Governor Henry on SB 834

Gov. Henry vetoes legislation weakening state school standards
May 08, 2009

(Oklahoma City) Saying it would turn back the clock on decades of education reforms, Gov. Brad Henry today vetoed Senate Bill 834, legislation that would have allowed local school administrators to ignore more rigorous state standards and create their own academic benchmarks and rules.

Supporters of the measure claimed SB 834 would increase local control and give districts more flexibility, but in his veto message, the governor said the tradeoff would be weaker standards across the board.

“While local control is an important component of a successful public education system, it is also critical to have rigorous state standards in place to produce the highest quality graduates and ensure achievement and accountability throughout the system. Recognizing the importance of such uniform standards, public and private sector leaders have advocated and implemented numerous reforms in recent years to raise the academic bar for all students and schools,” said the governor.

“Senate Bill 834 would essentially turn back the clock on much of that important progress and weaken landmark reforms by allowing school administrators to create their own rules and ignore more rigorous state standards, including, but not limited to, the smaller class size mandates championed by former Gov. Henry Bellmon and Oklahoma voters in the historic passage of House Bill 1017 in 1990. SB 834 would also endanger such worthy programs as full-day kindergarten and alternative education in addition to making optional such critical personnel as school librarians and counselors.”

Gov. Henry also noted that SB 834 was not in the best interest of Oklahoma teachers because it weakened or eliminated rights and benefits provided to them, including due process rights guaranteed under the constitution.

“These provisions would also undermine ongoing efforts to attract and retain the best and brightest teachers in Oklahoma, something that is critically important, particularly for a state that is routinely recognized for having some of the best educators in the nation,” said the governor.

“At a time when we are working to send the signal that Oklahoma is serious about improving its education system and producing high-quality graduates who can compete in the 21st century global economy, it would be a disastrous step backward to approve legislation that weakens state standards, abolishes historic reforms and reduces rights and benefits provided to teachers.”

Thank Governor Henry

Governor Henry Vetoes SB 834

Governor Affirms Commitment to Education with Veto

Thank Governor Henry

Governor Brad Henry’s veto of Senate Bill 834 today builds on his consistent support and dedication to creating great public schools in Oklahoma.

Senate Bill 834, commonly referred to as the school deregulation bill, proposed to deregulate public schools while providing no oversight or accountability for school administrators or school boards. Mandates like class size limits, adequate libraries, salaries above the state minimum, alternative education programs and school counselors could have been ignored under SB 834.

“The Governor recognized that it is the classroom teacher that has the most impact on student learning. After all, if you destroy the soul of teachers, it is the kids who are impacted,” said Roy Bishop, Oklahoma Education Association President.

The bill has also drawn much criticism from a concerned public because it could have eliminated the right of the public to have input on district policies. “It would be counterproductive to exclude parents, students and teachers from this process. Transferring authority to any one party is not the way to make sustainable education reforms,” said Bishop.

Here are some excerpts from from an Associated Press Story as we wonder why the State Chamber wants to roll back the gains they supported as a result of HB 1017. And don't forget to email the Governor and ask him to veto SB 834.

However, Oklahoma Education Association President Roy Bishop said the bill is "political gimmickry" that will allow school districts to overturn 20 years of progress in education. He was referring to House Bill 1017, landmark legislation of 1990 that set state standards for schools and increased funding to school districts.

The GOP-backed education plan would do away with a process whereby school boards must negotiate with unions that win a majority of teachers wanting representation. Bishop said it would eliminate current due process protections for teachers.

"We support investments in real school improvements and oppose this reckless political gimmickry," he said.

Bishop said the legislation does nothing to improve school funding. "We are so underfunded it is a national joke and this is what they come up with," he said.

Supporters said the bill keeps the minimum salary requirement for teachers, but Bishop argued that more than 74 percent of teachers make above the minimum.

Are Charter Schools Better than Public Schools?

While you read about the new review, please email Governor Henry and ask him to veto SB 834.


