Key education bills still in play as legislators take summer break
Legislators who headed out of town on Friday for a month have already decided the fate of many key bills. Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a much debated child vaccination law that eliminates the personal belief exemption to school-required vaccinations. All of the bills to rewrite the teacher evaluation law have been defeated or appear, at least for now, delayed until next year. Efforts to rescind last year’s limit on school districts’ reserves have foundered.
But when they return in mid-August, lawmakers will take final action on key bills that remain very much alive: suspending the high school exit exam; expanding preschool for low-income children; and creating new options for high school students to take community college courses. Here’s an updated look at legislation that EdSource has tracked.
Reforming teacher evaluations – Democrat version
SB 499, by Sen. Carol Liu, D-La Cañada Flintridge, and Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, would rewrite the Stull Act, the law outlining teacher evaluations, with a locally negotiated “best practices” system with at least three performance categories, instead of the current pass-fail system. The Assembly version is AB 575, by Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach, and Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego.
Why it’s important: Lawmakers, in the wake of the Vergara lawsuit ruling, are facing pressure to rewrite the teacher evaluation law. This version would be more acceptable to teachers unions than Republicans’ alternatives.
Status: The Senate passed SB 499. Its Assembly counterpart, AB 575, squeaked by with one vote to spare. But Liu and O’Donnell pulled their bills from further consideration amid substantial opposition from organizations representing school boards and school administrators, who oppose the provision giving local teachers unions the power to negotiate the content of a teacher’s evaluation. With a waiver from the Rules Committee, either bill could be taken up again next month. But unless there’s a breakthrough in negotiations, it appears that both bills will be taken up again next year.
Also of note: AB 1184, by Assemblywoman Nora Campos, D-San Jose, would permit a third year of probation specifically for San Jose Unified. It too is now a two-year bill; it will be reintroduced in the next legislative session. Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, presented AB 1495 as a compromise rewrite of the Stull Act, the law outlining teacher evaluations. Although Democrats killed the bill in committee, Weber’s impassioned call for fellow Democrats to support it went viral.
Reforming teacher evaluations – Republican version
AB 1078, by Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen, R-Modesto, also would have rewritten the Stull Act to require annual teacher reviews using four evaluation categories, instead of the current pass-fail system, with incentives to include the use of standardized test scores as a factor.
Why it’s important: Assembly Republicans introduced a series of bills in response to the Vergara decision overturning teacher labor protection laws. They included AB 1044, by Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-San Ramon, banning layoffs exclusively by seniority, and AB 1248, by Assemblyman Rocky Chavez, R-Oceanside, extending probation leading to tenure from the current two years to three years.
Status: All three Republican-authored bills were defeated in the Assembly Education Committee on party-line votes.
Funding Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment program
AB 141, by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, would require all districts and county offices of education to provide and pay for the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) program. This would be a state-mandated program.
Why it’s important: BTSA, once a national model for training new teachers, has withered with the end of state funding of the program under Key education bills still in play as legislators take summer break | EdSource:
