Bill Text for HB 1378-Abolishing Collective Bargaining for Teachers

Bill Text For HB1378 - Introduced
1| STATE OF OKLAHOMA |
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2| 1st Session of the 53rd Legislature (2011) |
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3|HOUSE BILL 1378 By: Holland |
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6| AS INTRODUCED |
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7| An Act relating to schools; defining term; |
| prohibiting collective bargaining contracts; |
8| prohibiting the recognition of labor organization as |
| bargaining agent for school employees; prohibiting |
9| school employees from engaging in strike; providing |
| individual not be denied employment due to certain |
10| membership; repealing 70 O.S. 2001, Sections 509.1, |
| 509.2, as amended by Section 7, Chapter 439, O.S.L. |
11| 2008, 509.2a, 509.3, 509.6, 509.7, 509.8, 509.9, |
| 509.10 and Section 12, Chapter 432, O.S.L. 2005 (70 |
12| O.S. Supp. 2010, Sections 509.2 and 509.11), which |
| relate to negotiations between school employees and |
13| districts; providing for codification; and providing |
| and effective date. |
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17|BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: |
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18| SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified |
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19|in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 509.1A of Title 70, unless there |
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20|is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows: |
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21| A. For purposes of this section, "labor organization" means any |
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22|organization in which employees participate and that exists in whole |
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23|or in part to deal with one or more employers concerning grievances, |
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24|labor disputes, wages, hours of employment, or working conditions. |
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Req. No. 6410 Page 1
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1| B. A board of education or an administrator of a local school |
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2|district shall not enter into a collective bargaining contract with |
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3|a labor organization regarding wages, hours, or conditions of |
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4|employment of school district employees. This prohibition shall |
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5|also apply to renewals or extensions of any existing contracts. |
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6| C. A contract entered into, extended or renewed in violation of |
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7|subsection B of this section shall be void and unenforceable. |
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8| D. A board of education or an administrator of a local school |
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9|district shall not recognize a labor organization as the bargaining |
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10|agent for a group of school district employees. |
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11| E. School district employees shall not strike nor engage in an |
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12|organized work stoppage against a school district. |
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13| F. A school district employee who violates subsection E of this |
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14|section shall forfeit all rights, benefits and privileges of school |
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15|district employment. |
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16| G. The right of a school district employee to cease work shall |
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17|not be abridged if the employee is not acting in concert with others |
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18|in an organized work stoppage. |
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19| H. A individual shall not be denied employment with a school |
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20|district because of the individual's membership or nonmembership in |
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21|a labor organization. |
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22| I. This section shall not impair the right of school district |
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23|employees to present grievances concerning their wages, hours of |
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Req. No. 6410 Page 2
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1|employment, or conditions of work either individually or through a |
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2|representative that does not claim the right to strike. |
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3| SECTION 2. REPEALER 70 O.S. 2001, Sections 509.1, 509.2, |
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4|as amended by Section 7, Chapter 439, O.S.L. 2008, 509.2a, 509.3, |
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5|509.6, 509.7, 509.8, 509.9, 509.10 and Section 12, Chapter 432, |
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6|O.S.L. 2005 (70 O.S. Supp. 2010, Sections 509.2 and 509.11), are |
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7|hereby repealed. |
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8| SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2011. |
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10| 53-1-6410 AM 01/03/11 |
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11|

Wal-Mart High?

Will our students be going to Wal-Mart High?
Tomorrow, Winter Break ends, and Cat and I go back to our respective schools for "Records Day", a day to finish up last semester's grading and prepare for the spring semester, which starts on Tuesday.

At my school, we will be facing even more pressure than we did in the fall semester since this will be the semester that we do our "End of Instruction" (EOI) testing. This testing is the biggest factor in determing our school's performance under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. The feeling is that if our school does not show significant improvement in this year's EOIs over last year, when we were the lowest scoring school in the OKC school district, the school will be placed under one of the programs NCLB has mandated for failing schools, likely the so-called "transformative" model where by the administration is replaced and all of the school certified instructors have to reapply for their jobs. No more than 50% or fewer of the former instructors of a transformative school may be rehired. A third option, making the school a charter school, is also an option, but not considered likely.

We have been closely watched by the district and by the state department of education. Administrators and other facilitators constantly monitor teachers' instructional techniques. We must show that we are following "best practices" including having "word walls", "exemplary work displays", "data walls", "artifacts" and other displays of learning. Students are quizzed as to whether they have "mastered" necessary skills. Students are also constantly tested, and their test results thoroughly analyzed.

