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Commissioner of Education defers implementation of 15 percent STAAR grading requirement
Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott announced today that he is officially deferring implementation of the rule that requires students’ scores on the new STAAR end of course (EOC) exams count for at least 15 percent of the student’s final grade for the course. The move is the result of growing concerns about there being little or no guidance from the state on how districts should convert the EOC score into a grade given the variety of ways in which that grade could affect students’ GPA and class rank.
The issue was the subject of House Public Education Committee hearing last month that featured impassioned testimony from school officials and parents concerned about the transition to the more challenging tests. The outcry led to Scott calling the state’s standardized testing system a “perversion of its original intent.” Even still, the Texas Education Agency (TEA), of which Scott is the head, rejected pleas to delay the implementation of the grading policy because it did not believe it had the legal authority to do so. Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) responded, along with fellow committee members Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas), Sen. Dan Patrick (R-Houston) and Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo), by sending a letter of intent to TEA stating that it supported a waiver of the 15 percent rule for the 2011-12 school year. The letter made clear that this is a temporary delay and that test scores should still be a factor in determining students’ final grades.
ATPE will continue to follow this story as it unfolds.
TRS Board meeting
The Teacher Retirement System (TRS) Board of Trustees held a special meeting Feb. 15-17 in Lubbock to discuss legislatively mandated studies that must be completed by Sept. 1. One study will evaluate the actuarial and fiscal impact of potential changes to the TRS pension plan, including changes to retirement eligibility, final average salary, benefit multiplier, and the creation of a hybrid plan that includes defined benefit plan (DBP) and defined contribution plan (DCP) features, such as a two-part or a cash balance plan. The other study will provide a comprehensive review of TRS health care plan designs and changes that would improve the long-term sustainability of TRS-Care.
The meeting, which was broadcast live over the Internet, was well attended by retirees and stakeholders. ATPE testified before the board and asked that the studies include potential impacts to the education system from changes in pension benefits, such as how it might affect efforts to recruit and retain educators. ATPE strongly opposes changing the TRS benefit structure from a defined-benefit pension system like the current system to a 401 K type plan based on defined contributions. TRS staff members responded that they intend to include such information in their report.
The board also heard from several experts. These experts said that there isn’t really any reason to make the type of changes the study will examine since the TRS pension system is very healthy and costs are low when compared with other states or private sector retirement plans. Mary Beth Braitman, a pension plan design expert with Ice Miller LLP, testified that simply switching from a DBP to a DCP does not necessarily translate into cost savings as plan design is the key cost driver, not plan type. Keith Brainard, director of research for the National Association of State Retirement Administrators and actuary Joseph Newton furthered the argument by pointing out that while TRS has the lowest contribution rate in the nation for teacher retirement systems (6 percent) that do not participate in Social Security and typical private retirement plans cost employers 9 percent of payroll.
The news on the TRS health care plans was not as good. The TRS Care health plan for retired educators will run out of money in 2015 unless the Legislature addresses the issue during the next legislative session. The key problem is that funding is tied to payroll rather than health care cost drivers, which are increasing at a greater rate than payroll. The study will examine ways to address this issue while observing the Legislature’s stated intent of not raising premiums during the next biennium.
The TRS ActiveCare program for active educators saw a premium increase and benefit decrease during the last year. The TRS actuary recommended premium increases of 4 percent for ActiveCare 1 and 1HD, 6 percent for ActiveCare 2 and 9 percent for ActiveCare 3. The board approved these rates along with the following increases for ActiveCare HMO plans: 3.6 percent for First Care, 3 percent for Valley Baptist and 2.4 percent to 2.9 percent for Scott and White.
TRS will hold a town hall meeting March 12 to continue the discussion.
Stay tuned for updates.
