 2187).  The bill would provide $6.4 billion in federal grants to help states and local school districts repair and modernize public schools.  Compliance with the U.S. Green Building Council’s standards for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) would be encouraged.  The bill will move to the House floor in the near future, where passage is likely.  The House passed an identical bill during the previous Congress.

May 7, 2009
Now Up: Schoolhouse Talk Radio Show Website
Schoolhouse Talk  - www.SchoolhouseTalk.org -  is a one-hour weekly show that will air on Wednesdays at 3:00 pm EDT, beginning this fall.  The website is active and provides information about how you can participate in a series of “preview” broadcasts.

Family Day, Monday, September 28
More than a decade of research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University has consistently found that the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs. The center is launching a national movement, "Family Day--A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children," that promotes the parental engagement fostered during frequent family dinners as a simple, effective way to prevent substance abuse. See www.CASAFamilyDay.org.

Potential Opportunity for GPO/WEP Repeal
An article in the Washington Post (see below) indicates that key Members of Congress from both parties have held tentative talks about "overhauling" the Social Security system, and Congress could turn its attention to reform as soon as this fall. 

Congressional consideration of Social Security reform could offer an important opportunity to push repeal of the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision.  Such repeal will be a top priority for NEA in any reform debate.   

Our efforts to move GPO/WEP repeal as part of overall reform of the Social Security system will be greatly enhanced if we can demonstrate maximum support among Members of Congress for the repeal proposal.  As of today, the House version of the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 235) has 274 bipartisan cosponsors - an impressive number that is close to the record level reached in the last Congress.  The Senate version (S. 484), however, has only 24 cosponsors.  Senate cosponsor lists are available through the NEA website, www.nea.org.  Additional pressure is needed to build up the Senate cosponsor list, as well as continuing to increase support in the House. 

Action Needed: Contact Senators and Representatives and urge them to cosponsor S. 484/H.R. 235 - the Social Security Fairness Act - if they have not already done so. Urge all Members to support including repeal of the GPO and WEP in any comprehensive Social Security reform package. 

See "Lawmakers Seeking Consensus on Social Security Overhaul" from the Washington Post.

May 6, 2009
National Board Certification Funds Now Available
Federal funds for National Board Certification are now available for the 2009-2010 cycle for teachers, librarians, and counselors who may be interested in applying for the candidate subsidy program.  The funds are provided through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and are disbursed on a first come, first serve basis.  Priority, however, is given to teachers from high poverty/low performing school districts.

National Board Certification is the highest symbol of professional teaching excellence.  The certification:

• Recognizes achievement for both the teacher and their students;

• Strengthens and reaffirms teaching strategies;

• Adds credibility to the teaching profession;

• Represents the profession’s highest standards; and,

• Positively impacts student learning.

National Board Certification is available in twenty-five (25) subject areas and school counseling.  In order to seek National Board Certification, a teacher, librarian, or counselor must meet the following requirements prior to applying: (1) Hold a bachelor’s degree, (2) Have completed three full years of teaching/counseling experience, and (3) Possess a valid state teaching/counseling license for that period of time, or, if teaching where a license is not required, have taught in schools recognized and approved to operate by the state.

• First-time candidate fees can be subsidized for up to one-half of the $2,500 fee ($1,250 per candidate).  The application for a federal subsidy must be submitted no later than December 31, 2009.

• A candidate cannot apply for a federal subsidy until a candidate number has been assigned by NBPTS and an initial payment of $500 has been made to NBPTS. 

• Federal subsidy funds cannot be allocated to a candidate who has previously utilized subsidy funding.

• Retake candidates who have not previously received subsidy funds can receive subsidy funds of up to $350 per exercise for up to two retake exercises.  Both exercises must be taken within the same candidate cycle.  Applications for retake candidates must be submitted no later than January 31, 2010.

• Federal subsidy funds cannot be allocated to NBCTs seeking certification renewal. 

• Federal subsidy funds cannot be used for Take One!® participants.

• Some school districts in the state offer additional support and/or incentives for candidates and National Board Certified Teachers.  Go to:  www.npbts.org and click on the “Become a Candidate” tab.

Instructions to apply for National Board Certification can be found at:  www.sbec.state.tx.us under the Master Teacher Programs link. If additional information is needed, please email: glendelia.zavala@tea.state.tx.us or call (512) 463-6443.

May 5, 2009
School-Based Medicaid Regulations Rescinded
The Administration has decided to rescind regulations that would have cut Medicaid reimbursements for school-based, transportation and/or rehabilitation services.  This is a major victory for NEA and our partners, as we have been fighting these regulations – originally proposed by the previous administration – for several years. 

Click here to read TSTA's February 2008 blog posting on this Bush administration policy, which could have cost Texas school districts at least $12 million collectively.

You may recall that the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a regulation to limit Medicaid reimbursement for school based administration and transportation on December 21, 2007.  Under the rule, federal Medicaid payments would no longer be available for administrative activities performed by school employees or contractors, or anyone under the control of a public or private educational institution.  Transportation from home to school and back for school-aged children with an Individualized Education Program or an Individualized Services Plan established under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act would not receive federal Medicaid payments.   

CMS had also issued a regulation earlier in 2007 that would tighten up definitions for the reimbursement of rehabilitative services under Medicaid and would require a written plan for individuals receiving these services. 

After a long fight by NEA and our allies, Congress enacted a moratorium on implementation of these regulations through June 2008.  We were then able to get the moratorium extended first to April and then to June 2009.   

May 1, 2009
Most TRS Retirees Will Get Delayed ARRA Benefit
TSTA has received questions about whether retired educators who receive pension benefits from the Teacher Retirement System of Texas will be eligible to receive the one-time $250 payment for retirees under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Only TRS retirees who also are recipients of Social Security and certain other federal pension payments will receive that one-time $250 check. Section 2201 of ARRA provides that the checks will go to “recipients of Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Railroad Retirement Benefits, and Veterans Disability Compensation or Pension Benefits.” The U.S. Treasury is mailing out those checks this month.

TSTA checked with the office of U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, who is a longtime ally of Texas public school educators, to find out if other TRS retirees (those who are not also recipients of Social Security and certain other federal pension payments) would be left out of the federal stimulus bill.

“There were efforts to cover only Social Security recipients in the recently passed economic recovery bill,” Doggett replied. “I fought to ensure all retirees, including those public servants receiving a government pension or annuity from work not covered by Social Security, could receive this same assistance. For these retirees, there is a special one-time refundable tax credit of $250 that they can claim on their 2009 tax returns (filed in 2010).”

That provision is in Section 2202 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. So TRS retirees who are not also recipients of Social Security and certain other federal pension payments can claim the $250 credit on their 2009 federal income tax returns. Although this is a delayed benefit, it is still an important benefit that TRS retirees to whom it applies should take advantage of when they file their 2009 tax returns.

Based on the research we have done, TSTA believes that a TRS retiree who is a Social Security recipient will not receive both the $250 check and the $250 tax credit. But retirees who have questions about how ARRA will affect them should consult their tax advisers.

The full text of the 407-page ARRA is online here.

Education Talk Radio
Do you ever tire of the same old negative stories on talk radio day after day? Did you ever wish there was a show that focused on important issues like public education, instead of all that empty rhetoric and pointless grandstanding?  Well, your wishes are coming true. 

Communities for Quality Education (CQE) is launching Schoolhouse Talk, a weekly internet radio program targeted to people on the front lines of public education.  The show will feature live interviews with key education policy leaders; call-in opportunities to allow listeners to become active participants in the conversation; features about innovations in education; and a round-up of news about our public schools. 

The website will be live on Tuesday, May 5, which is National Teacher Day. How do you participate? Beginning Wednesday, May 6, 2 at 3:00 p.m.EDT they will preview Schoolhouse Talk to NEA leaders, staff and members.  To tune in live to the weekly show, visit www.SchoolhouseTalk.org and click on the “Listen Live” button.  You can also download a show from the website or through iTunes anytime after the show airs live. The show takes live calls from its listeners.  To ask a question, simply tune into the live show and wait until the host opens up the phone lines for questions.  Then call (347) 884-8557 to share your opinions or ask a question live.  www.SchoolhouseTalk.org  (live May 5)

Worried About H1N1 Flu?
Good websites to watch for updates and information: 
Texas Education Agency  
School Closings
National Education Association
NEA Health Information Network
NEA Member Benefits

TAKS Make-up Days Due to H1N1
From TEA's Student Assessment Division: School districts that have had to close campuses due to the swine flu outbreak are asked to submit to Pearson all available testing materials for campuses that have completed testing in accordance with specified shipping deadlines. For campuses that have been closed, school districts should make plans to complete testing within the first week after students return to school. For example, if a closed campus reopens on Monday, May 11, all testing for that campus should be completed by Friday, May 15, and then testing materials shipped to Pearson no later than the following Monday for processing. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Student Assessment Division at 512-463-9536.

April 30, 2009
House, Senate Pass Congressional Budget Resolution      
With your help, NEA has secured another big victory for public education – House and Senate passage of the fiscal year 2010 Congressional Budget Resolution. The Budget is critical as it lays the groundwork for our efforts in the upcoming appropriations process to build on the increases for education provided in the economic recovery package. Passage of this $3.5 trillion Budget would not have been possible without your assistance in mobilizing members and putting pressure on congressional delegations.   

The final agreement crafted by conferees reflects the priorities advocated by NEA in our lobbying, communications to Congress and grassroots work. It includes: 

• $529.8 billion in non-defense discretionary funding, which is only $3 billion less than the House level supported by NEA.

• $89.4 billion for education programs – the full NEA-supported level from the Senate bill.

• The reconciliation language NEA supported on health care and higher education. This language paves the way particularly for action on health care reform as it will allow the Senate to pass a health care reform package by a majority vote (thereby preventing any filibuster).   

Watch http://www.nea.org/home/1019.htm for updates.

NEA Partners with National Latino Children's Institute
NEA Vice President Lily Eskelsen, one of the highest-ranking labor leaders in the country and one of its most influential Hispanic educators, today joined policymakers and Latino leaders at a forum hosted by the National Latino Children’s Institute to identify challenges and opportunities to address the needs of Latinos and their children. NEA is partnering with the National Latino Children’s Institute to raise awareness and create opportunities for Latino children in America.  more

April 28, 2009
NEA Member Named 2009 National Teacher of the Year
NEA member and former New York City police officer Anthony Mullen will today be named the 59th National Teacher of the Year by President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony. 

Mullen, a special education teacher at the ARCH School, an alternative education branch of Greenwich High School in Greenwich, Conn., was chosen for his innovative approach, community focus and teamwork.  He will serve for one year as a full-time national and international spokesperson for education beginning June 1, 2009. 

Mullen believes passion, perseverance and professionalism are the keys to his success as an educator.  He has the ability to connect with students, particularly those with behavioral and emotional disabilities, and his unique one-on-one approach results in a classroom where mutual respect and learning thrive and flourish.   

In 2001, Mullen received his master’s degree in elementary education and special education and retired from the Police Department. He actively sought teaching positions that included the job description “working with students with severe or emotional problems.” 

“I knew that my biography and work experience would provide me the empathy and skills necessary to help such young people," he said.

Urge Congress to Support Obama Budget, Health Care
Congress is starting to move on President Obama's budget, and the collective bills that will shape it are coming up for votes this week. Please phone Texas Democrats to thank them for supporting President Obama's budget and Health Care Plan, and ask that they continue to do so. http://tools.advomatic.com/8/passbudget/

April 27, 2009
Commissioner Issues Guidelines for Swine Flu
Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott today issued the following letter to superintendents:

TAKS Testing
In the event of a school district/campus closure during the TAKS-testing window, please contact Cathy Kline in the Student Assessment Division at Cathy.Kline@tea.state.tx.us  for further guidance.

Waivers
Waiver applications for both missed instructional days and low attendance are available at: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/waivers/waiverapps.html. For more information about waivers, please contact the Waivers Division at (512) 463-5917 or by email at mike.peebles@tea.state.tx.us.

Online Resources and Hotline
The Texas Department of State Health Services has established a website that includes recommendations and resources on swine flu at www.dshs.state.tx.us/news/releases/swine_flu.shtm.  Additionally, a Swine Flu Hotline is available at (888) 777-5320. The Pandemic Flu Plan may also provide school districts and communities with relevant information at www.dshs.state.tx.us/comprep/pandemic/default.shtm.

Enrollment and Attendance
Public schools should prudently evaluate the health of current students and new arrivals. Students demonstrating flu-like symptoms should be evaluated by medical professionals. Please be aware that merely sneezing or coughing without a fever or other symptoms of the flu does not require intervention. Many students will merely have seasonal allergies or asthma and do not pose a threat.

Teacher Pay and School Closure
TEA has received several inquiries regarding the legality of paying teachers and other contract personnel for days that a district is closed due to swine flu. Please be aware that the agency does not advise districts regarding local closure or personnel decisions, and does not take a position on whether districts should act in one way or another. Local school boards, acting in concert with local counsel and community health agents, have to resolve the questions based on their own unique circumstances.

District Shuts Schools; 12 Suspected Swine Flu Cases
"As the number of suspected or confirmed local cases of swine flu climbed to 12, the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District said Sunday it will close all its schools for at least one week," the San Antonio Express-News reports. more

Five Things You Should Know About Swine Flu
Time magazine addresses concerns that this could become an influenza pandemic. more

NEA HIN Provides Links to Flu Information
The NEA Health Information Network recognizes that NEA members share the public concern about the rapidly emerging Swine Flu.  As of 4:00 pm today, Monday, April 27, 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that there have been 40 confirmed cases (and 10 more probable cases) in six states. Only two people have been hospitalized and both have recovered. Schools have closed in five states (California, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas).  It is important to note that the disease thus far in the United States is much less severe than in Mexico. 

NEA HIN is currently developing more detailed information for NEA leaders and members based on CDC and other federal guidance and we will send a second communication when this information is available.  Currently, information can be found at the following sites: 

• Public health information at The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/general_info.htm.

• Additional information for schools can be found at The U.S. Department of Education http://www.ed.gov.

• Questions specific  to school concerns can be sent to osfds.safeschl@ed.gov. 

Schools should continue to practice hygiene behaviors such as: 

• Hand washing with soap and water or alcohol-based hand cleansers

• Providing students and staff with tissues and trash cans for disposal

• Cleaning of desks and other surfaces

• Requiring students/staff who exhibit flu-like  symptoms to stay at home and contact a health care provider

• Local health departments are critical sources of information and decision making regarding control measures. Contact your local health department if you have any concerns or questions.

April 23, 2009
Best of Texas Awards Presented Today
A high school student who has turned his life around, a mother whose tragic loss of her own children inspired her to create a youth program, and a leader who last year inspired citizens to provide more than 40,000 hours of service to at-risk students are among 12 outstanding individuals who will receive a Best of Texas Award today. more

Tell Congress to Pass the Budget          
Congress has returned from a two-week recess and will now continue work on the fiscal year 2010 budget, with hopes of completing action by the Memorial Day recess.  While conferees work out the difference between the House and Senate bills, passage of a final agreement is far from assured.   

Passage of the budget is critical. Both the House and Senate versions build on the historic increases for education included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), from early childhood through post-secondary education.  

Please contact Members of Congress and urge them to support passage of the FY2010 congressional budget resolution. Our message:

• Passage of the budget is critical to our economic recovery.

• We particularly support the higher funding levels for domestic priorities included in the House-passed bill as well as language that paves the way for action on health care reform.

• Investing in education strengthens the economy, including early childhood programs and K-12 education as well as programs to make college more affordable.

• The House budget helps more students attend and complete college by increasing the maximum Pell Grant.

• The House budget supports efforts to reform health care so that everyone has access to quality, affordable and comprehensive coverage.

April 22, 2008

New Report Reviews Gains, Losses in Dropout Prevention
"The high school dropout problem is getting better in some big cities where it's most severe, a national study found. The situation remains dismal: More than one in four kids drops out of high school in the United States," The Associated Press reported. more

The full report, by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, is online here.

What Can You Do to Celebrate Earth Day?

• Top 10 Actions You Can Take: Help reduce global warming with the Earth Day Network's top 10 list. more

• Sign Up for Daily Email Green Tips: The tip for April 22 is "During hot weather, don't top off your gas tank. Refuel your car or truck in the early morning or the evening when it's cooler. A small fuel spill may not seem like much, but every spill evaporates and adds to air pollution, and fuel pumps with vapor recovery systems can feed a spill back into their tanks – after you paid for it. So, in hot weather – don't top off!" more

• Free Online Activities: Find games, lessons, crafts and coloring pages here. more
• Submit a Photo: Has your community organization cleaned up a stream? Have you enjoyed a day in the woods? Has a wild animal ever sparked your imagination? Each year, the Environmental Protection Agency hosts a photo project. You can enter a photo to be featured through April 30. more

April 20, 2009
TSTA Holds State Convention in Houston
TSTA held its state convention in Houston April 16-18. Delegates discussed new business items, called their members of Congress about Social Security concerns, and listened to local Congressman Al Green and Mayor Bill White. They also elected the following to office:

Click here to go to YouTube to see a video of the highlights.
Click here to see photos of the convention.

