Monday, April 26, 2010

Updated Lists of Bills and Resolutions

Each week we update our lists of education-related bills and resolutions with the current status of each. See the lists at the following links:
• Summary all Education-Related Bills
• Top Education Bills to Watch
• Summary of Education-Related Resolutions

For more information on bills before the 2010 session of the Louisiana Legislature, please see http://www.legis.state.la.us/.

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House Committee Activity

Last week, the House Education Committee met on Tuesday, April 20 and Wednesday, April 21. The following bills were considered on Tuesday:

• HB 251 (Smith, Patricia) – This bill requires the state superintendent of education to possess certain qualifications at the time of appointment by BESE. It was amended and reported favorably. Click here for a related Times-Picayune article.
• HB 399 (Pearson) – This bill exempts, under specified fiscal conditions, a local school board from complying with the requirement that the board grant certain requests for sabbatical leave. It was voluntarily deferred.
• HB 400 (Pearson) – This bill exempts, under specified fiscal conditions, a local school board from complying with the requirement that the board permit certain employees to take up to 90 days of extended sick leave. It was voluntarily deferred.
• HB 402 (Pearson) – This bill requires the Board of Regents to broadcast on the Internet the audio and video of all board and committee meetings conducted in Baton Rouge and to archive the audio and video of such meetings. It was reported favorably.
• HB 403 (Pearson) – This bill requires BESE to broadcast on the Internet the audio and video of all board and committee meetings conducted in Baton Rouge and to archive the audio and video of such meetings. It was reported favorably.
• HB 405 (Dixon) – This bill requires BESE to adopt rules and regulations for the use of seclusion and physical restraint of students. It was amended and reported favorably.
• HB 425 (Hoffmann) – This bill provides relative to the certification of principals and authorizes certain fees related to certification of the teachers, principals, and other educators. It was deferred.
• HB 539 (Katz) – This bill authorizes the Monroe school board to sell the Georgia Tucker school at public or private sale. It was reported favorably.
• HB 633 (Smith, Patricia) – This bill increases the amount of paid sick leave received by school support workers under certain circumstances. It was voluntarily deferred.
• HB 745 (White) – This bill provides for transfer of certain 16th section land from EBR Parish School System to Central Community School System and makes related changes to geographic boundaries between the systems. It was reported favorably.
• HB 972 (Smith, Patricia) – This bill provides relative to appointment of members of the Board of Supervisors of Community and Technical Colleges. It was deferred.
• HB 1014 (Norton) – This bill removes state funding restrictions relative to planning time for teachers. It was reported favorably.
• HB 1029 (Hoffmann) – This bill provides relative to instruction in Civics and Free Enterprise. It was amended and reported favorably.
• HB 1188 (Hardy) – This bill, regarding the Lafayette Parish school system, provides relative to the transportation of students on field trips. It was reported favorably.
• HB 1225 (Dixon) – This bill provides relative to BESE standards for approving alternative schools and alternative education programs for students suspended or expelled from public k-12 schools. It was reported favorably.
• HB 1239 (Dixon) – This bill requires the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt rules and regulations relative to the physical abuse of public school teachers and employees by students. It was reported favorably.

The following bills were considered on Wednesday:

• HB 50 (Chaney) – This bill provides relative to procedures for the adoption of textbooks. It was voluntarily deferred, to be turned into a study resolution. Click here for a related Times-Picayune article.
• HB 177 (Pope) – This bill requires the state to pay the transportation costs for students attending approved nonpublic elementary and secondary schools. It was reported without action and recommitted to the House Appropriations Committee.
• HB 216 (Foil) – This bill provides for a school choice pilot program for certain students with exceptionalities. It was amended and reported favorably.
• HB 561 (Baldone) – This bill provides a salary supplement for certain public school educational diagnosticians. It was amended and reported favorably.
• HB 739 (Hoffmann) – This bill provides relative to the employment as a full-time teacher of a member of the Teachers' Retirement System of La. who is retired. It was reported favorably and recommitted to the House Retirement Committee.
• HB 1055 (Richmond) – This bill eliminates the division of adult and community education within the Dept. of Education and transfers the responsibility for adult education programs from BESE to LCTCS. It was amended and reported favorably.
• HB 1209 (Jones, R.) – This bill creates the La. Educator Professional Practices Commission to investigate complaints and allegations of educator sexual misconduct in schools with authority to suspend or revoke teaching and principal's certificates subject to appeal to BESE. It was not considered.

This week, the House Education Committee will meet on Wednesday, April 28 and Thursday, April 29 at 9:00 am each day in House Committee Room 1. The following bills will be considered on Wednesday:

• HB 529 (Smith, Patricia) – This bill requires instruction with respect to sex education in public schools.
• HB 633 (Smith, Patricia) – This bill increases the amount of paid sick leave received by school support workers under certain circumstances.
• HB 942 (Carter) – This bill provides relative to the employment of the local public school superintendent and the authority of the superintendent and the school board for personnel matters.
• HB 996 (Tucker) – This bill is a constitutional amendment that abolishes the Board of Regents, LSU board, Southern University board, and UL board and creates the La. University System Board of Trustees.
• HB 1033 (Hoffman) – This bill provides relative to evaluation and assessment programs for teachers and administrators.
• HB 1128 (Leger) – This bill provides relative to charter schools in the areas of special education and discipline.
• HB 1135 (Greene) – This bill provides school start and end dates for public and approved nonpublic schools.
• HB 1209 (Jones, R.) – This bill creates the La. Educator Professional Practices Commission to investigate complaints and allegations of educator sexual misconduct in schools with authority to suspend or revoke teaching and principal's certificates subject to appeal to BESE.
• HB 1224 (Tucker) – This bill provides relative to the governance, management, and supervision of public institutions of postsecondary education.

