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Lawmakers Overhaul Education

By: Jeff Stensland

SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois lawmakers are moving forward with a major education reform plan. It would change the way teachers are hired and fired throwing out the tenure system. In the past, teachers were laid off based on seniority. The reform plan would require schools to consider teacher performance and qualifications first. It would also survey students about the quality of teachers and schools.

Lawmakers mulled over more than 100 pages of changes to education policy Thursday afternoon. The bill details what deems a teacher incompetent, and how teacher performance will be judged. Teachers unions are backing the reform, saying it will improve education.

"I think this is significant enough that it makes a difference," Sen. David Luechtefeld, R-Okawville, said.

Sen. Luechtefeld says the education reform bill will impact students across the state for the better. Luechtefeld says teachers will be held to a higher standard, since they will not be protected by experience and longevity. His hope now is that students will come to school with a desire to learn, understanding of discipline and respect for authority.

"That comes an awful lot from the parents, and we can't fix them," Luechtefeld said. "But we can do the best job we can with the product that we get."

Local superintendents worry setting a statewide standard would hurt teachers in southern Illinois, where issues outside the classroom--like poverty--can hurt student performance. However, State Superintendent Christopher Koch says teachers should not worry, as long as they do their jobs to the best of their ability.

"The hard work begins with implementation," Koch said. "We have got to keep working together with implementation to make sure things are done right, things are done fairly and we are seeing students come first."

Everyone involved in the negotiations agrees their focus has been students first. In addition, lawmakers are looking for ways to save money.

"That, to me, is a win, win," Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, said. "I don't know how you come out of a process feeling better than saying we improved the quality of education for kids statewide and we are going to make it easier for taxpayers to save money."

Teachers unions were heavily involved in negotiations of this bill. In addition, a group called Stand for Children Illinois PAC spent more than $600,000 lobbying lawmakers last fall.

From the Southern Illinoisan...

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Ill. Senate passes compromise on teacher collective bargaining, firings

BY MELISSA LEU, Illinois Statehouse News

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois education reformers, teachers unions and parents are rarely on the same side, but a new Senate plan making historic education reforms changes all that.

Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Westchester, announced Thursday a plan that would make it harder for teachers in the state to strike and ties teacher tenure, promotions and firing to job performance. Senate Bill 630 passed unanimously in the Senate later in the day.

Lightford, who led five months of discussions, said it's been a long process with no one party getting exactly what it wanted.

"We all agreed that the most important effort in our negotiations is that at the end of the day what's best for the child in the classroom. And that's how we did it (created reform)," Lightford said.

Chief among the changes has been the changing of collective bargaining rights, which have been the main point of contention for teacher unions.

The proposal would create two sets of collective bargaining rights for teachers in Chicago and teachers downstate.

Before Chicago teachers can strike, they would have to go through extensive mediation and provide a report to the public for review. If negotiations fail, three-fourths of all union members must vote to strike.

The entire process could take up to three to four months for Chicago teachers, and for those located downstate, up to two months.

Jessica Handy with Stand for Children said Chicago always has been treated differently.

"Especially in regards to contract negotiations, Chicago, just the threat of a strike when you have 400,000-plus students, becomes a lot more of a trump card and has really stifled reform a lot more in Chicago then the rest of the state we've seen," Handy said.

Currently, teachers' unions statewide must inform schools of its intent to strike 10 days before a strike.

Stand for Children is an education reform advocacy organization that focuses "on securing adequate funding for public schools and reforming education policies and practices to help children thrive academically," according to its website.

Despite tougher regulation, Illinois Education Association teachers' union President Ken Swanson credits the open discussion to avoiding situations in neighboring states, such as Wisconsin.

"What we've shown is you do not have to have Draconian, unwarranted attacks on public employee rights (for) collective bargaining," Swanson said. "You can do this through collective bargaining. You can do this through bringing the parties to the table."

The plan also places more stringent time frames for firing tenured teachers, while making it easier for teachers with tenure in one district to attain tenure in another district.

Other key reforms shifted the emphasis from teacher seniority to performance.

Layoffs will be based on qualifications, certification and performance evaluations before seniority is considered.

Teachers will be promoted based on "relevant experience" instead of seniority.

Performance evaluations will be added as a requirement to attain tenure.

The stimulus for education reform came after Illinois failed to grab millions of federal "Race to the Top" funds last fall.