ARRA Accounting Policy for Texas is Set
The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has established processes to record, track and report stimulus funds activity to maximize accountability and transparency. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds must be kept and tracked separately from other funding sources. Any state agency or institution of higher education receiving ARRA funds through the State Treasury is required to record all activity in the new Appropriated Fund 0369. If ARRA funds have been previously deposited into another fund, correcting entries must be made no later than April 24, 2009. Additionally, grant information is required to identify ARRA funds activity that flows through the State Treasury. For more information, see American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) Federal Stimulus Funding Accounting Policy for the State of Texas (FPP J.004).

April 14, 2009

AG Opinion Addresses SBOE Textbook Funding Authority
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot on Monday issued an opinion responding to questions from the State Board of Education about the Permanent School Fund and the Available School Fund. “The opinion is not a model of clarity,” Texas Education Agency General Counsel David Anderson told the Texas House Public Education Committee on Tuesday. Click here for the full text of the AG’s opinion and here for the SBOE letter requesting it.

Here is The Quorum Report’s story on the AG’s opinion (copyright © 2009 Harvey Kronberg; all rights reserved; reprinted by permission):

Textbook Decision Falls in SBOE Favor, Market Unlikely to Cooperate
Search is Still On to Find Funding For Textbooks
Attorney General Greg Abbott issued a favorable opinion to the State Board of Education on textbook funding on Monday, but it’s unlikely to make a difference to the budget given the continued lackluster performance of the stock market.

When the Permanent School Fund is profitable, it kicks out a payment to the available school fund of about $1 billion for lawmakers to use to pay for textbooks. The intention, of course, is to protect the corpus of the PSF so that it can provide textbook funding for the state far into the future.

Over the last year, however, the fund has lost about a quarter of its value – down to $17.5 billion -- due to the economic downturn. No profit means no yield on the PSF to pay for the proposed purchase of $900 million in textbooks. That has the publishing industry and textbook coordinators rather agitated because these textbooks will be the first with the state’s new English-language arts-reading standards, including those textbooks for English language learners.

SBOE wanted to know if it could delay the calculation of the PSF’s total return – possibly for another year – in order to allow for some recovery time for the fund.
Abbott said yes and, furthermore, it appeared to be SBOE’s job to define its own timeline for calculating a profit, an issue not addressed in the Constitution. The AG opinion on textbook funding can be found here.

On the other hand, the stock market continues to fluctuate, and the potential for the fund to regain its value, plus yield a profit, appears slim to none.
 

April 8, 2009
Request for Comments to the 2011-2012 Testing Calendar
In response to the legislative requirement to maintain a three-year testing calendar and to post it annually by May 1, the Student Assessment Division has developed a draft of the 2011-12 testing calendar. This draft has been posted to the Student Assessment division website for public review until May 5, 2009. 

April 7, 2009
TEA Recognizes Exceptional College Readiness Programs
Commissioner of Education Robert Scott today recognized six school districts and seven high school campuses that offer exceptional high school completion and college readiness programs implemented with High School Allotment funds. For more details, please visit: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=4166.
 

TEA Issues Guidelines for Stimulus Fund Use
School districts are encouraged to implement "creative and innovative ideas that will provide for long-term stability" when investing stimulus funds to help economically disadvantaged students and those served by special education programs.

The guidance documents and other stimulus information are available at: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/arrastimulus.

April 3, 2009

SBEC Adopts Two New Testing Procedures
The State Board for Educator Certification met Friday to adopt new testing procedures for family and consumer sciences certification and for bilingual certification. The current tests are not aligned with Texas standards. This process will result in Texas owning two more certification examinations.

The board considered proposed rules regarding certification for principals and superintendents. Stefani Carter, a citizen member of the board, questioned the justification of a two-year teacher requirement instead of a longer requirement. She also pointed out the possibility of moving directly from business manager to principal (a kind of Temporary Teacher Certificate for administrators).

The Texas Counselors Association presented alternative wording to the board. It specified that all principal and superintendent training programs would include specific standards that speak to the work and function of school counselors.

Dr. Ray Glynn, the deputy commissioner of education for school district leadership and educator quality, informed the board that if it approved the proposed rules, the relevant Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS) instruments would need to be reworked and new principal/superintendent tests would have to be formulated. Dr. Jarrell Booker, also from the Texas Education Agency staff, said that such changes are best made at the academy level and overall training, not in licensure law. The board passed the stakeholder agreements on both principal and superintendent certificates with minimal change.

The board adopted rules to help teachers as they work through probationary status. The new rules hold that teachers on probation who are laid off will get to keep their previous service credit toward completing probationary status.

The board heard several disciplinary cases, Carter, who is a former Collin County assistant district attorney, questioned SBEC staff about the provisions regarding driving while under the influence of alcohol and possession/distribution of controlled substances. The board had a rather frank discussion on whether it should consider a matrix of penalties to create a more consistent scale of dispensing discipline. Vice Chair Christie Pogue, also a citizen member, expressed frustration with the current system and said that she was “up to the challenge” to create a full system. Carter said the federal system has guidelines on punishments, and SBEC should be doing the same.

Board members requested future discussions on conflicts of interest on outdated operating procedures.

U.S. Education Department Posts ARRA Information

The U.S. Department of Education has posted on its Recovery website (http://www.ed.gov/recovery) a number of documents on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), including:

• State Fiscal Stabilization Fund cover letter (with an overview of data metrics), application and guidance;
• Title I, Part A guidance;
• IDEA, Part B guidance;
• IDEA, Part C fact sheet and guidance;
• Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants fact sheet and guidance; and
• Independent Living Programs fact sheet and guidance.

Please visit the website above to access all of this information. Also, click here to read a press release and here to read the statement of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
 

April 2, 2009
Two Texas Districts Are Broad Award Finalists
Two Texas school districts made the finalists list for this year's Broad Prize for Urban Education, an annual $2 million award that honors urban school districts making the greatest progress nationwide in raising student achievement. 

This year's five finalists are:

• Aldine Independent School District, Houston
• Broward County Public Schools, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
• Gwinnett County Public Schools outside Atlanta
• Long Beach Unified School District, Calif.
• Socorro Independent School District, El Paso, Texas

The Broad (rhymes with “road”) Prize for Urban Education is the largest education award in the country given to school districts that demonstrate the best overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among ethnic groups and between low- and non-low-income students.  

The winner of The Broad Prize, to be announced on Sept. 16 in Washington, D.C., will receive $1 million in scholarships for high school seniors who will graduate in 2010. The four finalist districts will each receive $250,000 in scholarships. more

April 1, 2009
Special Education Committee Hears Report on Legislation
The Texas Special Education Continuing Advisory Committee met Wednesday, April 1, at the Airport Hilton in Austin to cover current and upcoming issues relating to special education.

Kathy Clayton initiated proceedings with a “state of the state” talk about the stimulus monies and the current fiscal situation. Although money cannot be spent on administrative costs, the stabilization money must be accounted for. She finished by presenting the committee with synopses of legislation that could impact special education. The Texas Education Agency is currently tracking more than 1,000 bills, and she gave no indication of which bills had the best chances of passing. The bills received by the committee were those of substance and specificity. The committee expressed gratitude for these synopses.

Task committees for special education policy needs will be reworked in the near future. Those committees have long been run by the “usual suspects,” and changes are needed throughout this process. TSTA will keep its members posted for opportunities to have an impact on special education policy throughout the state.
 

Retirees Should Act to Avoid Tax Underwithholding
The Internal Revenue Service is interpreting a part of the recently passed federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in a way that could cause unfair financial hardship for retirees. The National Education Association is working to bring about a legislative fix, but until that happens, retirees should contact their financial advisers immediately to adjust their tax withholding to avoid this potential hardship.

The IRS has issued new tax withholding tables to reflect the Making Work Pay credit on earned income ARRA contains. Pension benefits are not considered earned income and are not subject to the Making Work Pay credit. Nevertheless, the IRS has instructed the payers of retirement benefits to use the new federal withholding tables that likely will result in underwithholding on pension income. Retirees are likely to find themselves unexpectedly owing taxes at the end of the year. To avoid this, retirement benefit recipients need to contact their pension systems to increase the amount of their withholding, rather than using the lowered rates the IRS is inappropriately applying.

For more information, TSTA-Retired members should go to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas webpage “Changes Have Been Made to IRS Tax Withholding Tables” at http://
www.trs.state.tx.us/retirees.jsp?page_id=/benefits/tax_
withholding_tables. Members who want to complete a new TRS228 Tax Withholding Change form will find that online at http://www.trs.state.tx.us/benefits/forms/form_228A.pdf.

March 31, 2009
DPS Seeks Comment on School Bus Driver Rules
The Texas Department of Public Safety seeks your input on what minimum standards should be for school bus drivers'  driving records. The proposed rules:

• require applicants to disclose any violations of motor vehicle laws/ordinances -- other than parking violations -- for the past 3-10 years, depending on the severity of the offense.

• require employers to obtain and review the driving record for the past seven years of each applicant, and to review the driving record of drivers every 12 months, in all states in which the individual held a license/permit.

• set up a point system under which anyone accumulating 10 points within a prescribed time period (varies according to the offense) is disqualified. For example, being involved in a wreck counts as two points unless you are proven not at fault.

• disqualify anyone convicted of drug- and/or alcohol-related driving offenses within the past 10 years.

See the Texas Register for March 13 for details. The earliest possible date for adoption of the new rules is April 12. Comments on the proposal may be submitted to Rebecca Rocha, School Bus Transportation Program, Texas Department of Public Safety, P.O. Box 4087, Austin, Texas 78773-0525, (512) 424-7395.

March 30, 2009
Governor's Mansion in New Social Studies Curriculum
The Texas Education Agency, in partnership with the Texas Governor’s Mansion Restoration Fund, will announce a new "This House is Your House" social studies curriculum tomorrow. The curriculum, created and developed by Sally Hunter, a teacher at Highland Park Elementary School in Austin ISD, emphasizes the importance and history of the Texas Governor’s Mansion. more

March 27, 2009
Science TEKS Adopted on Final Reading
The State Board of Education met on March 27 for second and final adoption of the Science TEKS, as well as discussion and action on other issues.  Mavis Knight and Mary Helen Berlanga joined the meeting via Texas Education Agency’s teleconferencing mechanism.  Thursday’s debate had been grueling, and some TEA staff were at work until 3 a.m. and returned at 6 a.m. to document the previous night’s amendments. 

After many, many opportunities to talk, discuss, listen, deliberate and decide, the State Board of Education created yet another one-ring circus to finalize the Science TEKS.  Although a whopping 51 amendments were presented yesterday, the number of today’s amendments exceeded that number.  Amendments were written in pencil or pen, photocopied and passed around as votes were being taken.  Hand-written amendments from Cargill to Craig to Dunbar created a new standard for TEK 3(A), the “strengths and weaknesses” issue regarding evolution.   

Mavis Knight, who was not physically present, asked, “Are we getting a copy of the amendment?”   

McLeroy responded by re-reading the amendment.  “We won’t take a vote until you get a copy,” he said. “We will go ahead and read it slowly.” Knight still didn’t have a copy, so McLeroy read it even more slowly. 

TEA presented the board with eight pages of suggestions for amendments.  Teri Leo expressed a key frustration: she felt forced to bring amendments early, while she was being broadsided by recommendations from staff as a result of public comments.   

Lizzette Reynolds defended the comments that were presented because they were given when board members asked staff to pull recommendations to consider today.  In other words, TEA staff were being repudiated for responding to board requests. 

One could sense utter frustration in Chair McLeroy’s voice when the amendments hit the floor.  “I can’t imagine why we have to…Mrs. Cargill spent hours and hours and hours…I just can’t imagine why…”   

The general “strengths and weaknesses” issue resurfaced throughout the day.  Many votes, essentially speaking to the same issue, were taken.  Results varied, depending on the nuances in an amendment’s wording.  The meeting began at 9 a.m., and the TEKS were approved just before 3 p.m.  Every two to four minutes, a new TEK was being considered.  Observers watched each and every one.  Some complained about the last-minute arrival of important amendments and information. 

The TEKS were approved on second and final reading.--Report by Dr. Paul Henley, TSTA Teaching & Learning Specialist

Nine of 10 Third-Graders Pass TAKS Reading Exam
Eighty-nine percent of Texas students who took either the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) or TAKS (Accommodated) reading test passed, which means they have cleared a key promotion requirement, Texas Education Agency reports. more
 

Controversy at the State Board of Education
The State Board of Education met in front of a packed gallery on Wednesday to hear testimony regarding the upcoming adoption of the new Texas Essential Knowledge and Skill (TEKS) for science. After hearing testimony off-and-on for eight hours, Don McLeroy, chair of the State Board of Education, closed testimony.  Just over half of those scheduled to testify were allowed to do so.

Those who testified were often peppered with pointed questions from members regarding a component of the TEKS calling for students to study the “strengths and weaknesses” of evolution in the secondary science TEKS.  Each board member was allowed to ask one question per testimony. The questions were often time-consuming, and time was called by the chair. TSTA was not allowed to testify, as our testimony was scheduled to be heard after the chair closed the hearing. 

The State Board of Education, Committee of the Full Board, then met on Thursday to consider a wide variety of topics, including the new science TEKS. 

TSTA again requested the opportunity to testify before the final adoption of the science TEKS.  The request was denied by the board’s staff, as per the chairman’s prior decision. 

The discussion then turned to mid-cycle review for the social sciences TEKS.  

Barbara Cargill was opposed to any sort of revision that removed current historical figures and what seemed to be some sort of multi-cultural focus. She remarked, “I don’t recognize any of these people.”  Right-wing board members suggested conservative think tank employees as potential vertical team members.  The conservative wing of the board suggested the board should give direction to the vertical teams before they began their writing.  Rick Agosto concurred, noting the lack of any reference to Hispanic cultures before the fourth grade.  After about an hour of deliberation, the vertical team’s meeting scheduled for next week was cancelled.  The state will incur the costs of all travel for vertical team members that had been previously guaranteed. 

Chair McLeroy, who obviously wished to start the meeting more softly, remarked, “We are kind of surprised at this item’s direction….” 

Mercer noted that the board had started with an agreeable document.  Then it “evolved” in the second draft, ending with this current TEKS.  He offered an amendment [analyze, review, and critique scientific explanations, including hypotheses and theories, as to their strengths and weaknesses using scientific evidence and information].  Bob Craig offered an amendment to Mercer’s motion reading, “including discussing what is not fully understood so as to encourage critical thinking by the student.” Craig’s amendment failed on a 6-8 vote. Mercer’s amendment failed on a 7-7 vote.   

At that point, TEA staff passed out 30-40 amendments to the board. These amendments were not made available to the public. However, after numerous requests, TEA staff began providing amendments as they were presented to the board. 

Analyze and evaluate the evidence regarding formation of simple organic molecules and their organization into long complex molecules having information such as the DNA molecule for self-replicating life. This is an origin of life amendment that implies creationism.  Rick Agosto seconded Leo’s amendment, which was successful. 

Voting against this surprise, substantial amendment were Allen, Miller, Nunez, Hardy, and Knight. Leo, Agosto, Cargill, Craig, Dunbar, Mercer, McLeroy, and Lowe voted for the amendment. 

Another creationist amendment came from Chair McLeroy, worded, “to analyze and evaluate the use of sufficiency or insufficiency of natural selection to explain the complexity of the cell.” Motion passed. 

The board voted to keep a standard regarding fossils that  Cargill helped teachers hold discussions on “universal, common design.” 

The board heard extended testimony on Career and Technical Education, as well as an initiative to offer students four state credits for athletics, up from the current two credits.  TSTA testified in favor of this initiative, as it offers students more options during their high school years.--Report from Dr. Paul Henley, TSTA Teaching & Learning Specialist

SBOE Considers Extending Graduation Credit for Athletics
TSTA Teaching and Learning Specialist Dr.  Paul Henley spoke to the State Board of Education this week about an item under their consideration that would allow four years of graduation credit for athletics instead of two. "Make a decision to give kids more opportunities and more options," Henley said.  more

March 26, 2009
Arizona Supreme Court Bans School Vouchers
From the Arizona Republic:The Arizona Supreme Court unanimously ruled the state's two school voucher programs unconstitutional because they violate a ban against appropriating public money for private or religious schools.... 

