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Alert 08/15/06

Urgent! Legislative Coordinators: Help Kill SB 1655: It Will Hurt the Neediest Students


Your action is needed right now to kill a terrible bill that will harm teachers and students in our schools of greatest need. SB 1655 by Sen. Jack Scott (D-Pasadena) will come before the Assembly as early as Thursday, August 17. It will harm all schools - and Decile 1, 2, and 3 schools in particular -- by making it more difficult for these schools to attract and keep experienced, highly qualified teachers.

Background

SB 1655 gives school administrators unprecedented power to block the transfers of highly qualified and motivated teachers who want to work in schools with high percentages of low-income and minority students.

SB 1655 is a bad bill for any number of reasons:

SB 1655 is the wrong answer to a complex problem. It will do nothing to help improve teaching and learning for the students in Decile 1, 2 and 3 schools.

SB 1655 is unnecessary and premature. In July 2006, the California Department of Education approved a plan to monitor teacher quality and the distribution of teachers in our schools of greatest need. We should give these Decile 1, 2, and 3 districts time to submit their "equity plans" for achieving fairness in the distribution of teachers.

SB 1655 misses the mark and wrongly identifies teacher transfer rights as the problem. The bill incorrectly assumes these rights are the reason Decile 1-3 schools cannot attract and retain sufficient numbers of highly qualified teachers.

SB 1655 conflicts with federal compliance mandates. The bill undermines the state's plan for Progress Toward Equitable Teacher Distribution. These provisions are crucial because they are the only elements of the No Child Left Behind Act that focus on minority students' access to experienced teachers.

SB 1655 violates the intent of the Williams lawsuit settlement. In 2004 lawmakers passed AB 3001 to implement the teacher quality elements of the Williams lawsuit, which charged that students in high poverty schools were not getting equal assistance from the state. AB 3001 already provides help to districts to improve teacher hiring and retention practices, and to increase the percent of highly qualified teachers. AB 3001 also requires an accounting of teachers who are wrongly assigned and requires action to reduce those concerns.

SB 1655 allows site administrators to reject qualified teachers. It gives administrators the authority to block the transfers of fully credentialed and highly motivated teachers who want to move to schools with high percentages of low-income and minority students.

SB 1655 violates federal equity mandates. It does so by permitting site administrators to deny voluntary and involuntary teacher transfers without saying why. To attract and retain experienced and highly qualified teachers in Decile 1, 2 and 3 schools, real reforms are needed that include smaller classes; clean, safe campuses; quality instructional materials; and support from parents and principals.

Here's What Coordinators Should Do

Coordinators: Ask all CTA members to call and write their own Assembly members at the Capitol in opposition to SB 1655 (Scott). Contact teams should also reach lawmakers at their district offices.

For more information, contact CTA Legislative Advocate Patricia Rucker or GR Communications Consultant Len Feldman at 916.325.1500.

 

 

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