Two weeks. If you asked a legislator in the Delaware Assembly what two weeks means at the end of June, they would most likely say it is a lifetime. It’s crunch time, and not all bills will make the cut. This is a guide to what education legislation has recently passed, what is ready for a vote, what still has to face a committee, and what will most likely get the chopping block. I don’t anticipate any new education legislation coming out in the next 10 days, but Delaware in the last two weeks of the General Assembly is like the Wild West. Anything can happen. And with all the committees that are supposed to have reports out by the 30th (Assessment Inventory Committee and Education Funding Improvement Committee), anything could very easily happen. It is very important to watch everything that goes down in the next 10 days and INSTANTLY make your voice heard if you support or oppose a sneak bill.
House Bill #435: The fifth Delaware charter school audit bill, faces the House Education Committee on Wednesday at 1:30pm. The House Republicans hate bills like these, but once again, the votes are not in their favor. I expect it will be released from both committees and it will pass the House and Senate on it’s way to Governor Markell for signature.
Senate Bill #161: The underdog of the 148th General Assembly! The no school until after Labor Day passed the Senate with an 11-10 vote. I could actually envision a suspension of rules behind closed doors deal on this bill. If this gets a full House vote based on that, I think it will pass. New Castle County will complain for the next five years about it, Sussex County will cheer, and Kent County will be in the middle.
House Joint Resolution #12/House Bill #424/House Bill 425: HJR #12 is the actual Wilmington Redistricting legislation. HB #424 states school boards can’t arbitrarily raise taxes. The latter faces the House Education Committee at 2:30pm for a very special meeting designed solely to lift this from tabled status. Once that hurdle is done, I expect it will either be subject to a suspension of rules for a full House vote tomorrow (and the chaos that will ensue if that happens!) or it will be on the agenda for Thursday this week. The reason I think it will get a suspension of rules vote tomorrow is because it still has to go through the Senate Education Committee, which will most likely have their last meeting on Wednesday. The same goes for HB #424 if it is released from the House education committee tomorrow (which I expect it will). HB #425 has been non-existent in terms of conversation so I think it will drift off in the summer sky. For the full votes, I have no idea how the other two bills are going to do. It has a lot of Democrat Wilmington support. But downstate and with Wilmington Republicans, that is another matter. This could go either way.
House Bill #399: The redesigning of Component V in the Delaware teacher evaluation system. I expect it will pass the House. Sokola would have to be a complete idiot to not put it on the Senate Education Committee agenda for Wednesday. It reminds me a bit of the opt out bill last year. It has overwhelming support, Sokola hates it, and the Governor will most likely veto the bill. But there is no Hail Mary for Sokola if he does veto it. I will predict now that if Markell vetoes this bill, Sokola will be doing a lot of biking next year while has peers are making bills.
Senate Bill #199: This is a Sokola bill, so I don’t necessarily trust it. Come on Kev! The guy has to do something good for education! I have yet to see it in the long-term. This one fell under the radar for me, but it wasn’t introduced until June 7th, flew out of the Senate Education Committee the next day, and got a full Senate vote where it unanimously passed on June 14th. The odd part is the low numbering of the bill which is unusual. All the other bills around this one were introduced in March. As if it was intentionally hidden. When Sokola bills take flight, I worry. This looks to me like it opens the door for more Teach For America and Relay Graduate Schools. This one could suffer due to the Sokola/Jaques spat. You can read the full text of the bill here (and I recommend all teachers do so): Senate Bill 199
House Bill #30: The basic special education funding for students in Kindergarten to 3rd Grade was finally released from the House Appropriations Committee last week. But it is not on the agenda for a full House vote tomorrow. Things happen very fast when the legislators are on the homestretch, but I fear HB #30 will not survive its way out of the 148th General Assembly.
Senate Bill #92/#93: The autism bills haven’t been heard in the House Appropriations Committee yet. Why is that? They aren’t on the agenda for the meeting on Wednesday either. Hmm…
Senate Bill #207: The school discipline reporting bill by Senator Margaret Rose-Henry. Do the police have to be called every time a student gets into a fight? This bill would say no to that practice. Come on, like all of our schools are actively doing this? It passed the Senate and it is on the House Education Committee agenda for Wednesday. I suspect this will pass, but I have a lot of concerns with this bill in terms of implementation of the law.
Senate Bill #213: Another Senator Rose-Henry bill which would make it mandatory for school staff, students AND parents to get personal body safety and children sexual assault prevention training for students in Kindergarten to 6th grade. It’s up for a Senate vote tomorrow…
House Bill #408 w/Amendment #2: Passed the House, Senate Education Committee meeting on Wednesday. An amendment was added to include charter schools in this school breakfast legislation, even though Kendall Massett doesn’t want it. Most of the House Republicans voted no on this bill. I suspect it will pass the Senate, but stranger things have happened.
