If you are unable to attend the House Education Committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 24th, we still NEED your help! Please contact the members of the House Committee on Education (below) to tell them these bills are harmful to Louisiana educators and students.
*Copy and Paste the body of this message into your email:
Dear Members of the House Committee on Education,
Please oppose HB 478, HB 596, and HB 644.
HB 478, 596 and 644 are punitive with respect to public education, educators and students. These bills do NOT improve or support teachers in the classroom and will create a process that will intimidate and fire good teachers for non-valid reasons.
HB 478 attempts to eliminate a fair process for dismissal in Reduction-In-Force (RIF) situations. Under current law, seniority is only one of several criteria the school board may use to reduce in force. If passed, HB 478 would lay-off our most experienced teachers from the classroom, and reduce -- and most likely eliminate -- the increased knowledge base in our classrooms, thereby hurting students. This is not in the best interest of students or the educators who teach them. Using only performance-based RIFs hurts students, due to the fact that the model (VAM) used to determine the performance of a teacher is mathematically and statistically flawed. Basing a Reduction-In-Force (RIF) on performance in Louisiana is a flawed and misrepresented process and should not be allowed.
HB 596 attempts to give superintendents and principals sole discretion on employment decisions without school board approval and oversight and tighten regulations on public schools while deregulating the privately managed schools.
HB 644 attempts to create a compensation system that will cause disparity among teachers in regard to salaries, due to the fact that the compensation system proposed is based on the same mathematically and statistically flawed system of evaluation, being used in HB 478 for Reduction-In-Force (RIF) situations. The new compensation system proposes to base 50% of a teacher’s salary solely on performance, which is derived from the “value-added model” (VAM) data system; a model that has been proven to be an invalid and unreliable method in which to gauge a teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom.
Many reports over the past year have shown major flaws in the current “value-added” (VAM) system of teacher evaluation in Louisiana. To use this flawed system to lay-off a teacher or calculate a teacher’s compensation level is irresponsible.
Please oppose HB 478, HB 596 and HB 644 in the House Education Committee on Wednesday, April 24th.
See below for committee member telephone numbers and email addresses:
Representative Steve Carter (Chair):
carters@legis.la.gov (225) 362-5305
Representative Patrick Jefferson (Vice Chair):
jeffersonpo@legis.la.gov (318) 927-2519
Representative Wesley Bishop:
bishopw@legis.la.gov (504) 242-4198
Representative Christopher Broadwater:
broadwaterc@legis.la.gov (985) 543-4900
Representative Henry Burns:
burnsh@legis.la.gov (318)949-2463
Representative Thomas Carmody:
carmodyt@legis.la.gov (318)862-9956
Representative Simone Champagne:
champags@legis.la.gov (337)937-8827
Representative John Bel Edwards:
edwardsj@legis.la.gov (985)748-2245
Representative Cameron Henry:
henryc@legis.la.gov (504)838-5433
Representative Paul Hollis:
hollisp@legis.la.gov (985)871-4680
Representative Barry Ivey:
iveyb@legis.la.gov (225)261-5739
Representative Nancy Landry:
landryn@legis.la.gov (337)262-2252
Representative Edward Price:
pricee@legis.la.gov (225)644-6738
Representative Jerome Richard:
richardj@legis.la.gov (985)447-0999
Representative Robert Shadoin:
shadoinr@legis.la.gov (318)251-5039
Representative Patricia Haynes Smith:
smithp@legis.la.gov (225)342-7106
Representative Jeff Thompson:
thompsonj@legis.la.gov (318)741-2850
Representative Alfred Williams:
williamsa@legis.la.gov (225)382-3243
The 2013 Legislative Session is underway and the LAE Lobby Team is ready to keep you up-to-speed on important issues relating to education, retirement and state funding. See the sections below for weekly updates on the 2013 Legislative Session:
2013 Legislative Session: Capitol Connection
2013 Legislative Session: Bills To Watch
2013 Legislative Priorities
The LAE's Government Relations department supports the Association's efforts to strengthen public schools, colleges and universities through federal and state legislation and policies.
LOBBYING: LAE maintains a permanent presence at the state capitol, employing both full-time and part-time lobbyists to continually monitor the legislative process and advocate for laws that achieve gains for teachers, education support professionals, retirees and students working in public education.
LEGISLATIVE POLICY WORK GROUP: The Legislative Policy Work Group is responsible for legislative, strategic and technical policy including developing legislative strategy, negotiating, drafting language and messaging. This group provides guidance on state accountability initiatives and acts in accordance with the polices and legislative positions set by the LAE membership.
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ADVOCACY CAMPAIGNS: This member-driven team manages the development and implementation of advocacy campaigns at the state and local levels and communicates directly with members about these efforts. The team works with other departments to coordinate and communicate the campaign strategy across LAE and its pro-public education partners.
LEGISLATIVE ACTION CENTER (CAPWIZ): The LAE Legislative Action Center was developed to provide members with the information and tools that you need to stay informed about legislative issues, and how to contact federal and state legislators, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education members and other branches of government to affect a positive change in public education. Members and potential members can make a real difference in education by becoming a LAE Cyber-Lobbyist.
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