"Some of us just think it's wrong to tax people to pay for private or religious education," said Phoenix attorney Don Peters, who argued against the voucher program before the state Supreme Court. "The public schools are struggling enough, and these programs would take money away from public schools and route it to private schools." more 

March 25, 2009
Congress Members: Make Sure Local ISDs Get the Funds
Twelve members of Congress from Texas have written a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, asking that the Department "issue guidance in the strongest language possible, especially in the case of the state of Texas, that these Stabilization dollars cannot supplant State funding for education, but rather must go to increasing support for our local schools."

This action is necessary, they said, "to ensure that federal funds from the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF) reach local school districts." more

March 23, 2009
Urgent: Contact Congress on Health Care Funding
Congress is expected to vote by Wednesday or Thursday of this week on the President's budget request. No health care funding in the budget means no health care reform in 2009. 

Health Care for America Now, a nationwide grassroots movement that includes NEA, supports a strong Congressional Budget Resolution containing the resources and flexibility to guarantee in 2009 quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

President Obama has said again and again that to fix our economy, we must fix health care, and we must do it in 2009. 

As he stated at the recent White House Forum on Health Reform, “So what we constantly have to think about is short-term costs versus even higher long-term costs. And what I'm trying to do in this debate is make sure that we're focused not just on year one and year two, but on year 10, year 20, year 30 and year 50, and making sure that our children are not bankrupted.”  The Administration’s budget puts money behind those words with a significant investment of $634 billion identified over 10 years as an initial down payment on fixing health care.

Health Care for America Now calls for a resolution that:

·       Recognizes that the President proposed a minimum down payment of $634 billion and provides sufficient additional funding authority to enact comprehensive health care reform that makes health care affordable to families and businesses.

·       Enables large upfront investments in health care now in order to achieve longer-term savings in health care without requiring spending and revenue offsets for the entire cost of health reform within a 10-year budget window – a position supported by groups as varied as AARP, Business Roundtable, AFL-CIO and the National Federation of Independent Business.

·       Reinvests health care savings, including the President’s proposed savings from the Medicare Advantage program, into Medicare and broader health care system reforms.

·       Supports new revenue sources from the wealthiest Americans, such as the President’s proposal to limit itemized deductions for high income persons.

·       Identifies other revenue sources and/or offsets as long as they do not increase the health care burden on average Americans.

·       Protects health care reform from a filibuster by including in the Budget Resolution the option of using the budget reconciliation process for health care reform.  

Please call or write Texas Democrats in Congress now and urge them to vote for President Obama's budget request in full. more

Texans Want Lawmakers to Find Money for Textbooks
Texans surveyed in a statewide poll this month want lawmakers to find $1 billion to cover anticipated textbook purchase costs, even if they are forced to forego a disbursement out of the Permanent School Fund this biennium. more 

The No. 1 Ladies’ Contest
On March 29, HBO will debut The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, based on the award-winning book series by Alexander McCall Smith. Set and filmed in Botswana, it chronicles the adventures of Precious Ramotswe, Botswana’s first female detective. The series was the final project of the late Academy Award winning director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, Cold Mountain, The Talented Mr. Ripley), based on a script by Minghella and Academy Award nominee Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bridget Jones Diary).  

To kick off the series, HBO is partnering with the Botswana Tourism Board and the YWCA to recognize and celebrate inspiring women across the United States through the No. 1 Ladies’ Contest. Write about a woman who is inspirational, independent, determined, confident, optimistic, empowered and compassionate (an educator, perhaps?) and you could win a trip to Botswana. The deadline is 11:59 a.m. ET, April 19, 2009. www.mynumberonelady.com

March 19, 2009
Save on Personal and Classroom Purchases at Borders
Current and retired educators can save 25% on in-store purchases for personal or classroom use at Borders bookstores during the chain’s Educator Appreciation Week, March 19-25. For more information, click here. 

March 18, 2009
Study: Fit Students Do Better on Tests
A first-of-its-kind study of more than 2.4 million Texas students found that students who are physically fit are more likely to do well on the state’s standardized tests and have good school attendance. more

Website Offers Financial Literacy Teaching Resources
Do you need information on financial literacy education or help with leading a student on a career and college pathway? TG’s public service website, Adventures In Education (http://www.AIE.org), offers educators free materials and resources to help inform and engage students on life after a secondary education. AIE.org includes materials about fundamental credit and debt management practices, and how to apply those practices in common situations. With fun, interactive content, educators can teach students everything about credit cards, creating budgets and how to manage money effectively. TG is the public, nonprofit Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Program.

Free Program Will Encourage Summer Reading
Letter P.A.L.S. is a free six-week summer reading program for grades 1 through 3. This year’s Letter P.A.L.S. Summerfest reading event will run from June 22 to Aug. 2 and will consist of 24 online Pet Shop Pen Pals weekly letters, which are delivered one at a time, every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the Letterpals website. Each daily letter is personalized with the child’s name and is three pages in length, professionally written, beautifully illustrated and reviewed by reading specialists for use in a shared/guided reading environment. Teachers can register for their classes to participate by going to http://www.letterpals.org.

March 16, 2009

Education and Assimilation Collide in Nation's Classrooms

"In the last decade, record numbers of immigrants, both legal and illegal, have fueled the greatest growth in public schools since the baby boom. The influx has strained many districts’ budgets and resources and put classrooms on the front lines of America’s battles over whether and how to assimilate the newcomers and their children," The New York Times reports. more

March 12, 2009
Task Force on Federal Stimulus and Stabilization Created

Commissioner of Education Robert Scott announced today that he is creating the Commissioner’s Task Force on Federal Stimulus and Stabilization to formalize work that has been under way in the agency since Congress passed the landmark stimulus bill known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act last month. more
 

Senate Passes Education Funding, No DC Voucher Funds
On Tuesday night, the U.S. Senate passed the omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal year 2009 (the current fiscal year)The voice vote on passage followed the resounding defeat of an NEA-opposed amendment offered by Senator Ensign (R-NV) to extend funding for the District of Columbia pilot voucher program.  The President signed the bill into law on Wednesday. 

Defeat of the Ensign voucher amendment and the subsequent passage of the funding bill were two major victories for NEA that could not have been achieved without your help.  While NEA has successfully fought voucher amendments in the past, support for the DC program has been strong among some Members of Congress and ending the pilot program has been an uphill battle. In fact, last year, Congress extended the program for one additional year beyond its original expiration date.  Your calls, e-mails, and mobilization of your members in opposition to the Ensign amendment made the difference.  The final vote of 38-59, including four Republicans [Senators Crapo (ID), Murkowski (AK), Snowe (ME), and Specter (PA)] who voted against the amendment, sent a strong message to voucher proponents. 

The voucher program is now set to expire at the end of the 2009-2010 school year.  In order for it to continue beyond that date, it would need to be authorized by Congress and approved by the DC City Council (the program was never actually authorized by Congress; funding was always provided as part of an appropriations bill).  Neither Congress nor the City Council are likely to take any such action. 

The underlying funding bill, which NEA supported, provides funds for education and other priorities for the rest of the current fiscal year.  These programs had been funded under a “continuing resolution” since last fall.  The bill:  

•         Increases the federal share of special education costs.  For more than 30 years the federal government has mandated that local school districts be responsible for educating special education students, regardless of cost.  This increase will help bring the federal government closer to fulfilling its promise to help states meet these costs.   

•         Increases funding for Title I.  Title I funds are targeted to school districts serving the nation’s most vulnerable children to help increase their academic achievement.   

•         Increases the maximum Pell Grant.  Pell Grants help the lowest income families afford a college education.   

•         Increases funding for Head Start to ensure that low-income children have access to high quality preschool services.   

Congress will now begin work on funding for the next fiscal year.  President Obama is expected to release details of his FY10 budget request next month and then Congress will craft a Congressional Budget Resolution. 

March 11, 2009
Protecting Workers' Rights Strengthens the Economy
NEA President Dennis Van Roekel applauded the introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act. America's labor unions have led the fight for working families, winning protections such as the eight-hour day and the 40-hour week, overtime rights,and access to health care and retirement security. Van Roekel urged all members of Congress to support the Employee Free Choice Act and continue that tradition.

"Paychecks are shrinking, health care costs are skyrocketing, and America's workers are struggling to make ends meet. In these tough times, when workers need more opportunities to get ahead, unions matter and make a difference. Workers in unions earn 28 percent higher wages on average, and are 62 percent more likely to have employer-covered health coverage," Van Roekel said.

"The Employee Free Choice Act recognizes that our nation's workers deserve better. By protecting the right of workers to choose a union, it levels the playing field for employees and safeguards against the strong-arm tactics and intimidation of antiunion groups," the NEA president continued.

"Every year, over 20,000 workers are illegally fired or discriminated against for exercising their labor rights. In at least one quarter of all organizing efforts, an employer illegally fires a worker for supporting the union. America's labor unions have made historic gains that benefit every American, and this legislation helps ensure that they continue to do so," Van Roekel concluded.

NEA President Welcomes Obama’s Vision
President Barack Obama has expanded on earlier remarks about his vision for education in America in the 21st century. His “cradle to career” agenda would expand and improve quality early childhood education; get rid of “off-the-shelf” tests; support teachers through professional development and mentoring; provide resources for reducing dropouts; demand greater accountability for charter schools; support for the inclusion of critical thinking skills in standards, and increase financial aid for college students. President Obama made similar remarks during his historic inaugural address, and, more recently, while addressing a joint session of Congress.  (Click here for the text of President Obama's speech.)

Here is what NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said about President Obama's speech:  

“We welcome the vision President Obama is presenting for strengthening public education in the 21st century. He’s off to a solid start, making the largest investment of federal funds in the history of public education with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 

“His ‘cradle to career’ proposal mirrors what NEA and its 3.2 million members have been advocating, including reforming No Child Left Behind, requiring universal preK, ensuring access to high- quality early childhood education programs and child care opportunities to help students enter kindergarten ready to learn, making science and math education a national priority and increasing college access and success.  

“We, like President Obama, advocate for improving professional development and mentoring for new and less effective teachers; a national investment in recruiting some of the most talented individuals into the field of teaching, as well as investing in scaling up innovative teacher preparation and induction models; and raising teachers’ compensation based on their knowledge and skills.  

“We believe President Obama’s five-pillar plan—which encompasses universal preK to higher education and everything in between—gets us closer toward the goal of great public schools for every student.  We look forward to working with President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to transform public education to prepare students to compete in a global economy.”  

NEA is working to improve teacher quality through promotion of National Board for Professional Teaching Standards expansion and support of Teacher Working Condition Surveys. NEA also is partnering with the National Governors Association, the Council of Chief State Schools Officers, and ACHIEVE to create higher quality standards that include 21st century skills and content. For additional information, please visit www.nea.org.

March 10, 2009
Texas Worst in Nation for Homeless Children
A study released today by the National Center on Family Homelessness placed Texas 50th — last of all states — in how homeless children fare. more

Obama Calls for Overhaul of Education System
From the New York Times: President Obama said Tuesday that the nation must overhaul its education system and dramatically decrease the dropout rate among students to remain competitive in the global economy. more

Full Accreditation Status for 1,195 Districts/Charters
Of Texas' 1,228 school districts and charters, 1,195 earned a full accreditation status from the Texas Education Agency today. This is the second year the agency has assigned an accreditation status to school districts and the first year charter schools have been reviewed. The classification system examines both the financial and academic health of districts and charter schools. It also examines performance in other areas such as data reporting, special program effectiveness and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. more

U.S. Senate Votes Down Pro-Voucher Amendment
The United States Senate voted down a “pro-voucher” amendment to the Omnibus Appropriations Act today by a vote of 58-to-39. 

Senator Michael Enzi (R-WY) offered an amendment to the House-passed spending bill that would have allowed the experimental voucher program Congress imposed on the District of Columbia public schools in 2004 to continue beyond the Congressionally mandated termination date in 2010. 

DC public school enrollment tops 58,000 students. The Washington Opportunity Scholarship program has spent $70 million in federal funds to provide 1,700 DC students with $7,500 in annual payouts for tuition at private schools. Over 70% of the students participating in the program used the voucher money to attend church-related private schools. 

Enzi was one of 12 Senators to co-sponsor the voucher amendment. All but Connecticut’s Joe Lieberman are Republicans. Here’s a list of all the co-sponsors: 

Sen Voinovich, George V. [OH]
Sen Kyl, Jon [AZ]
Sen DeMint, Jim [SC]
Sen Brownback, Sam [KS]
Sen Cornyn, John [TX]
Sen Lieberman, Joseph I. [CT]
Sen Gregg, Judd [NH]
Sen Alexander, Lamar [TN]
Sen McCain, John [AZ]
Sen Enzi, Michael B. [WY]
Sen Vitter, David [LA]
Sen Bunning, Jim [KY]  

For a complete list of how Senators voted on this anti-public education amendment, visit http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_
vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00094.

March 9, 2009
Students Who Are Fit Do Better on Tests, Study Finds
A first-of-its-kind study of more than 2.4 million Texas students found that students who are physically fit are more likely to do well on the state’s standardized tests and have good school attendance. Fit students are also less likely to have disciplinary referrals.  

The findings released today are based on the results of a battery of six FITNESSGRAM® tests taken by students in grades 3-12 during the 2007-2008 school year. The FITNESSGRAM® tool was created by The Cooper Institute of Dallas. The six types of assessment measure five areas - body composition, aerobic capacity, muscular strength, endurance and flexibility. The assessments determine whether students are in a “healthy fitness zone” for their age and gender.

The study analyzed data from 6,532 schools, which represents about 75 percent of the schools in Texas and about 84 percent of the school districts.

“The impact exercise has on the growing brain is unparalleled, said “father of aerobics” Kenneth H. Cooper, M.D., M.P.H., founder and chairman of The Cooper Institute. “Increased exercise improves cardiovascular health, and that helps the brain function more efficiently and enhances its ability to learn.” more

March 6, 2009
Scholarships for Educators Available
The Horace Mann is offering $30,000 in scholarships for public and private school K-12 educators to take college courses. One recipient will receive $5,000 in scholarship funds payable over four years, and 15 other recipients will receive $1,000 each in scholarship funds payable over two years. Twenty additional recipients will each receive one-time $500 awards. Scholarship applicants will be judged on a written essay and school and community activities. Financial need is not a consideration, but applicants who have all educational expenses paid through other scholarships and/or grants are ineligible. more    

March 3, 2009
NEA Welcomes Sebelius Nomination
NEA President Dennis Van Roekel applauded President Obama's nomination of Kathleen Sebelius, former governor of Kansas, to be secretary of health and human services.

Program for Principals at Harvard
The Raise Your Hand Texas Leadership Program will send over 100 top public and charter school campus leaders to The Principals' Center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education to participate in one of five summer institutes. The deadline to apply is April 3. more
 

March 2, 2009
Come Lobby in Austin over Spring Break!
TSTA will have lobby days throughout Spring Break. Please let Adriana Montoya (adrianam@tsta.org) know when you are coming and how many will be in your group. We will set up a briefing for you at TSTA Headquarters before you walk across the street to the Capitol.

It's Read Across America Day
TSTA President Rita Haecker read to students at Metz Elementary March 2 for Read Across America, NEA's nationwide celebration of reading. What did you do? Let us know by March 10 by emailing debbiem@tsta.org. more

February 27, 2009

TRS Board Reviews 2010-2011 Operational Costs
The Teacher Retirement System of Texas board met this morning to consider one agenda item and receive information on another. The action item dealt with amending the approved fiscal year 2009 Pension Trust Fund administrative operations budget. Trustees had charged staff with finding cost-cutting and savings measures between the January board meeting and this one to streamline the operations budget. Specifically, in 2008, the TRS board made fiduciary findings that approved $18.2 million in budgeted items over the appropriated amounts included in the 2008-2009 appropriations bill. Members of the Texas Senate Finance Committee asked the board to reconsider these fiduciary findings.

After conducting cost-cutting and savings analysis of the budget, staff recommended to the board that it cut the $18.2 million in fiduciary findings by $13.7 million, to $4.5 million in fiduciary findings above appropriated amounts. Among other things, staff recommended cutting the entire amount approved for performance compensation ($3.8 million). Because performance compensation is to be paid only when the fund has an annual positive rate of return, the $3.8 million is not likely to be paid out for 2009. That $3.8 million, however, is deferred and may be paid out at a later date.

The board unanimously approved the amended fiscal year 2009 Pension Trust Fund administrative operations budget.

Next, trustees received information from staff on TRS’s 2010-2011 appropriations request for administrative operations. TRS had previously provided this request to the Senate Finance Committee, and the board is reconsidering it at the committee’s request. Trustees had charged staff with finding cost-cutting and savings measures between the January board meeting and this one to streamline the appropriations request. Staff found few areas in which to cut costs. Originally, TRS requested $13 million for additional resources to grow the trust (including adding numerous full-time employees). Now, staff recommends requesting only $6.6 million, a reduction largely attributed to seeking 25 fewer full-time employees.

TRS will be seeking committee approval for two new items. TRS would like the Legislature to authorize payment of relocation costs for certain upper-level positions at up to 15% of the annual salary of the position being offered. TRS is also asking the committee to allow the addition of interns to staff and that no intern be counted as a full-time employee.

In addition, TRS will clarify to the committee that the $15.7 million request for soft-dollar conversion and the $21.5 million request for performance compensation are actually requests for the authority to act if circumstances require such action.

After hearing staff recommendations on TRS’s fiscal years 2010-2011 appropriations request for administrative operations, the board adjourned.
 

February 26, 2009

Social Security Fairness Act Reintroduced in U.S. Senate
The 3.2 million-member National Education Association, with which TSTA is affiliated, continues its hard work as the leading voice nationally for repealing the Social Security offsets that penalize too many retired educators and will penalize future retirees.

U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, have reintroduced the Senate version of the Social Security Fairness Act, which would repeal the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision. The Senate bill number is S. 484. It is identical to H.R. 235, which was introduced in the House of Representatives in January.

The following senators have joined Feinstein and Collins in pushing for Social Security fairness, signing on as co-sponsors of the Senate bill: Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark.; Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; Bill Nelson, D-Fla.; Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Ben Cardin, D-Md.; John Kerry, D-Mass.; Robert Menendez, D-N.J.; Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

The House bill has 181 cosponsors, including Texas Republicans Louis Gohmert (Tyler), Ted Poe (Humble), Ralph Hall (Rockwall), Michael McCaul (Austin), Mike Conaway (Midland), Ron Paul (Lake Jackson) and Randy Neugebauer (Lubbock) and Texas Democrats Silvestre Reyes (El Paso), Chet Edwards (Waco), Charles Gonzalez (San Antonio), Ciro Rodriguez (San Antonio), Lloyd Doggett (Austin), Solomon Ortiz (Corpus Christi), Henry Cuellar (Laredo), Gene Green (Houston) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (Dallas).

TSTA and NEA need your help to build momentum to convince congressional leaders to act on the Social Security Fairness Act and then to secure its passage. Members should contact U.S. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn and urge them to co-sponsor S. 484. Members also should continue to contact their U.S. House members and urge them to support H.R. 235.

For more information on the Social Security Fairness Act and contacting members of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House, go to http://www.nea.org/home/16491.htm.

February 25, 2009
Pride in Communications Nominations Due March 1
Pride in Communications awards recognize outstanding local/regional association newsletters and websites. Entries are judged on the extent to which the local and/or regional association programs are identified and explained. If you have someone you'd like to nominate, download the entry form, in PDF format, at http://www.tsta.org/news/current/prideform.pdf should be returned to: TSTA Communications, 316 West 12th Street, Austin, TX 78701.

February 24, 2009
Van Roekel Thanks President for Education's Status
President Barack Obama tonight addressed a joint session of Congress to outline his ambitious vision for America in the 21st century, pledging to make education a national priority in his administration and usher a new era of national service for this and future generations, echoing sentiments he expressed during his historic inaugural address a little more than a month ago.

February 20, 2009
Saturn Gives Back to Education Employees
Saturn values the educational community’s extraordinary work. Today, the Saturn Thanks Educators program gives educators associated with a credit union the Credit Union Member Discount¹ on any new Saturn. In addition, qualified buyers can get 0% APR financing for 60 months² on eligible vehicles. Learn more: www.saturn.com/educators. 

¹ Must be a member of a participating credit union. A statement or membership card from the credit union will be required as proof of eligibility at the retail facility. Not available with some other offers. Residency restrictions apply. See retailer for details. Discount available to members no matter where they finance their purchase. Take delivery by 3/31/09.

² Monthly payment is $16.67 for every $1,000 financed. Average example down payment is 11%. Some customers will not qualify. Eligible vehicles include 2009 AURA^TM, AURA Hybrid (very limited availability), VUE^®, VUE Hybrid, OUTLOOK^TM and 2008 ASTRA^®. See retailer for details. Take delivery by 3/2/09.

February 19, 2009
Duncan Hails Passage of Stimulus Package
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) a "Historic opportunity to create jobs and advance education reform." He credited the "leadership of the President and the Congress in laying groundwork for a generation of education reform and economic opportunity."

February 18, 2009
Will Perry Use Stimulus Money To Benefit Public Schools?
Texas could receive more than $6.8 billion in new federal dollars for education and related programs from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which President Obama signed into law Tuesday. NEA President Dennis Van Roekel attended the historic bill-signing ceremony in Denver.

The Education Commission of the States estimates that ARRA will provide an average additional $870.60 per student nationally per year for the next two years.

Texas’ share of federal stimulus money would be divided among the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, IDEA grants, Pell grants, ESEA Title I, ESEA school improvement grants, Head Start, child care and development grants, educational technology state grants and vocational rehabilitation state grants – if the state participates.

Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott has told state legislators that the Texas Education Agency might use some federal stimulus money to buy textbooks. But his boss, Gov. Rick Perry, was still talking Wednesday afternoon about not accepting or using ARRA funding.

“My concern is there's going to be commitments attached to it that are a mile long,” Perry told The Associated Press in a Wednesday afternoon story on conservative Republican governors’ views of the stimulus package. “We need the freedom to pick and choose. And we need the freedom to say, ‘No thanks.'”

The law, however, empowers state legislatures to ignore recalcitrant governors and pass resolutions to accept ARRA funding.

The Quorum Report, however, reported that Perry sent the president a letter “to certify that we will accept the funds in H.R. 1 and use them to promote economic growth and create jobs in a fiscally responsible manner that is in the best interest of Texas taxpayers. I remain opposed to using these funds to expand existing government programs, burdening the state with ongoing expenditures long after the funding has dried up.”

What the governor ultimately will do with federal stimulus dollars for public education, and how he will do it, are hard to predict just yet.

February 17, 2009
NEA President Watches as Obama Signs ARRA
President Barack Obama today signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, landmark legislation to help struggling families, public schools and states around the country cope with the worst economic and financial crisis since the Great Depression.

President Obama pledged to make education a top priority in his administration, noting as much during his historic inaugural address. He successfully urged Congress to make the largest investment of federal funds in public education in history, aiming to transform public schools for the 21st century.  

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel attended the historic bill signing ceremony representing the 3.2 million members of the National Education Association. Van Roekel has advocated on behalf of the views and concerns of educators and their families—teachers, education support professionals, higher education faculty, retired educators and others—who continue to witness firsthand the impact of the worst economic news in generations.   

“Today, with the stroke of a pen, President Barack Obama took a bold and necessary step to return the nation to more solid economic footing, delivering on a promise to make education a national priority and, at the same time, affirming that the road to economic recovery runs through the nation’s classrooms," Van Roekel said. 

“I am proud to witness this historic legislative victory for the American people and the future of the nation’s children. The economic recovery legislation Obama signed into law is as bold as the challenges facing millions of Americans. In the short-run, the law will slow the economic slide, and in the long-run, strengthen our economy and invest in America’s future.  

“His action will put millions of Americans back at work, keep thousands of schools and libraries open, and help educators hold on to their jobs. It will also modernize schools and labs to provide students with 21st century learning environments, and school districts across the country will receive additional resources to help millions of children, especially low-income and children with special needs." 

For additional information, please visit www.nea.org.  

For Education Chief, Stimulus Means Power, Money, Risk
“The $100 billion in emergency aid for public schools and colleges in the economic stimulus bill could transform Arne Duncan into an exceptional figure in the history of federal education policy: a secretary of education loaded with money and the power to spend large chunks of it as he sees fit. But the money also poses challenges and risks for Mr. Duncan, the 44-year-old former Chicago schools chief who now heads the Department of Education,” The New York Times reports. more

In Web Age, Library Job Gets Technological Update
Stephanie Rosalia “is part of a growing cadre of 21st-century multimedia specialists who help guide students through the digital ocean of information that confronts them on a daily basis. These new librarians believe that literacy includes, but also exceeds, books,” The New York Times reports. more

February 13, 2009
Senate Passes ARRA
The Senate passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by a vote of 60-38.  Three Republicans and all Democrats present for the vote supported the bill.  The bill now goes to President Obama, who is expected to sign it into law next week. 

This victory could not have been achieved without your help and the incredible response from NEA members who advocated in support of the package.  In the past two weeks, NEA members sent nearly 56,000 e-mails to Congress through NEA's Legislative Action Center and made 15,000 phone calls to targeted Members of Congress though our "patch-thru" call program.  NEA Board members and affiliate leaders visited 279 congressional offices last week - over half of the entire Congress.

TRS Board Approves Incentive Bonuses, Elects Officers
The Teacher Retirement System of Texas board saved the most controversial topic on the agenda of its Feb. 11-13 meeting for last. The final topic of the meeting was performance compensation, a hot-button matter for sure.

On Friday, Chief Investment Officer T. Britton Harris IV proposed that the board resolve to not pay any performance compensation amounts owed until the fund experiences a positive rate of return as measured per annum. Harris also proposed that he forego any performance compensation that was due to him on Sept. 30, 2008, which equals approximately $200,000. Professor Keith Brown, financial consultant to the board, urged trustees to reject Harris’ proposal. Ultimately, the board voted 7-2 to accept Harris’ proposal, which means the Board still plans to pay $2.5 million of the $2.7 million owed in performance compensation to other investment staff.

The TRS board meeting began Wednesday with the election of a vice chair, Dr. Mark Henry. Robert Gauntt was elected to serve on the Texas Growth Fund board. The makeup of the TRS committees and their chairs remains unchanged. The board discussed the Legislative Budget Board’s recommended appropriation for TRS, and Chief Financial Officer Ken Welch reported that TRS has asked the Legislature to approve an additional appropriation of up to $62.5 million. Some of that money would be used to grow the trust.

Thursday was largely devoted to board training, with a crash course on risk management taking up more than half of the day. Trustees also received presentations on governance issues, including ethics, fiduciary duties and standards of conduct.

The board met Friday to discuss mainly two matters – health insurance, as well as performance compensation. Trustees received a presentation that showed claims were being handled at a 97% accuracy rate, which is at or better than the industry standard. Regarding TRS-Active Care PPOs, the board resolved to increase premiums by 4.5%. But current benefits and retiree contribution rates for TRS-Care will continue through Aug. 31, 2010.

After voting on performance compensation, trustees concluded the meeting by asking staff to look at the system’s discretionary budget and propose changes and potential cuts to be considered at the next board meeting in April.

U.S. House Passes Compromise Stimulus Package
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 246-183 Friday afternoon to pass the compromise $787.2 billion economic stimulus and recovery plan developed in negotiations with the U.S. Senate and the White House. No Republicans voted for the revised stimulus bill, and seven Democrats joined them in voting against the package. Because it contains billions of dollars of federal money for public schools, the National Education Association has been working to ensure congressional passage of the plan, although the latest version is somewhat pared down from earlier proposals. Read coverage of the House vote from The Associated Press and The Washington Post. The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the revised proposal later today.

Read what the next steps will be after the Senate passes the stimulus and recovery bill and President Obama signs it into law.

February 12, 2009
House Committees Announced
Rob Eissler chairs the Public Education Committee; vice chair is Scott Hochberg. Others: Allen, Dutton, Jackson, Olivo, Aycock, Farias, Patrick, Shelton, Weber. See all the committees here.

Latest Details on Conference Agreement
We continue to receive additional details on the conference agreement on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. At this time, the House is set to vote tomorrow and the Senate on Saturday. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law next week.

Coverage of Yesterday's TSTA News Conferences
Yesterday, TSTA held press conferences on the new poll in several locations across the state. Here's some of the coverage.

Lubbock (scroll through the clips until you reach TSTA's story on the two TV stations) :

• http://www.myfoxlubbock.com/myfox

• http://everythinglubbock.com.

• http://lubbockonline.com/stories/021209/
  loc_387077558
  .shtml

Beaumont:

• http://www.kbmt12.com/news/local/39447502.html

Odessa:

• http://cbs7.com/news/details.asp?ID=10881

Dallas:

• http://publicbroadcasting.net/kera/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1468918&sectionID=1
• http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/
  yahoolatestnews/stories/
  021209dntexhighered.3d97bd3.html?npc

'Significant Investments' in Education in ARRA
Conferees have reached agreement on a final economic recovery package but final details have not yet been released.  Reports indicate that the $789 billion package includes significant investments in education – a direct result of your intensive advocacy over the past few weeks. 

February 11, 2009
Some Agreement  Reached on Economic Recovery Act
Conferees have reportedly reached some agreements on a final economic recovery package.  They will meet publicly at 3:00pm EST today as a formality, but details should be finalized before then.  The conference meeting will be broadcast on CSPAN.  A vote is expected in both the House and Senate by the end of the week.  President Obama wants this bill to pass and will sign it into law as soon as he receives it.   

Reports indicate that the package includes significant investments in education – a direct result of your intensive advocacy over the past few weeks.  This major infusion of education dollars into local communities – more than the entire current U.S. Department of Education budget – is a big victory for us and will make a real difference in jump-starting the economy.   

Conferees appointed to work on the deal were Senators Reid (NV) Baucus (MT), Inouye (HI), Cochran (MS) and Grassley (IA), and Representatives Obey (WI), Waxman (CA), Lewis (CA) and Camp (MI).  However, the key players and the ones most critical to ultimate passage of the package continue to be Republican Senators Snowe, Collins and Specter.   

NEA will be running television spots today through Friday in the DC market on CNN and MSNBC and nationally Thursday on evening news shows on both networks.  You can view the NEA spot at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBKENd-fumg.

February 10, 2009
NEA President Comments on Senate Approval of ARRA
From NEA President Dennis Van Roekel: 

“We thank the Senate for its work on this important recovery and investment legislation, coming on the heels of the worst unemployment news in decades. While the funds that remain in the package will take pressure off strained state budgets and put money back into our communities, we lament the fact that the bill significantly scales back funding from the original proposal for critical education programs and services, crucial aid to struggling states, and the nation’s public schools, some of which are more than 50 years old.  

“We hope Congress acts quickly to find common ground, restore much needed funds for school modernization and states, and put together an economic recovery package as bold as the challenges facing Americans. Investing in the nation’s public schools and colleges will create jobs and go a long way toward providing students with 21st century learning environments and ensuring great public schools for all students. 

“We look forward to working with the House and Senate in the coming days to ensure the best possible final package for our nation.” 

For additional information, please visit www.nea.org.

Senate Passes American Recovery & Reinvestment Act
Today, the Senate passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act by a vote of 61-37. The bill includes the compromise provisions agreed to under the Nelson-Collins amendment.   

Action now shifts to the conference committee, which will be working out differences between the House and Senate bills.  We expect the conference to move quickly and a final bill to be back on the House and Senate floors possibly by the end of the week.  The bill will then go to President Obama for his signature. 

Please contact all Members of Congress.  The simple message: Provide as much funding for education as possible in the final economic recovery bill, including school modernization and state fiscal relief.  more

February 9, 2009
ARRA: Your Calls and Emails Made a Huge Difference
We faced a very real threat of losing all the education funding in the ARRA package. Because of your efforts, the final outcome of the negotiations was very different and the Nelson-Collins amendment includes much of the original education funding. Specifically, the amendment retains:

· All of the proposed IDEA funding ($13 billion).

· $12.4 billion out of the $13 billion originally proposed for Title I.

· $31.5 billion out of the $39 billion originally proposed to go to local school districts through state education formulas.

· All the tax credits on school construction bonds (as opposed to the school construction grants, which were eliminated).

The amendment does eliminate the more than $19 billion in school infrastructure grants for K-12 ($16 billion) and higher education ($3.5 billion) facilities as well as the funding in the State Stabilization Fund that was to be distributed at the Governors’ discretion. These provisions are very important to NEA and we will fight to restore them in the conference committee.

The Senate is expected to vote today at 5:30pm on the Nelson-Collins amendment. Once it passes, the Nelson –Collins proposal will substitute for the original Senate bill and become the main proposal under consideration for final passage.

The Senate will vote Tuesday on this final bill. Following Senate passage, the bill will go to conference committee to work out differences with the House bill. The conference committee will work this week on a final agreement, which will go back to both the House and Senate for final passage presumably before Congress adjourns for the Presidents Day recess (currently scheduled for this Friday). The bill will then go to President Obama for his signature.

