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8/9/2019 ASBA - AZ HB2011
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8/9/2019 ASBA - AZ HB2011
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Therehasalsobeentheclaimthatthesechangesweredoneunderacloudofsecrecy.Infact,thevastmajorityof the individual changesmade in thebilldid receive apublichearingandopportunity forpublic testimony
duringthelegislativeprocess.Whatsmore,thesechangescametothesurpriseofnooneincludingtheAEA
that had followed the legislative process and publicly contemplated by the Legislature for more than five
months.
Forallthesereasons,itiscriticalthatyoufamiliarizeyourselfwiththesechangesandunderstandhowtheywillimprove
bothstudentsuccessandthefinancialwellbeingofyourdistrict.
TENURE/SENIORITYRETENTION&RECALLCHANGE:Tenure(orseniority)cannotbeusedasadeterminingfactorforreductioninforceorretention.CHANGE: Inthecaseofarecallafterareduction in force,tenure(orseniority)doesnotneedtobeconsideredwhenchoosingwhichteacherstorecall.
MYTH:Thisenablesschooldistrictstohaphazardlyfireteacherswhoareatthetopofthepayscalewithmanyyearsoexperience.Thisalsoviolatestheprincipleoflocalcontrol.
FACT:Its
in
no
ones
best
interest
to
let
go
effective
teachers
even
if
they
are
at
the
top
of
the
pay
scale.
Highlyeffectiveteachersbenefitfromthesechanges.
Thisisasteptowardsmorecomprehensiveandfairevaluationofteachers,whichwillfocusonteacherperformanceand
effectiveness.Notonlydoesthisfurtherprofessionalizeteaching,itenablesgoverningboardstomakeprudentfinancia
decisions thatputacademicachievementand theneedsof students first.Sensitivity isneeded indealingwith these
issues; change of any kind is difficult, and this diminished role of tenure represents a significant cultural shift fo
teachers.
WhileASBAdidnot initiate theprohibition to senioritybeing taken intoaccount in retentionpolicies,ASBAactively
supportedtheabilityofdistrictstoputstudentsfirstbygainingthisflexibilityinwhichdistrictscanstilltakeintoaccount
overall teachingexperienceandexperience in teachingaparticular subjectwhenmakingdecisions thatbest suit the
needsof
their
students.
Further,
these
changes
put
Arizona
at
the
forefront
of
the
national
reform
movement
and
in
a
strongerpositiontoreceiveoneoftheRacestotheTopgrants.
TENURE/SENIORITYSALARIESCHANGE:Ifsalaryreductionsarenecessary,districtscanchoosetoreducesalariesofsometenuredemployeesandnotothers;senioritycannotbeconsideredwhenmakingthischoice.
MYTH:Thoseteachersatthetopofthepayscalewillhavetheirsalariesreducedfirstsodistrictscansavemoney.FACT:Districtsdonotwanttocutsalaries.Yet,Arizonaisfacingoneoftheworsteconomicrecessionsinhistory.Atthesame
time,
many
districts
are
experiencing
ashortage
of
quality
teachers
in
math,
science
and
special
education,
and
theyneed the flexibility tomakeany reductions toensuredistrictsareable tokeep these teachers that specialize in
highneed areas rather than be forced to impose a blanket salary reduction, regardless of teacher effectiveness o
subjectareaexpertise.
CONTRACTSCHANGE:Schooldistrictsmaydetermine thedate that theywilloffer teacherscontracts for thecomingyear. (IthadbeensetatApril15.)
8/9/2019 ASBA - AZ HB2011
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CHANGE:Schooldistrictsnowmayissueteachercontractsatanytime.(PreviouslyitwasrequiredtobedonebetweenMarch15andMay15.)
MYTH:Teachershavelostjobsecurity.FACT: Teaching isaprofession,notjustajob.With theprofessionalization and respect teachersdeserve, there isaresponsibility indoingwhat it takes tohelp studentsachieve.Statemandatesarebeing replacedwith theabilityof
locallyelectedgoverningboardstocreatedeadlinesfortheirowndistrictsandtomakeprudentfinancialdecisionsthat
putacademic
achievement
and
the
needs
of
students
first.
TEACHERPERFORMANCECHANGE:Thetimeallowedforteacherswithinadequateperformancetomakeimprovementhasbeenshortenedfrom85workingdays(17instructionalweeks,almostonehalfyearoftheacademicyear)to60workingdays(12instructiona
weeks,stillmorethananacademicquarter).
CHANGE:Thetimeallowedforteacherswhohavebeendismissed forcausetorequestahearinghasbeenshortenedfrom30daysto10days.
MYTH:Arizona
doesnt
care
about
teachers.
FACT:Arizonacaresverymuchaboutourstudentsandwants todoeverythingpossible toensure themosteffectiveteachersare inour classrooms.Once again, this is a step forward inprofessionalizing teachers.A teacher that isnt
performingmustbegiven thenoticeand time to improve;however, it isnotacceptable toallowanadultwho isnt
performingtosacrificeastudentsfuture.
ARIZONASCHOOLBOARDSASSOCIATIONQualityleadershipandadvocacyforchildreninpublicschools
www.azsba.org
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