Senate Bill 795 Continued...

The calendar has turned to June and Senate Bill 795, the "Excellent Public Schools Act", is not officially approved, but it is "tentatively approved".   My original post about Bill 795 discusses many, but not all, of the main components of the bill.


The Senate passed the 2nd reading of Bill 795 yesterday (May 31st), which has been mostly supported by Republicans, yet opposed by Democrats. 


Financial details were discussed in the controversial Pay-for-Performance component with an expected cost of $45.6 million for the first year of implementation.  The cost may rise to an astounding $82.3 million by 2016-2017.  The Pay-for-Performance component would require each individual LEA to create and implement their own teacher-payment plan, resulting in hundreds of various formats state-wide.  Many have doubts on where this funding will come from, given our current financial struggles in education.


In the Teacher Tenure component, Republicans are pushing for new teachers to be initially placed on one-year contracts, allowing principals and superintendents to approve if the teacher remains on staff for the following year.  After passing the initial licensure/Beginning Teacher status, teachers would be given four-year contracts.  This is similar to the current contract systems of assistant principals and principals, but Democrats are requesting for this to be removed from Bill 795.


Tenure would be eliminated, but teachers who currently "have" tenure in North Carolina would not lose it.  


I feel that it is extremely important for all educators in North Carolina to stay abreast on the components and amendments of Bill 795.  These components will drastically change public education in North Carolina.  The final vote is set for Monday, June 4th.


You can check out the history and information of the bill here.


Thanks for reading and follow me via Twitter @CSmithGoBlue.  

CS

The opinions shared in this blog belong to Craig Smith and do not represent the school or district in which he works.

The Magnitude of Senate Bill 795

The proposed "Excellent Public Schools Act" is an intensive education reform contained in Senate Bill 795.  After reading the 12 parts of the Act in great deal, I tweeted:

"I hope every teacher is aware of how Senate Bill 795 & the proposed "Excellent Public Schools Act" will change education in #NC."

The North Carolina Association of School Administrators did a great job of seeking input from its members on the components of Senate Bill 795.  The NCASA used the responses to "guide a focus group of superintendents, personnel directors and principals who participated in a full-day discussion on each component (NCASA, 2012).  The NCASA created a Review and Recommendations for each component of Senate Bill 795.

I have listed some of the potential changes resulting from the Excellent Public Schools Act.  I have attempted to not include my own opinions, but rather share some of the potential changes.  Keep in mind, this is a 12-part Act, so not every component is listed:

THE BIG ONE (in my opinion): "Pay for Excellence" would allow each local school board to establish performance pay for all licensed school employees.  (Note: The NCASA is recommending a timeline, involving piloted districts, which wouldn't be concluded until 2014-2015.)

THE REALLY BIG ONE:  Tenure (or Career Status) would be eliminated.  In addition, the following would be eliminated: RIF provisions, the requirement of providing reasons for contract non-renewal, hearings before hearing officers, among others.  There is some discussion of having teachers be placed on similar contracts to principals and assistant principals, which are two-year initial contracts, followed by four-year contracts.  This component would greatly impact every teacher in North Carolina.

There is a focus to improve literacy in K-3 education, but does not specify if each Local Education Agency (LEA) will have the flexibility to determine how it will enhance literacy through appropriate policy.

The "grading system" used by the state of North Carolina would assign A-F to each school, based predominately on EOG/EOC test performance. (Note: The NCASA is strongly opposing this.)

The school calendar, specifically start/end dates, would be adjusted.  Right now, schools cannot start sooner than August 25.  This Bill would all the start date to "the next to the last Monday in August".  This potentially could only move the start of school up a few days, with August 20 as the earliest possible.  (Note: The NCASA wants to restore LEA flexibility in setting start/end dates, especially with the start of school.)

Elementary Education Teachers (K-6) would need to demonstrate proficiency in teaching Reading, Language Arts, and Mathematics. 

I strongly recommend every teacher and school leader become familiar with the aspects of this proposed Act.  If it is passed, it will drastically reform the entire public educational system in North Carolina.  Discussion will resume on May 16 by the Senate.

Thanks for reading and follow me via Twitter @CSmithGoBlue.  

CS

The opinions shared in this blog belong to Craig Smith and do not represent the school or district in which he works.

Pre-Payment Update for NC Educators

In November, I published a post called "No More Pre-Payment for Educators in NC". 

In an effort to address concerns raised by teachers and still move forward with ending pre-payment as called for under the 2011 law change, the N.C. Association of School Administrators and the N.C. School Boards Association gave the committee chairs a slightly revised proposal from the previous array of pay date options that we had endorsed. The revised proposal from NCASA and NCSBA would do the following:

• Delay the ending of pre-payment until July 1, 2013 for all districts.
• Require all school districts to provide their first paycheck by Aug. 31 each school year but include pay only for the days worked.
• Allow for district flexibility with the establishment of pay dates that would follow the initial August pay date.
• Allow for multiple payroll checks each month.
• Enable an early payroll date in December.

Here is the revised proposal from the NCASA and NCSBA Regarding Pay Date Options for School Districts in North Carolina

To all educators in North Carolina, make sure to follow this story.  It impacts all of us!

Thanks for reading and follow me via Twitter @CSmithGoBlue

CS

The opinions shared in this blog belong to Craig Smith and do not represent the school or district in which he works.