Milwaukee Charter School Report Generally Sound

Review of report raises key questions but praises contribution

EAST LANSING, MI (May 5, 2009) – A recently released report on Milwaukee charter schools found that charter school students showed no significant gains in reading scores and only small increases in math scores when compared with students in traditional public schools. The report also concluded that there is no evidence that competition from charter schools impacts the performance of traditional public schools. A new review of the report raises validity questions but notes strengths in the methods used. When the results are considered together with the large body of research on charter schools, the conclusion that charter schools should not be expected to have large effects on achievement in urban schools is found by the reviewer to be reasonable.

The report “The Impact of Milwaukee Charter Schools on Student Achievement” was published by the Brookings Institution. It was reviewed for the Think Twice think tank review project by Robert Bifulco, Associate Professor of Public Administration at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University.

Probably the most noteworthy finding from the report is that, even though no significant benefit in reading scores was associated with charter attendance, the report did find a small but statistically significantly higher math test score improvement among charter school students compared with conventional public school students. Yet it also found that those gains were largely limited to earlier years of the charter school program and to students in their first year in a charter school.

In his review, Bifulco observes that the statistical methods used in the Brookings report have been used in many other charter school studies and have been endorsed by a panel of experts on school choice research. Despite their “widely recognized strengths,” however, these same methods “have come under sharp criticism,” he notes, and should probably not be used by themselves. For instance, Bifulco points out that the study’s charter school sample excludes students who have attended only charter schools, who may be different in important, unmeasured ways from those (included) students who transferred in or out of charters during their schooling years.

A further concern, acknowledged but not fully resolved by the Brookings authors, is that Wisconsin changed its achievement test midway through the study. Given these and other “threats to the validity of the estimates presented in this report, robustness checks and alternative estimates are important.”

The study results, Bifulco concludes, “are most informative when considered in the context of the larger body of research on charter schools”—namely, that charters produce “at best modest effects on student performance.” In that light, he says, the authors are wise to point out that charters offer “no silver bullet” in the school-reform arsenal.

Find Robert Bifulco’s review on the web at: http://www.greatlakescenter.org/

SB 834:On the Governor's Desk

SB 834 Goes to the Governor with Saturday Deadline

After SB 834 passed the Senate last Wednesday, the bill was held for reconsideration by Sen. Ford. The senators voted yesterday not to reconsider the bill, and 834 will go to the Governor today.

The Governor will have 5 days to veto or sign SB 834. The deadline will be this Saturday, May 9th.

Now is our final chance to act! We need as many calls and emails to the Governor as possible this week. Click here to compose and send an email to the governor.

Ask Governor Henry to Veto SB 834

Email Governor Henry and ask him to veto SB 834.

Tulsa Rally Against SB 834-Ask the Governor for a Veto

Four hundred people, including teachers from several districts, attended the anti- SB 834 rally held in Tulsa on Thursday night. The rally got tremendous press coverage, including one station's helicopter, as a number of elected representatives spoke before the crowd. You can go to Channel Six and see a good video about the event.

Greer Nichols, Broken Arrow President, got the crowd fired up and chants of veto could be heard throughout the rally. Greer turned it over to the speakers that included Representatives Jeannie McDaniel, Eric Proctor and Lucky Lamons, and Senator Kenneth Corn who is running for Lt. Governor. Also speaking were TCTA President Denzel Kesterson and me.

You can contact Governor Henry and ask him to veto the bill by going here.

SB 834: House Approval as a Bad Bill Moves Forward

It's time for everyone to contact the Governor and ask him to veto SB 834.

Senate Bill 834 passed the House with a vote of 60-39. The bill is now headed back to the Senate. Senators have the option of accepting the amendments made in the house or rejecting the changes and sending the bill to conference. If the changes are accepted, the bill will head to the Governor's desk. We believe the Senators will accept the changes and the bill could be on the Governor's desk as early as next week. We need you to click here and tell the Governor to veto SB 834. Governor Henry has been a true champion of education. He is our ally not our enemy.

Only one Republican voted in the best interests of kids, teachers and communities--Representative Lisa Billy. Please contact Representative Billy and thank her for her courage to do what was and is right.

SB 834: Putnam City Protests Deregulation Bill

The Putnam City Association of Classroom Teachers and community members stood at major intersections during rush hour to alerting the public to SB 834, the bad deregulation bill sitting in the House of Representatives. Pictured above are those who gathered at NW Highway and Meridian.

