Attack on Missouri classroom teachers delayed

Don't let anyone tell you that charter schools are public schools in anything more than name. Opposition by charter schools, slowed a House bill that would throw public schoolteachers under the bus and hamstring local boards of education with mandates on how to pay and promote teachers. The bill passed a House committee yesterday, but returned to the committee today, because charter schools were not happy about an amendment that would force them to play by the same rules as every other public school.

(From Missouri NEA)

The House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee voted 13-11 to approve an HCS version of HB 631 (Kevin Elmer) on March 27, but the House Rules Committee sent the bill back on March 28 for further consideration.  The bill would impose intrusive state mandates on the evaluation, hiring, promotion, firing, layoff and compensation of public school teachers. One provision requires at least one-third of teachers' evaluations to be based on student test scores on state assessments.  

Reps. Elaine Gannon, Lyle Rowland and Mike Thomson joined the minority caucus members in standing up for students and public schools and opposing this harmful bill.  

The Association strongly opposes this massive imposition of unproven mandates and elimination of local control and decision-making.  The bill would interfere with the piloting of new teacher and administrator evaluation systems all over the state.  The bill contains a number of provisions similar to HB 1526 from 2012.  

The main change in committee was the adoption of HCA 1 (Genise Montecillo) to ensure that the evaluation mandates apply to public charter schools as well as district schools. Opposition from charter schools caused the House Rules Committee to vote on March 28 to send the bill back to the Elementary and Seocndary Education Committee for further consideration, presumably to remove or revise that provision.