The following bills will be considered on Thursday:

• HB 1343 (Norton) – This bill provides relative to corporal punishment in public elementary and secondary schools.
• HB 1437 (Norton) – This bill requires school boards to provide for the noon dismissal of students transported by school bus on days when the expected high temperature is 100 degrees or higher.

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Senate Committee Activity

Last week, the Senate Education Committee met on Thursday, April 22.

· SCR 20 (Nevers) – This bill provides legislative approval of the MFP formula for FY 2010-2011 adopted by BESE on March 11, 2010. It was reported favorably and recommitted to the Senate Finance Committee. Click here  for a related article from The Advocate.
· SB 86 (B. Gautreaux) – This bill establishes a cap on TOPS award amounts. It was deferred.
· SB 89 (Long) – This bill removes unnecessary statutory provision that placed the La. School of Math, Science, and the Arts within the Dept. of Education. It was reported favorably.
· SB 111 (Long) – This bill allows the La. School for Math, Science, and the Arts to admit high school sophomores on the same basis as juniors and seniors. It was amended and reported favorably.
· SB 112 (Long) – This bill prohibits inclusion of performance data related to students educated in secure facilities under the jurisdiction of the office of juvenile justice in the school or district performance scores of the public school system in which the secure facility is located. It was amended and reported favorably.
· SB 182 (N. Gautreaux) – This bill provides for certain awards and payments from the Tuition Opportunity Program for Students for Louisiana National Guardsmen. It was reported favorably.
· SB 240 (Murray) – This bill allows the Orleans Parish School Board to exclude certain costs from the amount of local funds that it would otherwise be required to transfer to the RSD. It was deferred for one week.
· SB 285 (Donahue) – This bill includes students educated in secure facilities under the jurisdiction of the office of juvenile justice in the MFP. It was reported favorably.
· SB 302 (Appel) – This bill requires BESE to assign letter grades to public schools and school districts reflective of their performance. It was amended and reported favorably.
· SB 344 (Duplessis) – This bill provides relative to submission and review of charter school proposals and charter renewals. It was reported favorably.
· SB 353 (Nevers) – This bill requires a vote of the people before any local revenues can be transferred or allocated to a charter school. It was deferred.
· SB 489 (Nevers) – This bill requires the Department of Education to reimburse local school boards for salary supplements paid to certain nationally board certified school personnel. It was reported favorably.
· SB 509 (Long) – This bill includes the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts in the MFP. It was amended and reported favorably.
· SB 533 (LaFleur) – This bill requires BESE to increase the availability of electronic textbooks and instructional materials. It was amended and reported favorably.
· SB 553 (LaFleur) – This bill requires BESE to develop an early high school graduation policy. It was reported favorably.
· SB 627 (LaFleur) – This bill transfers museums from the secretary of state to the lieutenant governor. It was deferred for one week.
· SB 628 (Duplessis) – This bill provides relative to student suspensions and expulsions. It was voluntarily deferred, to be turned into a study resolution.
· SB 713 (Nevers) – This bill provides limitation of liability for LAICU and member institutions if confidential student information they are required to submit to the Board of Regents is breached as the result of board actions. It was amended and reported favorably.

This week, the Senate Education Committee will meet on Thursday, April 29, in the John J. Hainkel, Jr. Room upon adjournment of the regular floor session. The agenda is not yet available.

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Race to the Top Update

One month after Delaware and Tennessee were named the winners of the first round of the Race to the Top grant competition, education officials, experts, and legislators in Louisiana and around the country continue to analyze the results. The variation in scoring among the reviewers has raised questions about fairness and the weighting of the application criteria. Senator Mary Landrieu, among others, vigorously questioned Education Secretary Arne Duncan at a recent meeting of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee dealing with education. The U.S. Department of Education has defended Race to the Top’s reviewers and process, saying that its own statistical analysis found no consistent skewing in the scores that would indicate bias or unreliability. For more on the ongoing analysis, see this article from Education Week.

Meanwhile the Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) is working on its application for round two of the competition. State Superintendent Paul Pastorek was in Minneapolis last week for a U.S. Department of Education seminar to assist states with their applications. Department officials are also meeting with various education stakeholders and school boards to encourage them to support or join the application. Last week, for example, LDE representative Chris Myer met with the Lafayette Parish School Board and explained that the opt-out clause the board wanted was a weakness, reflecting uncertain commitment. Some board members, however, remained wary of LDE and of federal involvement. LDE has until the June 1st application deadline to resolve issues like these and strengthen its position for round two.
 

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