Action Needed: We need your immediate assistance to call your Senators and urge them to vote for final passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Do It Yourself Podcasting from NASA

A Do-It-Yourself Podcast activity is in the For Educators section of NASA.gov. Students can preview and download audio and video clips of astronauts performing work in space and on the ground. They can then use these clips to build their own podcast or similar audio/video project. www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/diypodcast/index.html.

February 8, 2009
Nelson/Collins Compromise
On Friday, the group of some 20 Senators led by Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) reached consensus on $108 billion in cuts to the Senate’s proposal for H.R. 1, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  
This came at the end of a roller-coaster week in which all of the education programs in the recovery package were on and off the chopping block numerous times. Several attempts were made to eliminate support for education altogether, as well as to eliminate all funding to stabilize state budgets.  In the end, while significant cuts were made to the initial proposal, education still stands to benefit significantly under this compromise plan to help stabilize decimated state and local education budgets and invest in key education programs.   

This bipartisan compromise is needed to pass the ARRA in the Senate.  The Democrats alone do not have the votes to pass a final bill. Senator Collins, along with Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), who support the amendment, are key to passage of the final bill in the Senate.   

The cuts proposed by the Nelson/Collins group are primarily on the appropriations side of the bill, not on the tax side (where most of the school modernization support remains safe).  The biggest programs – Title I, IDEA and Pell Grants – were left almost untouched.  The State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, however, was left with just under half of the initial proposal. 

NEXT STEPS:  The Senate will debate the bill on Saturday and Sunday. A vote on the Nelson/Collins Amendment is expected to occur on Monday, with a vote on final passage of the bill expected on Tuesday. 

Please continue to contact your Senators and urge them to vote in favor of final passage of the ARRA.  After the Senate bill is approved, we will focus on the House-Senate conference committee. We will alert you with names of the conference committee members when they are appointed.  We will provide you with more information and talking points at that time. Even if your Members of Congress are not on the conference committee, we will ask you to contact them to support increased education funding in the final bill. Go to www.nea.org/home/LegislativeActionCenter.html for details and updates.

February 6, 2009
SBEC Discusses Legislative Agenda Among Other Things 
The State Board for Educator Certification met today and re-elected Bonny Cain from Pearland ISD as Chair, Christie Pogue as Vice-Chair and newly elected Janie Baszile, a teacher with Galena Park ISD, as Secretary. 

The Board approved several educator preparation programs and cleaned up language in Chapter 230 on Classroom Teaching Certificates and in Chapter 231 on Professional Educator Preparation and Certification rules.  The Board also increased certification standards for Gifted and Talented, Technology Education 6-12 and Agricultural Science and Technology 8-12. 

The Board had several "discussion only" items dealing with disciplinary proceedings, sanctions and contested cases.  Due to the uncertainty in certain contract abandonment cases as to when the time starts for a district to report the abandonment to SBEC, the Board was advised that language should be added to the rule to clarify.  If an employing district renders a finding that good cause did not exist for the abandonment, then the finding constitutes prima facie evidence of the educator’s lack of good cause.  However, this evidence is not a binding determination in a contested case hearing.  TSTA will continue to monitor this proposal to ensure that the rules maintain fairness and due process. 

Finally, the Board reviewed its legislative agenda per the Legislative Committee’s written recommendations.  The Board would like to have legislation pass this session that would provide for an accountability system for educator preparation programs, and they would like to be able to determine which Ed Prep Programs produce future teachers who increase student performance. 

The Board will also be asking for administrative subpoena power statewide in an effort to get information in its investigations of educators.  This poses significant problems as most information is confidential under state or federal law.  The Board wants new reporting requirements for school districts when allegations of educator misconduct occur.  This in essence would prevent districts and educators from being able to negotiate settlements before a termination or resignation occurs. 

TSTA will continue to monitor SBEC initiatives throughout session.   

UPDATE! All Funds Could Be Cut
There is a very real threat to cut virtually all of the education funding out of the economic recovery bill.  One version of the amendment reportedly on the table with Collins’ working group would:

Education Funds Still in Jeopardy: Call Senators Today!
Keep the calls coming!  Your voices are being heard! As you know, Senators Nelson (D-NE) and Collins (R-ME) are sponsoring an amendment to the economic recovery bill that would drastically reduce the education funding. WE OPPOSE THIS AMENDMENT, which would cut in half  the funds allocated for:

• Flexible funds to local school districts (a loss of $39 billion out of $79 billion)  
• Special education/IDEA (a loss of $6.8 billion out of $13 billion)
• Title I  (a loss of $6.5 billion out of $13 billion)
• Head Start (a loss of $1 billion out of $2.1 billion)
• Teacher Quality grants (a loss of $50 million out of $100 million) 

Go to www.nea.org/home/LegislativeActionCenter.html for details.

Communities in Schools Helps 90,000 At-Risk Each Year
Communities In Schools (CIS) of Texas, a best practices dropout prevention program, annually provides positive support that helps keep almost 90,000 at-risk students in school, a new study found.

“For middle and high school students, CIS was clearly making a difference. It was common to hear students express how CIS helped them with their attitudes and behaviors both within and outside of school. As a result of CIS, students indicated they were fighting less with parents and peers, making better decisions, taking more responsibility for their actions and accepting the consequences of their actions, doing better in school on homework, grades and even tests and that they understood why going to school was important,” the report said. more

February 5, 2009
Call Senators Today to Oppose Nelson-Collins Amendment
Please call your U.S. senators right away to urge them to VOTE NO on an amendment being offered by Senators Nelson (D-NE) and Collins (R-ME) that would drastically reduce the education funding in the economic recovery package. The amendment would cut one-half of the funds allocated for: 
 

• The State Stabilization Fund ($39 billion) – the flexible funds going through state funding formulas to local districts
• Special education/IDEA ($6.8 billion)
• Title I ($6.5 billion)
• Head Start ($1 billion)
• Teacher Quality grants ($50 million)

A state-by-state analysis of cuts in funding to selected federal education programs, based on the Collins-Nelson Amendment, shows Texas taking a total cut of $3,163 in 2009-10. see chart

State P-16 Council Update
The State P-16 Council met Wednesday to discuss the next year’s agenda and to review college readiness standards.  The gap analysis for mathematics, English language arts, and science have all been reviewed by the vertical teams and all were determined to be well or adequately aligned with TEKS.  The vertical team for social studies will finish its review sometime in the summer or fall of 2009.  Also, the gap analysis for career and technical and reference courses have an April completion date proposed.   

Professional development was also discussed as being a critical element and professional development for English language arts and reading TEKS will begin in spring or summer of 2009.  The College Readiness website will soon be online where teachers and parents can review all materials associated with the process along with additional resources.  You can review the handout from this meeting updating the Council on College Readiness Standards here. 

The Council also discussed adult basic education and Postsecondary Education at this meeting.  There was a clear message from all the agencies at the table that there is a need to increase funding for adult basic education.  The different agencies agree that an additional $50 million dollars is necessary for the next biennium to fund this endeavor.  You can review the Adult Basic Education Tri-Agency Initiative here.

The Council then heard an update on the LONESTAR Education project.  The LONESTAR system is web based and provides access to data on education for five years which will be revolving from year to year.  For example, as 2008-09 data is posted, the 2003-04 data will be dropped from the site.  Currently, information by district that can be accessed include: student enrollment, high school graduation, accountability ratings, AYP, legislative district boundaries, high school completion rates and annual dropout rates.  Future data to be added include: state and school district summary reports, additional legislative district report summary information, TAKS, teacher and staff, financial expenditures by district, high school graduates enrolled in college.  An example of an information graph available can be seen here. 

The State P-16 Council plans to meet again on May 6, August 4, and November 4, 2009.   

Teacher Development Report Shows U.S. Lagging
The National Staff Development Council (NSDC) has released a major new report, Professional Learning in the Learning Profession: A Status Report on Teacher Development in the United States and Abroad. This is the first national report on the status of professional development in the U.S., and it also compares U.S. professional development with that in other countries. 

Despite some recent improvements in professional-training opportunities, "we're way behind other countries that are high-achieving in terms of the time and intensive opportunity for deep learning they provide," said Linda Darling-Hammond, a Stanford University professor who co-wrote the report with four colleagues at that university's School Redesign Network. 

The report reveals that many of the countries that out-perform the United States on international achievement tests provide time during the work day for teachers to collaborate and share ideas. The study reports that U.S. teachers spend approximately 80 percent of their working time directly engaged in classroom instruction, while for most industrialized countries, teachers spend about 60 percent of their working time on classroom instruction. In addition, teachers’ lesson planning in the U.S. is typically done independently after the work day.  In most European and Asian countries, teachers spend 15 – 20 hours a week on those activities in collaboration with their peers during the work day. The key findings of the report are on pp. 5 - 6.   

This is the first of three studies contributing to NSDC’s The Status of Professional Learning in the United States research initiative. Phase 2 will use a national survey to measure the effectiveness of professional learning at the state level. Phase 3 will look at states’ professional development policies and practices and develop case studies. 

The full in-depth research report is available at:  http://www.nsdc.org/news/NSDCstudytechnicalreport2009.pdf

Excelencia in Education Seeks Nominations
Washington, D.C. based Excelencia in Education is now accepting nominations for the 2009 Examples of Excelencia, a national initiative to identify and promote programs and departments with significant evidence of improving educational achievement for Latino students in higher education. The deadline is May 15. www.edexcelencia.org
 

February 4, 2009
President Obama Signs Children's Health Insurance Bill
From the Legislative Study Group: Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved, and President Obama signed into law, a federal expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. This federal legislation will provide coverage to an estimated four million children nationwide, and will greatly aid in the effort to cover eligible children in Texas.
 
Texas receives additional federal matching funds for every state dollar spent on the program.  However, the state has not taken full advantage of that money, leaving $958 million  on the table to be sent to other states. 
 
Last session, the Legislature approved H.B. 109 and passed amendments to the appropriations bill that partially restored some of the cuts made to CHIP in 2003.  There are already bills filed this session to restore and expand the program, and both Speaker Straus and Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst have signaled their willingness to expand funding and increase enrollment levels.  This new federal legislation will provide additional dollars to Texas, but to take full advantage of the legislation, there needs to be an expansion of the program in Texas. more

Texas Tops Natl Average in Percent Who Take AP Exams
Texas exceeded the national average in the percentage of students who took at least one Advanced Placement (AP) exam during high school. The College Board, which administers the AP program, found that 27.5 percent of Texas public school students in the Class of 2008 took at least one AP exam while in high school, compared to 25 percent for the nation. Universities often award course credit to students who earn a score of 3, 4 or 5 on an AP test so a strong performance on these exams can save Texas students thousands of dollars in college tuition costs. Of those who took an AP exam, 14.5 percent of Texas students earned a score of 3 or higher, compared to 15.2 percent for students nationally. http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=3747
 

February 3, 2009
Stimulus Alert and Action
As you know, the U.S. House passed $150 billion for the next two years, including $79 billion to flow through the state education funding formulas. The Senate will likely vote on Thursday—as of this moment they are submitting amendments, mostly to reduce spending and cut taxes. 

Your Board members and leaders are in town this week. The time to lobby is NOW. Stories describing the impact of the recession and cuts are very powerful; talk about your students and services. 

The U.S. Senate has been clear that they will change what the House voted on. We must lobby the Senate now...and be prepared for the conference committee negotiations next.  

Please call your Senators now and encourage them to VOTE YES on the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In addition to much needed fiscal relief for states to prevent cuts in Medicaid, education, and other services, the bill provides billions in funding to improve schools and increase access to early learning programs, protect children from abuse and neglect and ensure that all children are well nourished.  

The bill is expected to pass later this week. Once that occurs it will go to a joint Senate-House conference committee to iron out the differences, then back to both houses and then on to the President. Congressional leaders are pushing to have the legislation enacted prior to the President's Day holiday weekend.

February 1, 2009
Ed Secy on $150 Billion for Education in Stimulus Plan
Catch U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on CNN, talking about the President's stimulus plan which includes a $150 billion increase in federal funds for education. "This is an extraordinary opportunity and if we want to become a strong economy again, the best thing we can do is have an educated work force," Duncan says.  more

January 30, 2009
Key Senate Committees Named
The following committees were announced late Friday:
 

Education
Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) Chair

Dan Patrick (R-Houston) Vice Chair

Kip Averitt (R-Waco)

Wendy Davis (D-Ft. Worth)

Mario Gallegos (D-Galena Park)

Steve Ogden (R-College Station)

Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio)

Royce West (D-Dallas)

Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands)

State Affairs
Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock) Chair

Bob Deuell (R-Greenville) Vice Chair

John Carona (R-Dallas)

Rodney Ellis (D-Houston)

Troy Fraser (R-Marble Falls)

Chris Harris (R-Arlington)

Mike Jackson (R-Pasadena)

Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville)

Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio) 

Finance
Steve Ogden (R-College Station) Chair

Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen) Vice Chair

Kip Averitt (R-Waco)

Bob Deuell (R-Greenville)

Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock)

Kevin Eltife (R-Tyler)

Chris Harris (R-Arlington)

Eddie Lucio (D-Brownsville)

Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound)

Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo)

Florence Shapiro (R-Plano)

Royce West (D-Dallas)

John Whitmire (D-Houston)

Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands)

Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo)

January 29, 2009
Action Needed on Economic Recovery Bill
Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment bill (H.R.1), which makes significant investments in education, including the NEA proposal to provide flexible funding for states through existing education funding formulas.    

The bill passed by a vote of 244-188 with no Republicans voting for the bill. The Senate is expected to vote on its version next week.  As reported earlier this week, the Senate version also includes a number of proposals put forth by NEA and lobbied aggressively by NEA lobbyists, including: 

• School modernization assistance -- $16 billion in grants to repair, renovate and construct public schools, and $3.5 billion to improve higher education facilities. On the tax side, $10 billion for new construction bonds ($5 billion for each year 2009 and 2010); $200 million per year for 2009-2010 for Native American tribes; and $1.4 billion in Qualified Zone Academy Bond funds for 2009-2010.   

• $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities distributed through existing state and federal formulas (NEA’s proposal).  

• $25 billion to states for other high-priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education.  

• Title I: $13 billion to help close the achievement gap and enable disadvantaged students to reach their potential.  

• Special Education/IDEA: $13 billion to increase the Federal share of special education services to its highest level ever.  

• Pell Grants:  $13.9 billion to increase the Pell Grant maximum award and pay for increases in program costs resulting from increased eligibility and higher Pell Grant awards.   

• The Making Work Pay Tax Credit, which would put additional income into the hands of working families and allow them to contribute more to their local economies.  

• A $300 payment for retirees, disabled veterans and SSI recipients, which would put more cash in the pockets of retirees living on fixed incomes.  

Action Needed:  

• Contact all Senators immediately and urge them to support passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment bill. Talking points for your use are below. Analyses of the proposal’s impact in states are available on the NEA website at http://www.nea.org/home/29549.htm.   

• Contact your Governor and members of your state legislature and ask them to weigh in with your Senators in support of the package. 

• Please go to http://capwiz.com/nea/issues/alert/?alertid=12542176&type=CO  to send messages of support to the Senate.   

Talking Points in Support of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill 

• I urge the Senate to act quickly to pass the proposed American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill. 

• This proposal includes the investments in education, health care, and other areas necessary to jump-start the economy, create jobs, and help struggling families and communities.

• I am very pleased that the proposed package includes significant investments in education, including increased funding for Title I and IDEA special education, and major investments in school construction.  This funding will take pressure off state budgets and will infuse money into communities where it is most needed. 

• The proposed education funding provided directly to states through existing funding formulas is particularly critical.  It offers an effective, efficient way to stimulate the economy, protect and create jobs, and shore up distressed communities. 

• Unlike investments in other industries, education funding reaches every community in the nation.  Therefore, the impact of additional funding will be felt in every city, small town, and rural area.  And, because state formulas are designed to provide assistance to those areas most in need, additional funding would help save jobs in the very communities where they are needed the most. 

• The proposed school modernization funding will also provide an immediate stimulus to local economies.  In fact, it will create thousands of new jobs in the construction industry and among the many construction industry suppliers, ranging from architects and engineers to roofing contractors and other workers who design and build our nation’s schools. 

• I am also very pleased that the plan would address needs in unemployment insurance, nutrition assistance, and other programs to help families meet basic needs during this economic crisis. 

NEA Applauds U.S. House Passage of Stimulus Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a two-year, $150 billion federal investment aimed at injecting much needed funds into the nation’s schools, states and communities to cope with the worst economic and financial crisis since the Great Depression. The U.S. Senate is considering a similar measure.

Across America, educators and their families are feeling the economic pinch firsthand. Schools are reporting record numbers of students who are homeless or poor enough to qualify for free school meals and record numbers of students needing donated backpacks and school supplies because their families cannot afford to buy them. Some states have already been forced to cut education services for children and lay off school staff.