As thousands of cars drove by, many drivers honked their horns and waved in support of the effort. The smiles and waves of the drivers made it all worth while and when traffic stopped at the lights, PCACT members handed out information on the bill to give many more details about its impact on kids and teachers.

The bill will be up for a vote sometime this week. Please continue to lobby your State Representatives, even if they have given you a firm answer. Make sure they continue to pledge a no vote. If they support SB 834, let them know this is a bad even with the recent amendments. Click here to email your representative.

SB 834: Coming up for a Vote in the House

SB 834: Contact School Board Members

You can help make a difference with SB 834. Here's the latest:

SB 834: A Bad Bill Moves Forward, Part 2

SB 834 Passes House Education Committee

Signs You Gave to Representatives Who Opposed SB 834 Were Ordered Taken Down By House Leadership On the Morning of the Vote

SB 834 passed out of the House Education Committee with a party line vote of 9-5. The bill is headed to a vote on the House floor. Several amendments were made to the bill. However, none of the rights that provide a voice for teachers were reconsidered. There are still no requirements for:

*Collective bargaining

*FAIR due process

*Guaranteed salaries beyond the state minimum.

Committee members added language that simply retains the informal pre-termination hearing before the school board for career teachers, however that EXCLUDES:

*Trial de novo

*Your right to bring forth witnesses

*Your right to submit evidence

*Your right to confront and cross exam witnesses

Your career would be dependent on a simple vote of the school board without any due process safeguards. Other amendments were made to the bill. The bill now requires:

*Certified teachers

*Payroll deduction of dues

*Districts to maintain current curriculum standards including minimum graduation requirements

*Continuing education courses for school board members

WHAT DO WE DO NOW?

*Find out if your superintendent and board members are for or against 834. Many legislators have repeatedly said that superintendents and school board members are pushing SB 834.

--If your superintendent and/or school board members support the bill let your co-workers and community members know that the administrators support legislation detrimental to public education.

--If your superintendent or school board member opposes the bill, inform your legislative and political organizing specialist and your legislators.

*Attend local school board meetings and try to get on the agenda to speak about your position on SB 834.

*Continue to correspond directly with your representatives by phone and email. Click here to let your house member know you oppose this bill.

We are making a difference and we will defeat this bill.

SB 834: State School Board Members Opposed

Not all school board members are in favor of deregulation.

"It's going to take us back 30 years," said member Gayle Miles-Scott during a long discussion of several bills that would remove State Department of Education regulations and control. "What are they drinking?"

Sue Arnn, another member, replied: "Republican whiskey, that's what they're drinking."

"These are people who never liked [former Gov.] Henry Bellmon and [House bill] 1017," said member Tim Gilpin. "We're going to do more with less by giving back to the local districts, who are the ones we're having to audit, you see."

"Every one of these kids is going to be taught differently, and that's absurd," Miles-Scott said. "What are they doing? They're totally destroying education."

SB 834 will come up for a vote on Wednesday. The following is a list of members of the House Common Education Committee. contact these legislators at 1-800-522-8502 and encourage them to vote NO on SB 834.

Ann Coody, Chair
Sally Kern, Vice Chair
Gus Blackwell
Samson Buck
Ed Cannaday
Doug Cox
David Dank
Joe Dorman
Tad Jones
Jeannie McDaniel
Earl Sears
Jabar Shumate
Daniel Sullivan

OEA Lobby Day:SB 834

Over three hundred OEA members attended the OEA Lobby Day at the Capitol. Pictured with our members are Representative Mike Jackson, Senator Jim Wilson and Representative Mike Brown.

The focus of the day was SB 834, the deregulation bill that will turn all of our local school districts into charter districts over a six year period.

OEA/Teachers Lie

Some of the legislators had a new twist to tell our members. Besides the Republican party line of districts shouldn't have to follow "unfunded mandates" many of our members were told that "OEA lies" to them and in another instance, a legislator tried to recruit OEA members to a competing organization.

Our members did get angry, but not with me--the OEA--the 8th grade teacher from Stillwater--and all of our other teachers and support professionals who make up the OEA--they got angry with their legislators and they are going to take that anger back home with them and share it with their peers.

Unanswered Question

What would you be doing differently to impact student learning that you aren't able to do now???????????????????????????????????

