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January 31, 2008

Senate Ed Committee votes to repeal continuing contract law

The Senate Education Committee today passed out SB 420 which would repeal section 72-5411 of the continuing contract law. KNEA had testified in opposition to the bill.

Section 72-5411 contains the dates by which a school district must notify a teacher of intent to non-renew (May 1) and by which the teacher may resign without penalty (May 15). These dates appear in section 72-5437 of the due process law so there appears to be no real change for teachers. Administrators who were also covered under 72-5411 are still covered under 72-5452. 

KNEA testimony did not paint a negative picture of what might happen if the section were repealed but instead focused on the possibility of unintended consequences. KNEA General Counsel urged the committee to apply caution when amending sections of the statute that have provided great stability for as long as the continuing contract law has. The statute was originally passed in 1951. Experience sometimes shows that what seems simple often requires a legislative “fix” later.

House Ed Committee considers linear transition for high density at-risk

The House Education Committee held a hearing today on HB 2605, a bill that would change the way in which high density at-risk funding is distributed. At issue is a provision in the school finance plan that distributes additional at-risk weighting to districts with more than 50% poverty or more than 40% poverty. Under current law, districts with 40% poverty get an addition .4 at-risk weighting and districts at 50% poverty get an additional .9 at-risk weighting.

The problem is the "stair step" approach to this weighting. A district sitting right at 40% or 50% poverty might lose a significant amount of funding with the loss of just one or two low income students (or the gain of one or two higher income students). A district at 50.1% poverty would receive the additional .9 weighting but the loss of just a few students might put them at 49.9% poverty and reduce the additional weighting from .9 to .4.

HB 2605 tries to change this by creating a linear transition for distribution which would be much like low-enrollment weighting. Small changes in the percentage of poverty would result in small changes in funding. There is some controversy in this issue since the move to a linear transition would certainly create winners and losers. KNEA, KASB, and USA all testified in favor of the linear transition but asked the committee to hold all districts harmless through the transition.

House Federal & State Affairs Committee considers wide-open child care licensure

The House Federal & State Affairs Committee held a hearing today on HB 2053 which would allow any county, city, or school district to become a child care licensing agent. The bill would grant each entity the ability to set its own standards for licensed child care and has the potential to establish a web of conflicting standards.

KNEA submitted testimony in opposition to the bill saying, “House Bill 2053 would create a mish mash of standards and fees that would at best simply create confusion and at worst dramatically lower licensing standards for child care facilities. The current system works – all licensed providers are held to the same standards and the same fee schedule. There is a level playing field that has created a single set of standards in which parents can place their confidence.”

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