“The timely action by the House of Representatives acknowledges the long-held belief of educators that the road to economic recovery and security goes directly through America’s public schools,” NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said.

“We applaud Congress for acting swiftly to prevent further job cuts, jump-start the economy and help struggling families, schools and communities. These funds will go a long way toward providing students with 21st century learning environments and ensuring great public schools for all students.

“Educators also welcome the fact that for the first time since the federal government became involved in public education, it took important steps to live up to its promise to fully fund programs for low-income (Title I) and special education students (IDEA).

“The infusion of targeted federal funds, the largest since World War II, into state coffers and local school districts for school construction and other projects will go a long way toward rebuilding, repairing, renovating and modernizing America’s aging public schools. The economic recovery package includes $14 billion for public school modernization, renovation and repair programs.

“More to the point, however, the funds will take pressure off state budgets to the tune of $79 billion to prevent further job cuts and will help infuse money and create jobs in communities where they are most needed. The package also provides $15.6 billion to increase the federal Pell Grant program by $500 and $6 billion for higher education modernization.

“But equally as important as creating jobs to stimulate the economy, modernizing schools addresses one of the most critical elements affecting student learning—the working conditions in which teachers and education support professionals can apply their knowledge and skills to most effectively help children learn.

“We urge the Senate to move quickly to act on an important economic recovery package,” Van Roekel concluded.

NEA conducted a detailed state-by-state and congressional district-by-congressional district analysis of the impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

NEA Explains Flaws in New Report on Teacher Quality
"States are not doing what it takes to keep good teachers and remove bad ones, a national study found. Only Iowa and New Mexico require any evidence that public school teachers are effective before granting them tenure, according to the review released Thursday by the National Council on Teacher Quality," The Associated Press reported. more

Here is NEA's response to the report:

New Report Based on Flawed Assumptions
A report released today by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) grades all 50 states and the District of Columbia on their ability to recruit, retain and evaluate teachers.

While NEA agrees with several aspects of The 2008 State Teacher Policy Yearbook’s conclusions, such as the need to expand high-quality teacher induction programs in order to reduce teacher turnover, NCTQ’s underlying assumptions about quality teaching, how to grow it, support it and measure it, are seriously flawed.

NEA has advocated and continues to advocate for strong policies that promote recruiting and retaining effective teachers, which are the cornerstone of a high quality education for all students. Unfortunately, while this report claims to provide an in-depth analysis of the retention of effective new teachers, in reality, it oversimplifies the impact of state policies on teacher recruitment and retention.

“Improving state policies to recruit, retain and reward quality teachers is essential if we are to offer a great public school to every student, but growing, supporting and assessing good teaching is a far more complex process than this report indicates,” NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said.

For example, NCTQ offers a definition of teacher effectiveness centered on student scores on standardized tests. Van Roekel emphasized that “test scores are imperfect measures of student learning and are even worse measures of teacher effectiveness. What a teacher does with her students, how she relates to them and how she translates her subject knowledge into effective teaching practice are all the central measures of quality teaching. When teachers do these things well, their students have the best opportunities to learn.”

Moreover, the report overlooks some of the key elements to recruiting and retaining teachers who can meet the needs of the 21st century. NCTQ’s Summary Grade Chart indicates that schools are incapable of attracting and retaining quality teachers.

“There is no consideration paid to schools’ ability to treat and respect their teachers as professionals, which we know is one of the key factors that influences whether talented people are attracted to teach and remain in teaching. Such respect is manifested through professional pay, retirement security and fair working conditions that are best determined by teachers and their representatives at the local and state level,” Van Roekel said. “That must be made clear at the local, state and federal level if our schools are to improve.”

The report fails to mention an obvious solution to teacher recruitment and retention—raising teacher pay to ensure that students who choose teaching are able to repay their student loans, meet the needs of their families and have a paycheck that is comparable to that which their peers in similarly skilled professions receive. It also includes conflicting advice on teacher pay methods.

“On one hand, the report recommends that we should throw out the single salary schedule and other similar ‘regulations,’ while on the other hand, it warns that we should recognize the limitations of alternative pay systems that are based on performance. When one takes both of these conflicting messages into account, what NCTQ seems to suggest is that we should simply experiment with our teachers (and therefore our students) until something is determined to be effective,” Van Roekel said.

With regard to retirement security, the NCTQ's recommendations on teacher pensions are both misguided and based on an inaccurate understanding of this crucial aspect of teacher compensation. For example, the Yearbook recommends that states should provide the option of a defined contribution plan as teachers’ primary pension plan.

NEA's research shows that when teachers have the option of choosing which plan they prefer, they choose defined benefit plans almost 94 percent of the time. Contrary to what the report would have us believe, defined contribution plans are inadequate to meet teachers' retirement needs, and more costly than a traditional defined benefit pension plan to the state, as the West Virginia experience shows.

“Millions of Americans in the private sector are reeling from losses to their retirement funds in defined contribution plans such as 401 (k)s. NCTQ is saying that more people should have this option? It’s too risky, especially in today’s economic climate,” Van Roekel said. “Our teachers need a retirement they can depend on after their years of service in our schools. We know defined benefit plans will provide that for them.”

For more information on NEA’s retirement security initiatives, please go to NEA Retirement Security Resources.

Golden Carrot Awards for Food Service Professionals
The Golden Carrot Awards honor food service professionals based on how well they provide students with a daily variety of vegan and vegetarian entrées, à la carte items and vending machine items. Awards include a grand prize of $5,000 ($1,500 to the food service professional and $3,500 to the school food service program) and up to four additional $1,000 prizes ($500 to the food service professional and $500 to the school food service program). April 8 is the deadline. www.HealthySchoolLunches.org.

January 28, 2009
Texas May Get $24 Billion from Economic Stimulus Bill
"The House bill would mean almost $24 billion for Texas, including $3 billion for highways, bridges and other infrastructure projects, $9.7 billion in tax cuts and credits; $3.7 billion for education programs; and $7.4 billion in grants, energy assistance and health and child care services," the San Antonio Express-News reported. more

U.S. House Passes Federal Stimulus Bill on Partisan Vote
"In a swift victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House approved a historically huge $819 billion stimulus bill Wednesday night, filled with new spending and tax cuts at the core of the young administration's revival plan for the desperately ailing economy. The vote was 244-188," The Associated Press reported. more

Click here for The New York Times report on the roll call vote on the stimulus bill. Click here for the full New York Times story on the bill's passage.

Long Way to Go to Pass Social Security Fairness Act
U.S. Reps. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and Buck McKeon R-Calif., have reintroduced the Social Security Fairness Act, HR 235, to repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) to Social Security. Click here for the list of co-sponsors.

We now have the best opportunity for passing the Social Security Fairness Act. The National Education Association has made its passage a priority. We have support of President Obama. U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Chair Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., has announced that his committee will hold a hearing on the measure.

Although the awareness of Social Security issues is growing each day, more work remains to be done, especially among our active members and the public at large. Members should call, email or send letters asking that their members of Congress become co-sponsors of HR 235. Members also should write letter to the editor of their local newspapers urging congressional passage of the Social Security Fairness Act.

The NEA website is an excellent resource for members to read the rationale for the act and at the same time check to see whether their U.S. representatives are co-sponsors. The list of cosponsors is growing, but we have a long way to go to pass this important legislation.

Stimulus Plan Would Provide Flood of Aid to Education
"The economic stimulus plan that Congress has scheduled for a vote on Wednesday would shower the nation’s school districts, child care centers and university campuses with $150 billion in new federal spending, a vast two-year investment that would more than double the Department of Education’s current budget," The New York Times reports. more

Second Lady Returns to Classroom Teaching Day Job
"Her husband gave up his career in the Senate to become vice president, but Jill Biden has not given up her day job, the White House announced Tuesday. Dr. Biden, who holds a doctorate in education from the University of Delaware, went quietly to work on Tuesday in a new job as an adjunct professor at Northern Virginia Community College," The Caucus blog on nytimes.com reports. more 

Vanishing Texas Species Materials for Teachers
The Nature Conservancy of Texas offers teachers a video and downloadable photos, map and poster about a vanishing native species and what scientists are doing to try to preserve it. The species is the spot-tailed earless lizard, and The Nature Conservancy is working to determine how many of them still remain in the wild in Texas and what needs to be done to prevent them from going extinct. more

January 27, 2009
Governor Fails to Address Public School Funding Needs
Delivering his State of the State address to a joint session of the 81st Texas Legislature today, Gov. Rick Perry laid out three priorities to “reach our goal of ensuring every student graduates from Texas high schools with a strong foundation in math, science and English”:

“First, they deserve the best teachers. … Second, we must hold our schools accountable for student performance. … Third, let’s keep improving our math and science education, and continue preparing our young people, especially low-income and minority students, for a productive life after high school.”

The oldest education organization in Texas applauds Perry’s goals. But the 65,000-member Texas State Teachers Association has to question the governor’s commitment to achieving them.

The governor applauded previous Legislatures for not raising taxes and called on current legislators to do the same.

“Unfortunately, that has drastically limited the amount of new state money available to public schools to meet rapidly changing needs,” TSTA President Rita C. Haecker said.

Further, the governor again called for expanding and increasing tax cuts rather than increasing funding for public schools.

“As he runs for office yet again, this governor once again wants public schools, their students and their employees to pick up the cost of his re-election campaign gimmick. Instead of providing new money to our hard pressed public schools, whose funding is frozen at 2006 levels, Gov. Perry wants to further reduce the resources available to provide even that insufficient level of funding,” Haecker said.

Perry said he wants “quality education” for all young Texans. Yet in the 10 years that he has been governor, Texas has dropped from 25th in the nation in per pupil expenditure for instruction to 45th. In Texas, 50,000 classrooms do not have appropriately certified teachers.

“The governor failed to address the greatest need our Texas public schools, their students and their employees today face – the need for a school finance system that is sufficient and flexible to meet the growing, ever-changing needs of public education. Without that, the state simply cannot meet the governor’s goals, particularly retaining and recruiting the very best teachers in the nation to teach our students,” Haecker added.

“Texas today ranks 34th among the states in average teacher pay, $6,129 below the national average. Gov. Perry proposed absolutely nothing to raise that. So we call on the many friends of public education in the 81st Legislature, in both parties, to do what the governor would not do: figure out how to sufficiently and flexibly pay for his three public education goals we applaud. This is the investment in the future Texas very much needs, an investment that ultimately will benefit all Texans,” the TSTA president emphasized. --Joe Bean, Public Affairs Specialist

Working With Students with Autism: Live Chat Wednesday
Tomorrow afternoon, Education Week is having a live chat on working with autistic students. How can general education teachers support them in an inclusive setting? How can teachers transform a challenging classroom situation into a growth experience for all students? Chat guests will discuss teaching strategies and behavior management techniques for the general and special education classroom. To get the details and submit questions in advance, go to http://www.edweek-chat.org.

January 26, 2009
U.S. Senate Measure Would Give Retirees $300 Checks
Details of a proposed U.S. Senate economic recovery bill include a stimulus payment for retirees. Specifically, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan would provide a one-time payment of $300 to each retiree, disabled individual and SSI recipient.

Inclusion of this provision in the proposed bill is a big victory for NEA, as it provides retirees an amount equal to 60 percent of the tax credit proposed for working individuals, but gives the money to retirees in cash instead of a tax credit. In addition, NEA has worked with the Senate Finance Committee to ensure that retirees who do not receive Social Security because of the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision will still be eligible for the payment, as long as they are eligible for pension benefits.

The bill is set to go to the Senate Finance Committee this week and to the Senate floor shortly thereafter. Following Senate passage, the bill will go to conference with the bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, which does not include this retiree payment.

TSTA/NEA members should contact their members of Congress to support both the overall American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan and the $300 economic recovery payment to retirees.

U.S. House Set to Debate NEA-Backed Recovery Package
The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to debate and vote on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act this Wednesday, January 28. The measure continues to include significant investments in education, including increases for Title I, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and school modernization, as well as important provisions addressing health care, nutrition assistance, and unemployment insurance. Most significantly, the bill includes the NEA proposal to provide flexible funding for states through existing education funding formulas.

Passage of this package is far from assured and grassroots action is critical to show strong support for the proposal. So NEA is urging all members to contact their U.S. representatives immediately and urge them to support passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment bill. Analyses of the proposal’s impact in states are available on the NEA website at http://www.nea.org/home/29549.htm.  Click here to see the measure’s impact on each Texas school district.

Here are talking points TSTA/NEA members can use when they contact their U.S. House members to urge passage of these measures:
·        I urge the House to act quickly to pass the proposed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
·        This proposal includes the investments in education, health care and other areas necessary to jump-start the economy, create jobs and help struggling families and communities.
·        The proposed package includes significant investments in education, including increased funding for Title I and IDEA special education, and major investments in school construction. This funding will take pressure off state budgets and will infuse money into communities where it is most needed.
·        The proposed education funding provided directly to states through existing funding formulas is particularly critical. It offers an effective, efficient way to stimulate the economy, protect and create jobs and shore up distressed communities.
·        Unlike investments in other industries, education funding reaches every community in the nation.
·        The proposed school modernization funding will also provide an immediate stimulus to local economies. In fact, it will create thousands of new jobs in the construction industry and among the many construction industry suppliers.
·        Again, I urge Congress to act quickly to pass this urgent legislation.

TSTA/NEA members can send message of support to members of the U.S. House by going to http://capwiz.com/nea/issues/alert/?alertid=12451196.

U.S. Senate Committees to Consider Recovery Plan
This week, the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees will mark up their version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. Like the House version, the Senate proposal includes a number of proposals put forth by NEA and lobbied aggressively by NEA lobbyists, including:

·        School modernization assistance -- $16 billion in grants to repair, renovate and construct public schools, and $3.5 billion to improve higher education facilities. On the tax side, $10 billion for new construction bonds ($5 billion for each year 2009 and 2010); $200 million per year for 2009-2010 for Native American tribes; and $1.4 billion in Qualified Zone Academy Bond funds for 2009-2010.
·        $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities distributed through existing state and federal formulas.
·        $25 billion to states for other high-priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education.
·        Title I: $13 billion to help close the achievement gap and enable disadvantaged students to reach their potential.
·        Special Education/IDEA: $13 billion to increase the Federal share of special education services to its highest level ever.
·        Pell Grants: $13.9 billion to increase the Pell Grant maximum award and pay for increases in program costs resulting from increased eligibility and higher Pell Grant awards.

The Senate bill also includes NEA-supported investments in early childhood programs, health care, and nutrition assistance to help struggling families.

Study Blames NCLB for Cutting Recess for Schoolchildren
"Researchers reported on Monday that a growing trend of curbing free time at school may lead to unruly classrooms and rob youngsters of needed exercise and an important chance to socialize," Reuters news service reported.

"Many school districts responded to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 by reducing time committed to recess, the creative arts, and even physical education in an effort to focus on reading and mathematics," noted the study by researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. more

January 23, 2009
SBOE Concludes Meeting with Votes and Postponements
The State Board of Education met Friday morning as the full board to hear committee recommendations and vote on a number of routine action items, as well as a small number of more controversial proposals.

Following many hours of testimony, debate and votes on amendments before the Committee of the Full Board over the past two days on the proposed Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) standards for science, the board without discussion affirmed yesterday’s committee vote approving the amended package. Read TSTA’s report on yesterday’s committee action. The SBOE will act on second reading and final approval of the revised TEKS standards for science, as amended, at its March meeting.

In other action, the board postponed until its March meeting any action on options for graduation credit for athletics. The Committee of the Full Board heard testimony on this yesterday, but Education Commissioner Robert Scott recommended postponing action until the board can consider a wider-ranging discussion of graduation requirements and elective courses.

The board adopted recommendations to the 81st Texas Legislature covering a wide range of issues from end-of-course exams to the use of Permanent School Fund money.

The full board also heard a lengthy report from its Committee on School Finance/Permanent School Fund. The board approved a new investment structure of utilizing a private equity specialist advisor, who will be instructed to build a discretionary model that includes a fund of one. The board decided not to utilize a fund of funds manager, who would invest in a variety of existing funds. The committee will continue working at its February meeting on the RFP for the specialist advisor. Following a heated debate, the board decided to postpone any action to select a new firm to provide investment counsel services for the Permanent School Fund.

The complete agenda of the Jan. 21-23 SBOE meeting is on the Texas Education Agency website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=3557. The minutes of the meeting will be posted later on SBOE section of the TEA website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us. --Joe Bean, Public Affairs Specialist

Apply for Education Support Professional Leader Program
Applications for the 2009-10 NEA ESP Leaders for Tomorrow program are now available. The first session will be held July 22-26, 2009, at a location to be determined. The second session will be held Nov. 13-15, 2009, in Washington, D.C., and the third session (which includes attendance to the NEA ESP National Conference) will be held March 7-14, 2010, at a location to be determined. Leaders for Tomorrow is open to any NEA ESP member – from K-12 and Higher Education – who is currently an ESP member and who has been an NEA member in good standing for at least the last three years. Please contact Carol McCord if you are interested in attending by emailing carolm@tsta.org or calling toll free (877) ASK-TSTA.