There is nothing but silence from Republican Legislators, superintendents and school board members when they're asked that question.

For coverage of the event check out these sites: Oklahoman KSBI Joplin Globe.

Listed below are my remarks at the Lobby Day press conference

Good morning and welcome to the Capitol.

I’m Roy Bishop, President of the Oklahoma Education Association. Hundreds of school employees are here today to show their commitment to a great public school for every child and to let our elected leaders know that SB 834 is bad for schools.

I know how difficult it is for them to leave their students, especially at this time of year, so I want to thank them for being here and let them know I appreciate their commitment to Oklahoma education.

We are here today for the children of Oklahoma. The greatest impact on our students is to have a quality teacher and the tools and resources to help children learn. SB 834, the deregulation of our schools, will negatively impact our kids in a variety of ways including larger class size, diminishing teacher certification and quality, and it will also allow districts to ignore caps on administrative expenses with less money going to the classroom where our students need it the most.

If this bill passes, high standards for our students and a quality nationally known teacher preparation system are in jeopardy, and will be left to the political whim of local school boards and administrators.

An example of that political whim took place just a few months ago. A young teacher from a small western Oklahoma school came to the Capitol, at the request of a lawmaker, to tell about the number of days his students were out of the class for school activities.
His reward for honestly exposing the rampant abuse of the 10 day activity rule for students was to be called into the Superintendent’s office, have his job threatened, and then be placed on a disciplinary plan for improvement. How is it good for kids that a quality teacher is placed on a plan for improvement for speaking out about poor administrative practice?

Oklahomans can expect more of the same with the passage of SB834.

Oklahoma has a nationally known teacher preparation system. According to “Quality Counts”, we are ranked in the top 10 nationally in “Teacher Quality.”

For too long we have struggled to keep our good teachers in Oklahoma. SB 834 will allow for already low salaries to be reduced and will put a premium on hiring low cost non-certified teachers. This will be at the expense of our students because the number one determinant of student success is the quality of the teacher in the classroom.

The proponents of SB 834 state that these reforms are needed to allow local boards and administrators to put changes in place in their districts.

There is nothing today, or in the past, that would have stopped a school district from making changes it wanted to make. Our current deregulation law does just that. If they have a program to impact student learning, why haven’t they tried implementation?

SB 834 will also allow local school districts to do away with the collective bargaining process. This takes away the only opportunity for teachers and support professionals to be heard. Why would they want to do that? Our working conditions are a student’s learning conditions--they impact student learning conditions.

And in Oklahoma, the collective bargaining law is only advisory; it allows the local school district to impose whatever they wish at the end of the process.

You’re going to hear a lot about not being able to fire bad teachers—that’s just not right and it makes me angry.

Existing law allows all districts to hire teachers on temporary contracts for 3 semesters. These temporary contracts have an ending date and no action has to be taken to end employment – it is automatic.

In addition, the existing law includes a 3 year probationary period where the district is required to provide reason, and notice, of non-renewal or dismissal. For probationary teachers, the school board is the final authority.

We should probably be asking what is wrong with an administrator who can’t decide if a teacher is “bad” during this 4 ½ year period when they pretty much have no restraints. Think about the impact on kids when an administrator doesn't do his or her job.

And finally, mark my words, if this deregulation bill passes, it will be even easier for Superintendents and Boards of Education to mismanage school funds. One only has to look at the Marble City fiasco to see the impact of mismanagement and the impact that lost money had on kids.

For all of these reasons, and many more, SB 834 is bad for kids, bad for teachers and support professionals, bad for education and bad for Oklahoma.

SB 834 Warning & OEA Lobby Day

STOP SB 834! Join Us for a Day at the Capitol - Lobby Day, March 25th

Let your voice be heard loud and clear at the OEA Lobby Day, March 25, at the State Capitol. No matter what size of a school district you work in, no matter what your job in the district, it is vital you let the legislature know how important education is. Come and be a part of this day for education at the State Capitol.

Registration for OEA Lobby Day will begin on the Second Floor Rotunda at 8 a.m. We'll start with a briefing at 9 a.m. on the Second Floor. Lunch will be provided and we want you to invite your legislators to join you for lunch at 11:30 a.m. Please register for Lobby Day on the OEA website so we know how many to plan for for lunch.