Robin Steans, executive director of Advance Illinois, said the unsuccessful attempt paved the way for even greater reforms.

"While we were unfortunately not the recipient of half a billion dollars in Race to the Top ... what we got as a result was a comprehensive blueprint for educational reform for the state," Steans said.

Advance Illinois is an education reform group co-founded by former Illinois Republican Gov. Jim Edgar and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Bill Daley, now White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama.

Not everyone, however, thought the plan would be the panacea to Illinois' education ails. Sen. David Luechtefeld, R-Okawville, however, said it was a first step in the right direction.

"Will you see a huge difference in education, all of a sudden it's going to take off and be the greatest in the country? Probably not. There are some issues that we can't solve with legislation," said Luechtefeld.

If passed, reforms are expected to be fully implemented by the 2013-2014 school year.

"There is a lot here to be implemented," Swanson said. "We need time to do it right, so I hope everyone can take a deep breath and let us start implementing."

From the Illinois Education Association Website...

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Teachers support education reform package that puts kids first

(News release issued April 14, 2011 by IEA, IFT and CTU)

A broad-based coalition, including the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), the Illinois Education Association (IEA), and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), announced today its support of historic school reform legislation that will help schools keep the best teachers in the classroom and improve learning conditions for students.

The diverse group that developed the legislation, led by state Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood), engaged in unprecedented collaboration that led to unanimous support. The presidents of the three public education unions issued statements pledging the support of their organizations:

“This is an historic piece of legislation that exists today because of everyone’s commitment to putting politics aside and doing what’s in the best interest of our kids. We want the best teachers with the most experience teaching our kids,” said IFT President Dan Montgomery.

“We are proud that bold reforms we supported are a part of this bill. From day one, our organizations came to the table and advocated for changes that put Illinois kids first and ensured our teachers can do what they do best: teach,” said IEA President Ken Swanson.

“We are proud that we were successful in making sure experience and performance are respected. We have made the process for teacher dismissal more efficient and fair. We also have made certain there will be more accountability for everyone involved in the education of our students; not just teachers, but administrators and school board members as well,” said CTU President Karen Lewis.

Key reforms that were championed by the Illinois teacher unions in their “Accountability for All” and included in the bill are the following:

Implement a new Survey of Learning Conditions that will provide a reliable instrument to measure a school’s progress through teacher, student and administrator feedback that will be made public. Require school board member training that will ensure they are qualified in critical areas of responsibility including financial oversight, education and labor law, and accountability.

Ensure lay-off decisions are made taking experience and performance into account. Granting tenure to teachers who are performing in the classroom and provide a way to expedite obtaining tenure if a teacher truly excels in the classroom

Streamline the dismissal process for underperforming teachers while protecting teachers’ due process through the addition of a highly-qualified evaluator. Improve the mediation process to include a more public disclosure of the final contract offers while protecting our members’ right to collectively bargain and have a voice at the table so they can keep advocating for our kids.

The three presidents also praised the work of Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D- Maywood), who presided over more than 40 meetings that lasted anywhere from two to 10 hours each, at which the contents of the bill were debated, decided and ultimately agreed to by all participants.

More from the Illinois Education Association Website...

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NEA President: Illinois unions protected teachers’ voices, ability to advocate

By Charles McBarron

IEA, IFT, CTU protected teachers’ voices at the table to ensure continued advocacy for students’ best interests

WASHINGTON—The Illinois Education Association, the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Chicago Teachers Union today announced support for bold legislation that ensures students will have quality educators in every classroom and a better learning environment in which they can succeed.

“With this agreement that puts children first, our Illinois leaders have shown how collaboration at all levels is the key to success,” said National Education Association (NEA) President Dennis Van Roekel. “From the very beginning of this process, IEA President Ken Swanson was at the table with the IFT and the CTU, urging legislators to put politics aside and work together for the best interests of Illinois’ students.”

The unions worked with legislators and parents to craft the historic legislation. The Illinois union leadership championed key reforms, including:

• Ensuring experience and performance are respected;

• Ensuring teacher dismissal is more efficient and fair;

• Ensuring accountability for everyone involved in the education of Illinois’ students;

• Granting tenure to teachers who are performing in the classroom and providing a way to expedite obtaining tenure if a teacher truly excels in the classroom; and

• Streamlining the dismissal process for underperforming teachers while protecting teachers’ due process through the addition of a highly qualified evaluator.