It’s come again, and this time, it’s come to stay.
Last year, the Florida legislature proposed a bill that would determine a teacher’s salary and whether or not they would keep their positions as educators based upon the success of their current students’ results from Florida standardized tests. Charlie Crist vetoed the bill last year, but a new version of the bill is now being tossed around by the Republican leaders in the Florida Legislature.
Under the new Senate Bill 6 (SB6), teachers’ pay will be determined based on their students’ success on standardized tests. Additionally, any advanced degrees that a teacher holds will not factor into their pay.
“Rick supports eliminating teacher tenure for new teachers,” Governor Rick Scott’s spokesperson told the New York Times.
The bill’s current position, unknown to the opposing parties, remains up in the air whether it will pass or not.
“It’s interesting; I had never voted for Charlie Crist in the past, but when I heard that he was against this bill last year, I gave him my vote,” counselor Harry Nerenberg said.
But, there cannot be negatives without positives. Reforming the education system is crucial and was addressed in President Obama’s State of the Union Address.
“This year, we have broken through the stalemate between left and right by launching a national competition to improve our schools… I urge the Senate to follow the House and pass a bill that will revitalize our community colleges,” Obama said in a copy of his address from the Washington Post.
The teachers’ main question towards the bill remains – whether or not the security backing up retirement fails to protect them. Teachers around the state feel that a sense of stability no longer remains.
Last March, many teachers at Palmetto petitioned against the bill and intentionally missed school.
“Educators across the state have been phoning and writing their legislators to tell them to vote ‘NO!’” according to Florida Education Association’s online website.
Michelle Rhee, former Washington D.C. school chancellor simplifies the intentions of the bill and speaks very strongly on the matter.
“If you remove the bottom 6 percent of teachers from the classroom, we can propel our schools to the top,” Rhee said on the Oprah Winfrey show.
Last year, Palmetto’s school board took action in trying to prevent the bill from passing, saying it went against their rights and freedoms as educators. Should the bill become popular and agreed upon in the legislature again, it is expected that the school board at Palmetto will make their voice heard and stand up for their jobs.
In the end, most teachers can agree that the methodology behind the dismissal is correct, even if the abruptness in action is unsettling, according to research on the Miami Herald.