February 27, 2017
| We’ve got a few bills to share with you today. As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions. We say it a lot, and we mean it every time, but we are grateful for the time you give to Tennessee’s kids. Whether it’s reading a weekly email, calling a legislator, or reading to a classroom, you are making a difference for student success. Thank you!
(A housekeeping note- if you are new to our legislative emails, welcome! We try to give you the highlights of the week’s legislative work, a short summary of bills coming up, and our position on them. We promise these longer emails are worth the read.) Up this week in the Tennessee General Assembly: • House Bill 67 – We believe strongly that everyone involved in the classroom should be accountable for the success of that classroom. When measuring success, and placing an emphasis on accountability, we know that for students – and teachers – it isn’t one size fits all. That’s why we support HB 67, which requires districts to offer one alternative growth model.This bill would provide and allow for options in measuring individual growth for our teachers in non-tested subjects. • House Bill 795 – Tennessee’s teacher evaluation system is considered a national model for its use of multiple measures, including teacher observations and student growth data. In fact, when asked last year, 70% of Tennessee’s teachers supported the current evaluation system. We’ve often said that politics needs to stop at a school’s front door. We are opposed to HB 795 and to any effort to undermine valid and effective teacher accountability measures. • House Bill 1129 – Every student in Tennessee deserves an opportunity to succeed and deserves to be educated in a school that is successful. The Achievement School District provides opportunity for Tennessee’s kids trapped in failing schools. HB 1129 is a shortsighted attempt to weaken the ASD’s ability to successfully turnaround failing schools. Every child – regardless of zip code – deserves a high-quality education. • House Bill 310 – We believe in choices in public education. We believe in transparency and accountability for success. Both of those come together in HB 310. This legislation provides funding for charter school facilities, establishes an authorizer fee charter schools would pay the district, clarifies the length a charter school can operate, and outlines the process for charter accountability and loss of charter. Before you go, big thanks for coming this far with us, we have one more thing to share with you. Good news tends to travel more slowly than bad, but we’re hoping to change that. There are some really great things happening in the Tennessee General Assembly. The Governor’s Budget proposal includes$180 million in recurring dollars invested into education, $15 million into career and technical education, $100 million into teacher salaries, and $22 million to English language learners. There is also legislation (House Bill 441) that would give each first year teacher $500 to be used on instructional materials. There are good things happening in education at the Capitol and we’d like you to help us thank those who help support Tennessee’s students, teachers, and classrooms. Take a few moments today to click the email button below, say thank you for supporting investments in education, and feel good about praising good work.
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