summer 2015 - tcta · as new state president teresa koehler of clear creek cta . took office,...

Summer 2015 | Volume 35 | Number 2

TCTA’s strong offense and defense improved session outcomes.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Using School Email for Personal Communications

Meet TCTA’s New President

Legislative Stars

2015 Convention Recap

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Texas Classroom Teachers AssociationPO Box 1489, Austin, TX 78767-1489

Office hours: 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Mon-FriToll-free number: 888-879-8282

FAX: 512-469-9527Website: tcta.org

2015-16 Executive BoardPresident

Teresa Koehler, Clear Creek

President-ElectDonna Corbin, Lubbock

Immediate Past-PresidentTerrill Q. Littlejohn, Midland

BudgetJanie Baszile, Galena Park

Curriculum & InstructionSuzanne Garcia McCall, Slaton

GovernanceAlbert Mosqueda, San Benito

LegislationTwila Read, Grand Prarie

MembershipThomas L. Nichols, Temple

Professional Rights & ResponsibilitiesCherie Bales, Midland

Teacher Personal ServicesCristal Isaacks, Levelland

Staff ContactsExecutive Director

Jeri StoneGeneral Counsel

Lonnie Hollingsworth, Jr.Associate Executive Director

Ann FickelAttorneysJeri Stone

Lonnie Hollingsworth, Jr.Dohn Larson Holly Eaton

Michael CurrieGerald Francisco

Julie LeahyPaige Bruton Williams

Business OfficeElisabeth FischerCommunicationsM. Clare Haefner

Erin ShoreLegislation

Lonnie Hollingsworth, Jr.Ann Fickel

MembershipJulia Swope

Crystal HealeyProfessional Development and Advocacy

Holly EatonServices Corporation

Jan Lanfear

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

About TCTA The Texas Classroom Teachers Association is an independent association for Texas teaching professionals that was founded in 1927 and serves 50,000 members across the state. TCTA is based in Austin and is the only statewide teachers association that limits active-level membership to those directly involved in classroom teaching or teaching support.

The Trouble with ChoiceIn the context of public schools and their perceived

failings, choice has become a buzzword found in a great many proposals for reform. Local control is another of those buzzwords, and they’re often used in tandem, as in “let the traditional public schools have the freedom from regulation that we grant our charter schools.” Choice is actually a broader concept than just charter schools, including home

schooling, distance learning, choosing which campus to attend either within a district or within a neighboring district, magnet schools and private schools, usually coupled with vouchers or corporate tax credit to pick up most or all of the tuition.

The General Policy IssueFirst, it should be clarified that TCTA is not categorically opposed to charter

schools. We take eligible charter school personnel as members, and believe there is a place for charter schools in the system, particularly in serving niche populations, such as homeless students in a setting where wraparound social services can be provided, or Mandarin immersion programs where a specific curriculum that may be of interest to a limited group is offered. Truly innovative charter schools are also of interest, and you may recall that when charter schools were initially authorized, they were intended to be “laboratories of innovation.” Sadly, the innovations we’re seeing tend to be pre-packaged curriculum and under-trained staff, in far too many instances.

There is also the phenomenon we’re experiencing with policymakers in that it seems that all roads lead to charters. If your traditional school is low performing, turning it into a charter or hiring in a charter manager to run it are on the list of options. If you want more freedom from laws and regulations, you can start a campus charter. If you are a charter holder and are performing satisfactorily, you can self-replicate with other schools in other locations without having to gain permission. George W. Bush once made an amusing misstatement that we needed to “make the pie higher” so everyone could get their share. Unfortunately, the proliferation of charters and other education options makes the pie lower and thinner, with more entities clambering for a piece. At a time when we’re struggling with an underfunded traditional public school system, we’re simultaneously creating other infrastructures that draw funds away from traditional schools.

The Truth About Charter SchoolsAnother troublesome aspect of the plethora of education choices now available to

parents is the tacit assumption, particularly with charter schools, that they’re going to be better than traditional public schools. Despite the number that have failed on their own (some spectacularly and quickly, others more slowly) or that TEA has closed or is fighting valiantly to close, charter schools are still significantly underperforming traditional public schools.

This lower performance is particularly irritating when they’re being treated as a panacea for all that ails their traditional counterparts. Especially when many charter schools (and a handful of traditional schools) are operating under an alternative accountability system, which allows significantly lower achievement levels for students to still qualify the school for acceptable or better status. Purportedly this alternative system is for schools with difficult demographics, though looking at statewide poverty rates among students, it’s hard to imagine that their demographics are that much different than those of their traditional counterparts. Usually when you see ratings information for charter schools and traditional schools, either academic or financial, these charter schools operating under lower standards are lumped in with those using the regular accountability system, making charter schools overall

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3Summer 2015 | THE CLASSROOM TEACHER

CONTENTS

THE CLASSROOM TEACHER (ISSN-0279-2494) is the official publication of the Texas Classroom Teachers Association (TCTA), providing news and opinions in the interest of education excellence. All contents are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without the publisher’s permission. The views and opinions contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. Copyright © 2015. Publication schedule is quarterly. Annual membership dues for TCTA are $140, $5 of which is allocated to a one-year subscription to THE CLASSROOM TEACHER. Subscriptions for nonmembers are available for $10 per year. POSTMASTER: Please send changes of address, articles and/or photographs to: Editor, THE CLASSROOM TEACHER, PO Box 1489, Austin, Texas 78767-1489. TCTA is located at 700 Guadalupe, Austin, Texas 78701. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.

DEPARTMENTS

FEATURES

2President’s Message

4TCTA News & Notes

7Classroom Resources

8Planning Ahead

10Washington Watch

11Using School District Email for Personal CommunicationsLearn about the rules of emailing at work.

12 Mother Teresa’s Mission Teresa Koehler, TCTA’s 2015-16 state president, shares why she’s dedicated to service.

20SB 107Find out how a really good bill on student discipline became law.

22Bills You Should Know AboutNearly 100 education-related bills passed this session. We highlight a few worth special attention.

Summer 2015 | Volume 35 | Number 2

14On the CoverOur feature story delves into what happened during the 2015 legislative session and how TCTA’s offensive and defensive efforts will affect you.

24Legislative StarsMany legislators position themselves as friends of education. Several earned high marks for their efforts in the 2015 session.

282015 Convention WrapupDelegates hit the jackpot this summer.

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TCTA NEWS & NOTES

Executive Board changes for 2015-16Delegates to TCTA’s fabulous annual convention this summer chose a new president-elect and voted for committee chairs to serve on the association’s Executive Board. Their terms began on Aug. 1, 2015.

Donna Corbin of the Lubbock CTA, previously chair of the Membership Committee, is TCTA’s new president-elect.

Albert Mosqueda from San Benito CTA is the new Governance Committee chair.

Grand Prairie CTA’s Twila Read is the new chair of the Legislation Committee.

Thomas Nichols of Temple CTA, formerly Legislation Committee chair, will now head the Membership Committee.

Cherie Bales of Midland CTA was re-elected as chair of the Professional Rights and Responsibilities Committee.

As new state president Teresa Koehler of Clear Creek CTA took office, 2014-15 president Terrill Q. Littlejohn of Midland became immediate past-president and will continue to serve on the Executive Board.

(l to r): Immediate Past-President Terrill Q. Littlejohn, Curriculum and Instruction Chair Suzanne Garcia McCall, Governance Chair Albert Mosqueda, Budget Chair Janie Baszile, Legislation Chair Twila Read, Professional Rights and Responsibilities Chair Cherie Bales, Membership Chair Thomas Nichols, President Teresa Koehler, President-Elect Donna Corbin, Teacher Personal Services Chair Cristal Isaacks.

TCTA welcomes new members to the Directors’ CouncilEach of TCTA’s 20 districts is represented by a director, an Active-level member elected to serve in the position by the district’s coordinating council. Directors were elected this year in TCTA’s odd-numbered districts for two-year terms, and took office Aug. 1.

District 1Linda Soto, Edinburg

District 3Ann Martinez, Calhoun County

District 5Melissa Davis, Little Cypress-Mauriceville (re-elected)

District 7Eleanore Malone, Tyler

District 11Maria Carrillo, Decatur

District 13Jennifer Hutchinson, San Marcos

District 9Joyce McCurdy, Wichita Falls (re-elected)

District 17Dianna Jackson, Lubbock-Cooper(re-elected)

District 19Terry Honeycutt Murphy, El Paso

District 15Susan Whitaker, San Angelo(re-elected)


TCTA NEWS & NOTES

Member AccoladesTCTA member takes home H-E-B Lifetime Achievement Award

Outstanding TeachersTCTA members across Texas were honored on their campuses in 2015 for their hard work and dedication to their students.

If you know a TCTA member who was chosen campus teacher or librarian of the year (or received a similar honor) for 2015, please email us at [email protected] and we will add that outstanding educator to the list.

