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February 25, 2008

House Ed Subcommittee on Alternative Licensure

The House Education Committee’s Subcommittee on Alternative Licensure met for the first time this morning and spent their first two hours reviewing current licensing procedures and hearing brief presentations from Deans of Teacher Education Programs.

The Committee is chaired by Rep. Deena Horst (R-Salina) and has Sheryl Spalding (R-Overland Park ), Bill Otto (R-Leroy), Ed Trimmer (D-Winfield), and Ann Mah (D-Topeka) as members.

The State Department’s Interim Director of Teacher Licensure Susan Helbert gave the committee a comprehensive overview of current alternative licensing provisions in the State Board’s regulatory system. She was followed by Howard Smith, Legislative Liaison for Pittsburg State University, Rick Ginsberg, Dean of Education at KU, and Sharon Iorio, Dean of Education at Wichita State University who each reviewed the programs they have in existence or are working on at this time.

Persons invited to join the discussion were Mark Desetti, KNEA, Sheryl Semmell, USA, Tom Krebs, KASB, Rita Cook, Smoky Hills ESC, Diane Gjerstad, USD 259, Bill Reardon, USD 500, Doug Mays, USD 501, and Val DeFever, Schools for Quality Education.

Chair Deena Horst plans to keep the discussions going and has indicated that all those at the table will be an integral part of the dialogue. Every one of the subcommittee members holds or has held a teaching license in the State of Kansas. Rep. Horst is a currently practicing art teacher in Salina.

House Federal and State Affairs Committee Begins tackling immigration

Hearings on four bills to deal with illegal immigration began today in the House Federal and State Affairs Committee. This was the day for proponents and we saw a wide range of interests come to the podium.

Several legislators spoke first and were followed by unions, concerned citizens, anti-immigrant organizations, and trade associations.

The union representatives (Ironworkers, Carpenters, and Teamsters) all cited the difficulties faced by honest employers who can’t compete with the low wages being offered to illegal workers while the concerned citizens and anti-immigrant groups painted pictures of an out-of-control criminal element made up of illegals. One such proponent cited incidents of drunk driving accidents and murders that were committed by illegals in his call to crack down. His testimony implied that there would be a dramatic drop in highway fatalities if the state would just crack down on illegal immigration.

The bills under consideration would establish penalties for employers who knowingly or intentionally hire illegals but they vary in the way they work. At least one gives employers a way around the law by holding them harmless from the actions of subcontractors. There seems to be a movement in the House that says if employers see penalties, they will hire only citizens or legal immigrants. The fly in the ointment is that many U.S. citizens expect to enjoy a standard of living that is not available on the same wages that illegal immigrants will take.

KNEA believes in a living wage and benefits program that would make jobs pay enough to keep citizens out of poverty. One way to end illegal immigration is to dry up the jobs that illegals take. If businesses pay wages and benefits that provide for a worker’s family, then those jobs will be held by American workers.

It is anticipated that businesses will be heavily represented among the opponents of the legislation because of opposition to the mandates to verify citizenship or legal status for every employee. But as long as the business community values low wages over support for American workers, an illegal labor force will be drawn to the United States.

KNEA and KASB are both watching these bills to ensure that students are protected and that the resident tuition provisions passed several years ago are not repealed.

KNEA has no position on the underlying bills providing they do not cause harm to children.

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