HB 7029: Inside the Most Talked About Education Legislation in Florida for 2016

legislation that is built on multiple pieces of other related bills at the end of session is called  a "Train"

Everyone connected to education has something to say about HB 7029, the massive, omnibus education legislation that passed the House and Senate on the last day of this year's legislative session.  There are a lot of member priorities tucked into the law, as many bills that may not have passed on their own were added to the bill late in the game. That's how the sausage comes out of the hopper, that is how many bills end up becoming laws.

Of course I am very pleased with the membership association language that was included--this was absolutely necessary and long overdue.  Conservative school board members should not be forced to join high-priced,  taxpayer-funded membership associations that spend this money unwisely on needless litigation against the Governor and the Legislature.  We should have always enjoyed, as individually elected constitutional offices, choice in advocacy.   And now we do!

But many other aspects of the bill are equally appealing to reform-minded officials like me, such as the expansion of school choice opportunities that empowers students and families, school board member campus visits and inspections of schools language, classroom teacher transfer language that empowers parents, immediate athletic eligibility for students of military families that transfer into a Florida public schools, construction spending caps that force economy and efficiency for capital spending projects, and much, much more.

Of course, there are liberals and other guardians of the status-quo that think Governor Scott should veto HB 7029.  They don't like the way it was passed.  Thankfully,  most observers do not believe this bill will be vetoed.

Ironic how liberals that benefit tremendously from massive, pork-laden omnibus spending packages rammed through Congress in DC decry the method in which HB 7029 was passed through the Florida Legislature.  Yes, these liberals and other status quo guardians have NO PROBLEM with Harry Reid and his minions utilizing dirty tricks and opaque Senate rules to ram-rod  OBAMACARE through the Congress in secrecy with no open testimony or public scrutiny and without A SINGLE REPUBLICAN VOTE.  Yes, DC politics, when liberals drive the train and benefit from the process, is completely acceptable.  Yet a large bill that PASSED in Florida with large margins by Republicans and many Democratic supporters---HB 7029-- is somehow "unacceptable."

As Spock from Star Trek might comment on this rank hypocrisy  "Fascinating."

But I digress...

Our district's legislative affairs representative, Mixon and Associates, put together a very nice recap of all the items contained in HB 7029, which I will post below.  Long read, but lots of good information.

HB 7029: School Choice
Please note that the summary below is not in the order in which these elements are contained in the bill, rather they are grouped together by topic in order to aid in the dissemination of information to the staff responsible for implementation. Additionally, unless otherwise noted in this summary, the elements of the bill will take effect on July 1, 2016.
Membership Associations – bill lines 348-368
 Mandates that dues paid to a membership association which are paid with public funds must be assessed for each elected or appointed public officer and may be paid to a membership association.
 Requires that if a public officer elects not to join the membership association, the dues assessed to that public officer may not be paid to the membership association.
School Board Member Duties – bill lines 369-378
 Authorizes school board members to visit schools.
Educational Choice – bill lines 418-612, 1770-1806
 Authorizes parents to seek any public educational choice options for their children throughout the state.
 States that in addition to other choice programs, options for students also includes CAPE digital tools, CAPE industry certifications and collegiate high school programs.

The Smart Way to do Education Reform

Andy Smarick has an interesting column in National Review Online this morning.  From the piece:

"Count me among the conservatives who are riled up that the Obama administration has dramatically expanded the federal role in schools. Our longstanding understanding that local and state leaders should lead on K–12 education has been replaced by Secretary Arne Duncan’s belief in a bold federal agenda backed by a federal “sense of urgency.” As a result, we’ve had a bossy Uncle Sam insert himself into Common Core, common assessments, teacher evaluations, and much more. Conservative leaders understandably want to use the rewriting of ESEA to clip federal wings. But conservatives should guard against the impulse to overcorrect — to remove any semblance of a federal role in ensuring that billions in federal taxpayer dollars actually generate better results."

Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/420770/nclb-keep-what-works

NY Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo Takes on Education Establishment with Bold Reform Plan

Multiple news outlets are reporting this morning on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's bold, aggressive school reform plan.

