CAT Tracks for January 16, 2004

CAT Tracks for January 16, 2004

STATE OF EDUCATION

Received the following e-mail from IEA President Anne Davis...

Colleagues,

Thursday, Jan. 15, Gov. Rod Blagojevich delivered his 2004 State of the State address. Vice President Ken Swanson and I attended as guests of the governor for this traditional starting point for a spring legislative session.

It was exciting to hear a governor deliver a speech that we could have written.

This e-mail reports out to you some of the highlights of the governor's proposals for the spring session and the official IEA reaction and positions on what the governor is seeking from the legislature this spring. I know that before you are able to activate grassroots action for issues that matter to our members you need to be informed about the issues with more detail than is normally provided by newspapers and local news media.

Three Priorities

While the governor had several items in the speech relating to public education and Illinois' students and children, there are three proposals that reflect IEA priorities.

1. Reform of the Illinois State Board of Education

Gov. Blagojevich called for restructuring the State Board of Education essentially to become an agency under the jurisdiction of the governor of Illinois. IEA supports this initiative based on the policy of our Legislative Platform and on our real life experience with the current state system of support - or lack thereof.

For example, we have 7,000 Illinois teachers who are in limbo right now because the state board failed to carry out the programs these teachers needed in order to progress from initial to standard certificates. The poor performance of ISBE is not a new development. Governors Ryan and Edgar also experienced frustration over ISBE. Gov. Blagojevich is showing strong leadership on this issue.

This proposal will be controversial. The IEA goal is to reform the existing state system of support into one that is more constructive, more user-friendly and less burdensome. We support positive change.

2. Creating an autonomous teacher certification board

Gov. Blagojevich joined our efforts to achieve this long time association goal. Last spring we succeeded in passing Senate Bill 1074 through the Senate. Gov. Blagojevich called for passage of it in the House this spring. We look forward to working for House passage with the governor's help.

3. Health insurance improvements and stability for retired teachers and active teachers and school employees

Gov. Blagojevich showed his support for the IEA effort to find a solution to the ongoing health insurance crisis facing our locals and Illinois' school districts, along with the impending sunset of the Teachers' Retirement Insurance Program (TRIP). The Governor said, "I seek to create a statewide insurance system that will decrease the cost of purchasing insurance coverage for school employees by pooling purchasing, eliminating premium taxes, and decreasing administrative costs. The pool will allow local districts to determine benefit levels as part of the collective bargaining process." Working with the governor and the legislature this spring, we will continue to make this crisis facing our members a policy priority.

Other Initiatives

Gov. Blagojevich also announced many ideas that he has received from the legislature. IEA is reviewing each of these proposals and working with the governor and his administration to better understand these ideas and how they fit into existing programs and budget needs. During the course of the spring session, and after the governor's February Budget Address, we will respond more specifically.

The other Blagojevich proposals include:

* Increase early childhood block grant

* Create Imagination Libraries program

* Provide reading specialists in elementary schools failing to meet reading achievement standards

* Recreate Project Success

* Require pre-K - 8 teachers with a standard certificate to complete 50% of their certificate renew requirements by taking courses in reading strategies

* Create a task force on alternative routes to teacher certification

* Ban soda and junk food from school vending machines

* Stop waivers from Physical Education requirements

* Community service requirement for students

I hope that this information is helpful to you in knowing what was proposed and how your association is responding. Beginning now and until the end of the legislative session in late May, please go to IEA's Web page (www.ieanea.org) for regular updates on legislative action and outcomes. Also, please sign up for IEA's insider. This weekly newsletter will include timely updates not only on legislative action but other matters directly impacting IEA members.

Below this e-mail is a copy of the Jan. 15 IEA news release and comments that I made with Gov. Blagojevich at his news conference in his Capitol office on the topic of reforming the Illinois State Board of Education. Soon I will forward to you more information directly from Gov. Blagojevich.