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ATPE LAN Update 2-13-12 Ask a question at this week's TRS meeting
The Teacher Retirement System (TRS) Board of Trustees will meet in Lubbock Feb. 15-17 to review the results of two studies called for by the 82nd Legislature. One study evaluates the actuarial and fiscal impact of potential changes to the TRS pension plan, including changes to retirement eligibility, final average salary, benefit multiplier, and the creation of a hybrid plan that includes defined benefit and defined contribution features, such as a two-part or a cash balance plan. The other study is a comprehensive review of TRS plan designs and changes that would improve the long-term sustainability of TRS-Care. Aside from the special locale and being broadcast live over the Internet, this meeting will be special in that viewers will be able to submit questions about the studies to be answered live by the presenters.
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ATPE LAN Update 1-20-12 Redistricting update, House Public Education Committee hearing |
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The legal battles over the state’s redistricting plans have the dates and deadlines for the upcoming election season in flux. As it currently stands, the Texas primary elections will take place April 3. However, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling today stating that the panel of three federal judges in San Antonio acted inappropriately in drawing up new redistricting maps while the maps drawn up by the 82nd Legislature were being challenged in court. The Supreme Court has instructed the San Antonio judges to draw up new maps that pay greater deference to the Legislature’s intent and the federal voting rights act. The ruling did not include any type of timeline and could result in the Texas primary being delayed even further.
ATPE will continue to follow this case as it unfolds and provide you with the latest dates and deadlines as they become available. In the meantime, make sure you are registered to vote by March 5, the deadline for the current primary election date.
House Public Education Committee meeting
The House Public Education Committee will hold its first hearing of the interim at 1 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23. The hearing will focus on the committee’s second interim charge:
Monitor state and local implementation of the new state assessment system (STAAR), specifically its impact on students, instruction, teachers and graduation or promotion rates. The committee is to review how districts are implementing the requirement that end-of-course assessments count for 15 percent of a student's course grade as well as recommend any changes to graduation or testing requirements that promote instructional rigor and support postsecondary readiness while appropriately limiting an overreliance on standardized testing.
ATPE will attend the hearing and be prepared to testify before the committee about our positions on state testing and offer suggestions on ways to improve the system. |
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ATPE LAN Update 12-16-11 Primary dates moved |
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In light of the ongoing legal challenges surrounding Texas’ redistricting plans, the two major parties have come to an agreement to push the Texas primary elections to April 3. The agreement must still be approved by a federal judicial panel in San Antonio, but there is no reason to believe the panel will not approve the plan.
Under the new plan, the state chairman for each party can elect to hold the county and Senatorial conventions on either April 14 or 21. Runoff elections will be held June 5. The new primary date will presumably give voters more time to get registered to vote as the deadline for voter registration is 30 days before the election. |
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The U.S. Supreme Court announced last week that is has granted Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s request for a temporary stay on the implementation of the redistricting maps drawn up by a panel of three federal judges in San Antonio in November. The court granted the stay in order to allow both sides in the case to present arguments on whether the maps are valid. The announcement further complicates an already-muddled situation and could end up causing some of Texas’s primary elections to be pushed back until May 2012. From the top
Redistricting is the practice of redrawing the borders of political districts. Redistricting takes place every ten years to account for the changes in population recorded by the national census. The Texas Legislature is in charge of redistricting, so the party in power usually attempts to redraw the districts to benefit their party. For example, districts with a high concentration of voters for the opposition party might be split into separate districts. This usually leads to a long, drawn-out process of legal challenges in order to determine what the final maps will look like.
The maps drawn up by the 82nd Legislature are currently being challenged in federal courts in both Washington, D.C., and San Antonio based on a belief that the new maps discriminate against minority voters and violate the Voting Rights Act. With those maps held up in court and deadlines for the 2012 election season approaching, a panel of three federal judges in San Antonio drew up interim maps to be used for the elections. This prompted Abbott’s request for a temporary stay on implementation of the interim maps while the challenges to the Legislature’s maps are considered. The Supreme Court granted the stay in order to allow both sides to present their case before deciding whether or not the panel of San Antonio judges acted appropriately in drawing up interim maps. If the Supreme Court rules that the San Antonio judges acted appropriately in drawing the interim maps, the maps will be used for the 2012 election cycle. If the Supreme Court rules against the San Antonio judges, then the case against the Legislature’s maps will likely be ruled on as quickly as possible in order to make sure new maps are in place for the 2012 elections. Clear as mud, right?
ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS |
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ATPE LAN Update 11-18-11 Federal judges release new redistricting maps |
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The panel of the three federal judges assigned with reviewing the redistricting plans approved by the 82nd Texas Legislature released their proposed legislative maps Nov. 17. The new maps are a result of a lawsuit filed in the San Antonio court and also respond to the failure of the maps to pass the muster of the Department of Justice and Washington D.C. federal court under the Voting Rights Act. The new maps seek to create more minority opportunity districts in Texas Legislative districts based on population changes during the last census and are significantly different than those approved by the 82nd Legislature. The panel has not yet proposed a Congressional redistricting map; the State Board of Education maps are not under a challenge at this time.
The new House map will undo several pairings approved by the Legislature that would have pitted incumbent democrats against one another. For example: Democratic incumbents Rep. Scott Hochberg (D-Houston) and Rep. Hubert Vo (D-Houston) were paired in the same district under the Legislature’s map, but have their own districts under the new maps. The proposed maps will instead pair several incumbents against those who will not seek re-election. For example: Rep. Jim Murphy (R-Houston) is paired against Rep. Beverly Wooley (R-Houston), who is retiring.
The big winner under the proposed Senate map is Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth). Davis’ district was redrawn by the Legislature to be largely Republican, but the new map restores most of her district to more closely match the demographic changes in Tarrant County.
The court has given the parties to the lawsuit an opportunity to respond to the proposed maps, but it is believed that these maps or something similar will constitute the temporary maps that will be in place during this election cycle and until a ruling in the voting rights case is made in federal court. Complicated legal issues aside, there is one thing for sure – candidates for the Texas Legislature will be working overtime to make their decisions to run once the final map is approved by the court. The filing deadline to run for election this cycle begins Nov. 28 and ends Dec. 17.
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10-21-11 Straus issues House interim charges
The Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, Rep. Joe Straus (R-San Antonio), issued interim charges for all House committees Oct. 20. Interim charges direct legislative committees to conduct studies on various issues during the interim and often serve as a preview of the Legislature’s focus during the next session.
The latest round of interim charges directs all committees to study ways to increase the state’s manufacturing capabilities as well as ways to increase transparency, efficiency and accountability in state government. There are also specific charges for each committee, including some notable charges related to public education.
The House Pensions, Investments and Financial Services Committee is directed to
monitor a study by the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) on the viability of the current defined-benefit plans (DBP) as well as the implications and feasibility of creating a defined-contribution plan (DCP) or a hybrid plan. Talk of converting TRS from a DBP to a DCP has been circulating around the Capitol for several years. DBPs guarantee participants a certain level of benefits for maintaining regular contributions (as does the current TRS pension plan). A DCP acts more like a 401(k) or 403(b) in which returns are not guaranteed and are subject to market fluctuations. ATPE has long been opposed to converting TRS to a DCP.
The House Public Education Committee was also issued several charges. The committee is to:
· Conduct a review of the University Interscholastic League (UIL) and make recommendations as needed.
· Monitor state and local implementation of the new state assessment system (STAAR), specifically its impact on students, instruction, teachers and graduation or promotion rates. The committee is to review how districts are implementing the requirement that end-of-course assessments count for 15 percent of a student's course grade as well as recommend any changes to graduation or testing requirements that promote instructional rigor and support postsecondary readiness while appropriately limiting an overreliance on standardized testing.
· Evaluate the charter school system in Texas and examine charter school success and failure stories in Texas and other states. The committee is to review the educational outcomes of students in charter schools compared with those in traditional schools and identify any best practices and how those practices might be applied statewide. The study should include recommendations.
