When lawmakers return to the state Capitol in January, they will have the opportunity to review and act on three pending CTA-sponsored measures.
One of the measures would significantly improve California's process for testing and evaluating students. The other two would protect the integrity of funding for the State Teachers' Retirement System (STRS) and enhance teacher pensions.
CTA members are being urged to contact their state lawmakers in support of the three pieces of legislation sponsored by CTA:
AB 356 by Assembly Member Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) would bring the California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program into greater alignment with federal guidelines. Among its provisions, it would delay until 2005-06 the implementation of the California High School Exit Exam (HSEE) as a graduation requirement. The delay would help ensure that schools have fully implemented the standards-related curriculum that is being tested.
In addition, the measure would free schools to spend more time educating their students. It would also exempt second-grade students from the statewide testing requirement. The federal standard calls for testing to begin at the third-grade level.
The measure would also eliminate monetary performance awards under the Public School Accountability Act, freeing up funds for academic purposes.
AB 265 by Assembly Members Gene Mullin (D-San Mateo) and Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Montclair), would help protect teachers' retirements by guaranteeing STRS the repayment of $500 million withheld from the retirement system as part of efforts to balance the state budget.
SB 102 by Senate President Pro Tempore John Burton (D-San Francisco) would allow STRS members called to active military duty since Sept. 11, 2001, to receive service credit with the retirement system for their time in uniform. It would also allow STRS members to apply some unused sick days to help them qualify for STRS bonuses.
Len Feldman