Kay Carouthers – Briscoe Junior High, Lamar CISD

Marcela Cavazos – Monte Cristo Elementary, Edinburg ISD

Melissa Corrales – Pine Tree Elementary, Pine Tree ISD

Cheryl Cunningham – Career and Technical Campus, Ector County ISD

Nadine Gonzalez – San Benito Veterans Memorial Academy, San Benito ISD

Rebecca Hernandez – Riverside Middle School, San Benito ISD

Robin Hilton – Texas Middle School, Texarkana ISD

Julie Hunter – Stephen F. Austin Elementary, Grand Prairie ISD

Leslie Johnston – Mitchell Elementary School, Bryan ISD

Angie Lassitter – Lorenzo de Zavala Elementary, San Marcos CISD

Vanessa Malone – Lakeway Elementary School, Lake Travis ISD

Maria G. Martinez – Cash Elementary, San Benito ISD

Norma Martinez – Kelly-Pharr Elementary, Pharr- San Juan-Alamo ISD

Allison McBride – Highland Park Elementary, Nederland ISD

Marie Montalvo – Sullivan Elementary, San Benito ISD

Laura Naranjo – Roberts Elementary, San Benito ISD

Marco Ricondo – Corbett Junior High, Schertz- Cibolo-Universal City ISD

Daniela Ridley – Rancier Middle School, Killeen ISD

Merissa Saucedo – Riverside Middle School, San Benito ISD

Jamie Serna – Leal Elementary, San Benito ISD

Angel Smith – Cabaza Middle School, San Benito ISD

Melquides Sosa – Garza Elementary, San Benito ISD

Mary Tarnawa – Pine Tree High School, Pine Tree ISD

Nancy Teran – Rangerville Elementary, San Benito ISD

Scott Thompson – Westside Elementary, Angleton ISD

Maria Andrea Valero – De La Fuente Elementary, San Benito ISD

Recognizing those on the rise

Cory Axton Lubbock ISD

Don Bell Dimmitt ISD

Laura Berumen Levelland ISD

Brenda Gray Sanford-Fritch ISD

Joseph Heinrich Lubbock ISD

Shelly Henderson McLean ISD

Congratulations to the following TCTA members who were recognized at the Mrs. Baird’s Teachers on the Rise year-end banquets in June. TCTA is a sponsor of this program, which honors Amarillo- and Lubbock-area teachers who have been nominated by students and others. Nominations for the 2015-16 school year are underway at mrsbteacher.com.

Tammy Ingle Littlefield ISD

Amy Klause Sanford-Fritch ISD

Misti McClendon Borger ISD

Brent McFarland Amarillo ISD

Teresa Reed Lubbock ISD

Jacob Reep Lubbock-Cooper ISD

Melinda Schermerhorn is one of a handful of teachers named as award winners through the H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards program. Schermerhorn was surprised at her school – Elsa England Elementary in Round Rock – in March when she was named a finalist for the Rising Star category, and she was chosen as the winner at the H-E-B Excellence in Education awards banquet in May.

The eighth-grade science teacher received a $5,000 award and H-E-B also presented a $5,000 grant to the school. The day after the banquet, Schermerhorn traveled to her graduation ceremony at Concordia University to receive her master’s degree in differentiated instruction.

Schermerhorn was also a presenter at TCTA’s annual convention this summer. Her highly-regarded session, “Embracing Technology to Enhance Learning,” is available now on the TCTA website. The session is co-presented by Jessica Wright, a TCTA member and fourth-grade teacher in Round Rock, and is eligible for 1.15 hours of continuing professional education credit.

Deborah Sanders Lubbock ISD

Lacy Venhaus Canyon ISD

Heather Wallace Pampa ISD

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Back to school?Save on some of the basics with your TCTA member discounts!

It’s easy to fall into savings!1. Go to tcta.org/discounts.

2. Follow the links to log in to your TCTA online user account.

3. Get details on members-only deals and access special links and discount codes.

TCTA NEWS & NOTES

TCTA member advances in Teacher of the Year programThe Texas Association of School Administrators has announced the statewide and regional finalists for the 2016 Texas Teacher of the Year program, including several TCTA members. These outstanding educators will be honored at the Texas Teacher of the Year awards ceremony in October.

TCTA member Martha Saucedo, a family consumer science teacher at Brady High School in Brady ISD, is one of six statewide finalists (three elementary and three secondary). She was the Secondary Teacher of the Year finalist in Region 15. One of the

two statewide winners (elementary and secondary) will be selected to represent Texas in the National Teacher of the Year program.

Saucedo has taught for nine years, and credits the “pay it forward” philosophy she learned from her own teachers for her success in the classroom.

Congratulations also to the following TCTA members, who were regional finalists:

Region 1 – Kevin Kelly, Roma High School, Roma ISD

Region 5 – Rachel Choate, Little Cypress Intermediate, Little Cypress-Mauriceville CISD

Region 7 – Sheryl Quarles, Story Intermediate, Palestine ISD

Region 9 – Renee Blackwell, Zundelowitz Elementary, Wichita Falls ISD

Region 14 – Paula Ordway, Sweetwater High School, Sweetwater ISD

Region 17 – Jacinda Langen, Slaton High School, Slaton ISD

Region 18 – Cheryl Ann Cavin Cunningham, Career and Technical Education at New Tech Odessa, Ector County ISD


CLASSROOM RESOURCES

Classroom and Time ManagementResearch shows regularly scheduled movement breaks

throughout the day result in better-behaved, more engaged students. Get your students moving with ideas at www.gonoodle.com and www.adventuretofitness.com.

Keeping in contact with students and/or parents weekly can enhance communication and keep everyone in the loop. For help creating calendars, emails or newsletters, check out www.weebly.com. If you want more direct contact, try Remind (www.remind.com), a free service that allows you to email and send one-way texting to students or parents.

Tech tidbitsThere are many ways to integrate technology in the class-

room. Here are a few sites and ideas to help you get started.Google Hangouts (website, iPad app) is similar to Skype.

Google hangouts let you connect with other classrooms and

Tools to start the year off rightPresenters at TCTA’s annual convention this summer offered

many resources for teachers. Here are a few tools you may want to use in your classroom as a new year gets underway.

guests from around the world. Learn more at www.google. com/hangouts.

Thinglink (website, iPad app) is great for quick formative assessments. You upload an image and add information directly to the image. Learn more at www.thinglink.com.

Piktochart (website, iPad app) helps you make info graphics to organize facts in a visual way. Get started at www.piktochart.com.

If you’re already using multiple online resources, Blendspace (website, iPad app) can help you organize them into one assignment for students. Learn more at www.blendspace.com.

Integrate video into your lessons with Educanon (website, iPad app). It allows you to use videos from your favorite websites and add questions for homework or for front-loading difficult concepts. Videos can help struggling students or parents understand concepts, such as comparing fractions. Check it out at www.educanon.com.

Need students to practice vocabulary or spelling words? Make online tests for them to practice at Quizlet (website, iPad app) www.quizlet.com.

Help your students be more creative with PowToon. This website allows students to create animated videos. Check it out at www.powtoon.com.

You might have to get Jing (www.techsmith.com/jing.html) approved by your IT staff, but it could be worth a look. This tool allows you to take screenshots and make screencasts. If you have Chromebooks and can’t download anything, Awesome Screenshot (www.awesomescreenshot.com) is an alternative.

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PLANNING AHEAD

These federal laws were adopted to address inequities in the calculation of Social Security benefits for employees

who work in government jobs not paying into Social Security. For more infor-

mation, see the excellent presentation by Tom Clark at our 2014 convention – available to TCTA members only at

https://tcta.org/socialsecurityretirement.

Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)

The WEP addresses benefits you earned yourself through other employ-ment in which you participated in Social Security. If you are entitled to Social Security benefits because you paid into Social Security for at least 40 quarters, but you work for more than five years in a district not paying into Social Security, your Social Security benefit will be reduced. The calculation is somewhat complicated, but online calculators on the Social Security Administration’s website can be helpful. http://ssa.gov/planners/retire/wep.html

Avoiding the WEP – you may be able to avoid the WEP if you work less than five years in a TRS district, as you will not have vested and thus would not be entitled to a pension. (Even if you do not receive a TRS pension, being vested makes you subject to the WEP.) Also, if you have paid into Social Security for 30 or more years, you are exempt from the WEP. If you have 21 to 29 years of Social Security participation, a sliding scale applies so that the benefit reduction is lessened as you approach the 30-year mark.

Government Pension Offset (GPO)The GPO reduces benefits that you

would otherwise be entitled to through your spouse’s participation in Social Security. If you receive a pension through TRS that is based on government work in which you did not pay into Social Security (i.e., your non-Social Security school district), your spousal Social Security benefits will be reduced by two-thirds of your TRS benefit. http://ssa.gov/planners/retire/gpo.html

Avoiding the GPO – the only ways to avoid the GPO are to not receive a TRS pension (which has many other implications, such as access to TRS-Care retiree health insurance, that must be considered) or to work for your final 60 months for an entity in which you pay into both TRS and Social Security.

The following bills have been filed during the current congressional session. None of these bills has moved since its initial filing and referral to committee.

Two bills, known as the Social Security Fairness Act of 2015, would completely repeal both the GPO and WEP:

• S 1651 by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH). Referred to the Senate Finance Committee. The bill has 16 co-sponsors, none of whom are from Texas.

