Controversial 'parent trigger' survives last committee stop in Senate

As expected, Sen. Kelli Stargel's parent trigger bill won the support of the Senate appropriations panel Tuesday -- and is now headed to the Senate floor.

There was, however, one plot twist.

At a previous committee stop, Sen. David Simmons added language that would give school districts the final say in determining how to improve a struggling school. (That is, they could ignore a group of parents demanding change.) Sen. Lizbeth Benaquisto filed an amendment Monday to remove that provision, and let the state Board of Education make the final call.

But Stargel had the amendment withdrawn at the start of Tuesday's hearing.

It isn't that Stargel wants to keep Simmons's language. In fact, she wants it stripped from the bill, too. 

"I want to make sure parent voices are actually heard and not just taken under advisement," she said, adding that Simmons also had a change of heart about the language. 

But Stargel said she needed more time to figure out how to "best handle the situation." She said she would likely bring an amendment to the Senate floor.

When asked why she supported Simmons's amendment at the earlier committee stop, Stargel said she didn't read it until "five minutes" before the hearing, and that she hadn't had time to work through the potential implications.

The trigger bill (sans amendment) passed out of the appropriations committee in a party-lines vote.

Florida School Boards Association Executive Director Wayne Blanton gave his support, but only because the Benaquisto amendment was withdrawn and school districts maintained authority.

"Should it go any further than that, you are going to have a constitutional problem," Blanton said, noting that the Florida Constitution requires elected school boards (not appointed bodies like the state Board of Education) to oversee local schools.

Senate panel broadens teacher evaluation bill

Sen. Anitere Flores's pitch to tweak the state's teacher-evaluation model now includes language that prevents students from having low-performing teachers for two consecutive years.

Sound familiar? There's similar wording in the controversial parent trigger bill.

Flores, a Miami Republican, said Tuesday she was OK with the addition because she wants the "important provision" to pass, regardless of what happens with the trigger.

Almost like a back up plan? "Exactly," she said.

The fate of the parent trigger bill is far from determined. The proposed legislation, which would also allow parents to demand sweeping changes at low-performing schools, has already passed in the House. But it's anybody's guess what will happen in the more moderate Senate.

Even Flores said she's "not sure" if the trigger will become law.

"I know that the bill is coming up [in Senate Appropriations] today, and so that other issue of ensuring that students get assigned to good teachers, that's important to me, so I thought this other bill was a good home for it," she said.

There's a new complication, though. The teachers' union now has issues with Flores's teacher-evaulation bill.

SB 980 ensures that teachers will be evaluated based only on students they teach. It's passed in three committees (including Senate Appropriations Tuesday morning) and has one more stop (Senate Rules) before it reaches the floor.

The bill had widespread support -- until the amendment got tacked on.

"There's an evaluation system that has not been proven to be able to identify anything," said Jeff Wright, who oversees public policy advocacy for the Florida Education Association. "We don't trust it to identify which teachers need improvement or are unsatisfactory."  

-- with reporting from Tia Mitchell 

Scott signs sweeping education bill

On Monday, Gov. Rick Scott signed a sweeping education that will revamp high school graduation requirements and create two new diploma designations.

The proposal, SB 1076, will also state universities to be designated as "preeminent research universities," and receive additional funding to develop online learning institutes and high-tech degree programs.

"SB 1076 will make sure our children are prepared for college and careers," Gov. Rick Scott said, adding that the move would help fill the more than 260,000 job openings in Florida.

Senate President Don Gaetz, House Speaker Will Weatherford and two dozen lawmakers and education officials were on hand Monday to add their praise. Gaetz, a former schools superintendent, called the new law "the most important piece of legislation I've worked on during my seven years in the Senate."

Despite the unified front, there was some tension beneath the surface.

Scott made several references to the across-the-board pay teacher raises he has made his top budget priority this year. On Sunday night, leaders in the Senate and House agreed to award salary increases to educators, but said they must be tied to performance. 

Orange County Superintendent Barbara Jenkins, who also spoke at Monday's press conference, pointed out that performance pay isn't supposed to start until 2014.

"It is a good time to add to our base salary," she said, expressing the opinion held by the state teachers' union and most superintendents.

Read our earlier story on SB 1076 here.

House and Senate agree: $480 million for teacher pay raises

The House and Senate reached at least one key agreement Sunday: $480 million is the right amount to spend on teacher pay raises.

