Volume 21, No. 2 for the week ending February 18, 2011

Negotiations Repeal Passes Senate Education Committee Teachers Across Facing An Immediate Crisis!

On Wednesday, February 16, the Senate Education Committee voted 6-3 to pass SB 113, sponsored by Sen. Jack Johnson (R-College Grove), which would totally repeal the 1978 Education Professional Negotiations Act (EPNA). TEA views this as nothing short of a frontal assault on teacher rights which would “turn back the clock” for public education and public school employees. Section 2 (a) of SB 113 clearly lays out the intent of the legislation:

On or after the effective date of this act, no local board of education shall negotiate with a professional employees’ organization or teachers’ union concerning the terms or conditions of professional service.

Those senators who voted “YES” (AGAINST TEA’S POSITION) were:

Senator (R-Johnson City) -- [email protected] Senator (R-Somerville) -- [email protected] Senator (R-Germantown) -- [email protected] Senator (R-Dickson) -- [email protected] Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) -- [email protected] Senator Jamie Woodson (R-Knoxville) -- [email protected]

Those senators who voted “NO” (FOR TEA’S POSITION) were:

Senator Andy Berke (D-Chattanooga) -- [email protected] Senator Charlotte Burks (D-Monterey) -- [email protected] Senator Reginald Tate (D-Memphis) -- [email protected]

TEA members are strongly urged to contact the six legislators who voted against teachers and express extreme displeasure in their vote. Likewise, members should thank Sens. Berke, Burks, and Tate who stood up for teachers!

The highly divisive legislation is likely to be before the full Senate within days. TEA’s message to senators should be simple. Some “talking points” on the bill might include:

. SB 113 is not about education reform, but simply a political attack on teachers. . The bill will “turn back the clock” on relations between teachers and boards of education. . The bill will unilaterally take away the rights of teachers to have a voice relative to salaries, benefits, and working conditions and places complete power in the hands of school boards.

TEA Legislative Report Page 6

. Negotiation involves much more than “pocketbook” issues for educators. A great deal of emphasis is placed on student achievement. Remember: “the working conditions of teachers are the learning conditions of students.”

It is essential that all members of the Senate receive numerous contacts against SB 113. To contact your Senator go to the TEA web site at www.teateachers.org. Click on “Issues and Advocacy”, then Legislative Action Center, and then click on the General Assembly web site. CONTACTS SHOULD BE MADE IMMEDIATELY!

Other Bills of Great Concern to TEA (Not a complete list -- will be updated after the bill filing deadline)

HB 130/SB 113 sponsored by Rep. Debra Maggart (R-Hendersonville) and Sen. Jack Johnson (R- College Grove). Simply put, this bill would completely repeal the Education Professional Negotiations Act.

HB 159/SB 136 sponsored by Rep. Glen Casada (R-College Grove) and Sen. Bill Ketron (R- Murfreesboro). This bill would prohibit payroll dues deduction for public employees.

HB 594/SB 784 sponsored by Rep. Glen Casada (R-College Grove) and Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) – Prohibits public employees from having a payroll deduction to a political action committee or for dues for membership organizations that use funds for political activities.

HB 599/SB 401 sponsored by Rep. Glen Casada (R-Franklin) and Sen. (R-Knoxville) - - Requires certain political activities by labor organizations be funded separately through voluntary donations of members and not through regularly collected dues. - Amends TCA Title 50, Chapter 1.

HB 144 sponsored by Rep. Glen Casada (R-College Grove) – Removes specific authority of Department of Education to request assistance from Tennessee Education Association with matters related to the Volunteer Public Education Trust Fund Act.

HB 145 sponsored by Rep. Glen Casada – Removes the Tennessee Education Association’s recommendations from consideration by speaker of the house for appointment on the Tennessee Financial Literacy Commission’s Board of Directors.

HB 146/SB 876 – sponsored by Rep. Rep. Glen Casada (R-College Grove) and Sen. Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville) – Would give the commissioner of education the opportunity to appoint a representative from Professional Educators of Tennessee to the Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE) statewide safety team. adds representative of the Professional Educators of Tennessee to current eligibility list for appointment by commissioner of education to state-level safety team to assist with compliance with the SAVE Act.

HB 147/SB 751 sponsored by Rep. Glen Casada (R-College Grove) and Sen. Dolores Gresham (R- Somerville) – Removes specific reference to Tennessee education association in permissible requests for assistance from State Board of Education and for speaker of the House’s appointment to Tennessee Financial Literacy Commission. TEA Legislative Report Page 7

HB 160/SB 139 sponsored by Rep. Glen Casada (R-College Grove) and Sen. Bill Ketron (R- Murfreesboro). This bill would make it illegal for TEA’s political action committee to make contributions to any candidate.