· Review and make recommendations on the effectiveness of Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs (DAEPs) and Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Programs (JJAEPs) in reducing students' involvement in further disciplinary infractions. The committee is to determine the appropriate role of disciplinary alternative placements in promoting education achievement and how technology could be used to supplement education services. The committee is to also consider appropriate placements in DAEPs or JJAEPs and consistent funding models for those programs. Consider options for counties without a JJAEP or inefficiently few placements in a JJAEP; and identify positive behavioral models that promote a learning environment for teachers to appropriately instruct while addressing any behavioral issues and enforcing student discipline.
· Review methods and best practices in Texas and other states to encourage more parental and community involvement in the education of Texas children.
· Monitor the agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction and the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 82nd Legislature.
You can view the full list of House interim charges here. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has issued some specific interim charges for select Senate committees to study issues related to wildfires and drought conditions, but the full slate of Senate interim charges will not be released until later this fall.
10-14-11 New School Finance lawsuit filed
Ever since the Legislature opted to cut more than $4 billion in public education funding during the 82nd legislative session, there has been talk of a new round of school funding litigation. The talk became a reality Oct. 11 when the Texas Taxpayer and Student Fairness Coalition officially filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s school finance system.
The Texas Taxpayer and Student Fairness Coalition is a group of school districts organized by the Equity Center, a research and advocacy group focused on achieving a school finance system that provides all school districts fair and equal access to state resources. The coalition is made up of 150 school districts from around the state, though only seven of those districts are listed on the original petition for judgment; more school districts are expected to join.
The basis of the suit is similar to the 2004 West Orange school finance case – the current school finance system does not adequately and equitably fund public education as required by the Texas Constitution. Presiding Judge John Dietz ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in that case and found that the cap on the amount of taxes school districts can raise through local property taxes removed meaningful discretion for districts to fund their schools. Dietz also ruled that the system did not generate enough funding to provide the adequate education called for in the Texas Constitution.
Dietz’ ruling was partially overturned in 2005 by the Texas Supreme Court. The court maintained that the system was unconstitutional because it created a state wide property tax but overruled Dietz’ judgment on adequacy issues. To address this ruling, the Legislature opted in 2006 to lower property taxes to restore meaningful discretion and adopted the target revenue system, a hold harmless scheme meant to ensure that schools did not receive less funding due to the lowered property tax rates.
The new lawsuit cites the target revenue system and the massive cuts in education funding approved by the 82nd Legislature as the main culprits in creating an inequitable funding system that grants wealthy school districts greater access to state funding than poor school districts. The suit also revives the adequacy issues overturned in the West Orange case, but takes a new spin on the argument, citing civil rights violations. The suit also brings the issue of fairness to taxpayers into the fray, which is a unique angle not brought up in prior cases. Whether these arguments are compelling enough remains to be seen. Though not official yet, it is expected that this most recent case will also land in Dietz’ court. Regardless of who presides over this case, it will likely end up in a challenge before the Supreme Court.
Proceedings on this matter are not expected to begin until summer 2012, with a goal of reaching a decision before the start of the next legislative session in 2013. You can view the Equity Center press release on the suit, including the original petition for judgment, here.
10-5-11 Class-size waiver info coming in
Everyone is well aware of the massive cuts in funding for public education that were passed during the 82nd legislative session. Those cuts are starting to have a visible effect on the number of requests for class-size limit waivers; here are the preliminary numbers for 2011-12 class-size waivers:
Approximately 204 districts have requested a waiver for at least one campus for 2011-12, with a large portion requesting significantly more than one waiver. This represents an 18-percent increase from the 2010-11 school year and a 29-percent increase over the number of districts that requested waivers during the 2009-10 school year. Overall, from 2009 to present, the number of districts requesting waivers has increased 67 percent. These numbers do not include the number of campus waiver requests, which have not yet been reported by TEA.
While ATPE and other like-minded groups were able to defeat proposals to alter the state’s class-size limit regulations during the session, the Commissioner of Education changed the criteria for waiver requests to include reduced funding from the state. Because just about every district in the state saw a decrease in funding, nearly all districts are now eligible for class-size limit waivers.