Mike Falick's Blog

My Testimony Before the House Public Education Committee on House Bill 1281

I testified today before the House Public Education Committees on House Bill 1281, which I highlighted as the February 16, 2009, Bill of the Day.  Briefly, HB1281 would add "adult responsibility education" to the foundation curriculum in Texas.  The Bill provides that the Texas Education Agency "shall establish an advisory panel under this section to develop the required foundation curriculum to teach students skills in social, emotional, and behavioral interaction to prepare students for adult responsibility. A primary purpose of the adult responsibility curriculum is to teach students advanced methods of thinking, speaking, learning, and reasoning.

Here is my written testimony, and the archived video is available here (scroll forward to 27:15).

Senate Bill 175 Passes Out of the Senate: Senator Shapiro's Bill Limits the Top 10% Rule to 60% of the Incoming Freshman Class

Senate Bill 175 (SB 175) by Senator Shapiro just passed out of the Texas Senate and will now go to the Texas House for consideration.

SB 175 changes the controversial Top 10% Rule to limit the requirement to a maximum of 60% of the incoming freshman class at Texas state universities.  (This year, 81% of the incoming freshman class at the University of Texas was mandated by the Top 10% Rule).

While Spring Branch has advocated the elimination of this Rule, the limitation contained in SB 175 is a good first step.

SB 175 will now go to the Texas House for consideration.

Senate Bill 300 Passes Out of the Senate: Senator Patrick's Bill Eliminates Several Unfunded Mandates on School Districts

The inaugural Bill of the Day for the 81st Legislative Session was Senate Bill 300 (SB 300) by Senator Dan Patrick who represents part of Spring Branch.  SB 300 just passed out of the Texas Senate and will now go to the Texas House for consideration.

SB 300 relaxes the restrictions of the 22:1 student teacher ratio for kindergarten through 4th grade by making the 22:1 a campus-wide average rather than individual classroom count. 

During the 80th Legislative Session in 2007, HB 3190 instituted the requirement that school districts conduct school bus evacuation drills twice a year.  No funding was provided to meet this requirement.  SB 300 requires that these bus evacuations only involve students who ride the bus, and allows the training to be by video.  

Finally, SB 300 eliminates the mandate that districts reduce energy cost by 5 percent each year, as well as the requirement to purchase "green" light fixtures.

Bill of the Day: House Bill 1281 Would Infuse Social and Emotional Learning into the Texas School Curriculum

Today's Bill of the Day is House Bill 1281 which was filed today by Representative Ruth McClendon (D-San Antonio).  House Bill 1281 would add "adult responsibility education" to the foundation curriculum in Texas.

The Bill provides that the Texas Education Agency "shall establish an advisory panel under this section to develop the required foundation curriculum to teach students skills in social, emotional, and behavioral interaction to prepare students for adult responsibility. A primary purpose of the adult responsibility curriculum is to teach students advanced methods of thinking, speaking, learning, and reasoning, including methods for:

(1)    effective, nonviolent communication;
(2)    problem solving;
(3)    setting appropriate boundaries and priorities; and
(4)    creative decision making.

Regular readers of this blog know that I am a very strong believer in the value of exactly the items included in this Bill.  Indeed, my American Leadership Forum Class held a Conference last December focused on the need for Social and Emotional development of students.  For additional posts on Social and Emotional learning and its importance to student success, please click here.

The full text of the Bill appears below after the jump.

Bill of the Day: House Bill 975 Would Mandate Random Drug and Alcohol Testing of School District Employees

Today's Bill of the Day is House Bill 975 filed today by Representative Ken Legler (R-Pasadena).  House Bill 975 would mandate random drug and alcohol testing of professional employees of a school district.  The Education Code defines a "professional employee" as:

(1)  a superintendent, principal, teacher, including a substitute teacher, supervisor, social worker, counselor, nurse, and teacher's aide employed by a school district;
(2)  a teacher employed by a company that contracts with a school district to provide the teacher's services to the district;
(3)  a student in an education preparation program participating in a field experience or internship;
(4)  a school bus driver certified in accordance with standards and qualifications adopted by the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas;
(5)  a member of the board of trustees of an independent school district; and
(6)  any other person employed by a school district whose employment requires certification and the exercise of discretion.

