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Bill 2011 Makes Major Education Policy Changes
Photo courtesy of East Valley Tribune.
Written by Narghis Sarwari - Staff Writer
On November 24, 2009, the House Bill 2011, which contains policy changes education laws in Arizona, took effect and will affect teacher contract deadlines, salary, and the teacher seniority policy of the state.
Legislators presented the House Bill 2011 in late August to Governor Janice Brewer, and the bill, which mandates a handful of policy changes to public education, was passed in September and gives Arizona school districts options whether to
keep their policies the same or to amend their policies to the new changes towards education policies presented by the House Bill 2011.
The three main changes that are causing controversy towards the bill are the changes regarding contract deadlines, salary, and seniority policies.
By eliminating contract deadlines, school districts have the option to issue contracts whenever they decide rather the current deadline date May 15 meaning the district can delay a teacher’s contract as late as a week before a new school year begins.
The House Bill 2011 allows districts to change teacher’s salaries at their own discretion, without any cause or reason. The current pay scale depends on the amount of experience and education obtained by the teacher, ranges from 33,000 to a little over 65,000.
Last April, districts began terminating contracts with many teachers because of the budget deficit. The decision to terminate or issue a Reduction in Force (RIF) was based on seniority, so that teachers newest to the district were RIFed first
The house bill will eliminate the use of seniority though no criteria to determine RIF has been proposed yet.
The Arizona Education Association and the Gilbert Education Association, are two groups that disagree with the changes that the bill is pursuing. Jo Bell, the GEA president and a teacher at Mesquite High School, claims that the new changes are “punitive towards teachers,” and is disputing the house bill. Jo Bell also claims that the bill is trying to eliminate public schools in order to have education taught in charter schools.
John Wright, the AEA president has a few questions for the state legislators regarding the new bill.
“Why on earth have they done this, why are they taking away our rights, what did this have to do with solving the budget deficit? What did we do to make the legislature so mad at us?” says Wright.
Other changes towards the education policy include teachers no longer receiving paid time from work to attend professional association activities, and schools will not be required to rehire teachers who are RIFed because the budget cuts will not obligate the schools to rehire them if they need to hire a teacher.
Educators currently are battling the new law against the Arizona House Republicans by filing a lawsuit with the Arizona Supreme Court to eliminate the law.
Arizona House Republicans claim that the education policy changes follow the law and is a good policy for improving schools.
December 4th, 2009 at 8:39 am
First off all let me say that this top story worthy content, your article is very insightful and well-written. And this is really a shame for those who wanted to be teachers (such as myself.) It really gives me a feel of what I would be getting myself into if I wanted to pursue this field. Congratulations on a job well done.
January 24th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
No govt. has unlimited amount of money… Budgets cuts are good and should be accepted!