Keep Up the Pressure On Economic Recovery Package
This week, the House Appropriations, Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce Committees considered the pieces of a proposed economic recovery package under their respective jurisdictions. The bill is expected to go to the full House next week, but its passage is far from assured.

The package reflects the hard work of activists like you across the country whose voices were heard loud and clear in Congress. As a result of your efforts, the proposed bill includes:

• $41 billion to local school districts through Title I ($13 billion), IDEA ($13 billion), a new School Modernization and Repair Program ($14 billion), and the Education Technology program ($1 billion).

• $79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cutbacks to key services.

• $15.6 billion to increase the Pell Grant by $500.

• $6 billion for higher education modernization.

In addition, the tax portion of the economic recovery package includes $22 billion in school construction bond tax credits.

The package also includes critical increases in health care, nutrition assistance, and unemployment insurance, all of which were included in NEA’s asks to Congress.

Contact your Members of Congress today! Tell Members of the House to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill.

January 22, 2009
SBOE Mostly Accepts Educators' Proposed Science TEKS
Meeting as the Committee of the Full Board, the State Board of Education today passed on first reading proposed revisions of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards for science. Before doing that, board members rejected two amendments by Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richmond, to change those revisions that working groups of Texas educators had recommended to the board.

Dunbar’s first amendment would have retained the focus on “weaknesses” in the current science TEKS standard for teaching about evolution. After board members rejected that on a tie vote, Dunbar introduced a second amendment to add “by examining scientific evidence supportive or not supportive of those explanations” to the TEKS standard about evolution. Board members rejected that on a 7-8 vote. The board members who voted no seem to have regarded that as having the same effect as retaining the “weaknesses” wording.

Bob Craig, R-Lubbock, voted against both of Dunbar’s amendments. He spoke in favor of adopting what the educator working groups recommended, rather than allowing the SBOE to take the process away from them, as the board did last year with the English/language arts/reading TEKS standards. “Some may think they know better how to teach than the teachers,” Craig said. But “we’ve got to rely on the expertise of our teachers.”

Republicans Patricia Hardy of Fort Worth and Geraldine Miller of Dallas, along with Democrats Mary Helen Berlanga of Corpus Christi, Rick Agosto of San Antonio, Lawrence Allen Jr. (board vice chair) of Houston and Mavis Knight of Dallas, joined Craig in voting against Dunbar’s first amendment. Democrat Rene Nunez of El Paso joined them in voting against Dunbar’s second amendment.

Republicans Don McLeroy (board chair) of College Station, Cynthia Dunbar of Richmond, Ken Mercer of San Antonio, Terri Leo (board secretary) of Spring, Gail Lowe of Lampasas, Barbara Cargill of The Woodlands and David Bradley of Uncertain Residence voted for both of the Dunbar amendments.

The SBOE also considered a series of other amendments from Cargill about earth and space science. Her amendments simplified and sometimes watered down the proposed TEKS revisions. The board passed some and rejected others, with little discernible pattern or logic.

The board passed four amendments by Leo that may have the effect of watering down proposed standards in biology, changing “recognize” and “describe” to “analyze and evaluate.” The SBOE then passed two amendments by McLeroy, both of which may have the effect of watering down proposed standards in biology.

While the board overall accepted the countless hours of hard work Texas teachers invested in revising the science TEKS standards, the SBOE chipped away at that work in several instances before sending the standards to tomorrow’s meeting for another vote. The SBOE meets then as the board, rather than as the Committee of the Full Board.

The SBOE will again consider these proposed revisions to 19 TAC Chapter 112, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science, Subchapter A, Elementary, Subchapter B, Middle School, and Subchapter C, High School, for second reading when the board meets in March. --Joe Bean, Public Affairs Specialist

Gates Foundation Invests $22 Million in Education
Ten groups have received a combined $22 million-plus in investments in support of college-ready data and research efforts from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Blue Ribbon Schools to be Recognized Monday
Twenty-six Texas public schools selected as 2008 No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) will be honored at the Texas Association of School Administrators Midwinter Conference Monday in Austin. Also to be recognized are 26 Texas schools that have been nominated for 2009 honors. The program recognizes outstanding public and private schools that help students excel academically and that make significant progress in closing the achievement gap. more

January 21, 2009
SBOE Elects Officers, Battles over Committee Selections
The State Board of Education reconvened this afternoon to adopt operating rules. The board then elected a new vice chair and secretary. Chairman Don McLeroy, R-College Station, continues in office as a gubernatorial appointee. The SBOE elected Lawrence Allen Jr., D-Houston, to be the vice chair, replacing David Bradley, R-Uncertain Residence, who chose to step down from that post. The board elected Terri Leo, R-Spring, to be the new secretary, replacing Rick Agosto, D-San Antonio, who chose to step down from that post.

The board then recessed briefly while its three officers made committee assignments:
•School Finance: Rick Agosto, D-San Antonio; David Bradley, R-Uncertain Residence; Cynthia Dunbar, R-Richmond; Gail Lowe, R-Lampasas; and Rene Nunez, D-El Paso.
•School Initiatives: Mary Helen Berlanga, D-Corpus Christi; Bob Craig, R-Lubbock; Patricia Hardy, R-Fort Worth; Mavis Knight, D-Dallas; and Don McLeroy, R-College Station.
•Instruction: Lawrence Allen Jr. D-Houston; Barbara Cargill, R-The Woodlands; Terri Leo, R-Spring; Ken Mercer, R-San Antonio; and Geraldine Miller, R-Dallas.

Hardy challenged committee assignments made without regard to member preferences and seniority, in violation, she contended, of the rules the board had just adopted this afternoon. Berlanga agreed that the board disregarded its own rules. Miller said that past boards had used seniority to break “ties” of member preferences for committee assignments, but now officers had decided arbitrarily and ignored rules. Don’t have rules that say one thing, then do another, she urged board officers. Knight read from the board’s rules that say officers shall consider preferences, seniority, ethnicity and gender balance in making committee assignments. She added that preferences should be guiding force for committee assignments. She said the rules have no point if the board doesn’t observe them.

Allen explained why officers made committee assignments: efficiency, who would work well with others, time for change and everybody should serve on every committee at some point. He called for board to work cohesively. Dunbar said the objective is to have “balanced committee assignments,” according to the operating rules.

Berlanga reiterated her understanding of the rules. “It seems I have all four (preference, seniority, ethnicity, gender balance) on my side but still couldn’t get my first or second preference,” she said “You’re doing an injustice to the people we serve,” Berlanga added. Knight said McLeroy gave a “dogmatic, this is the way it is” answer when challenged on committee assignments, and that doesn’t help the board run well. She said Allen’s explanation should have been given earlier. Hardy, however, said “this is all an insult to my intelligence.” Allen’s words, she contended, were built-in excuses for political maneuvering. The whole process “lacks integrity,” Hardy said.

The board then recessed before reconvening as the Committee of the Full Board to hear invited testimony on science TEKS and evolution. --Joe Bean, Public Affairs Specialist

Mortgage Rates Hit An All-Time Low
Are you considering purchasing a new home this spring? It is not too early to begin your search. Do you need to re-finance?Rates are at an all time low. For great features and a closing cost rebate especially for NEA members, contact the NEA Home Financing Program's Josie Fuller at (512)797-8471 for great rates and great service.

SBOE Hears Public Comments on Teaching  Evolution
The State Board of Education convened in Austin on Wednesday morning, Jan. 21, to hear more than 3½ hours of public comments on the proposed new science curriculum standards, known as Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, or TEKS, for public schools. The proposed science TEKS are online at the Texas Education Agency’s website, at http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/teks/scienceTEKS.html.

The Texas teachers who invested countless hours to work on the proposed TEKS for high school science recommended ending the focus on the weaknesses of evolution, the most controversial part of the science package. TSTA has long supported empowering classroom practitioners to design curriculum standards, then having SBOE respect and support their professionalism and insight.

In January, February, May, September, October and December 2008, educator committees were convened to review the science TEKS that the SBOE adopted more than a decade ago. In April, May, September and October 2008, educator committees were convened to develop TEKS for new earth and space science and engineering courses. During the September 2008 meeting, the SBOE received draft recommendations for proposed revisions to the science TEKS. Informal public feedback and feedback from expert reviewers was shared with the science TEKS review committees as they continued to work on their recommendations for proposed revisions in November and December.

A few speakers this morning addressed topics such as earth science, space science, natural resources science and middle school TEKS. But the bulk of discussion, including extensive questioning by many of the state board’s 15 members, focused on a proposed change in how Texas teaches evolution.

The sometimes-emotional discussion drew a large crowd to the SBOE meeting room, as well as extensive media coverage, including a reporter from The New York Times. The SBOE’s debate over evolution and how it should be taught, specifically whether teaching it should focus on its purported weaknesses, has become a crucible in the ongoing national debate between opponents and supporters of teaching evolution.

Laura Ewing, whom TSTA supported in her campaign last year to unseat David Bradley, the board’s vice chair, called on SBOE members to make “educationally sound decisions, not ones that promote personal political agendas.” When it votes, the board will either accept or reject the countless hours of hard work Texas educators have invested in preparing the proposed science TEKS standards.

Last year, the SBOE rejected the countless hours of hard work Texas educators invested in preparing proposed TEKS standards for English, language arts and reading, instead adopting an alternative TEKS package that was shaped by the politics of a majority of board members. --Joe Bean, Public Affairs Specialist

January 20, 2009
Inauguration Instructional Guides for Educators
The historical significance of President-Elect Obama's inauguration is a teachable moment for generations to come.  The instructional guides, developed jointly by a team of curriculum experts from NEA and American Federation of Teachers, are designed to teach students about the history of Inauguration Day, and they include information about the 2009 Inaugural schedule of events and background on traditional Inaugural ceremonies. The guides also provide suggestions for supplementing the lessons with discussion topics, films, books and other educational websites.

January 16, 2009
TSTA Member to March in Presidential Inaugural Parade
TSTA member Rhonda Schell, who teaches in Beaumont ISD and is an NEA Director for Texas, has been invited to participate in the Jan. 20 Inaugural Parade of President-Elect Barack Obama.

NEA members will join the AFL-CIO and Change to Win as part of a 265-member ensemble that represents every face of working America. The 2009 inauguration marks the first time in recent history that representatives from America’s labor unions have been invited to march in the official parade.  

“NEA and its members are proud to join the AFL-CIO and Change to Win in this first-ever labor-sponsored inauguration parade float,” said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. “The ‘America’s Workers United for Change’ parade unit, including the participation of 43 public school employees, provides organized labor the opportunity to emphasize the important role of America’s workers in helping to renew America’s promise.” 

The delegation of marchers will lead the only pro-worker float down the parade path under the theme of “Honoring America’s Workers.” The marchers will carry a banner with the slogan “America’s Workers: United for Change,” along with flags that represent the issues most important to working families: an Economy that Works for All, Great Public Schools, Good Jobs Green Jobs, and Health Care for All. 

The more than 40 NEA members expected to participate in the parade represent every kind of educator working to make public schools great for every student.  From the classroom teacher to the custodian, the school bus driver to school counselor, the teacher’s aide to the librarian, and the retired educator to the student teacher just starting out, the unit’s largest constituency group symbolizes the many faces of the American educator.                            

The entire float was fabricated by union carpenters, welders, sculptors and painters. Constructed of steel, wood and foam, it will rise more than 17 feet in height and span 24 feet in length. Outlines of the different “faces of labor” will surround the float to salute the backbone of our country—the hardworking men and women that get up and go to work every day. A Teamsters member will drive the truck supporting the float through the parade route.

Obama Inauguration Is Inspiring Classrooms Nationwide
"At a middle school in Austin, Tex., a young history teacher plans to use the hip-hop song 'Black President' as a spark for an Inauguration Day discussion of politics and patriotism," The New York Times reports. "The inauguration of America’s first African-American president has captured the imagination of students and educators with an intensity that surpasses previous ceremonies, and schools from New Hampshire to Florida to California are working to bring the excitement and pageantry, the sheer history of it all, to life in the classroom." more

January 15, 2009
NEA Mostly Supports Federal Economic Recovery Package
Details released today about the economic recovery package under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives show major victories for public education. The proposed American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill includes significant increased investments in education, including all the areas NEA urged Congress to include.

The proposal includes:
• $41 billion to local school districts through Title I ($13 billion), IDEA ($13 billion), a new School Modernization and Repair Program ($14 billion) and the Education Technology program ($1 billion).
• $79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cutbacks to key services, including $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities distributed through existing state and federal formulas, $15 billion to states as bonus grants as a reward for meeting key performance measures and $25 billion to states for other high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education.
• $15.6 billion to increase the Pell Grant by $500.
• $6 billion for higher education modernization.

In addition, the tax portion of the economic recovery package is expected to include $21 billion in school modernization through tax credits on school construction bonds.

The package also includes critical increases in health care, nutrition assistance and unemployment insurance, all of which were included in NEA’s requests to Congress.

The package also appears to increase funding for the NEA-opposed Teacher Incentive Fund by providing “$200 million for competitive grants to school districts and states to provide financial incentives for teachers and principals who raise student achievement and close the achievement gaps in high-need schools and $100 million for competitive grants to states to address teacher shortages and modernize the teaching workforce.”

NEA’s complete summary of the economic recovery package is online at http://www.tsta.org/news/current/American RecoveryandInvestmentAct_011509.pdf,

Even though NEA is very pleased with the proposed package, considerable work will be required both to get it passed in the House and to ensure that the Senate package includes similar investments. The House Ways and Means and Appropriations Committees are expected to mark up the pieces under their jurisdiction next week.

Recession Hits More and More Public Schools Nationwide
As a result of the recession, "locally operated and funded, public schools across the country are coming up short as tax collections dwindle and administrators enlarge classes, delay expansions, reduce hours and even fiddle with thermostats to save money," Reuters news service reports. more

SCHIP Expansion Will Benefit Texas Children
The U.S. House of Representatives “easily approved an expansion of government health coverage for low-income children [SCHIP] yesterday, a top priority for President-elect Barack Obama and the first in a series of stalled measures expected to move quickly through the Democratic Congress as President Bush leaves office,” The Washington Post reported. more

If the Senate concurs, the House bill will include “strong incentives for states to reach their eligible, unenrolled and uninsured children in Medicaid and CHIP (Texas is home to an estimated 700,000-plus such uninsured children). It will clearly allow states like Texas to grow and improve CHIP programs -- and to respond the greater need for children’s coverage that can be expected in this economic downturn,” according to the Austin-based Center for Public Policy Priorities. more

"In four and a half years, 490,000 uninsured Texas children could gain health coverage through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program under the CHIP reauthorization bill that the U.S. House approved Wednesday, according to a report released today by Families USA, a national nonprofit," the Austin American-Statesman's Postcards blog on Texas government and politics reports. more

New Administration Will Promote Arts Education
“Children who learn music actually do better in math and kids whose imaginations are sparked by the arts are more engaged in school,” incoming President Obama believes. So his administration will promote “the importance of arts education” and “expanding public/private partnerships between schools and arts organizations,” The Christian Science Monitor reports. more

Texas House Adjourns Until Jan. 22
The House met briefly this morning to adopt their housekeeping rules for the 81st session of the legislature. Most of these rules and the discussion related to the funding and operation of their legislative offices and they passed 128-11. They are still working on their operating rules for the session. They adjourned until Jan. 22.

While both chambers are now on their long inaugural break, the news will slow down but probably not completely stop. We will continue to update the posting on bill as they are filed on www.tsta.org.

January 14, 2009
It Is All Inside Baseball on Day Two of 81st Legislature
House Delays Rules Vote
The Texas House of Representatives delayed the vote on the rules until tomorrow. State Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, announced that the House will adopt its rules Wednesday and that the Legislative Council will be available to assist with amendments. The rules were the subject of most of the controversy last session regarding the assertion by then-Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, that the speaker has the sole authority to recognize a member. That rule allowed him to not recognize any member who wanted to move to remove him as speaker. The House held a closed door work session this afternoon to discuss the rules for this session. All of this indicates an inclusive approach to the House rule making process. Given all the drama over the rules last session, it will be interesting to see what rule changes are proposed and adopted tomorrow.

The only other action of interest was adopting a resolution setting the governor’s State of the State address for Tuesday, Jan. 27.