• HR 973 by Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL). Referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. The bill has 115 co-sponsors, including five from Texas: Michael Burgess, Randy Neugebauer, Marc Veasey, Beto O’Rourke, Lloyd Doggett.

HR 711 by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) is called the “Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act of 2015.” It revises the formula for the WEP so that it is based on the employ-ee’s actual compensation rather than the current one-size-fits-all formula, and recovers previous overpayments to fund higher benefits that may result. The bill has 38 co-sponsors, including 15 from Texas: Ted Poe, Pete Olson, Beto O’Rourke, Blake Farenthold, Michael McCaul, Kenny Marchant, Kay Granger, Gene Green, Louie Gohmert, John Culberson, Will Hurd, Michael Burgess, Randy Neu-gebauer, Sam Johnson and Lamar Smith. It was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.

Social Security – what you need to knowWhether close to retirement, mid-career or just starting out, all school employees

should be familiar with and aware of how federal laws may affect retirement benefits.

Q : I’ve heard that I won’t get any of my husband’s Social Security benefits or any of the benefits I earned myself when I worked other jobs – is that true?

A : Partially. Federal law requires reductions in Social Security benefits in most circumstances for Texas school employees who are not paying into Social Security

through their school district. These provisions do not apply to employees who have worked their entire career in a district in which they pay into Social Security. In some cases, and only with regard to spousal benefits, the reduction is enough to completely eliminate the Social Security benefit; note that the TRS benefit is not reduced.


11 online CPE videos for TCTA members!

Accessing the videos is easy!1. Go to tcta.org/onlineCPE.

2. Follow the links to log in to your TCTA user account or create a new account.

3. Watch the videos of your choice – all are mobile-friendly – and print out certificates of completion.

In the Classroom Flip This Classroom: How to Engage Students with the Flipped Classroom ModelMichelle Swain, Director, Gifted and Advanced Academic Services, Round Rock ISD

Classroom and Time Management TechniquesTCTA Member Krista Wilkerson, Kindergarten Teacher, Victoria ISD

Reach (So You Can Teach) Students in PovertyTCTA Member Corina Flores, 2012-13 TCTA Innovator of the Year

Exploring Project-Based LearningDavid Surdovel, Executive Coordinator of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM), Manor ISD

Helping You Help Your English Language LearnersMelissa Hernandez, Bilingual/ESL Specialist, Lubbock ISD

Be Prepared: Learning Proactive Strategies for Handling Threats Greg Crane, President, ALICE Training Institute

BYOC: Bring Your Own Cape to Discuss Science and SuperpowersTCTA Member and 2013-14 Innovator of the Year Joy Lin, Special Education Math Teacher, Austin ISD

Technology Embracing Technology to Enhance Learning TCTA Member Melinda Schermerhorn, 8th Grade Science Teacher, and Jessica Wright, 4th Grade Teacher, Round Rock ISD

NEW, FREE

TCTA members can earn up to 14.75 CPE hours when they watch the new continuing education videos filmed at the 2015 TCTA Convention this summer.

Issues in Education Legislative Session Insights from the Media Lauren McGaughy, government reporter at the Houston Chronicle; Ross Ramsey,executive editor and co-founder of The Texas Tribune; and Morgan Smith, political and education reporter from The Texas Tribune

Legal Issues Q&A TCTA Staff Attorneys

Teacher Topics TRS UpdateMerita Zoga, Assistant Director of Governmental Relations, TRS

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More authority for states The House bill (HR 5 – The Student Success Act) narrowly passed by five votes, with no Democrats voting in favor. The bill was viewed strictly as a Republican measure, and Education Committee Democrats were not afforded input into crafting it and were unable to add amendments. The Senate bill (S 1177 – Every Child Achieves Act) is a more

A new era? Congress working to reauthorize Elementary and Secondary Education Act This fall could usher in a new era of education reform with the reauthorization of

the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (NCLB). This summer, both the House and Senate chambers passed separate packages of legislation that must now be hashed out in a conference agreement to be signed into law by President Obama.

bipartisan measure that passed 81-17, with only three Democrats voting against it. Under both the House and Senate bills, states are handed more authority over the governance of their schools. States would retain the NCLB law’s testing schedule; however, they could decide how much weight to give those tests in assessing school performance

and could set their own goals for student achievement. There is no requirement that states identify a certain percentage of schools as low-performing, or use any specific turnaround techniques. Both bills would also open the door to some sort of local assessment, although the House bill goes further than the Senate measure in that regard.

Much negotiation ahead Conferees will not be able to make changes in areas where both the House and Senate agree (i.e. annual testing). Where the two bills differ, conferees will negotiate on final language. There is much negotiation ahead, not only between the House and Senate, but also between Congress and the White House. President Obama issued a veto threat against the House bill, saying he wants stronger language on accountability, especially in maintaining provisions that require states to single out five percent of their schools as low-performing and take action to improve them. Issues that seem to be off the table (no longer federally mandated) include adoption of college and career ready standards, adequate yearly progress measurements, teacher evaluations and the “highly qualified teacher” determination, school improvement grants and many other grant programs. Areas that will require mediation include assessing school achievement, interventions in low-performing schools, Title 1 portability and maintenance of effort requirements. Democrats will seek to include ways to measure the outcomes of federal investments and to that end, a final bill that the president will sign into law. In terms of timing, as the presidential election year approaches, the fate of any reauthorization bill becomes more problematic. Pressure needs to remain on Congress to bring reauthorization to the finish line this fall.

This article was provided by TCTA’s Washington, D.C. lobby firm, Van Scoyoc Associates, a federal independent lobbying company.

WASHINGTON WATCH


Many districts allow limited personal use, but all communications should be professional and appropriate in tone.

Your district will have an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) that governs employ-ee and student use of district email. You should read and comply with the AUP. Most school districts have adopted policies that specify that access to the district’s email and Internet shall be made available to employees primarily for instructional and adminis-trative purposes. Limited personal use of district email is often permitted, so long as it imposes no tangible cost to the district, does not unduly burden the district’s technology resources, and has no adverse effect on an employ-ee’s job performance or on a student’s academic performance. This means that it is probably acceptable to RSVP to the baby shower using your school district email, so long as you do not do it during instructional time or when you are otherwise responsible for super-vising students. However, you should avoid engaging in any conversation that could be considered unprofessional. You are held to the same professional

You are sitting at your desk during planning time and get an email from a college friend, inviting you to a baby shower that weekend. You hit “reply to all” and respond that you would love to attend. Then someone else on the recipient list replies with a crude and inappropriate story about something that took place at a party you attended years ago in college. And you start to wonder… will my principal see this email? Could I be fired for this?

School districts have the right to review and retain email that is transmitted using their technology resources, including email and Internet, and most have adopted policies that specify that email shall not be considered private. Many districts have authorized specific staff members to monitor email and Internet usage to ensure appropriate use. You should assume that anything you say or do using school district email will potentially be seen by the administration.

standards in your use of electronic media as for any other public conduct and if your communications violate the law or district policy or interfere with your ability to perform your job duties, you can be subject to disciplinary action for that communication. You can also be subject to disciplinary action if you use email to engage in prohibited harassment of other persons, including board members, vendors, contractors, volunteers or parents. Finally, you may be prohibited from using your posi-tion with the district to attempt to sell products or services. This means that you should not use your school district email to market any business or product that you may be associated with outside of school employment. Whether you may use your district email for profes-sional association business or recruit-ment also depends upon the terms of the AUP, but any such policy would have to apply to all similar associations, such as associations of school adminis-trators or school boards.

As a general rule, exercise your best professional judgment in favor of using a separate email account for personal email communications and limit any such communications to non-instructional time. If you receive an unsolicited personal email on your

school district email account that is un-professional or inappropriate, you should decline to respond to it from your school district email.

Never use school district email to produce or distribute any communication regarding a political candidate or election.

Texas Ethics Commission rules prohibit the use of internal mail systems to distribute hard copies of political advertising, which is defined as printed material supporting or opposing an election, such as a political campaign, a bond election or tax authorization election. While the rules do not specifi-cally apply to emails, there is a rule that school district resources may not be used to support or oppose an election. You could run afoul of this prohibition by using existing school district machinery and property to promote or oppose an election. It is also not permissible for a school district employee to create or distribute political advertising while they are being paid by a school district. While you may (and should!) be actively involved in the political process, any communications related to elections must be sent using personal resources and during off-duty hours. If you happen to receive an email promoting or opposing an election, you should refrain from forwarding or replying to it.

Never communicate with an attorney, including TCTA attorneys, using school district email.

Communications with an attorney are protected by an attorney/client privilege. When you speak or correspond with an attorney, you can be confident that the attorney cannot be compelled to testify about your conversation and will pro-tect your confidentiality. However, the attorney/client privilege can be waived. Because a school district has the right to review your email communications, there is no guarantee that any email sent to an attorney using school district email will remain confidential.