Some will say that this is only an effort to produce the type of pedagogy our school should have been doing all along. There is truth to that, but I am beginning to feel as though our school and those like us are becoming educational Wal-Marts or MacDonalds, a place where every class resembles every other class. Educational specialists, who seem to be running the show in public schools now, argue that students need this type of uniformity to keep instruction at a high level and help students master their subjects through uniformity and repetition. But teaching is as much art as it is science, many would argue more art than science. And it seems tht we are in danger of driving out the art of teaching in favor of "research based, best practice" science.

I am willing to do whatever I am asked as a teacher, so I have done what I have been told to do to the best of my abilities. I know, though, that teachers alone cannot transform schools whose students live in poverty. When we compare our American schools to those of other industrialized countries like Finland, Germany or Japan, what is left out of the comparison is this rather disturbing statistic, on average only about 5% of school-age children in other industrialized countries live in poverty, In Finland, the percentage is 3%. In the United States, however, 23% of our nation's school-age children live in poverty. And poverty is the number one factor that determines a child's success or failure in school.

That factor will not be overcome by having our children go to "Wal-Mart High".

Centennial Must Become A Community Force

We had a staff meeting Tuesday about the problems at our school. One teacher complained that we have a small percentage of students who cause most of the problems, and that if we could somehow rid ourselves of these few, we could do a better job of teaching those who remain.

We were told that the problem would be "addressed." I don't hold out much hope for this. I suspect that little will be done about these students because we have voiced this complaint ad infinitum, and it is always being "addressed." I don't even bother to raise the issue anymore.

I think that we teachers at Centennial need to face the fact that any real solution to the problems of our school must come from us and not from some administrative action.

I think that one solution must involve us reaching out to our community so that the school becomes an important focal point in our part of Oklahoma City. We should be visiting churches, businesses, neighborhoods, and homes to talk about our school and our needs. And we need to be listening to those with whom we visit to find out what their concerns and needs are.

We must gain the trust and support of our community if we ever hope get them involved in the lives of their children.

Teachers' Due Process in the Crosshairs

Once again, the Oklahoman is taking on due process rights with another article in the paper about how hard it is to fire bad teachers. Teachers must recognize that the due process system we now enjoy will be greatly altered by this legislature.

We had better be prepared to engage the Republicans who now control nearly all aspects of education at the state level in a discussion on reasonable changes to the present system because if we are not at the table, we will surely be on the menu.

It appears from the article that the only teachers' organization that is trying to get to the table is the AFT. AFT 2309 president Ed Allen is quoted in the article.

Should OKC get the REDS out?

Monday night, the Oklahoma City school board had its regular meeting and, in addition to the problem of weather related school closings, discussed how to meet a $4 million budget shortfall caused by reduced state funding. Various items were discussed including the sale of some closed school properties, such as old John Marshall High School, and "realigning the support and certified staff in the central office."

One area of administrative expense needs to be addressed by the district: the six Regional Educational Directors, or REDS as they are often termed. These are six "super-principals" who oversee schools in six different regions of the school district. These are administors who administrate other administrators. They do not have direct contact with students in the classroom.

Frankly, most of the rank and file certified and support staff cannot fathom what these people do other than create another layer of meddlesome bureaucracy as well as administrative expense. If the district wants to make cuts in personnel, many teachers point to these offices as a way for the district to save a considerable amount of money, perhaps as much as as a half-million dollars or more.

Personally, I do not know if this is a wise move, but it is something constantly discussed among teachers whenever the subject of staff reductions comes up.

If the district chooses to hold on to these positions, it should explain to teachers and staff faced with the possibility of reductions why these positions are retained while those who have more direct contact with students face reductions.

OKC School Board Talks About Money Saving Options

This Cartoonist Knows Teachers and Students

This is very typical student avoidance behavior.

Angela Monson upsets Kirk Humphries in OKC School Board Race

new OKC School Board Chairman Angela Monson
Angela Monson, who only decided to get into the race for Oklahoma City School Board Chairman on the last day of the filing deadline, defeated incumbent chairman Kirk Humphries 57% to 43% on Tuesday. Monson was a former member of the Oklahoma House and Senate. Oklahoman News Article on the race
This win is satisfying on many levels. First, Angela is not a part of the corporate power structure that has rule the district for many years now. She is a friend of working families and their children. She is also willing to listen to the teachers who have direct contact with the kids.
Congratulations, Angela.