Senate Bill #277: The Dave Sokola “Pathways To Prosperity” steering committee. This is going to happen. This is Jack Herdman’s baby! Paul Markell has talked about Pathways to Prosperity more this year than anything else! This gets the full Senate vote tomorrow. Yes, I know what I did there…
House Bill #374: The former bill for this which limits school board seats to 3 years was not popular. So State Rep. Paul Baumbach brought forth a new one limiting school board seats to four years. House Education Committee on Wednesday. If this passes, it is going to throw the typical school board election cycle into chaos in coming years. This bill is a response to the Christina School District Board of Education, and nothing else. I don’t like it.
House Bill #355: As Delaware blazes forward (with a lot of blinders on) with technology, this bill makes it so a computer science class is mandatory and that it can be used as a credit for either math or science. This gets a full House vote tomorrow. It will pass. Jack loves bills like this.
House Bill #250: The charter school bullying choice bill passed the House and is on the Senate Education Committee agenda for Wednesday. This will pass. Add anther notch to State Rep. Kim Williams’ many education bills in the 148th General Assembly for this one! This bill makes it so any bullying must be substantiated for a student to obtain good cause to choice out of a traditional school district or other choice school. My one concern with this bill is what happens if the bullying is NOT substantiated even though it should be? That never happens in Delaware, right?
House Bill #350: The “let’s ignore due process and publish when teachers get investigated bill” is dead. This bill isn’t going anywhere. What was the point of this Mr. Delaware Speaker of the House?
House Bill #236: The “tax exemption for full disabled vets” bill was released by the House Education Committee and sits in House Appropriations. I like this bill, but with the current budget deficit, this isn’t one of those mandatory bills that should be a no-brainer. But it could pass. This one will be a wait and see.
House Bill #232: This bill is so easy it isn’t even funny. It would allow the State Board of Education to accept public comment on items that are going to have action at one of their State Board meetings. Released from the House. With opposition from Donna Johnson and Kendall Massett. One of those bills where the Johnson effect sends it swirling into the abyss…
THE DEAD ZONE
House Bill #261: The charter school records bill sponsored by State Rep. Mike Ramone. Seeks to punish school districts if the records aren’t sent as soon as possible or schools don’t notify the charter when a student was placed in an alternative setting when a student choices to a charter. No mention of a vice versa in this bill. This was dead on arrival Mike!
House Bill #260: The “have the State Board of Education hold their meetings at 5:30 bill” is an awesome bill, but it is one of those ones that probably causes Donna Johnson to complain A LOT, thus this bill gets the Johnson effect! Sadly, this bill won’t go anywhere.
House Bill #243/House Resolution #22: The House Republicans very odd reaction to a potential override of Markell’s veto on House Bill #50. Hey State Rep. Miro, what were Godowsky’s recommendations? The only thing you told me was that he did send them to you. What now? And Ramone: I still remember what you promised me that day. I am holding you to it! If not, everyone will know what you told me.
House Bill #240: The “Come SAIL Away” bill dealing with afterschool school for students drifted off to sea after the Joint Finance Committee said nope. Barring some huge windfall from DEFAC (who determines the state’s revenue) at the last minute, this bill is driftwood.
House Bill #234: The school-based health center would provide funding for the remaining schools in Delaware that don’t have these. Once again, the budget deficit kills this bill.
House Bill #231: This bill would make it mandatory for charter school teachers to participate in the state pension system. The Kendall and Johnson effect is in FULL swing here…
House Bill #117: This bill which would designate funding for low-income students on a level consistent with special education funding is a good bill, but it is tied to so many other education funding issues with WEIC and the Education Funding Improvement Committee it was drowned out by other things going on. It’s a shame cause I supported it.
House Bill #107: The “only local school districts and local boards” can choose their own leaders bill is fantastic. This came out of the priority schools saga when the DOE wanted to pick leaders for the priority schools. This bill has been ignored since it was introduced.
House Bill #52: The State Rep. Deb Hudson cursive bill isn’t going anywhere. It’s been on the House Ready list for well over a year.
House Bill #28: This bill never had a chance with the Kendall factor. It would make it so charters have to give up their funding for a student if they leave the charter in the middle of the year. This was one of my favorite bills last year, but nothing EVER happened with it. Like I said, the Kendall factor…
Senate Bill #239: The restorative justice in lieu of school suspensions bill got a lot of media mentions in Delaware. But that appears to be it…
Senate Bill #228: Another victim of the Joint Finance Committee, no, we won’t see more funding for the Delaware SEED scholarship program.
Senate Bill #193: The Senator McDowell sponsored “let’s do a study on disadvantaged students in Delaware and get the colleges and universities to participate” bill. Harris, I think we have enough studies and reports.
Senate Bill #72: The Senator Bryan Townsend “I hate Mark Murphy bill” doesn’t have the luster it had when everyone’s favorite joke was the Secretary of Education. Buh-bye!
The Season Of Myths 