The Senate initially proposed spending $480 million at the suggestion of Gov. Rick Scott. 

The House wanted to spend $676 million and give districts more flexibility with the money. The lower chamber adjusted the number to $628 million late last week, but on Sunday, decided that $480 million would be OK.

House Education Appropriations Chairman Erik Fresen, R-Miami, said the two chambers would work together to determine how much flexibility districts ought to have. 

Much to the governor's dismay, both chambers are sticking to a pledge to tie the pay increases to performance. (Scott is championing $2,500 across-the-board pay raises.)

Miami-Dade Commission: Hold the line on Bright Futures

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Barbara Jordan added her voice to the debate over Bright Futures this week, saying lawmakers should reconsider raising the standards needed to qualify for the state-funded scholarships.

"When this bill initially passed, it was a measure to help save the state of Florida money," Jordan said. "However, no one took into account the effect that it would have on college enrollment for Hispanics and African Americans. If the state of Florida implements this plan, they’ll be moving us backwards, not forward."

The Miami-Dade County Commission agreed, and passed a resolution urging state lawmakers to hold the line on Bright Futures awards.

Beginning next year, students will need to post higher scores on the ACT and SAT to qualify for Bright Future scholarships. An analysis from the University of South Florida has projected that the number of college freshman receiving the awards will drop dramatically, with minority students suffering the most.

Lawmakers have filed bills to keep the existing standards in place. But the proposals have not received a hearing, and the session is winding down.

Teachers sue the state Board of Ed, challenge new educator evaluation protocol

Seven Florida teachers filed a federal lawsuit against state Education Commissioner Tony Bennett and the Board of Education on Tuesday, alleging that the state's new protocol for evaulating educators is unconstitutional.

Their claim: Evaluating teachers based on the performance of students they don't teach -- or based on student test scores in subjects they don't teach -- violates the equal protection and due process clauses of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The seven teachers have the support of the state and national teachers' unions.

“Teachers in Florida are being evaluated using a formula designed to measure learning gains in the FCAT math and reading tests," Florida Education Association President Andy Ford said Tuesday. "But most teachers, including the seven in this lawsuit, don’t teach those subjects in the grades the test is administered. One of the teachers bringing this suit is getting evaluated on the test scores of students who aren’t even in her school.”

Michelle Rhee pushes the parent trigger in Tallahassee

Despite mounting criticism over a possible cheating scandal in Washington, D.C., education activist Michelle Rhee was in Tallahassee Monday to discuss a flurry of schools-related proposals in Florida.

"We're here to answer questions and lend our support in any way possible," Rhee said while waiting to meet with House Speaker Will Weatherford.

When asked which bills she was lobbying for, Rhee directed a reporter to the website for her education nonprofit, StudentsFirst. The organization lists performance pay for teachers, expanding school choice, and empowering parents as its top legislative priorities.

It's no secret that Rhee supports the Parent Empowerment Act, better known as the parent trigger. The proposal would let parents demand sweeping changes at low-performing schools, including having the school converted into a charter school. 

Teachers' unions, parent groups and school districts oppose the measure, and Democrats have voted against it at almost every stop. Still, the bill has already won the support of the House, and is awaiting a final committee hearing in the Senate.

In a brief interview Monday, Rhee said opposing the bill is "an unconscionable position to take."

"We talk to members [of StudentsFirst] everyday who are frustrated because their children are trapped in failing public schools..." she said. "In my mind, we have to empower our parents to be better advocates for our kids."

Rhee made the same argument to House Democratic Leader Perry Thurston and Democratic Leader pro tempore Mia Jones earlier in the day, Thurston said. 

"I told her our concerns," Thurston said. "We think there are already ways for parents to get involved, and we don't need our public schools being taken over by for-profit organizations."

Is Rhee's visit to the Capitol a sign that the trigger is in trouble? 

"I hope so," Thurston said, noting that the proposal could die for a second year in a row in the moderate Senate.

Rhee, who led the Washington D.C. school district from 2007 to 2010, has long been a lightning rod for controversy. She's back in the news this week, after a memo surfaced purporting to show evidence of cheating during her chancellorship. The Washington City Council will hold a hearing on the issue later this week.