IEA News Release and Gov. Blagojevich Letter from President Anne Davis
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Charles McBarron
Phone: 217/544-0706
GOVERNOR'S EDUCATION AGENDA PRAISED
ISBE, Certification Board Proposals Hailed
January 15, 2004 - Springfield, IL - Education proposals offered today by Governor Rod Blagojevich received high marks from Illinois school employees.
In his State of the State address, Gov. Blagojevich proposed the Illinois State Board Of Education (ISBE) be reorganized as a cabinet agency controlled by the governor. In addition, he endorsed an autonomous teacher certification board and called for the creation of a statewide insurance pool to ease the insurance crisis facing retired and current education employees.
"For too long the State Board of Education has been accountable to no one, leading to periods of chaos and confusion, so we applaud the governor's leadership," said Illinois Education Association (IEA) president Anne Davis.
Davis also hailed Gov. Blagojevich proposal that responsibilities for teacher certification be transferred from ISBE to an autonomous board comprised of teachers. The proposal is a longtime goal of IEA.
"An autonomous certification board would increase accountability by empowering teachers to be responsible for their profession, helping to ensure schools truly have a highly qualified teacher in each classroom," she said.
Davis said she also was pleased by the proposed formation of a statewide insurance pool from the governor which would be designed to lower insurance costs for current and former education employees whose paychecks and pensions are being eroded by skyrocketing insurance costs.
"These employees are at the mercy of school districts that might not be doing a competent job of offering good coverage at the lowest possible cost," Davis said.
"The governor's remarks today will help ensure that finding a comprehensive solution to this crisis will be a major agenda item during the spring legislative session," she added.
The Illinois Education Association represents approximately 120,000 teachers, education support professionals and higher education professionals statewide.

Governor Blagojevich has asked us to relay the following message to you:
Dear Educators,
Please allow me to share with you my Education Plan for Illinois, which I unveiled Jan. 15 at my State of the State Address to the General Assembly. The cornerstone of my proposal is the creation of a new Department of Education, which will be entrusted with all the administrative powers and responsibilities previously vested in the Illinois State Board of Education. The new agency will work directly with local educators to eliminate the bureaucracy that has bogged down education in Illinois for years.
The Illinois State Board of Education has failed in its mission to lead education in Illinois, and has evolved into a bloated bureaucracy that actually hinders schools in their efforts to educate students. I am sure that many of you have experienced these truths first-hand, whether it be in your completion of the cumbersome recertification process ISBE designed, your experiences with the error-laden 2003 school report cards, or in your compliance with the 2,800 pages of rules ISBE has created to micromanage education. It is my hope that by working together we can create a state education entity in the Illinois State Board of Education's place that is accountable to you, the students you teach, and the parents you work with each day. You deserve better.
In addition to the creation of a Department of Education, I announced the following initiatives today:
* The creation of an Independent Teacher Certification Board charged with streamlining education certification;
* The Imagination Library Program to provide books for all children in Illinois from birth until age five, so that they are in possession of a "personal library" by the time they enter kindergarten; * The renewal of the School Construction Program with added flexibility;
* The second year in a three year program aimed at sending 25,000 more at-risk kids to preschool; and
* A new state program to place reading specialists in schools on the academic watch list.
There are a number of other programs to improve education in Illinois. The entire plan, along with my remarks, can be viewed at www.illinois.gov/gov.
The success of these programs and the Department of Education hinges on communication and partnerships with local educators. I am sure you will have questions about the plan and how it will impact your classrooms, and I ask that you please call my office at 1-800-750-6042 with any and all questions.
I know that you work hard each and every day to make sure the students in your classrooms are learning, and it is time that you have a state government that is accountable to you and the parents and students you serve. By working together we can eliminate the state bureaucracy that gets in your way at the local level. I assure you that the new agency will receive a strong mandate from me to create partnerships and eliminate the barriers you face in educating your students. Working together we can improve learning in Illinois.
Sincerely,
Governor Rod Blagojevich
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