Monday, April 22, 2013

OPPOSE ACT 1 REDUX BILLS HB 478, HB 596 AND HB 644

TAKE ACTION TODAY! CONTACT MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE. TELL THEM TO OPPOSE ACT 1 REDUX BILLS HB 478, HB 596 AND HB 644!


 

Next Wednesday, April 24th, the House Committee on Education will take up ACT 1 REDUX legislation. Even though, Act 1 of 2012 was ruled unconstitutional by a Baton Rouge District Judge and is now waiting on a ruling by the Louisiana Supreme Court, Governor Bobby Jindal continues to ignore the judicial system by trying to force three (3) separate bills, through the House Education Committee, to re-enact Act 1 of 2012.


 

These bills do NOTHING to improve public education in Louisiana. The Governor wants to keep up the attack on many fronts, to confuse the supporters of public education. HB 478, 596 and 644 are punitive with respect to public education, educators and students. These bills do NOT improve or support teachers in the classroom and will create a process that will intimidate and fire good teachers for non-valid reasons.


 

HB 478

•    Intensifies reliance on high-stakes tests to evaluate teachers and schools.

•    Creates a dismissal process for teachers based on the flawed method of teacher evaluation brought forth in ACT 54.

•    Eliminates seniority as a criterion in all reduction in force (RIF) decisions.

•    Creates a dismissal process for teachers based on a flawed method of teacher evaluation.

•    Takes away all due process rights if an educator receives just one "ineffective" rating, with no proof or documentation required.


 

HB 596

•    Tightens the regulations on public schools while deregulating the privately managed schools.

•    Gives superintendents and principals sole discretion on employment decisions without school board approval and oversight.


 

HB 644

•    Educators stand to lose salary schedules based on the state's minimum salary schedule established by law and allow the state to manipulate district salary schedules based on the flawed "value-added" model (VAM).

•    Allows local superintendents to immediately fire any teacher who was rated "ineffective" by the flawed "value-added" system of evaluation without adequate due process.


 

Please take action in three ways >>>


 

  1. First, send an email to all members of the House Education Committee? A sample email is provided below. Just copy and paste all House Education Committee member emails into the "To" line of your email and then copy and paste the body of the message into your email and press send.


 

(Copy and Paste Email Addresses of House Education Committee)

carters@legis.la.gov; jeffersonpo@legis.la.gov; bishopw@legis.la.gov; broadwaterc@legis.la.gov; burnsh@legis.la.gov; carmodyt@legis.la.gov; champags@legis.la.gov; edwardsj@legis.la.gov; henryc@legis.la.gov; hollisp@legis.la.gov; iveyb@legis.la.gov; landryn@legis.la.gov; pricee@legis.la.gov; richardj@legis.la.gov; shadoinr@legis.la.gov; smithp@legis.la.gov; thompsonj@legis.la.gov; williamsa@legis.la.gov; larep036@legis.la.gov; legerw@legis.la.gov


 

(Copy and Paste the body of this message into your email)


 

Dear Members of the House Committee on Education,


 

Please oppose HB 478, HB 596, and HB 644.


 

HB 478, 596 and 644 are punitive with respect to public education, educators and students. These bills do NOT improve or support teachers in the classroom and will create a process that will intimidate and fire good teachers for non-valid reasons.


 

HB 478 attempts to eliminate a fair process for dismissal in Reduction-In-Force (RIF) situations. Under current law, seniority is only one of several criteria the school board may use to reduce in force. If passed, HB 478 would lay-off our most experienced teachers from the classroom, and reduce -- and most likely eliminate -- the increased knowledge base in our classrooms, thereby hurting students. This is not in the best interest of students or the educators who teach them. Using only performance-based RIFs hurts students, due to the fact that the model (VAM) used to determine the performance of a teacher is mathematically and statistically flawed. Basing a Reduction-In-Force (RIF) on performance in Louisiana is a flawed and misrepresented process and should not be allowed.


 

HB 596 attempts to give superintendents and principals sole discretion on employment decisions without school board approval and oversight and tighten regulations on public schools while deregulating the privately managed schools.


 

HB 644 attempts to create a compensation system that will cause disparity among teachers in regard to salaries, due to the fact that the compensation system proposed is based on the same mathematically and statistically flawed system of evaluation, being used in HB 478 for Reduction-In-Force (RIF) situations. The new compensation system proposes to base 50% of a teacher's salary solely on performance, which is derived from the "value-added model" (VAM) data system; a model that has been proven to be an invalid and unreliable method in which to gauge a teacher's effectiveness in the classroom.


 

Many reports over the past year have shown major flaws in the current "value-added" (VAM) system of teacher evaluation in Louisiana. To use this flawed system to lay-off a teacher or calculate a teacher's compensation level is irresponsible.


 

Please oppose HB 478, HB 596 and HB 644 in the House Education Committee on Wednesday, April 24th.


 


 

  1. Second, please call the district offices of all the House Education Committee members. Phone numbers for all House Education Committee members are listed below. Simply leave a message with their district office asking them to oppose HB 478, HB 596 and HB 644, coming up in the House Education Committee on Wednesday, April 24th. These bills will only hurt students and teachers.


 

Representative Steve Carter (Chair): (225) 362-5305

Representative Patrick Jefferson (Vice Chair): (318) 927-2519

Representative Wesley Bishop: (504) 242-4198

Representative Christopher Broadwater: (985) 543-4900

Representative Henry Burns: (318) 949-2463

Representative Thomas Carmody: (318) 862-9956

Representative Simone Champagne: (337) 937-8827

Representative John Bel Edwards: (985) 748-2245

Representative Cameron Henry: (504) 838-5433

Representative Paul Hollis: (985) 871-4680

Representative Barry Ivey: (225) 261-5739

Representative Nancy Landry: (337) 262-2252

Representative Edward Price: (225) 644-6738

Representative Jerome Richard: (985) 447-0999

Representative Robert Shadoin: (318) 251-5039

Representative Patricia Haynes Smith: (225) 342-7106

Representative Jeff Thompson: (318) 741-2850

Representative Alfred Williams: (225) 382-3243


 

  1. Third, please meet us on the Capitol Steps at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 24th. LAE will give a brief overview of the legislation and then proceed to the House Education Committee hearing at 8:30 a.m. The hearing itself will be in House Committee Room 1 and begin at 9:00 a.m.


 

Thank you for taking action to contact members of the House Education Committee!

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