Using School District Email for

Communications

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Passion for education Koehler’s teaching career began in 1982 at a center for students identified as emotionally disturbed. She taught there for 2½ years before making the move to Clear Lake, home of the Johnson Space Center. She began teaching at Clear Lake Intermediate in August 1984 and has called Clear Creek Independent School District home for the past 31 years. “I have a great love for my campus and the people I work with,” Koehler said. “Teaching resource and inclusion is my passion. I really enjoy working with students who just need that extra attention so they know that someone cares.” On a typical day, Koehler stops by

2015-16 TCTA President Teresa Koehler brings

passion for teaching, love of service to new role

Mother Teresa once said, “The best way to find yourself is the service of others.”

Those words have inspired 2015-16 Texas Classroom Teachers Association state president Teresa Koehler, whom many call Mother Teresa, since she adopted the moniker in her first campaign for Professional Rights and Responsibilities chair. “I thought this was a great way to introduce myself and help people remember my name,” Koehler said. As president this year, “Allow me to lose myself in service with the greatest teacher association in Texas – TCTA. Let me be your Mother Teresa.” Koehler has devoted a lifetime of service to students, knowing she wanted to be a teacher since she was in the fourth grade. “As a young kid, I would play school at home and pretend to be Doris Walker, my favorite teacher,” Koehler explained. “She was the kind of teacher who made you feel special and important. I knew I one day wanted to be a teacher for students like Ms. Walker was for me.” The Jacksonville, Fla., native moved around growing up. “My father was in the Marine Corps and we transferred to different bases,” Koehler said. Stops included Cherry Point, N.C., and Orange County, Calif., until her father retired in 1968, and the family settled in Pinellas Park, Fla. Koehler would call the central Florida city near St. Petersburg home until 1984 when she moved to Clear Lake, Texas, after falling in love with the area during a trip to visit a cousin.

Mother Teresa’s

six classrooms and teaches two of her own resource math classes. “I enjoy going into the different classrooms and adding my own ‘touch,’ while working as a tag-team with the classroom teacher,” she says. “I get the chance

to explain things in a way that may reach the students on an individual level. By having a chance to visit classrooms of various subjects, I am able to bring instruction across curricula as well as create those special bonds with all students.”

Rewards of teaching The job gives Koehler a chance to share insight with other classroom teachers while learning from them as well. “My students are my inspiration. I love my job, colleagues and principal,” she says, though keeping up with all the paperwork can be challenging. “I feel at times that the student can get lost in the paperwork and documentation.” And though she says getting up at 5:45 a.m. each morning can be a struggle at times, the rewards of teaching make it worth the effort. “My goal each day is to make my students feel good and let them know they have someone in their corner. I think it is important to create those connections with students so they feel safe, willing and eager to learn.” For Koehler, the “ultimate reward” of teaching is seeing her students succeed. “I enjoy receiving graduation


missionannouncements from former students and seeing their plans for the future. The best compliment came from a former student who wrote a letter thanking me for influencing her to join the teaching profession. Amanda just completed her second year of teaching second grade.”

Shifting strategy During the past 30 years, Koehler says teaching methods have shifted from lecture-driven lessons to student-centered, individualized learning. Her newest challenge has been technology integration. “This is something I’ve had to spend a lot of time learning and has drastically changed my style of teaching,” she says. “I tell my students, ‘You are the natives and I am the immigrant,” when it comes to technology usage. I often look to my students for support as we go through this educational transition.” Along with adapting to new technology, Koehler said testing accountability remains the most pressing matter facing public schools. “I worry that the state will look at pass-fail instead of the individual progress that each student has made over the course of the year.” During the recent TCTA convention, Koehler learned that under federal law students should be tested 17 times between third grade and graduation, but in Texas the rate is more frequent, as students are tested 17 times between third and eighth grades. So many tests can put a lot of pressure on students and teachers. “I definitely feel this is an issue that needs to be addressed.”

Home life Outside the classroom, Koehler enjoys spending time with her family and cooking for them. “I’m not much of a baker though,” she says. When relaxing, she loves watching “Blue Bloods” and Food Network on television or reading a good book.

Her husband, Oscar, works at NASA training astronauts. “He has a love of road bikes and enjoys riding three to four times per week.” Her daughter, Shelley, is 23 and starting her second year as a sixth-grade math teacher in Clear Creek, following in Koehler’s footsteps. “Many say the apple did not fall too far from the tree.” Her son, Bryan, is 21. He is a business major at San Jacinto College and works at Landry’s Seafood in Kemah. “My Dalmatian Lucy is my third child,” Koehler says. “I walk with her every morning and take her to the dog park on weekends.” During holiday breaks and summer, “you can usually find me in Florida visiting with my family.”

On TCTA Koehler joined TCTA for legal protect- ion but notes that, “In reality, the chance of a teacher being sued is very slim.” Instead, she says teachers need to join so they have peace of mind. “They can call and talk to an attorney anytime they want. I recently found out a nonmember could call a (private) attorney for advice (at a rate of) $250 per hour. Heck, a member can save money with just one phone call.” Calling TCTA the “only TRUE teacher organization,” Koehler says she encourages other teachers to join for the liability insurance. “I remind them, ‘It’s like auto insurance. It’s not IF you’ll have a problem, but WHEN you’ll have a problem.” She hopes the association will continue to grow. “I think TCTA does an excellent job of changing with the times, but I think it is important for the organization to continue to solicit and get the younger teachers involved,” Koehler says. “This is one reason I have encouraged my own daughter to be involved and attend local, district and convention events.”

Ready to lead and learn Because she’s always had a passion for TCTA, getting involved in leadership positions was an easy decision. “I first started my involvement at the local level in 1992. I knew that this was only the tip of the iceberg, and that there was so much more to be involved in,” Koehler explained. “For years, I was going to District 4 meetings and conventions, just soaking it all in. Janie Baszile (a former state president from Galena Park, currently on the TCTA Executive Board) encouraged me to take the next step. I later became the District 4 director after the prior director needed to resign.” From there, Koehler continued to serve and is excited about what the next year will bring, even though she says she sometimes finds it hard to be herself around a large group of people. “I like to kid and joke with a small group of people,” but it’s harder to do with a crowd. As state president, she looks forward to seeing what education is like across the state. “For so long, I’ve been in my little bubble of Clear Creek. I think this journey will be an exciting, eye-opening and educational experience for me. I know this is something that will allow me to grow professionally.”

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The proposed repeal of the salary schedule

The drama around Senate Bill 893 was one of the defining moments of the session, for several reasons. The swift passage of this bill through the Senate, followed by an ugly backlash against teacher groups for reporting its possible conse-quences, was just one example of the discord seen this session between the education community and legislative leadership, and of the harmful bills that sailed through the Senate. Educators had to rely on the House to stop the worst of the proposals.

As filed, SB 893 would have greatly expanded the role of the commissioner of education in teacher evaluations and salary and would have strengthened ties between student test scores and teacher evaluations, salary and career advance-ment. It also eliminated the state minimum salary schedule for teachers, replacing it with a single minimum for all teachers of $27,500. While the other sections of the bill might have had further-reaching implications, it was this provision

It’s a word that came up with regularity during the 2015 session, often applied by legislators and reform supporters to communica-tions between teacher associations and our members, or information provided to legislators.

If the legislative definition of misinformation is “explaining what a bad bill actually does, especially when the bill supporters don’t know that’s what the bill does,” then we’re guilty as charged.

that caught teachers’ attention, to the dismay of lawmakers.

The state minimum salary schedule is just that, a minimum. A district cannot pay a teacher any less than the amount on the salary scale according to the teacher’s years of experience. While a large majority of school districts pay more than the state minimum, some do not, and the minimum ensures not only a basic protected floor but also modest growth throughout a teacher’s career. There is no reason to eliminate this floor unless a district wants to pay a teacher less than the required minimum, so proposals to do away with it are alarming.

TCTA and other groups publicized the possible consequences of SB 893 (some using more inflam-matory language than others), and legislators were startled at the vehement responses they received from teachers all over the state. It was clear that the bill did not directly reduce salaries, but it was also clear that salaries could be reduced as a result, and there was no getting around that fact. Supporters of the bill tried, though, claiming that

For more informationDozens of education

bills not covered in this magazine

were signed into law, and most go into

effect for the current school year. TCTA has bill summaries

of each at tcta.org/politics_ government/bill_

summaries.


it was not intended to decrease salaries, but was intended to actually improve salaries by moving away from an antiquated model based on seniority rather than performance. TCTA’s explanations that districts can already reward performance, or use other salary models as long as the minimums are adhered to, fell on deaf ears.

Interestingly, the Texans for Education Reform, a group behind many of the most harmful proposals of the session, expressed its disappointment “that so much misinformation is being circulated regarding this important legislation” in a document that also included the assertion that SB 893 “does not reduce a teacher’s salary or make changes to minimum salary.” This last statement is completely inaccurate – the bill very specifically changed the minimum salary for any teacher with one or more years of experience (the proposed $27,500 minimum was the existing base salary for a new teacher).

