Florida’s DeSantis Announces Sweeping Reforms That Include ‘Teacher Bill of Rights’

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a news conference in Jacksonville on Monday to propose sweeping changes to education, including a Teacher’s Bill of Rights which will empower educators to be leaders in their classrooms.

In the proposed legislation, teachers will have their paychecks protected, while $1 billion will go towards teacher pay increases. School board members will have a maximum term of eight years, instead of twelve.

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Proposed Law Would End Ohio Sales Tax on Guns, Ammunition, Knives

Sales tax would no longer be collected on guns, ammunition and knives in Ohio if a bill planned for introduction in the state House of Representatives becomes law.

State GOP Rep. Al Cutrona recently announced he will introduce legislation that would exempt those items from sales tax, saying the move would help make gun, ammunition and knife retailers and manufacturers more competitive with neighboring states.

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Commentary: Back to School, Back to the Future

Public Education is not failing. Our middle-class and wealthy public school children are thriving. Poor children are struggling, not because their schools are failing, but because they come to school with all the well-documented handicaps that poverty imposes – poor prenatal care, developmental delays, hunger, illness, homelessness, emotional and mental illnesses, and so on. The faith community could play a critical part in addressing critical social issues across our state and country.

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Commentary: Why Educators Leave the Profession

Learning Policy Institute identified inadequate preparation, lack of support, challenging working conditions, dissatisfaction with compensation, better career opportunities, and personal reasons for why teachers change careers. From our own internal surveys “high-stakes standardized testing” is the number one issue educators’ mention to us is why they are dissatisfied with the profession.

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Teacher Bill Of Rights Passed Unanimously By State Legislature

  The Tennessee General Assembly has unanimously passed the Teacher Bill of Rights, which proponents hope is the just the beginning of efforts to give teachers more backing in state law. “We were pleased to help lead the effort in our state on behalf of educators and our members to secure rights on their behalf,” said JC Bowman, executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee (ProEd), in a statement. But Bowman gives the credit for the bill’s success to the legislators who advocated for it. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) and Rep. Jay Reedy (R-Erin).  Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) was also very involved. The bill comes amid concerns about a teacher shortage in Tennessee. There are various factors for the shortage, but one that is often cited is the undermining of teachers’ authority. Teachers face disrespect from students, sometimes even violence. Teachers have also raised concerns with regulations that have stifled their voices in decision-making. The new legislation calls for teachers to be treated with respect and have their professional judgment respected. It also provides more support for when they have to defend themselves against violent students. In addition, it says that teachers should be able to review…

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Rep. Jay Reedy Calls Teacher Bill of Rights a First Step in Giving Teachers More Support

Tennessee Star

  For state Rep. Jay Reedy, the issue of teachers losing respect in today’s culture is one that hits close to home. Reedy’s wife teaches chemistry at Houston County High School on the edge of Middle Tennessee 75 miles west of Nashville. “Today’s school setting hears the complaints from students and parents and discounts the teacher,” Reedy told The Tennessee Star. The lack of respect from students and school officials are driving both new and experienced educators from the classroom, said Reedy, whose three children attend public schools. Reedy (R-Erin) along with Sen. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) is sponsoring a bill advancing in the state legislature known as the Teacher Bill of Rights. The bill on Tuesday cleared the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee. The proposed legislation calls for teachers to be treated with civility and have their professional judgment respected. It also provides backing in case they’re pressured to spend their own money on classroom supplies and it says they should have a say in the materials used in their classrooms. The bill also says teachers have a right to defend themselves if threatened with violence, a growing problem in some classrooms, especially in urban districts where students have become more…

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Modified Teacher Bill Of Rights Advances In State Legislature

  The state Senate Education Committee on Tuesday passed a bill called the Teacher Bill of Rights that educators say would give teachers much-needed respect. However, the bill was amended to take out a provision prohibiting Tennessee public school teachers from being evaluated by professionals who do not have the same subject matter expertise or from being evaluated based on the performance of students the educator has not taught. The provision had earlier been removed from a companion bill in the House. Also stripped from the Senate bill Tuesday was a provision prohibiting schools from moving teachers to other schools based solely on test scores from state mandated assessments. The former had been deemed too unwieldy and costly, and bill sponsor Sen. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) told the committee Tuesday the latter provision wouldn’t give struggling schools the flexibility they need. “I’ve gotten to the point where I can accept that,” he said. The bill retained measures calling for teachers to be treated with civility and have their professional judgment respected. It also frees them from the burden of spending personal money to “appropriately equip a classroom.” It promises teachers a “safe classroom and school” and underscores their right to defend themselves if…

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Teacher Bill of Rights ‘Common-Sense, Nonpartisan,’ Proponents Say

Tennessee Star

Promoters of state legislation called the Teacher Bill of Rights say it’s time teachers got more respect. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) in the Senate and State Rep. Jay Reedy (R-Erin) in the House, covers a wide range of issues of concern to educators, including student discipline and standardized testing. The bill goes before the Senate Education Committee next week. The proposed legislation gives Tennessee public school teachers backing in reporting student misbehavior and defending themselves against physical harm. It also says teachers have the right to review all materials used by their students and that teachers should not be expected to spend personal money on supplies. It also calls for teachers to be evaluated only by those with the same subject matter expertise and says teachers should never be evaluated based on the performance of students they have never taught. In addition, the bill says teachers should not be relocated to another school based solely on test scores from state mandated assessments. The bill also calls for allowing teachers to act on their “own conscience,” giving them more room to use their professional judgment and discretion. “Teachers have been under attack lately,” said teacher Kyle…

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