Apr
21
Written by:
Mark Lavergne
4/21/2011 5:32 PM
A bill that could come on the House floor Tuesday would save teachers’ jobs across the state, according to the bill’s author Education Chairman Rob Eissler (R-The Woodlands). Teacher unions, however, are saying that the bill will cost teacher jobs.
HB 400, among other things, repeals mandated teacher pay increases. Under current law in Texas, Eissler told LSR at a press conference for his bill this morning, teacher salaries cannot be lowered. Either school districts must follow the state mandated teacher salary schedule, or they must lay off the teacher. Eissler’s bill allows for something in between, as he sees it.
The bill allows for teacher furloughs – maintaining the 180 instructional day requirement for students but allowing reduction of staff development days. It also allows districts to increase the district-wide class size average in kindergarten-4th grade to 25. But Eissler plans to amend the bill to maintain the class size limit and instead direct the education commissioner to grant exceptions from the limit under certain circumstances.
It tries to save school districts money by allowing reduction in force for budgetary reasons through the less costly nonrenewal process. School districts are allowed under the bill as currently drafted to inform teachers of nonrenewal of their contracts as late as the last day of instruction. Current law requires teachers be informed 45 days before that. An amendment Eissler plans to bring would push the deadline for nonrenewal back to 15 days before the last day of instruction.
The bill has four authors, and another 74 co-authors, all Republican.
The Texas Classroom Teachers Association is opposing the bill, arguing it focuses budget cuts “directly on the classroom,” according to an info sheet distributed following the press conference. TCTA maintains that the bill harms classroom instruction and makes it “easier to fire teachers, not save their jobs.”
TCTA is supporting an amendment from Rep. Larry Phillips (R-Sherman) that would allow furloughs temporarily for all contractual personnel, including administrators, with provisions for input from school district employees and the public. The amendment would also give more class-size flexibility similar to Eissler's floor amendment, but again, only temporarily. The provisions in Eissler's bill and floor amendment are permanent.
The bill has also been opposed by the Texas State Teachers Association, the Association of Texas Professional Educators, and the Texas American Federation of Teachers.
But the bill has gotten support from the Texas Association of School Administrators and the Texas Association of School Boards, Eissler said.
Also backing it is Texas Association of Business president Bill Hammond, who was on hand at the presser this morning.