The House Public Education Subcommittee on Educator Quality and the Senate Education Committee met yesterday and today, respectively, to take up a variety of issues. A bill opposed by ATPE pertaining to educator preparation was up in both committees. A handful of other educator training and certification bills, legislation aimed at teacher quality, and the bill to extend individual graduation committees were also heard in committee. Lowered educator preparation standards hurt teachers, students House Bill (HB) 2924 and Senate Bill (SB) 1278 are companion bills pertaining to educator preparation program and candidate requirements in Texas. A bill passed by the legislature last session raised standards for educator preparation in Texas. In conjunction with the standard rule review process at the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC), that bill resulted, after almost 2 years of thoughtful deliberations, in rules that raised standards for educator preparation programs (EPP), EPP candidates, EPP entrance requirements, and certification. ATPE was supportive of the rule review process, a process driven by a board of educators working in the field. We are opposed to initiatives that aim to roll back some of those rule provisions, and, unfortunately, SB 1278 and HB 2924 would do just that. ATPE opposed the bills based on the strong and evidence-backed belief that all educator candidates deserve strong training and support prior to full certification. ATPE expressed concerns shared by those in the education committee, including administrators, teachers, University Deans, districts, educator quality groups, and more. In the Senate Education Committee, discussion included the fact that the only groups testifying in support of the legislation were for-profit educator preparation providers. These groups, in many cases, have a profit incentive to keep standards low, and under this bill, would seek to roll back the raised standards accomplished over the past two years through SBEC. Senators also heard from teachers in the field who testified that rolling back the standards would only result in educators being set up for failure once in the classroom. The bill was ultimately left pending. House Public Education Subcommittee on Educator Quality The Educator Quality Subcommittee heard a number of other measures pertaining to educator preparation that ATPE opposed based on the same principle and understanding that we do a disservice to teachers and students if we put ill-prepared educators in the high-stakes classroom and expect them to achieve excellence. The committee also heard two certification focused bills that ATPE supported; both HB 3563 and HB 1867 focus on well certified and well trained educators in classrooms. Another bill ATPE supported, HB 3692, would prohibit the use of student standardized test scores as a measure of teacher performance in an appraisal system. ATPE also testified neutrally on two bills that dealt with separate topics but both entail work currently being done at the Texas Education Agency (TEA). HB 2941 would change appraisal rules currently in law at a time when TEA is still in the process of implementing its new commissioner recommended appraisal system, the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS). Similarly, HB 2039 would create a new Early Childhood through Grade 3 Certificate, which the SBEC is currently in the process of thoroughly reviewing as one of several avenues to help early childhood teachers get the specific instruction needed to best teach early childhood students. Senate Education Committee In the Senate Education Committee, ATPE supported SB 196, requiring parental notification when a campus lacks a nurse, school counselor, or librarian; SB 1854, aimed at reducing required paperwork for classroom teachers; and SB 1353, putting in place a process for dealing with the facilities of certain annexed districts. We also supported SB 463, a bill to permanently extend the individual graduation committees (IGCs) passed into law last session on a trial basis. (More on the bill here.) ATPE joined the education committee in strongly embracing the bill to make IGCs a permanent option for otherwise successful students who struggle to pass state standardized tests. TEA recently released the 2015-2016 IGC data, which can be found here. ATPE thanks Senator Seliger (R-Amarillo) for championing this common sense, meaningful legislation, because many students shouldn't be defined by their ability to pass “the” test and testing struggles shouldn't inhibit their future success!