Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/109791
COMMUNIQUÉ Set it... E-DUES AVAILABLE NOW! A publication of the Iowa State Education Association – FEBRUARY 2013 – Vol. 50, No. 4 and forget it! An outline of the Governor's education proposal Governor Branstad released his legislative proposal based on recommendations from the Task Force on Teacher Leadership and Compensation January 14. At the time of the proposal's release, ISEA President Tammy Wawro made this statement: "Every day in Iowa, educators are demonstrating excellence in the classroom with new approaches to learning, innovative lessons, and new and thoughtful ways to get students excited about their future. The members of the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA) truly believe that any education reform proposal needs to place students at the center before success can be realized. "With that in mind, the ISEA will take the time to study the Governor's education reform proposal, weighing it against real-life, quality feedback like that found in the ISEA VIVA Teacher's Report (isea.org) where over 1,000 members weighed into the discussion. "Educators look forward to their voices being heard—and listened to—in this debate." The ISEA continues to review the proposal with our lobbyists, attorneys, and executive staff leaders. Below is a thumbnail sketch of each section of the Governor's education bill including excerpts from Building World-Class Schools for Iowa: A Legislative Brief published by the Iowa Department of Education (DE). Division 1—Iowa Online Learning Initiative Iowa Learning Online (ILO) provides online classes with Iowa licensed instructors in various academic subjects, including those that are hard to fill or in situations where a school district has lost the services of an instructor. This program fills an educational gap in Iowa and helps school districts meet their educational needs. Division 2—Training and Employment of Teachers This section provides tuition reimbursement of $4,000 annually (not to exceed $20,000) for top students who major in hard-to-hire subject areas including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and who commit to teach in Iowa schools for five years. The bill establishes a student teaching pilot program strengthening clinical experience by requiring a full year of student teaching in the senior year of college, rather than the usual one semester. It also creates a statewide online education job posting system managed by the DE. Division 3—Assessments: Iowa Promise Diploma Seal Program This program uses diploma seals to identify and recognize graduating high school seniors who have demonstrated through certain competencies that they are college- and career-ready. A commission of business and education leaders will set standards for the seals to determine what it means to be college- or career-ready. This section also provides for student assessments to determine readiness. Division 4—Teacher and Administrator Development System This section tasks the DE with developing a new evaluation system for teachers and administrators and would include student outcome measures as a component of a teacher's evaluation. It also gives the DE the ability to make changes to the Iowa Teaching Standards without legislative approval. Division 5—Iowa Teacher Career and Compensation Matters This section uses some recommendations of the Task Force on Teacher Leadership and Compensation. It raises the minimum starting salary to $35,000; creates a residency year for all new teachers with a reduced teaching load and increased learning opportunities; establishes a system of career pathways with differentiated pay and responsibilities; and provides incentives for teachers to teach in high-need schools. The ISEA will continue to review the Governor's proposal and other education legislation, updating you each week in the Hotline e-newsletter. Current information on the status of the bill and talking points for conversations with legislators can be found at isea.org under the green "Legislative Action Center" tab. IN THIS ISSUE 4 STATE NEA RA State Delegate ballot 6 VIVA REPORT Recommendations from the VIVA ISEA Teachers Writing Collaborative 11 LEGAL BoEE proposes stricter rules on romantic relationships with former students