There is ample parking south and east of the Capitol. For a map of the Capitol grounds, visit www.lsb.state.ok.us and click on "Capitol Complex."

SB 834--A Bad Bill Moves Forward

Yesterday, on a straight party line vote (R-D), the Senate passed SB 834 26-21 with one Democrat, Senator Paddock, out of town. The bill now goes to the House Education Committee.

This bill has direct implications for kids in the issues of class size, teacher certification, teacher quality through professional development, and alternative education just to name a few. How can those who supported it justify their vote?

Contact those Senators, with an R after their name, at the Senate website.

SB 834:Senator Ford Responds to the OEA

From Senator Ford to his legislative colleagues: Attached is an “OEA Legislative Update” that was e-mailed to OEA members yesterday (Mar 4). This OEA update will generate many e-mails and phone calls from constituents. Following is a possible reply: Senate Bill 834 will eliminate many unfunded mandates that have hamstrung our local school districts. These mandates have negatively impacted their ability to develop innovative approaches and programs to ensure students will indeed master the skills and curriculum necessary to compete once they graduate—whether they go on to college, to a CareerTech, or straight into the workplace.

Again, I will ask, 1) Why don't you just fund the mandates you expect schools to follow or 2) Did you know Oklahoma already has a deregulation procedure in place?

OEA is working to defeat this measure, and has made erroneous claims that educators, who are among the 74 percent of teachers in Oklahoma that currently work for districts paying above the minimum salary schedule, may face thousands of dollars in pay cuts.

It is important to point out that these districts are paying above the minimum salary schedule because they have chosen to do so....

I wonder if Senator Ford knows that the percentage of total school spending going into teacher compensation has declined from 56.3% in 1995-96 to 43.5% in 2006-07.

Or, has the Senator sat at a meeting with a Superintendent who said, "I'll buy 5,000 rolls of toilet paper before I'll ever give you a dime of that money."

SB 834: "What are they thinking?"

A few of the arguments OEA members are hearing from their legislators include some you just want to shake your head and wonder if they even realize what they've said. Let's take a look at the latest reasons for support:

1) By deregulating schools, districts can do away with unfunded mandates. Hmmm...think about this---the legislature passes mandates for schools and districts because they believe they're important, but won't fund them? Why don't our legislators just fund the mandates? Is this even worthy of debate?

2) Our teachers and support professionals have been told "locals like you" will get a say in how things are done. This bill removes the teacher and education employee voice from the process. Your district gets a say, but the teacher sure doesn't.

Keep checking back here for information or go to the Oklahomans Against SB 834 page for more dialogue.

Amendments to SB 834:Still a Bad Bill

After passing the Senate Education Committee, there are new amendments for this bill that would not allow a school district to deregulate the minimum salary schedule, paying into the teacher's retirement system and continuing to participate in the state health insurance program.

These changes mean that Senator Ford and others are listening to your calls and emails. While the amendments change the original bill, Senate Bill 834 is still a bad bill for kids, teachers and schools.

Elimination of the class size rules makes it extremely difficult for all kids to have the attention they deserve. Class size is one of the most important issues for parents and teachers.

The use of non-certified teachers (not the same thing as highly qualified) and the elimination of professional learning opportunities are serious teacher quality issues impacting children. The single best determinant of a child's success in the classroom is the quality of the teacher.

The lifting of caps on a variety of costs measures, including restriction's on a districts carryover balance will ensure money won't go where it's needed most--to kids and their classrooms.

A bad bill is a bad bill. Please continue to contact your elected officials and voice your opposition to SB 834.

Sapulpa Rep Meeting:SB 834

Last week, I visited Sapulpa where we spent a good deal of time discussing SB834 and its impact to our schools. The Building Reps were united in their opposition to this piece of legislation and are making their voices heard to their respective representatives.

Sapulpa President Carla Cale is doing a great job representing her members. Carla ran a very informative meeting while her BR's did a good job of representing their schools. After the meeting Carla, on my right, posed with me and OEA Communications Specialist Marty Bull (l) and Pat Smith (r) OEA Legislative and Political Organizer.