Usually Placid Senate Goes Nuclear on Day Two
The Texas Senate, which is generally viewed as the calmer (read duller) chamber of the Legislature, started the session with a series of widely reported backroom brawls over its rules. At the heart of the controversy is the long held two-thirds rule that requires the support of 21 of the Senate’s 31 members in order to bring a bill to the floor. That has meant that 11 senators could block a bill from coming to the floor. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst apparently wants to exclude the voter ID and redistricting bills from that rule, and state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, wants to change it to a three-fifths rule. That would require 13 votes to block a bill. The Senate has 12 Democrats.

After publicly meeting for five minutes, the Senate recessed to the back room to continue the discussion of the rules.

State Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, moved adoption of the Senate rules including a rule to exclude voter ID from the two-thirds rule.

The dean of the Senate, state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and several other Democratic senators had a lengthy debate with Williams on his resolution to exclude voter identification from the two-thirds rule. Democrats then offered a series of amendments to exclude several other issues -- insurance rate reform, increased medical services for military veterans, changes in the unemployment fund, increasing the number of children covered by CHIP, increased funding for public education, re-regulation of college tuition -- from the two-thirds rule. Every amendment failed on a 19-12 party line vote.

Every amendment was defeated on straight party line votes.

State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, then raised a point of order relating to the authority of the lieutenant governor to make rulings prior to the rules of the Senate being adopted. The Senate recessed for well over an hour while the matter was researched.

Senators then met briefly and then recessed into the caucus of the whole, which is a process that lets the full Senate meet in private.

They reconvened 45 minutes later, and Dewhurst overruled the point of order.

Several Democratic senators made impassioned pleas against the resolution, while State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, spoke in favor of it. State Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, unexpectedly and strongly spoke against the resolution, saying it sends a “terrible message” of partisanship that “disrupts the effectiveness of government.”

The Senate rules passed 18-13.

The Senate adjourned until Monday, Jan. 26. --Richard Kouri, Director of Public Affairs

Communicators from NEA State Affiliates Honor TSTA
At its annual conference in Palm Springs, Calif., from Jan. 6 to Jan. 9, the NEA PR Council of the States, comprising communication professionals from state affiliates nationwide, honored TSTA with three awards, including one of the council’s top awards:

Bob Montfort Memorial Award, given at the discretion of the judges for creativity and innovation in communication, for TSTA’s Hurricane Relief Center website.

Electronic Media award, for Hurricane Relief Center website.

Advertising award, for Bexar County parental involvement radio spots that ran at the beginning of the 2008-09 school year.

Duncan Reveals His Beliefs at USDOE Confirmation Hearing
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held a hearing to consider the nomination of Arne Duncan as Secretary of Education.  The committee is expected to vote quickly and move the nomination to the Senate floor as early as next week.  NEA worked closely with members of the committee in preparation for the hearing and submitted over 25 potential questions for Senators to ask  Duncan.  The following is a summary of the two-hour hearing. 

January 13, 2009
The Curtain Goes Up on the 81st Texas Legislature
The Texas House and Senate went in at noon today to start the 140 day journey that will be the 81st Session of the Texas Legislature. Today was mostly pomp and circumstance with most of the major action this week already having taken place away from the rotunda.

The New Boss
The issue of who will be speaker of the House was resolved weeks ago when a relative newcomer, state Rep. Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, emerged as the candidate who would end the rule of three time Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland. With the House almost evenly split between 76 Republicans and 74 Democrats, it was obvious to everyone but Craddick that this House would require bipartisan governance if it is going to have any chance of succeeding in addressing the issues that face the state.

The deal was done as 64 Democrats joined 15 Republicans to pick Straus as the new speaker. Today’s unanimous voice vote was a mere formality after a lot of nominating speeches by members of both parties. It remains to be seen what kind of speaker Straus will be, but there is no doubt that the House will be a very different chamber this session and that the members will exercise more control over the agenda. The new speaker has identified public education as one of his top priorities. “We must work to provide quality education at all levels for our children. … They are the future of Texas,” the new speaker told his colleagues and Texans across the state watching House proceedings on television and the Internet. TSTA looks forward to working with Straus to bring about the kind of public education system we need in Texas.

Senate Largely Unchanged
With 29 of 31 senators returning from last session, the upper chamber is basically unchanged. The election of new state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, over incumbent state Sen. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth, did shift the makeup of the Senate to 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats this session. Because the Senate has historically operated under a 2/3 rule that effectively allowed 11 members to block a bill from coming to the floor, it has typically operated in a fairly bipartisan manner.

Didn’t Completely Dodge That Bullet
The big news this week occurred yesterday when Comptroller Susan Combs released her revenue estimate. It was down significantly over what was available two years ago and portends a tight budget cycle. However, it is her preliminary estimate which is traditionally low, the state has more than $9 billion in the Rainy Day Fund, and some additional federal funds are expected to be available, as well. There is no question we are in one of the most severe economic recessions in memory, but revenue is available and public education must be at the top of the state’s list of priorities. It is the essential factor in driving the state’s economy.

The State Board of Education met this morning and delivered more bad news on the budget front. The Permanent School Fund, like all major endowments, is down significantly due to the drop in the stock market last year. As a result, the board doesn’t have the money necessary to provide assistance to the Available School Fund. This may result in a billion dollar charge a year to general revenue to offset the cost. The PSF also provides funding for textbooks that will not be available this year. New English Language Arts books where scheduled to be purchased for next year. The price tag is around $800 million. --Richard Kouri, Director of Public Affairs

Texas House Unanimously Elects Rep. Straus as Speaker
Following nomination speeches by members from both parties, the Texas House of Representatives unanimously elected state Rep. Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, by acclamation to be its speaker for the 81st Legislature. Straus succeeds former Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, who continues to serve in the House.

After taking the oath of office administered by Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson of the Texas Supreme Court, the new speaker said, “We must work to provide quality education at all levels for our children. … They are the future of Texas.”

Straus thanked his supporters in the House and honored Craddick and his wife, Nadine, for their service to Texas.

“Let us come together as colleagues and servants to do what is right for Texas. Collaboration is the key to success in this session," the new speaker told colleagues and Texans across the state watching the proceedings on television and the web.

“The Texas House of Representatives cannot conduct the people’s business if it is divided," Straus said. He pledged to create an atmosphere where all members’ voices will be heard and respected. The end result, he said, will be “stronger and better laws.”

Straus said that as speaker, he intends to empower members to do what is right for their constituents and for Texas. He concluded by urging his colleagues to “reach across the aisle, reach across the rotunda, to build a better future for Texas.” --Joe Bean, Public Affairs Specialist

Report on Best Practices in Dropout Prevention Released
A new report on Best Practices in Dropout Prevention, recently released by ICF International in partnership with the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network, found that three Texas programs had consistent, positive and meaningful effects on preventing dropouts. They were Career Academies, Communities In Schools and Project GRAD.

Career Academies operate as alternative schools within a larger high school and focus on making students career-ready by combining regular academic coursework with career centered curricula, having students focus on one career track, and giving them the opportunity to intern with local businesses.

Communities In Schools is a stay-in-school program utilizing a case management model to help students by providing services directly or linking students with other agencies and programs in the community to help them stay in school, attain better attendance rates, reduce behavior problems, improve academically and graduate or receive a GED.

Project GRAD works with high schools and their feeder schools to prevent dropouts and encourage college attendance by providing scholarships, while focusing on classroom management, student performance, parental involvement, graduation rates and college acceptance rates.

The Best Practices in Dropout Prevention study was a requirement of House Bill 2237, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2007. The bill, which included a number of provisions and programs aimed at improving high school completion and success rates, required the Texas Education Agency to conduct a study on best practices in dropout prevention.

In addition to identifying the most effective dropout programs, the study provides an overview of dropout prevention efforts and research, both nationally and across Texas. The study found that the most effective dropout programs utilized the following dropout strategies:

 • School-community collaboration;

• Safe learning environments;

• Family engagement;

• Mentoring/tutoring;

• Alternative schooling;

• Active learning; and

• Career and technology education  

The report also provides legislative recommendations and identifies dropout prevention programs that have potential for success in Texas.

The report stated that “results indicate that dropout prevention programs are reporting successes in various settings and with different populations. The evidence demonstrates that it is possible to achieve positive results using a core set of effective strategies, even among the highest risk populations.”

To view the full report, go to  http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/comm/leg_reports/bpdp_final
report_20081219_toTEA.pdf. 

January 12, 2009
NEA Helps Bring Presidential Inauguration to Classrooms
At the request of the Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC), the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) worked together to create a series of instructional guides and activities to help teachers across the country bring the 56th Presidential Inauguration to life in their classrooms. The guides are available at: www.nea.org/inaugurationlessons.html and www.pic2009.org/page/content/lessonplans.  

“It is crucial that our students understand that we are not only living history and making history with this inauguration, but also carrying forward the historical contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his influence on our incoming 44th president,” said NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. “These important lesson plans will help students understand President-elect Obama's message of a 'sense of unity and shared purpose' into the next four years and beyond.”

The instructional guides, developed jointly by a team of curriculum experts from AFT and NEA, are designed to teach students about the history of Inauguration Day and other historical connections to this particular inauguration. They include information about the 2009 Inaugural schedule of events and background on traditional Inaugural ceremonies. The guides also provide suggestions for supplementing the lessons with discussion topics, films, books and other educational websites.

The lesson guides are divided into three sections: “Learning History," which highlights the evolution of Inaugural events beginning with George Washington’s Inauguration in 1789; “Making History," which lets students follow along with President-elect Barack Obama's swearing in on January 20; and “Living History," which encourages students to continue studying the American government and the presidency beyond Inauguration Day. The materials are geared toward students from elementary school to high school, and offer lesson modifications based on the students’ ages.

“We are thrilled to partner with the AFT and NEA to make these lesson plans available to teachers across the country,” said PIC Executive Director Emmett S. Beliveau. “Inauguration Day is rich with tradition and speaks to both our common history and our shared future. We hope that these resources will help inspire students to learn more about this historic day.”

The Presidential Inaugural Committee has committed to making Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s Inauguration the most accessible and inclusive in history, and these lesson plans are just one more way that communities across the country can become involved in this historic event. These lesson plans will help students of all ages feel part of this historic moment in our country.

NEA Partners with kidthing for Dear Mr. President Project
The National Education Association (NEA) and kidthing proudly announce the Dear Mr. President project – a collaborative project that provides kids and classrooms the chance to share their hopes, dreams and ideas with President-Elect Barack Obama.

Beginning January 6, children will be asked to submit their ideas to kidthing in the form of letters or drawings to our 44th president. kidthing and the NEA will assemble the top 50 submissions into the first ever Dear Mr. President digital book to be unveiled on Presidents Day, February 16. In addition to the free digital copy, a limited edition printed copy will be sent to the White House. Teachers, parents and kids can learn more at http://www.nea.org/home/ns/29487.htm.

The NEA is making Dear Mr. President the centerpiece of its Presidential Inauguration education program for school children across the country. As part of this program, the NEA’s 3.2 million members will be engaging children in a national dialogue about democracy and citizenship during the Inaugural month of January.

kidthing, the company that created the first and only downloadable media player just for kids,
is announcing Dear Mr. President as the first in a collaborative series called ConnectingKids for 2009. Designed to create community among kids, ConnectingKids projects will provide opportunities for children to share their ideas with each other in a safe and secure way at kidthing. The Dear Mr. President project fosters active citizenship among children, using the power of the Internet in kidthing’s protected environment.

“This is an incredible moment in our country’s history and an opportunity to engage our youngest citizens in a dialogue with our new President. President-Elect Obama is the most digital President yet, and Dear Mr. President empowers today’s most digital generation to share with him. ” said Larry Hitchcock, kidthing CEO. “kidthing’s technology allows these digital kids to share their hopes and ideas in an exciting new digital way.”

kidthing is also the exclusive digital partner of the NEA’s Read Across America program (http://www.kidthing.com/nea). As part of this award-winning literacy program, kidthing offers teachers free digital versions of selected titles featured in the Read Across America calendar for use classrooms each month.

TSTA Names New GR Specialist for Texas Senate
The state’s oldest education organization begins the 81st Legislature’s regular session with a full agenda and a new government relations specialist to work with the Texas Senate.

The 65,000-member Texas State Teachers Association continues to push for a new system of funding public schools that is both sufficient and flexible, for a new accountability system that accurately measures student performance and for additional state investment to ensure the long-term solvency of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.

John M. Grey will be carrying that agenda to state senators and their staffs. A TSTA staff attorney for the past two years, Grey moves over to the association’s Center for Public Affairs.

“John Grey has the experience and insight that will serve TSTA well in working with the Texas Senate. He knows the issues, and he knows how the legislative process works,” association President Rita C. Haecker said. “This will be a critically important session for public school employees, and we’re pleased to have several new allies at the Capitol as a result of the 2008 election.”

Grey succeeds longtime government relations specialist Jack Kelly, who retired at the end of 2008. When Kelly began working for TSTA in August 1976, the average beginning teacher salary in Texas was $6,000. By the end of last year, it had risen to $40,000 – in no small part because of Kelly’s three decades of work with state senators and their staffs.

In private practice and in his work for TSTA, Kelly’s successor dealt with a wide array of legal issues affecting public schools and their employees. Grey also brings significant experience in state government to his new position, having worked for the Texas Legislative Council and for the Office of the Attorney General of Texas.

Grey earned his law degree at Southern Methodist University School of Law in Dallas, where he was the editor in chief of the SMU Computer Law Review and Technology Journal, and graduated from The University of Texas at Austin.

January 8, 2009
Bill to Repeal Social Security Offset Reintroduced
Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA) and Buck McKeon (R-CA) have reintroduced the Social Security Fairness Act to repeal the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision. The new bill number is H.R. 235. The previous bill, which had over 300 cosponsors, expired at the end of the last Congress. When the new Congress convened this week, our sponsors immediately reintroduced the bill--demonstrating their strong support for the issue and desire to send a message about its importance to their congressional colleagues.

The bill was introduced with over 80 cosponsors. We expect the Senate version to be re-introduced shortly.

ACTION NEEDED: Contact Members of Congress immediately and urge them to cosponsor H.R. 235 – the new Social Security Fairness Act. Concentrate on Members who cosponsored last year’s bill, as well as all new Members of Congress.

OUR GOAL: Rebuild the cosponsor list as quickly as possible to show momentum and convince congressional leaders to take action on the bill.

January 7, 2009
Senate Finance Committee Adopts Final Report
This morning the Senate Finance Committee met to consider the adoption of interim reports. The Committee approved the adoption of the following recommendations, which could lead to legislation being introduced on these subjects:

  1.  Establishing a generally accepted appraisal standard that would be used statewide to calculate property taxes, including a constitutional amendment for enforcement purposes

  2.  Allow the sales tax to increase by .25% if counties lower their rollback rate by a certain amount

  3.  Move the school district rollback rate elections up to June

  4.  Prevent constitutional challenges to the property appraisal system and revenue caps

  5.  Establish a mechanism for revue of the school funding formula

  6.  Find a way to help school districts that are frozen at their target revenue

  7.  Establish a system that gives school districts money as the need arises and stop the current practice of giving the districts all requested money up front

  8.  Allow municipalities and school districts to have their assets collateralized, which was a proposal that was defeated last session

  9.   Combine existing facility funding programs for school districts

10.  Limit what will qualify for state assistance, i.e., projects like new football fields must be paid for locally

11.  Prohibit school districts from entering into lease/purchase agreements while grandfathering those already in place

 January 2, 2009
TEA Will Launch Redesigned Website Monday, Jan. 5
The Texas Education Agency will debut a redesigned website Monday afternoon, Jan. 5. This new site will take over the agency’s existing URL address, www.tea.state.tx.us. It will take a number of months to move all 60,000 existing web pages into the new format. Consequently, you may encounter some broken links if you try to view older content. However, you will be able to access this legacy content by changing the address to http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us.

TEA hopes you find the redesigned website easy to use. It will feature a Google-search engine, which will greatly improve the search function. The new home page will feature portals where administrators, teachers and outside entities doing business with TEA can go for targeted information. Additional portals organize information by topic. Parents and prospective teachers will have ready access to key information through a new section called “How do I...”

If your website links to the TEA site, please check to make sure your links still work once the redesigned agency site becomes active and, if necessary, update those bookmarks. Please share this information with others in your school district or organization.

TEA encourages you to send any feedback or questions about the website to teainfo@tea.state.tx.us. The agency will continue to work to improve the site.

Former U.S. Senator Who Created Pell Grants Dies at 90
"Claiborne Pell, the quirky blueblood who represented blue-collar Rhode Island in the U.S. Senate for 36 years and was the force behind a grant program that has helped tens of millions of Americans attend college, died Thursday after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He was 90," The Associated Press reported. more

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