Why it didn’t passIn the end, SB 893 died because teachers got

mad and picked up their phones. Once teachers realized the potential threat, both House and Senate offices were flooded with calls – and it worked. Though the House version of the bill received a hearing in the House Public Education Committee, it died there. To her credit, the House sponsor, Rep. Marsha Farney of Georgetown, sat down with TCTA several times to work on the bill, but since she refused to remove the salary schedule portion and we refused to budge on that issue, there was no room for negotiation. Without teachers across the state backing up our position and essentially ensuring that House members would not want to vote for the bill, we might have been forced to work on damage control rather than have success with a hard-line position.

More defenseThis session saw a proliferation of the type of legislation we began to

see in 2013: essentially the formation of exit strategies from the traditional public school system. There were also more proposals, both new and recurring, that would have ultimately resulted in the loss of teacher, parent and student rights and protections.

A major revision of Senate rules, which allowed more controversial bills to come up for discussion, resulted in the loss of Senate Democrats’ ability to block bills they opposed and resulted in quick passage of a number of education “reform” bills through that chamber. However, at least one ma-jor bill that was moving through the process originated in the House.

Expansion of home rule/local controlThe failure of HB 1798 on the House floor may have been the most

direct and visible “win” for the education community. One of the more problematic proposals of the session, it was an attempted expansion of home-rule school districts – an existing option under state law that would allow school districts to be exempt from major provisions of education law, including teacher, parent and student protections. The process for becoming a home-rule district had come under fire after an unsuccessful attempt in Dallas, and advocates for home-rule districts hoped to make it much easier to convert a district to home-rule status.

HB 1798 was designed to accomplish this, re-styling “home-rule” as “local control” and introducing an even more problematic concept – the ability of a “lead petitioner” who would control the process and design of the local control plan and have the capacity to out-vote the local school board.

After three hours of debate on amendments, the House turned down HB 1798 on a 59-76 vote.

Vouchers/tax credits SB 4 died after passing the Senate easily but without receiving a hearing

at the House committee level. As it passed the Senate, the bill would have allowed corporations to receive a tax credit against their business taxes for making contributions to an “education assistance organization” that would award scholarships for eligible students to attend public or private schools. The concept is simply a workaround of the traditional voucher program, under which the state would directly fund private school tuition.

Expansion of parent trigger

SB 14 passed the Senate and received a hearing in the House Public Education Committee but died when it was never voted on by the com-mittee. The bill would have made it easier for parents to “pull the trigger” on a low-performing campus and potentially require the commissioner to have the school taken over by a charter operator. It is noteworthy that, as with most parent trigger proposals, parents would lose virtually all power once the action has been taken and would not be given the opportunity to reverse or revise the decision.

Opportunity School DistrictSB 996 would have required certain low-performing campuses to be

placed into a statewide district. The campuses generally would have been subject only to the laws that apply to charter schools, and could have been taken over by a charter provider. The bill provided one of the more amus-ing sidenotes to the session when, in a late-session rewrite, the OSD was inexplicably renamed a School Turnaround District. Neither the bill with

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the unfortunate new acronym or any other version of the proposal ever made it to the governor’s desk.

Loss of payroll deduction SB 1968, which would have prohibited public entities (including school

districts) from allowing employees to deduct professional association dues (including TCTA’s) from their paychecks, died when the House State Affairs Committee did not take action on the bill. The Senate debate was particularly uncomfortable to watch, as teacher supporters quizzed Senate sponsor Joan Huffman of Houston about the reasons for the bill. Her explanation that “the state shouldn’t be in the business of deducting dues” was confusing, as the bill would still have allowed payroll deduction of dues for police and firefighters.

What passedCampus turnaround/innovation zones

TCTA’s biggest battles over the last several years have been over exempting schools and districts from portions of the Education Code that are important to teachers and other employees. We have fought very hard to get and keep statutes such as the state minimum salary schedule, teacher contracts and due process, duty-free lunch, conference periods, class-size limits, the ability to remove a disruptive student from the classroom, and many, many more. The myriad efforts in recent years to facilitate exemptions from these laws have been very challenging.

HB 1842 began as a proposal to help improve struggling schools (“campus turnaround”) but an expansive “innovation district” concept was included at the insistence of Senate negotiators in the final bill. The bill greatly expands the means by which districts and campuses can be exempted from major provisions of the Education Code.

A school that is low performing for two consecutive years must devel-op a campus turnaround plan, which is to be implemented after the third consecutive year of poor performance. Among the available options is operation of the campus under a district charter, which is subject only to the same laws that apply to open-enrollment charter schools (i.e., the district charter would be exempt from the teacher rights and protections noted above).

The innovation district provisions open the potential Education Code exemptions to entire districts as long as they are rated at least acceptable. A school board can initiate and approve the process for converting a district to an innovation district, and the plan that must be developed will include information about which provisions of the Education Code the district is requesting exemption from. The innovation zone can be consid-ered by any district with acceptable performance ratings.

Between the campus turnaround plan for low-performing schools and the innovation districts for those rated acceptable and up, virtually every school is eligible for Education Code exemptions, and TCTA believes this bill may be very problematic for school employees, parents and students.

Worth notingThe development of the campus turnaround plan will involve teachers,

parents and the community. The plan would not be put into place until after the third consecutive year of low performance, and few schools reach that point.


The innovation district process requires a public hearing and approval of the district-level committee as well as a two-thirds, rather than simple majority, vote of the school board. The innovation plan may not exceed five years.

Another safeguard in the bill is that the district level site-based commit-tee must approve the final version of the innovation plan by majority vote, which means that educators must be careful about who is elected to that committee. Members of the committee must understand they do not fill a purely advisory role.

Both options retain the local school board as the governing body, rather than turning the district/campus over to a charter operator/privatemanager or other outside entity (as could have happened with some of the other legislative proposals we saw this session). Note, however, that ifthe commissioner does not approve the campus turnaround plan, thealternatives are appointment of a board of managers, alternativemanagement or closure.

TakeawayTCTA local affiliate leaders and other TCTA members will need to

participate in school board elections and be vigilant in monitoring the activities of the local school board. We hear anecdotally that many districts are not in strict compliance with the law that requires the teacher representatives on the district- and campus-level committees to be elected by the teachers of the district or campus, and the increased role of these committees presents a good opportunity for teachers to be informed and involved.

If you become aware that your school board is considering major changes in programs or governance, call TCTA for guidance and assistance.

Good proposals that didn’t passThere was virtually no effort to help active school employees with health

insurance premiums, though the retiree plan got a funding boost to ensure its solvency for the next two years. We will look ahead to a school finance session – either a special session or the 2017 regular session – for that opportunity, because of the high cost of increasing

the state’s contribution and the tie-in to school funding formulas.

Despite a handful of bills to reduce standardized testing, the end result was no change in that regard, although legislation did pass that

addressed testing in other ways, such as requiring that tests be designed so that they can be completed within certain specified periods of time and that

the Texas Education Agency develop a revised writing assessment.

A-F accountability ratings for campusesHarmful provisions

HB 2804 expands the A-F accountability ratings, previously reserved for districts, to all campuses beginning with the 2017-18 school year. TCTA opposed this legislation because of the lack of nuance in letter

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teacher who instructs a special education stu-dent can provide input into the development of the IEP, and allow any member of the ARD (including the regular education teacher) to write a statement of disagreement if they disagree with the developed IEP.

• SB 107 by Sen. John Whitmire is a key student discipline bill. See p. 20 for details.

• HB 786 by Rep. Armando Walle was originally initiated by TCTA in previous legislative sessions, and Rep. Walle filed an expanded version including all public employees in 2013 and 2015. The bill ensures the rights of teachers (and other public employees) to express breast milk at the workplace in a private area other than a multiple-user bathroom and requires employers to provide reasonable break time for this purpose.

• HB 2974 by Rep. Dan Flynn includes an important provision that will resolve a major issue for teachers retiring from school districts that pay their first paycheck for the year in August. Currently, those teachers may not be able to count their final year in the calculation of their benefits; the bill will give TRS the flexibility to address that problem. TCTA is working with TRS staff on the development of rules to implement this legislation.

• TCTA revised language in HB 2205 to ensure that the ability of districts to hire uncertified individuals through district permits is limited to only those situations in which the person would teach non-core academic career/technical education courses; the teacher must have demonstrated subject matter expertise.

• TCTA ensured that other language in HB 2205 was narrowed to avoid the unlimit-ed delegation of authority by SBEC to the commissioner of education and limit such delegation only to the disposal of contested cases involving educator certification.

• TCTA clarified language in HB 1842 so that TEA monitoring reviews will not be limited to desk reviews of data submitted by the schools, but may also include on-site, random visits, and that the commissioner adopt rules so that information obtained from district employees is done in a manner that prevents a district or campus from screening the information.

grades given to an entire district or campus and because of the punitive connotations of the lower grades. Even a “C” designation, which equates to an “acceptable” rating, sounds mediocre at best.

Worth notingA-F ratings also will be given for each of the domains on which campuses

are being rated, which will help provide more detailed information about how the school is actually doing.

There are limitations on the extent to which ratings can be based on standardized test scores (no more than 55 percent), and the bill adds measures that are not based on test scores, so ratings will include a somewhat more comprehensive view of school and district performance.