According to this New York Post article, Many African-American ministers are lining up behind Cuomo:

"A powerful group of black preachers is backing Gov. Cuomo’s education-reform plan to tighten teacher accountability, fix or replace low-performing public schools and open more charter schools, The Post has learned.  The ministers said they will spend the month of March preaching the educational gospel to their congregants in church services and to the public at large in order to counter union and legislative opposition to Cuomo’s tough-love proposals.  The state budget is due April 1. 'Christ was always in favor of the poor,” said Rev. Johnny Green of Harlem’s Mount Neboh Baptist Church'. "

And of course the unions and entrenched special interests and educrats are howling mad about these reforms, because part of Cuomo's plan may include  a tax-credit scholarship component.  From an article in the Glen Falls, NY Post Star: 

“The governor has declared war on students, parents and educators,” said NYSUT President Karen E. Magee said in a news release. “He has done it through his inflammatory anti-teacher rhetoric, and through his proposed budget that pushes the agenda of his billionaire backers. Make no mistake: We will not back down. We stand united in our commitment to standing up for what all kids need. Adequate investment in our schools, an equitable distribution of aid, and working to close the achievement gap is where our focus should be — not on increased testing, backdoor voucher plans and penalizing teachers and schools.”

These Two Articles Frame the Big Issues Destroying American Public Education.....

Two education stories got my attention over the last few days, and they both complement each other on the subject of modern public school climate. They also point to the two biggest issues that are destroying public education: 1.)  Apathy and failure to confront the real issues that are leading some schools to fail, and 2.) the disingenuous, hypocritical, insidious educrat mantra that proclaims education reform is bad --and all schools can be fixed if everybody will just get on the same page and howl for more taxpayer money.

The first article is in today’s Forbes.com, and it points out the blatant hypocrisy of education reform critics.  It’s a brief but interesting read- really thought provoking.  From “The Paradoxes of Education Reform Critics”

“Reform critics have embraced anti-democratic rhetoric to attack the Gates Foundation and other organizations that want to influence education. For example, Diane Ravitch has called them written before ”bastions of unaccountable power” that aren’t “subject to public oversight or review”, and who “have taken it upon themselves to reform public education, perhaps in ways that would never survive the scrutiny of voters in any district or state”.   That sounds a lot like unions to me, but education reform critics like Ravitch don’t seem to mind them one bit.  Likewise, Ravitch and other reform critics also praise the democratic nature of schools as something that is sacrosanct, but then insist these beacons of democracy shouldn’t be able to freely operate without negotating with unions. Which kind of sounds like we don’t trust these institutions very much at all.”

Walter Williams has a piece in today’s Pensacola News Journal that tackles the issue of social dysfunction impacting education.  Interestingly, this same piece (albeit longer and less sanitized) appeared on Townhall.com last Wednesday.  In this piece, Williams  cuts right to the heart of the issue in so many schools when he correctly points out that home-life conditions are what is driving poor performance in many public schools.  He takes it a step further when he also, aptly, states that demanding more and more taxpayer cash will not fix this problem---American families must step up.  I’m certain his correct viewpoint on this issue makes him a pariah in some circles…..From the article “Tragic School Stories”

“New York's schools are the most segregated in the nation, and the state needs remedies right away. That was Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch's message to New York's governor and Legislature. She said that minority children are disproportionately trapped in schools that lack teaching talent, course offerings and resources needed to prepare them for college and success.  Simply calling for more school resources will produce disappointing results. There are several minimum requirements that must be met for any child to do well in school. Someone must make the youngster do his homework, ensure that he gets eight to nine hours of sleep, feed him breakfast and make sure that he behaves in school and respects the teachers. None of these requirements can be satisfied by larger education budgets. They must be accomplished by families, or all else is for naught…The bottom line is that if nothing is done to affect the home life and cultural values that produce the non-learning attitudes and climate that are the subject of Linda Ball's "185 Days: School Stories," there's little that can be done to improve black education. The best that politicians can do is to give parents and children who are serious about education a mechanism to opt out of rotten schools. That option is something the education establishment fights tooth and nail against.”

Elected or Appointed Superintendent of Schools, Part II

From Tennessee School Boards Association

I strongly support the model of an elected school board hiring, supervising, and evaluating a professional, highly-qualified superintendent of schools from a large, nationwide pool of talented applicants.

This is not a shot against our current elected superintendent of schools Malcolm Thomas.  I've talked to him about this.  It is not personal, as I happen to think Mr. Thomas is one of the hardest working men I have ever known and I agree with the majority of his initiatives.

But I think the overall system would greatly improve, and our district would be more responsive to