Legislature Tells Schools Boards No Standing Required for Pledge

Law passed in 2016 session, School Board Disagrees

A year ago the Florida State Legislature passed a “train bill” HB 7029 by huge margins.  I was against that bill (as I remain today) for many items that were in that bill.  Tuck into HB 7029 at the last minute was language that mandated that local school boards must, “… student shall be informed by a written notice published in the student handbook or a similar publication pursuant to s. 1006.07(2) that the student has the right not to participate in reciting the pledge. Upon written request by his or her parent, the student must be excused from reciting the pledge, including standing and placing the right hand over his or her heart.” This bill was signed into law and is now Florida Statute 1003.44.

The law previously permitted students to opt out of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance but still required students to stand.  Citrus County School’s policy reflected that as well.  I shared about this new change in Florida Statute last year in two articles; https://thomastalks.org/2016/07/06/misleading-report-learn-the-real-facts/ and https://thomastalks.org/2016/03/19/floridas-bright-future-a-legislative-session-review/. Unfortunately, at the time few people seem to me upset about it then.

Today during our School Board Workshop when the policy was presented for review I spoke out again about this new Florida Statute.  The rest of the school board also spoke up and disagreed with this law.

The Board asked the School Board’s attorney, Wes Bradshaw to present alternative language which would meet Florida Statute but emphasizes that students are required to stand for the Pledge, unless requested in writing by the parent or guardian.

If you are interested in watching the video on this part of the School Board Meeting visit; https://youtu.be/BdjRztAqptg

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Gradebook Podcast talks to FSBA about 2017 Legislature

Please listen to the Tampa Bay Times Gradebook podcast with host Time Education Reporter, Jeffrey Solochek as he interviews Florida School Boards Association’s executive director Andrea Messina to talk about the current Florida Legislative session.

Ms. Messina I have the highest respect for and she is one of our state’s leading public educational policy experts.  Ms. Messina is a former English teacher, Charlotte County School Board Member, and FSBA Professional Development Coordinator.  She was my new school board member, teacher when I was first elected to office and she is still someone I reach out to on many school board issues.

This Gradebook podcast addresses several issues that the Florida legislature is working on– in particular, capital dollar funding for school districts.

Ms. Messina does an excellent job explaining how current proposed legislation looks to further reduce, the already reduced capital funding to local school districts.

Please take the time and listen to the Gradebook Podcast: http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/gradebook/gradebook-podcast-floridas-legislative-session-at-halftime-and-school/2319534

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HB 373 State continues to take away local control

Worsens teacher shortage

Recently the Chronicle Editorial Board referred to our past state legislature as “hypocrites”, and they did with good reason. They shared, “…Florida Legislature is constantly complaining that the federal government — was always trying to tell them what to do.” The Editorial Board then went on to say, “the same members of the Florida Legislature turn around and do exactly what they accuse the federal government of doing. State government is constantly trying to tell local government how to do their business.”  (Read the editorial: http://www.chronicleonline.com/content/tallahassee-hypocrites-strike-again)

This legislative session one of the bills that continues to remove local control and interferes with the retaining of and attracting of competent teachers is HB 373 (companion bill SB 856), the bill if passed would, “Prohibits district school board from awarding annual contract for instructional personnel under certain circumstances; prohibits district school board from altering or limiting its authority to award or not award annual contract; provides applicability.”

Over the last decade the state legislature in Florida and state legislatures around the country have passed law after law that has caused fewer and fewer individuals to be interested in becoming teachers and have also caused those that are teachers to leave the profession.  In fact, the Orlando Sentinel reported this week, “40 percent of teachers leaving Florida’s public schools [will leave the profession] within five years after starting”.

In 2011, the Florida Legislature passed and was signed into law SB 736 that among many things, tied teachers’ salaries to student’s grades and test scores. It also required all school districts to adopt new salary schedules with new state requirements.

SB 736, also took away the freedom that local districts and bargaining units had to locally negotiate equitable agreements. Under the SB 736 laws all new teachers hired after July 1, 2012 would no longer have “continuing contract”. Meaning if you were doing a good job there was no guarantee that you couldn’t be fired (or non-renewed) at the end of every school year without cause. For those that felt called to the noble profession of teaching continuing contract was an important benefit for the limited salary an individual could earn compared to that of working outside of the teaching profession.

SB 736, took away continuing contract way from newly hired teachers. It is interesting to know that SB 736 only took away continuing contract for teachers, in fact no other law in Florida for any other professions has takes away continuing contract.  Public school teachers were and continue to be targeted in this way.

Following the period after SB 736 passed into law districts and bargaining units in order to retain good teachers understood that some type of continuing contract offering was essential, and so districts added language to contracts to help give limited assurances to teachers that if they had met their annual expectations and had received at least an effective rating on their annual evaluation that they would be retained for the coming school year. The fear was that some in the legislature that had targeted the teaching profession when they passed SB 736 would try and pass new laws to stop districts from doing this.  Enter 2017 and HB 373.

Florida’s teaching shortage is not likely to improve anytime soon.  It will get worse before it will get better. Bills like HB 373 will only serve to make matters worse and continue to have Tallahassee control more of our local government’s decisions.

I urge you to contact your legislators and ask them not to support HB 373 and SB 856, as these bills only makes the matters of our teacher shortage worse for our schools and students.

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