The 2017-18 effective date means there is time to refine or repeal the law in the next legislative session (spring of 2017) before implementation.

TCTA on offenseIn addition to playing defense, TCTA’s top lobby team starred on

offense as well. The following TCTA-initiated bills and TCTA-proposedamendments were signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott this summer:

• HB 1783 by Rep. Joe Moody clarified the absolute right of a school district employee or charter school employee to report a crime to any peace officer with jurisdiction. This bill also made clear that it is a crime for a school administrator to coerce an employee into not reporting information to a law enforcement agency.

• SB 1259 by Sen. Jose Rodriguez will benefit regular education teachers of special education students, as well as the students themselves. After some key special education rules were deleted last year, TCTA went to work to restore those provisions in statute. The new law will require that the regular education teacher who participates in an ARD meeting be a regular education teacher who will implement a portion of a student’s IEP, provide that any other


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20 tcta.org | 888-879-8282

OriginOver the years, hundreds of TCTA members have called

in to the TCTA legal department with a common concern. Disruptive students are sent to the principal and sent right back to the classroom, with little to no change in behavior.

Decades ago, Texas law provided a relatively strict model for principals to follow when a student was sent out of the classroom, and required that, after the third incident of a teacher removing a student for disruptive behavior, the student could only be returned upon a decision by the school board.

In subsequent years, the laws regarding teacher removals have been weakened, strengthened and revised by the legislature, and while current law still ensures the right of a teacher to remove a disruptive student from the classroom, it has not – until now – provided much guidance for what should happen next.

TCTA’s first attemptsTCTA staff developed a proposal that would require that

every campus have a designated discipline officer, and in 2009 persuaded then-House Public Education Committee Chair Rob Eissler to file it. From the beginning, the idea was to require the “campus discipline officer” to employ discipline techniques that could reasonably be expected to improve the student’s behavior, and to help ensure that discipline would be the responsibility of this individual, rather than the teacher.

How a really good bill became law

TCTA believes that teachers are responsible for classroom management, but discipline should be addressed – effectively – outside of the classroom. This was the

premise behind the legislative proposal that became SB 107.

That first session, the bill received a hearing in the House Public Education Committee, but was never voted out. A portion of it – the designation of the CDO who would be responsible for employing techniques that should improve behavior – was added to a different discipline bill in the Senate, but was eventually stripped out.

Fast forward to 2015. One of the best friends teachers have in the Texas Senate, John Whitmire of Houston (a former TCTA Friend of Education) filed SB 107. The bill was very concerning to TCTA lawyers because it changed mandatory removals throughout the Education Code to permissive remov-als; for example, under current law a student would have to be removed from the classroom for making a terroristic threat, and SB 107 would have left it to the discretion of the teacher. Though the intentions behind the bill were good, the effect would likely have been that teachers would be pressured to decrease removals of students from the classroom.

TCTA’s lobbyists sat down with the senator and his staff, told him why we were concerned, and gave him our idea as an alternative. He responded by completely substituting his bill with TCTA’s language, and eventually it was passed by the Senate and House and signed by the governor.

SB 107:• Requires every campus to have a campus behavior

coordinator (CBC), which may be the principal or


another administrator selected by the principal.• States that the CBC is primarily responsible for

maintaining student discipline.• Provides that a teacher can send a student to the CBC

to maintain discipline in the classroom. The CBC must respond by employing appropriate discipline management techniques consistent with the student code of conduct that can reasonably be expected to improve the student’s behavior.

• If the behavior does not improve, the CBC must try alternative techniques, including any progressive interventions specified in the code of conduct as the responsibility of the CBC.

Q. Is there a certain or limited number of days that the CBC can send a student to ISS and back to class repeatedly before applying a more progressive intervention?

A. The law includes an expectation that the CBC’s efforts “can reasonably be expected to improve the student’s behavior.” In other words, the law requires a CBC to take meaningful action and not simply ignore the problem, delay doing anything, or do the same thing repeatedly regardless of a lack of success.

Q. Does this include special education students who don’t have behavior plans?

A. The simple answer is “yes,” but this assumes that the teacher would know if a special education student had a behavior plan because school administrators would have given that plan to the teacher as required by law (another TCTA-initiated bill that passed in a prior session). TCTA members should contact the TCTA Legal Department (888.879.8282) to ask questions related to the behavior of special education students and teacher options.

Q. Can a principal delegate the responsibilities of the campus behavior coordinator to the counselor?

A. The bill did not envision that counselors would be delegated this responsibility, and specifically requires that the CBC be a campus administrator. Q. Our principal believes in giving students treats or time away from class without consequence when teachers send students to the office. Students return to class bragging about getting treats and announcing that they do not have to listen to us when we redirect their off-task conduct. Does SB 107 address that kind of conduct?

A. A campus behavior coordinator is legally responsible for campus student discipline and for implementing the new law;

a CBC cannot simply act in way that is convenient or easy for the CBC and that neglects the CBC’s duty to take steps to help improve a student’s behavior. If the student’s behavior does not improve, the campus behavior coordinator must employ alterna-tive discipline management techniques.

Q. What are the progressive steps for student discipline in the student code of conduct, and what are the alternative techniques CBC’s should use?

A. The new law does not prescribe specifically the behavior management tools a CBC should use. School boards may make some changes to their student codes of conduct to implement the new law, a process that could give teachers and/or the district-level committee a chance to recommend changes to supplement the discipline steps identified in the current student code of conduct.

Q. What if a CBC isn’t appointed on my campus, or the designated CBC doesn’t do what he or she is supposed to do under the terms of the new law?

A. Call the TCTA Legal Department promptly to speak with a staff attorney. The provisions of SB 107 should give us a stronger argument in generating appropriate administrator responses.

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you should know aboutNearly 100 education-related bills passed in the 2015 session – here are a few worth paying special attention to. For bill summaries of all the bills that passed, go to tcta.org/politics_government/bill_summaries.

In effect nowDecriminalizing truancy

HB 2398 eliminates criminal penalties for truancy, and instead requires interventions for truant students that could include behavior modification plans, school-based community service, counseling, mediation, mentoring, a teen court program, or community-based services. If such programs do not address behavior, a school administrator can refer the student to a truancy court; the case would be a civil, rather than criminal, matter. The court could order students to attend counseling or tutoring programs. A truancy conviction or complaint under the former law will be expunged.

Paperwork redundancyHB 1706 provides that the already-man-

dated commissioner review of paperwork

requirements must include a comparison of reports and paperwork required by the state to those required by federal law. The commissioner must eliminate any state mandates that are duplicative of federally-required reports/paperwork.

Change in school year requirementHB 2610 eliminates the 180-day requirement and replaces it with 75,600

minutes (an equivalent amount of time). If the commissioner does not approve reduced instructional time because of bad weather or disasters, the law gives flexibility to districts to add instructional minutes to the end of normal school hours to compensate for the lost instructional time, rather than adding days to the end of the school year. The bill also prohibits districts from scheduling the last day of school any earlier than May 15.

Studies on testing and TEKSHB 743 requires TEA to study and report to the State Board of

Education the number of subjects of required tests in grades 3-8, how tests assess standards essential for student success and whether they should also assess supporting standards. It also requires that TEA study the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills to evaluate the number and scope of TEKS

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in each subject and whether they should be limited. The SBOE will review the reports and make recommendations to the legislature by May 2016. These studies are intended to address educator complaints that the state assessments test too many standards for teachers to adequately cover in the allotted instructional time.

PrekindergartenHB 4 creates a mechanism for additional funding for districts

that provide a “high quality” prekindergarten program. High quality pre-K requires the use of a curriculum that includes guidelines established by TEA and that measures student progress (Common Core is specifically prohibited). Teachers must be certified and have either a Child Development Associate credential, Montessori certification, eight years of experience teaching in a nationally accredited child care program, be employed in a district that has received approval from the commissioner for a specific instructional training plan, or an equivalent qualification. The teacher credential requirement does not go into effect until the 2016-17 school year.

Limitations on certification retakesHB 2205 limits retakes of certification exams to no more

than four, unless the limitation is waived for good cause by the State Board for Educator Certification. A person who took an exam before Sept. 1, 2015, may retake the exam up to four times after that date, regardless of how many times they attempted the exam prior to that date.

No vapingSB 97 regulates vapor products (e-cigarettes), including

provisions adding e-cigarettes to the statues that prohibit the use of tobacco products on school property.

Reading and math academiesSB 925, SB 934 and SB 972 require the commissioner to

develop academies for (respectively) K-3 teachers providing reading instruction, K-3 teachers providing math instruction, and fourth- and fifth-grade teachers providing reading com-prehension instruction. Participating teachers are entitled to a stipend, and preference will be given to teachers at campuses where more than 50 percent of students are educationally disadvantaged.

Coming soonVideo cameras in special education classrooms

Under the provisions of SB 507, starting with the 2016-17 school year, districts will be required to provide a video camera and related equipment for each self-contained special education classroom if requested by a parent, trustee or staff member. Cameras must be able to cover all areas of the classroom (except for the inside of a bathroom or any area in which a

student’s clothes are changed) and record audio from all areas of the classroom. The school must provide written notice to all school staff and to parents of the students in the classroom. The school may not allow regular or continual monitoring of the video, or use the video for teacher evaluation or any other purpose other than the safety of the students in the classroom. The video from the classroom is confidential and can only be viewed under circumstances related to a complaint or investigation.