HB 179/SB 294 sponsored by Rep. Glen Casada (R-College Grove) and Sen. Dolores Gresham (R- Somerville) -- Allows equal access to employees by all professional employees' organizations.

HB 202/SB 309 sponsored by Rep. Glen Casada (R-Franklin) and Sen. Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville) -- Authorizes Department of Education to request assistance, regarding matters related to the Volunteer Public Education Trust Fund Act, from any state-licensed classroom instructor instead of the Tennessee Education Association in general. - Amends TCA Section 49-3-404.

HB 203/SB SB 311 sponsored by Rep. Glen Casada (R-Franklin) and Sen. Dolores Gresham (R- Somerville) -- Replaces the Tennessee Education Association's recommendations with any state- licensed classroom instructor for consideration by speaker of the house for appointment on the Tennessee Financial Literacy Commission's Board of Directors. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 7, Part 31.

HB 233/SB 330 sponsored by Rep. Harry Brooks (R-Knoxville) and Sen. Jim Summerville (R-Dickson) -- Requires public institutions of higher education to give equal access to any domestic professional educators' organization if access to students in teacher training programs is granted to any other professional educators' organization. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 5; Title 49, Chapter 7; Title 49, Chapter 8 and Title 49, Chapter 9.

HB 367/SB 624 sponsored by Rep. Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville) and Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) -- Allows the board of education to grant teachers tenure at any time between their third and tenth years of service; eliminates judicial review of decision to suspend or dismiss a teacher for incompetence, inefficiency, neglect of duty, unprofessional conduct or insubordination. - Amends TCA Title 49.

HB 387/SB 486 sponsored by Rep. Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville) and Sen. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) – Provides scholarship aid to students with special needs to permit parents of such students to choose schools, either public or private, that their children will attend.

HB 388/SB 485 sponsored by Rep. Bill Dunn and Sen. Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) – Enacts the “Equal Opportunity Scholarship Act.” (Vouchers)

HB 505/SB 491 sponsored by Rep. Harry Brooks (R-Knoxville) and Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro) -- Revises various provisions of the Tennessee Public Charter Schools Act, including eliminating caps on the number of charter schools and changing requirements for charter schools' prospective student population. - Amends TCA Title 49, Chapter 13.

HB 565/SB 102 sponsored by Rep. (R-Hohenwald) and Sen. Dolores Gresham (R- Somerville). This bill would remove from TEA the right to elect teacher representatives on the Board of Trustees of the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS).

HB 732/SB 714 sponsored by Rep. Harry Brooks (R-Knoxville) and Sen. Jamie Woodson (R-Knoxville) – Authorizes LEAs and the Department of Education to sponsor or establish virtual schools; enacts the “Virtual Public Schools Act.”

HB 895/SB 788 sponsored by Rep. Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) and Sen. Stacey Campfield (R- Knoxville) – Requires the Department of Education to post teacher effect data by LEA and school in which the teacher is employed on the Internet.

TEA Legislative Report Page 8

HB 1030/SB 874 sponsored by Rep. Harry Brooks (R-Knoxville) and Sen. Dolores Gresham (R- Somerville) – Enacts “The Virtual Public School Act.”

HB 1375/SB 688 sponsored by Rep. Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) and Sen. Jim Summerville (R- Dickson) – Removes licensure as a requirement for being employed as a teacher, principal, or supervisor of an LEA.

HB 1388 sponsored by Rep. Harry Brooks (R-Knoxville) – Reforms system of K-12 teacher tenure.

HB 1475/SB 905 sponsored by Rep. Rep. John Forgety (R-Athens) and Sen. (R-Hixson) – States that all local education agency employees in positions for which no teaching license is required shall be hired on an at-will basis.

SB 1181 sponsored by Sen. Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville) – Allows cities that do not operate city school systems to sponsor charter schools.

SB 362 sponsored by Sen. Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville) – Prohibits professional employees of a local school system or the department of education who are board members of professional education associations from receiving administrative leave to attend board meetings. - Amends TCA Section 8-50- 110.

Stay Informed – Be Involved!

Want to receive this Report (and other legislative updates) by e-mail regularly during the legislative session? Sign up for TEA’s G-R-E-A-T Team by sending your request to [email protected]. Please include your first and last name, your local association and your HOME e-mail address. You will automatically receive any e-mail alerts regarding legislative activities. This service is available to TEA MEMBERS ONLY, and you must provide us with your HOME – not work – e-mail addr