Teach the Vote's Week in Review: July 29, 2016

Date Posted: 7/30/2016 | Author: Jennifer Mitchell, CAE
Here is this week's recap of federal and state education developments:
This week, Governor Greg Abbott appointed four new members to serve on the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC), replacing outgoing members whose terms expired last year but remained on the board until the appointments were made. ATPE Lobbyist Kate Kuhlmann reports that Rohanna Brooks-Sykes, a counselor at Klein High School; Arturo J. “Art” Cavazos, superintendent for the Harlingen CISD; Sandie Mullins Moger, a former Houston Community College Trustee who will serve as a public member; and Laurie J. Turner, an American history teacher at Gregory-Portland Junior High School, will all begin their terms set to expire in 2021 next week when SBEC convenes for its August meeting.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) notified stakeholders earlier this week of new guidance released by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) on the McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youths program, which was reauthorized and amended under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The guidance is a part of a series of documents that ED intends to release in an effort to assist states and districts as they seek to understand and implement the new federal law. Among the new requirements, states and districts will be required to identify the graduation rates of homeless student populations, provide professional development, ensure access to support services for preschool-aged homeless children, maintain privacy of student records, and expand school stability services such as transportation. The Department also released a fact sheet covering expanded information on how teachers, principals, counselors, and other staff can support homeless youth. View ED’s fact sheet and guidance on this and other ESSA provisions for more information.


The Teacher Retirement System (TRS) Board of Trustees met today, and ATPE Lobbyist Josh Sanderson provided the following update. The board met in part to continue discussions on the budget request that TRS will submit to the legislature when it convenes for the 2017 biennial session in January. TRS projects public education aggregate compensation to increase by 3.5% over the 2018-19 biennium, and as such is requesting that the required additional funding be appropriated to pay the state's 6.8% contribution to the pension trust fund. This is a common occurrence as long as schools are hiring staff to accommodate the increasing student population, but there have been years in the recent past where payroll was projected to remain flat, largely because of state budget cuts. As long as there is no political manipulation of the assumption values TRS uses to calculate the status of the fund, the trust fund remains healthy. However, there have already been proposals made by political appointees that would potentially unfairly harm TRS. ATPE is working to ensure that your benefits are accurately calculated and that the state meets its end of the bargain in contributing to your retirement and health care benefits. As it relates to health care, legislative interim committee reports are expected to be released soon, and after submitting testimony to the committee appointed to work on active and retiree health insurance issues, we are hopeful that elected officials will include our request to increase state investment in both plans to equal that of other private and public plans. Next week, the Senate Education Committee holds an interim hearing on August 3 at which the topic will be "a comprehensive performance review of all public schools in Texas, examining ways to improve efficiency, productivity, and student academic outcomes." The discussions will include performance-based funding and "mandates," along with an examination of the effectiveness of the state's only two county-based school systems in the counties of Harris and Dallas. Stay tuned to Teach the Vote for updates next week on this and other upcoming interim hearings.
CONVERSATION
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

School Finance, Educator Preparation | Certification, Retirement | TRS | Social Security, Texas Legislature, Curriculum | Instruction, Privatization | Vouchers, School Safety, Educator Compensation | Benefits
03/24/2023
Teach the Vote’s Week in Review: March 24, 2023
ATPE testifies against vouchers at marathon Senate Education Committee hearing, plus House committees hear bills on student restraint, curriculum issues, pre-k certification, and more.

03/23/2023
Senate receives overwhelming opposition to vouchers
The Texas Senate Education Committee heard overwhelming opposition to school vouchers in a marathon hearing Wednesday, March 23.

Educator Preparation | Certification, Texas Legislature, Curriculum | Instruction, Privatization | Vouchers, School Safety, Testing | Accountability
03/23/2023
House Public Education Committee considers bills on curriculum, library review
The pace at the Capitol noticeably increased this week, including in the House Public Education Committee where ATPE testified on several bills.