Restructured focus on writing testsHB 743 requires that standardized assessments in grades

3-5 be designed so that 85 percent of students can complete the test within 120 minutes; and for assessments in grades 6-8, 85 percent of students should be able to finish within 180 minutes. The bill also requires that an assessment in grades 3-8 must occur on a single day, which means that the fourth- and seventh-grade writing tests will have to be redesigned. TEA announced that the first administration of the writing tests restructured to conform to these requirements will be in the spring of 2017.

Under a separate bill, HB 1164, TEA will establish a pilot program for an alternative method of assessing writing in grades 4-7, as well as the English I and II end-of-course exams. TEA will be working with the testing contractors to develop the alternative assessment method. The pilot will begin with the 2016-17 school year.

Reduced emphasis on testing in accountability systemHB 2804 added a non-test-based fifth domain to the existing

four-domain rating system and added more non-test-based indicators to the fourth domain. The indicators in the fifth domain are three programs or categories of community and student engagement selected by a school district and campus.

The bill also ensures the accountability system ratings will be more sensitive to the level that the campus represents, so that, for example, the indicators upon which a middle school is rated are different from those for a high school. As an example, instead of being rated solely on student state test performance as in the past, elementary school ratings will additionally be based on student attendance rates. For high schools, the bill adds more non-test-based indicators in the fourth domain, such as student attendance rates, and the percentage of students completing a coherent sequence of career and technical courses, completing an advanced placement course, and/or entering the military. For middle schools, additional non-test-based indicators include the percentage of students in grades 7 and 8 receiving instruction in preparing for high school, college and a career, as well as student attendance rates.

Additionally, the bill requires that no more than 55 percent of a school or district’s overall accountability rating can be based on test-related measures. All of these provisions will go into effect beginning with the 2017-18 school year.

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Sen. José MenéndezSen. Menéndez is not only a Star, he was selected as

TCTA’s Public Official Friend of Education for 2015 due to his efforts on behalf of teachers. He filed a bill calling for a $4,000 pay increase for teachers and even managed to get a hearing for the bill, quite an accomplishment for a “newbie” Democrat in the extremely fiscally- conservative Senate.

Even though he was a freshman senator, he used his years of experience in the Texas House to hit the ground running and tried to amend one of the worst bills of the session by removing the provisions that would have eliminated the state minimum salary schedule. He was also one of the few senators to vote against the bill when his amendment failed. (Fortunately, the bill died in the House.)

He filed legislation to reduced standardized testing in

LEGISLATIVESTARS

All the education groups in Texas knew it was going to be a tough session when a change in Senate rules eliminated the ability of Senate Democrats to block legislation – a crucial weapon in previous sessions. The change meant that just about every bill that created a

private school voucher, privatized more public schools or took away school employee rights had a very good chance of passing the Senate, and many of them did.

TCTA and other public education advocates had to fight hard to fend off these harmful proposals, most of which were successfully defeated thanks in large part to House leaders. And with the help of some of our friends, TCTA was able to successfully pass legislation that will help educators and the students they teach.

Virtually all candidates for office position themselves as friends of public education while campaigning. The following list of Legislative Stars highlights the efforts of a select number of legislators who followed through on their promises.


grades three through eight, and served as the Senate sponsor for a successful TCTA-initiated bill filed in the House by fellow Star, Rep. Joe Moody, to ensure that school employees can file police reports. He was a strong supporter of retired school employees, and spoke up in opposition to the bill that would have eliminated the ability of teachers to have their teacher association dues deducted from their pay-checks. Sen. Menéndez has long been a champion for public education in the House, and he now brings that perspective to the Texas Senate.

Sen. John WhitmireA former TCTA Friend of Education winner, Sen.

Whitmire is also a perennial Legislative Star. Sen. Whitmire agreed to take language suggested by TCTA to replace his SB 107. As filed, the bill would have made any student discipline action discretionary, eliminating required removals for serious offenses. We went to him with our concerns and suggested alternative language that would accomplish his objective without jeopardizing the right of teachers to remove disrup-tive students. The bill makes very clear that school districts must take into account a student’s intent and any mitigating factors or defenses when placing a student in a disciplinary alternative education placement or expelling a student. Even more importantly, he agreed to incorporate TCTA’s sugges-tion of having a campus behavior coordinator (CBC) for every campus. See p. 20 for more information on this bill.

The new law should ensure that teachers get help with seriously disruptive students while also achieving Sen.

Whitmire’s goal of reducing the number of long-term removals to disciplinary settings. We call that a win-win, and believe that no one other than Sen. Whitmire could have gotten this bill through the legislative process.

Sen. José RodríguezSen. Rodríguez was a true asset to the Senate Education

Committee, upon which he served for the first time this session. Well-armed with facts and reasoned questions, Sen. Rodríguez rarely missed an opportunity to point out the fallacies of the reform proposals that were before the committee or on the Senate floor. He was also skilled at working within the political system, frequently getting his suggested language added to harmful bills in an attempt to mitigate the damage. He made a practice of regularly consulting with educator groups regarding bills coming before the committee and responded accordingly to concerns raised by TCTA and others.

One example involved a bill that the senator filed on behalf of the Texas Education Agency regarding TEA monitoring and investigation of school districts. At TCTA’s request, Sen. Rodríguez added language to the bill to require that in the course of monitoring reviews of school districts, TEA must get information from teachers and other school employees in a manner that prevents a school district from screening that information, as well as providing for TEA to conduct random, on-site visits.

He also filed several bills brought to him by TCTA, including one eliminating the ability of charter schools to refuse to enroll students with disciplinary histories. Another, SB 1259, that passed and was signed by the governor, strengthened the role of regular education teachers of special education students (see p. 18 for more details). In short, Senator Rodríguez was a “renaissance” legislator of sorts, able to skillfully engage in multiple facets of the legislative process with a high degree of success, and public education truly benefited from his efforts.

Rep. Joe MoodyRep. Moody is one of the few legislators who consistently

voted with public school educators, even on issues such as “innovation zones” that could harm employee rights but were supported by administrator and school district groups. The same cannot be said of all public education supporters. In fact, on those issues where administrator and teacher groups

Great staff workSpecial thanks go out to the staff of the

legislators mentioned in this article. TCTA also appreciates the following legislative offices, staffed with individuals who were extremely helpful and responsive to TCTA throughout the session.

Rep. Dan Huberty Chairman Jimmie Don Aycock Sen. Kirk Watson Lt. Gov. Dan PatrickRep. Gary VanDeaver Rep. Marsha Farney Sen. Van TaylorRep. Eddie Rodriguez

26 tcta.org | 888-879-8282

differ, the number of legislators who consistently sided with the teachers is very small.

Due to his consistent support of educators and his background as a prosecutor, TCTA asked Rep. Moody to file a bill to make it very clear that school employees are able to file criminal charges with any law enforcement agency with jurisdiction at the school. We had found that some admin-istrators directed teachers not to report alleged crimes such as assaults or terroristic threats by students. The bill Rep. Moody filed adds a statute to the Penal Code to make clear that a school employee (including a charter school employee) can file criminal charges with any law enforcement agency with jurisdiction (see p. 18). This bill should make schools safer for both students and teachers.

Rep. Alma AllenRep. Allen, a former teacher, principal and member of the

State Board of Education, knows a thing or two about public education, so when proposals are made to evaluate teachers based on student test scores or eliminate the state minimum salary schedule, she is able to give her expert opinion on the matter to the other members of the House Public Education Committee, on which she serves. While many of the harm-ful proposals during the session did not make it out of the House committee, many of them did get a hearing, so it was most refreshing to public education advocates to hear Rep-resentative Allen’s ardent and consistent support of public education and her pronounced skepticism for many of the “reform” proposals being pushed. She was the House spon-sor of the bill filed by Sen. Rodríguez at TCTA’s request that will improve input by teachers for students with special needs.

Rep. Armando WalleRep. Walle is one of the more consistent friends that

teachers have in the Texas House. Not only is he a completely reliable vote on teacher and public education issues, but he often goes above and beyond, always willing to stand at the back mic on the House floor to argue against a potentially harmful proposal. And when logic doesn’t work, he’s handy with a point of order.

In 2013, Walle (described as a “true friend” in our legislative writeup that year) filed a bill that would ensure the right of all public employees to pump breastmilk at the workplace. TCTA had gotten legislation filed in 2011 to accomplish something similar, though our version was

Special thanks to TCTA’s bill sponsors

In addition to others listed in this article, the following legislators agreed to file bills on TCTA’s behalf:

Sen. Judith Zaffirini was Senate sponsor for HB 786, the bill authored by Rep. Walle and signed into law that assures all public employees the right to express breast milk in the workplace.

Rep. Dan Huberty filed HB 929, which would have made clear that informal short term removals of a student from the classroom for disciplinary reasons do not count as removals for purposes of state accountability or required reporting.

