The legislature came to full stop Wednesday, as the capital city became a winter wonderland with more than three inches of snow.

Snow Slows the Pace; SFA Conflict Fix Unopposed

 

The legislature came to full stop Wednesday, as the capital city became a winter wonderland with more than three inches of snow.

Committees moved meetings to Thursday morning or next week, freezing the anticipatedfast pace of legislation. Some lawmakers holed up in hotels as others carefully travelled back and forth from Montgomery, with the city and parts of the state blanketed in ice and snow.

 

Budget & pay raise timetable

A vote could be taken on the $6.63 billion education budget as soon as Feb. 7. House Ways & Means Education Committee Chairman Bill Poole announced that a revised education budget would be provided to committee members Friday, Jan. 26 to be discussed at the Jan. 31 committee meeting.

H.175 (Poole) is the governor’s proposed budget. Substantial changes may be made as House members focus on their budget priorities in a committee substitute. AASB will provide detailed information when the substitute is made available.

School leaders should communicate local budget priorities. Be sure to use your AASB School System Snapshot as a resource for your discussions.

 

 

The governor’s budget includes a 2.5 percent pay raise for K-12 education employees. H.174 (Poole) would provide the salary increase effective Oct.1, 2018.

 

Ed budget counts on release of $41 million for K-12

The State Department of Education budget request includes K-12 schools being able to access $41 million in the Advancement & Technology Fund in the current year. Those dollars remain in an account because the supplemental appropriation legislation failed in 2017. Only upon passage of H.179 (Poole)can the other Foundation Program requests be fulfilled by available funds, including room in the budget for a pay raise.

The ATF funds can be used for: repairs and deferred maintenance; classroom instructional support; insurance for facilities; transportation; or acquisition or purchase of technology. Release K-12 funds; vote YES to H.179 (Poole).

 

Repeal obsolete provision; fix to SFA conflict unopposed

Senate and House education committees unanimously approved H.27 (Baker)/ S.28 (Pittman) to repeal an obsolete provision in criminal law that prevents school systems from

 

moving forward with disciplinary actions when an employee is charged with the crime of sexual contact with a student.

The provision, passed in a 2010 criminal law, was in place before the 2011 tenure law revision and is now moot. The bills amend the Criminal Code to reflect the change in the law. The bills are needed to eliminate confusion and prevent employees charged with sexual contact with students from attempting to seek protection under an obsolete criminal law provision.

Disciplinary action regarding pay or termination requires due process for every tenured or non-probationary employee. Passage of this legislation would assure that all employees are treated with the same due process protections no matter the charges. Urge lawmakers to pass H.27 (Baker)/ S.28 (Pittman) on the House and Senate floor.

 

Posting timeframe updated

S.22 (Brewbaker)would require notice for school personnel vacancies to be posted on the school board website and decrease the time required for the posting from 14 to 7 days. The Senate Education & Youth Affairs Committee unanimously approved the bill Wednesday.

 

Requiring 30 day notice

S.14 (Dial)would require K-12 teachers to give 30-day notice when resigning from the school system. The five-day notice currently required is not enough time for a school system to find a qualified replacement for students in the classroom. The Senate Education & Youth Affairs approved the bill unanimously Wednesday.

 

Bills in committee next week

 

H.70 (Collins)—State Board of Education — would apply the School Board Governance Act to members of the State Board of Education and add four nonvoting members to the board.

New nonvoting members would be the most recent past and current Teacher of the Year, and one student delegate each elected by Alabama Boys State and Alabama Girls State. The House Education Policy Committee will consider the bill on Weds., Jan. 24.

 

S.101 (Orr)— Gifted program grant — would give the State Department of Education authority to offer competitive grants for gifted programs. The two-year grants could be awarded to initiate new programs or continue existing programs offering advanced/specialized education services to gifted/talented children. Local school boards would be required to match any grant funds awarded. The bill will be considered by the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 23.

 

H.69 (Standridge) — Competitive bid — would provide for certain exceptions for counties, municipalities or school boards to contract for purchase and installation of heating/air conditioning units. The bill provides the exception when: 1) competitively bid pursuant to the purchasing cooperative sponsored by the National Association of Counties and the National League of Cities; and 2) the bid process is approved by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts. A public hearing is scheduled in the House State Government Committee on Wednesday, Jan. 24.

 

Education bills introduced

 

H.236 (Pettus) — School Resource Officers —

Would authorize a school board to contract with a retired federal or state law enforcement officer with at least 25 years experience as an SRO.

 

H.258 (Hurst) — Biblical theory of creation — would permit the teaching of the biblical theory of creation in public K-12 schools and the reading of passages of the Bible to further instruction.

 

H.261 (Lovvorn) — AL Math & Science Teacher Education Program — (AMSTEP) would provide loan repayment awards to eligible public school teachers. The program would be administered by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE). The basic program would provide $2,500 per semester in loan repayment for an eligible full-time math or science teacher with an additional $1,250 per semester available to those who teach in areas with acute shortages.

 

H.264 (Clouse) — City school systems — would delete a conflicting provision specific to city public schools to allow the general law regarding required ages for school attendance (children

ages six to 17) to apply to all public schools.

Join AASB in Montgomery

Advocacy Days

Visit the State House with AASB staff and your colleagues to experience the legislative process. Dates are assigned by district, but any board member can attend any Advocacy date.

 

District 1, 2, 3 — Jan. 30

District 4, 5, 6 — Feb. 20

District 7, 8, 9 — March 2

 

No registration free; Earn 2 credit hours

 

Register Today

 

Lissa Tucker

AASB Director of Governmental Relations

www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org