Sweeping education bill heads to Gov. Rick Scott's desk

A bill that would revamp the requirements for high-school graduation and make dramatic changes to the state university system is headed to Gov. Rick Scott's desk.

On Friday, the House voted unanimously to support a Senate bill that would create different designations for high school diplomas: one for advanced students and one for students headed directly into the workforce.

The sweeping education bill would also designate a "preeminent university" based on student performance, retention rates, research spending, national rankings and endowment size, among other factors. That university would be required to create a fully online arm.

"This is a transformational bill," House Speaker Will Weatherford said after the vote. “It’s one that will change the trajectory of the education system… To be standing here on week six and sending this bill to the governor’s desk is a big deal.”

On the K-12 side, students would no longer need to pass the algebra II end-of-course exam to graduate from high school. A passing score would only be necessary for students wishing to have a "scholar" designation added to their diploma. Those students would also have to earn two credits in a foreign language, and pass at least one college-level class.

Students could also earn a "merit" designation by earning industry certification in one or more fields. 

Rep. Janet Adkins, who chairs the House K-12 education subcommittee, said the measure would help keep high-school students engaged in their studies by recognizing their diverse interests and needs.

"The whole purpose of this bill is to connect the skills of our students with the needs of our employers, and to recognize that not every student in the state of Florida is going to go to college," said Adkins, a Fernandina Beach Republican.

Adkins rejected concerns that the measure would create a "sub-class" of diplomas. 

"It’s the same standard high school diploma for both of these designations," she said. "Regardless of which designation is on their diploma, [students] are going to be college ready."

Rep. Jeanette Nuñez, the Miami Republican who chairs the House higher education committee, called the university preeminence provision "a catalyst for innovation."

The preeminent university would receive funding to create an online learning institute, expand its entrepreneurs-in-residence program, and institute a master's degree in cloud computing.

"We’re going to have highly recognized preeminent universities and we are going to have a high recognized online university," said Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami.

Last year, Scott vetoed legislation that would have allowed "preeminent" state research universities to raise tuition and fees at differentiated rates each academic year. Nuñez has said she expects this year's version to become law because it doesn't have that provision. 

 

Rodríguez pitches amendment to help 'Dreamers,' Schenck shoots it down

Rep. José Javier Rodríguez, D-Miami, made a last-minute attempt to include undocumented students in a proposal that would enable more Florida college students to qualify for in-state tuition.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jeanette Nuñez, R-Miami, applies to students who were born in the United States, but whose parents are undocumented immigrants. Historically, those students have had to pay the higher out-of-state tuition rates.

Rodríguez wanted to see the measure expanded to include so-called Dreamers, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. His amendment would have given colleges and universities the choice to offer (and pay for) in-state tuition for Dreamers who obtained their schooing in Florida.

“The time is now to act to help students who received their education in Florida but must pay expensive out-of-state tuition,” Rodríguez said in a statement.

But House Rules Chairman Rob Schenck, R-Spring Hill, wouldn't allow the amendment to be heard on the House floor Thursday, saying it was "not germane" to Nuñez's bill. Democrats were not given the opportunity to debate the point of order.

Before Schenck weighed in, Rep. Joe Saunders, D-Orlando, asked Nuñez why she did not include undocumented students in the proposal. Nuñez said there was too much movement on the national level for the Florida legislature to craft lasting policy.

"We decided it would not be good policy to put the cart before the horse," she said.

The House will vote on the policy (sans amendment) Friday.

Parent trigger wins support in Senate committee stop

Another committee stop, another show of support for the parent trigger bill.

The proposal, which would allow parents to demand sweeping changes at struggling public schools, including having the school converted into a charter school, had its final hearing in the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee Thursday morning. 

It picked up an amendment from Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, that waters it down some. As the bill was initially drafted by Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, the State Board of Education would be the arbiter if the school district opposed the parents' plans. The Simmons amendment gives the final say to the school system.

The Florida PTA supported the amendment. But the PTA and other parent groups spoke out against the overall bill, saying it would open the door for for-profit charter school companies to take over failing public schools.

Even with the amendment, the trigger bill failed to win the support of the four Democrats on the panel: Sens. Bill Montford, Joseph Abruzzo, Dwight Bullard and Maria Sachs. But the eight Republicans on the dais voted to move the proposal along to its final committee stop.

Observers are expecting a big battle if the bill reaches the Senate floor.