Rep. Dwayne Bohac filed HB 1604, which would have made any assault against a school employee a mandatory removal under Chapter 37.

Rep. César Blanco filed HB 2482, which would have provided that state tests must be validated specifically for the purpose for which they are being used.

Rep. Dan Flynn, chair of the House Pensions Committee, passed a comprehen-sive TRS bill that included TCTA’s “fix” to a problematic benefits issue (see p. 18).

Sen. Joan Huffman, chair of the Senate State Affairs committee, was the Senate sponsor of the TRS bill that included the TCTA fix.

Rep. Joe Deshotel filed HB 3466 to help enforce the limits on benchmark testing.

Rep. Ken King included TCTA’s language that prohibits charter schools from rejecting students with a disciplinary history in his HB 3487.


Honorable Mention

House Speaker Joe Straus must be com- mended for presiding over the often-contentious lower chamber with a fair hand. Under his leadership, the House rejected the majority of bad education bills that had passed so easily in the Senate.

House Appropriations Chair John Otto led the budget committee that proposed $3 billion in new state funding for schools. Though the amount was whittled down considerably in the final negotiations, that opening salvo reflected the House’s support for public education.

limited to public school employees. We contacted Walle’s office early in that 2013 session to let him know of our support, and he continued to work with us throughout that session, shepherding the bill through the House before it stalled in the Senate.

Walle consulted with TCTA again in 2015 when he re-filed his bill. TCTA worked a multi-pronged approach this time, strategizing frequently with Walle’s office on HB 786 while also pursuing our SB 1479, which was limited to public school employees. Walle’s success in passing his more com-prehensive bill through a legislature that resists regulation was quite a feat, and breastfeeding moms and their babies will be better off for his efforts.

Rep. Eddie RodriguezRep. Rodriguez is a long-time teacher supporter who is

not a member of the House Public Education Committee – but we sure hope he will be someday. His position on the powerful Calendars Committee was invaluable, though, as he was able to help stall some of the bad bills that came over from the Senate. He worked closely with TCTA on HB 1842 (see p. 16), helping us distribute information on the House floor and talking to the bill sponsor, the House parliamentarian, and others to try to keep the harmful “innovation district” concept out of the bill. And of course he was a reliable pro-teacher vote throughout the session. We could use a few more just like him!

Sen. Sylvia Garcia sponsored TCTA’s bill to ensure educators’ right to break time and a private area for pumping breast milk. As a member of the Senate Education Committee she never hesitated to challenge her colleagues and witnesses when harmful reform bills were discussed.

Rep. Mary González, a new addition to the House Public Education Committee, filed more than two dozen pro-education bills, far more than the norm even for the most active public education supporters, and served as a great advocate for teachers and students on the committee.

Rep. Jim Keffer, a key Straus lieutenant, may have been the individual most responsible for the defeat of HB 1798 (see p. 15). His vocal opposition to the bill, noting that it could put far too much power in the hands of people “who may not even like public education,” was spot on and helped garner the bipartisan opposition that killed the bill.

Rep. Larry Phillips, a former TCTA Friend of Education, spoke on behalf of public schools on the bill that would impose A-F accountability ratings on campuses. During his rousing speech in support of an amendment that would have removed the A-F provision from the bill, he asked his colleagues to bring sanity and common sense back into the system, ending with a fervent “Support public schools!”

28 tcta.org | 888-879-8282

TCTA leaders from all across Texas convened in Austin in July to elect statewide officers (see p. 4), hear from classroom

and policy experts and awards honorees, and mingle with their colleagues. 2014-15 state president Terrill Q. Littlejohn presided over

the 60th annual convention with a Las Vegas flair.

Delegates hit the jackpot

TCTA’s Holly Eaton (far left) moderated a media panel on the recent legislative session.

Krista Wilkerson presents a session on classroom management.

Corina Flores talks about reaching students in poverty.

District 20 director Liz Pirtle and colleagues review materials in an ELL session.

Where there’s Terrill Littlejohn, trouble is never far behind.

at summer convention

2014-15 President Terrill Littlejohn, 2015-16 President Teresa Koehler, and new President-elect Donna Corbin.


President Terrill Littlejohn always leads with a smile.

TRS representatives answer health insurance questions after a session.

TCTA’s traditional “low-tech” surveys are always a hit.

Membership Director Julia Swope on recruiting with superheroes and donuts.

Attendees browse silent auction items to benefit ACT For TCTA.

Between local affiliate donations, live and silent auction proceeds, items purchased at the ACT booth, and a portion of proceeds from the Kendra Scott jewelry booth, thousands of dollars were raised for ACT For TCTA, our political action committee. These donations will go to support teacher-friendly candidates for statewide and legislative offices.

Local affiliates also contributed more than $1,000 to the TCTA building restoration fund.

Thank you to all of you who continue to support TCTA!

District 1 always displays camaraderie.

A full house heard updates from the TCTA lobby team.

Delegates approved an amendment to TCTA governance documents moving the annual convention back to February or March (with all accompanying changes necessary to accomplish this). TCTA will hold an abbreviated convention in the winter of 2016, and we’ll keep local leaders informed regarding key dates and deadlines.

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Congratulations to TCTA’s 2014-15 award recipients!

Friend of Education Public Official Category Sen. José Menéndez

Friend of Education Private Citizen Category Terry Dalton

Leader of the YearMichael BaileyNorth East CTA

Innovator of the YearBarbara TerrazasMidland CTA

Faculty Representative of the Year Christina HartLubbock CTA

Administrator of the Year Central Office Kami FingerLubbock ISD

Administrator of the Year ElementaryRaemi Thompson Levelland ISD

Administrator of the Year SecondaryMichael AlvarezClear Creek ISD

School Board Trustee of the Year Patricia O’Caña-Olivarez Mission CISD

Silver Apple Media Award Stephen GreenThe Huntsville Item


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look like they’re performing better than they are. It takes a pretty deep dive into the TEA website to find the disaggregated data, but when you do it’s obvious that the traditional public schools are outperforming charters, in general. In fact, if the numbers were reversed, it seems likely that there would be a legislative call for closing these schools down so that children wouldn’t be “shackled” and “trapped” in them, as there was last session for students in low- performing traditional schools.

The Importance of Informed ChoiceThere is value in giving parents some

level of choice beyond deciding in what neighborhood to live. Though many will claim that poor parents don’t have the option of moving into areas with the best-performing schools (school ratings tend to closely track the demographics of school districts primarily with regard to wealth), even that’s not entirely true; if you can’t afford to buy a house, you may well be able to rent an apartment, or transfer to another school in or out of your district.

The problem is that parents are not being given all the facts needed to make an educated choice. Not only are they likely to be unaware of the charter school ratings and the loopholes within that system, but they are almost certainly unaware that key provisions such as 22:1 class-size caps in grades K-4, certification requirements (except for special education and bilingual or ELL programs), parental rights and disciplinary provisions in law don’t apply to charter schools unless they’ve chosen for them to apply. The same goes for private schools.

Employees of charter and private schools who have previously taught at traditional schools are also often surprised to learn that laws relating to contracts, planning and preparation periods, duty-free lunch, provision of sick leave, etc., are also not applicable to their new schools. Though we have heard many public assertions that these alternative models for schools will raise teacher salaries, again, the facts are being

ignored. The average teacher salary for Texas traditional public schools is $49,917, while for charter schools it is $43,669.

The TakeawayTraditional public schools are being

unfairly and wrongly maligned. The traditional public schools are not only outperforming most alternatives, they are doing so with a student body that they didn’t choose and that didn’t choose them. And while alternatives to traditional public schools can focus, if they choose to, almost exclusively on remediation and academics, traditional public schools are busily providing counselors, diagnostician services, libraries, sports, and all manner of ancillary services to the extent they can afford to and in accordance with law, to support their students at many different levels.

If charter schools were truly outperforming their traditional counterparts, we would be the first to ask what lessons we could learn from these “laboratories of innovation.” While teacher organizations are often accused of clinging to the status quo, there are fact-based reasons for doing so in many instances. Let’s work to make those facts more widely known, and persuade those who currently serve or seek to serve as policymakers more aware of the need to make evidence-

Executive Director’s Messagecontinued from page 2 District Accountability Ratings

Traditional Schools Charter Schools

2015 TEA Ratings Count Percent Count Percent

Met Standard 983 96.0% 136 69.7%

Met Alternative Standard 0 0 32 16.4%

Improvement Required 40 3.9% 17 8.7%

Not Rated 1 0.1% 10 5.1%

based decisions, instead of just listening to the rhetoric and building exit doors.

Texas Classroom Teachers Association PO Box 1489Austin, TX 78767-1489888-879-8282|tcta.org

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It’s time to Take 2,Make $25!

Take who and what?Take 2, Make $25 is our way of

rewarding TCTA members who tell

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to TCTA before Dec. 31!How do I play?Simply be sure your TCTA membership number (printed on

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new member’s application (print or

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How much can I make?We’ll send you $25 for every TWO

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summer 2015 - tcta · as new state president teresa koehler of clear creek cta . took office,...

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