More specifically, the Bill would test for:

(A)  excessive use of alcoholic beverages, as defined by Section 1.04, Alcoholic Beverage Code; and
(B)  use of marihuana or a controlled substance, as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, or by 21 U.S.C. Section 801 et seq., or a dangerous drug, as defined by Chapter 483, Health and Safety Code;
(2)  require at least one scheduled drug test for each prospective professional employee of a district;
(3)  authorize random, unannounced drug testing once each year for not fewer than 10 percent of the professional employees of a district; and
(4)  require a drug test for each professional employee of a district who is injured on the job.

The Bill is not an unfunded mandate as it provides that

A school district is required to establish and administer a drug testing policy under this section only if the legislature appropriates sufficient money specifically for the purpose of reimbursing districts for expenses incurred in establishing and administering the policy.

The full text of the Bill appears below after the jump.

Bill of the Day: House Bill 816 Would Prevent Multiple Sex Offenders from Living in the Same Apartment Complex

Today's Bill of the Day is House Bill 816 filed on January 27, 2009, by Representative Jessica Farrar (D-Houston) who represents a portion of Spring Branch.  House Bill 816 would end the practice of allowing more than one convicted sex offender from living in the same apartment complex.  Specifically, the Bill provides that

". . . a judge granting community supervision to a defendant required to register as a sex offender under Chapter 62 shall prohibit the defendant, without the express, written permission of the community supervision and corrections department officer supervising the defendant, from residing in any dwelling, manufactured home community, apartment complex, or other lodging in which the defendant knows that another person required to register as a sex offender under Chapter 62 also resides."

The full text of the Bill appears below after the jump.

Bill of the Day: Senate Bill 440 Would Take Away All Authority of the State Board of Education Except Oversight of the Permanent School Fund

Today's Bill of the Day is Senate Bill 440 filed on January 9, 2009, by Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston).  Senate Bill 440 would take away all functions of the State Board of Education currently in legislation, and would limit the State Board's functions only to those included in the State Constitution.  The effect of this Bill would be to eliminate all functions of the State Board except oversight of the Permanent School Fund.

Under the Bill, the functions of the State Board, including textbook adoption and establishment of curriculum standards, would be transferred to the Texas Education Agency.

The full text of the bill is below after the jump.

Bill of the Day: House Bill 420 Seeks to Make State Board of Education Elections Non-Partisan Races

Today's Bill of the Day is House Bill 420 by Representative Diane Patrick.  House Bill 420 seeks to make the election of State Board of Education members non-partisan elections by eliminating the ability for a political party to nominate a candidate.

The full text of the bill is below after the jump.

Bill of the Day: House Bill 367 Would Mandate a 10% Reduction in School District and Teacher Required Paperwork

Today's Bill of the Day is House Bill 367 by Representative Charles "Doc" Anderson (R-Waco).  HB 367 would require the Texas Education Agency to adopt policies to reduce the amount of paperwork a school district is required to prepare by 10%.  In addition, the bill would require the school district's board of trustees to adopt policies to reduce the amount of paperwork a teacher is required to prepare by 10%. 

The full text of the bill is below after the jump.

Bill of the Day: Senate Bill 175 Would Cap the Top 10% Rule for University Admissions in Texas

For the past several legislative sessions, one of our Board's Legislative Positions has been the elimination of the top 10% rule for admission to Texas Universities.

Today's Bill of the Day is Senate Bill 175 by Senator Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) (Senator Shapiro serves as the Chair of the Senate Education Committee).  SB 175 would cap the number of students admitted under the top 10% rule at 50% of the class enrollment.  To the extent there were more top 10% students attempting to enroll than available admission spots within that 50%, students would be admitted based on class rank and GPA until the 50% enrollment level was achieved.

The full text of the bill is below after the jump.