Capital Pulse March 11, 2022

The Rundown

The FY2023 Education Trust Fund Budget passed the House of Representatives and is now headed to the Senate! On Tuesday, a series of bills appropriating funds from the Education Trust Fund were passed by the Alabama House of Representatives. HB135 – the FY2023 Education Trust Fund Budget – includes a pay raise, funding for a technology coordinator in every school system, increased instructional supply money from $700 to $900 per certificated unit, auxiliary teachers in elementary schools in high-needs areas, increased funding for reading coaches, and resources geared toward improving math and reading scores throughout Alabama. This budget also focuses on programs and resources for underperforming elementary schools. The ETF budget package now moves to the Senate Finance & Taxation Education Committee.

HB136 – which provides a 4% pay raise to ALL public educators (pre-K-14) and amounts to an approximate $178.6 million expenditure – passed the House Tuesday. An additional $34 million investment was made in a continuous effort to fix the deficiencies in the middle years of the state minimum salary matrix. This investment will result in many educators in the middle years of the salary schedule receiving more than the guaranteed 4%.

The Education Retiree Bonus (SB30 by Sen. Bobby Singleton) will provide a one-time longevity bonus payment for retirees and beneficiaries of the Teachers' Retirement System and has now passed both chambers of the Legislature. Usingthe formula in the bill, retirees with 25 years of service could expect to receive a bonus check for approximately $600 ($2 per month of service). A technical amendment was added in the House, so the bill now goes back to the Senate for concurrence before being sent to the Governor.

SB171, the Alabama Numeracy Act by Sen. Arthur Orr, would implement steps to improve mathematics proficiency of public K-5 students and ensure they are proficient in mathematics at or above grade level by the end of fifth grade. The bill also creates the Office of Mathematics Improvement within the State Department of Education. There is no retention clause in this bill and no punitive actions towards students. AEA will continue to work with the bill sponsors to ensure it does not inflict any undue burdens on educators. SB171 passed the House Education Policy Committee on Thursday and now moves to the House floor.

Thus far, 800 bills have been introduced by the Legislature. AEA staff continues to read each word of every bill and monitors them daily to ensure they will positively affect public education.

Moving This Week

SB175, by Sen. Arthur Orr, allowing allocations from the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund to be used for capital outlay passed the House and will now move to the Senate Finance & Taxation Education Committee.

SB292, by Sen. Will Barfoot, would prohibit the state and its political subdivisions or agencies from promoting or advancing divisive concepts regarding race, sex, or religion in certain teaching or training. Regarding K-12 educators, the bill codifies the State Board of Education resolution dealing with divisive concepts passed last Fall. SB292 passed the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Tuesday.

HB429, by Rep. Nathaniel Ledbetter, would authorize the State Board of Education to phase in the employment of auxiliary teachers, someone who has a Child Development Associate credential or the equivalent of nine hours of coursework in childhood development and they are responsible for assisting classroom teachers with instructional and non-instructional activities in all public school grades K-3. HB429 passed the House Ways and Means Education Committee Wednesday.

SB251, by Sen. Tom Butler, would increase the per semester loan repayment award for math and science teachers participating in the Alabama Math and Science Teacher Education Program (AMSTEP) program through the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. The AMSTEP provides student loan repayment for public high school math and science teachers who serve in underserved areas of the state. The load repayment award would increase from $2,500 to $3,750 per semester for math and science teachers. SB251 passed the Senate Finance & Taxation Education Committee Wednesday.

HB307, by Rep. Alan Baker, would authorize the issuance of a professional educator certificate to qualified individuals who have held an alternative certificate for one year, instead of three years and would also allow the State Superintendent of Education to issue a professional educator certificate to a qualified individual who completes an alternative teacher preparation program offered by an approved alternative teacher education preparation organization. HB307 passed the Senate Education Policy Committee on Wednesday.

HB267, by Rep. Danny Garrett, allocates supplemental appropriations from the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund to K12 school systems and state colleges and universities. Around $206 million was allocated to K12 schools and $76 million was allocated to state colleges and universities. HB267 passed the House and will now move to the Senate Finance & Taxation Education Committee.

HB138, by Rep. Danny Garrett, allocates over $1 billion of supplemental appropriations from the ETF. Those allocations include money to the State Treasurer’s Office to pay off the balance of the PACT Program, funding a one-time bonus check for education retirees, $652,128,556 to the Advancement & Technology Fund, as well as many more appropriations. HB138 passed the House and will now move to the Senate Finance & Taxation Education Committee.

Newly Introduced

SB302 by Sen. Del Marsh and HB459 Rep. Terri Collins, would make changes to operational and categorical funding of public charter schools. These bills would require charter schools to participate in the apportionment and distribution of a pro-rata share of the countywide taxes on the same basis as non-charter local school boards. Currently, both state and federal dollars follow students who leave traditional schools and enroll in charter schools, but local dollars do not. Under this bill, only county-level funding follows the student, not city funding. This bill also removes language protecting earmarked revenue of schools from those distributions. SB302 was introduced Wednesday and in the Senate Education Policy Committee Thursday morning where it was given a favorable report. SB302 now goes to the Senate floor.

HB472, by Rep. Chip Brown, would enable a parent or guardian of a student at a public K-12 school to opt-out of any requirement that the student must wear a face covering at the school, at a school function, on a school bus, or at a school bus stop.

HB457, by Rep. Tommy Hanes, would prohibit the State Department of Education, public K-12 school officials, teachers, school counselors, or any private or public organization affiliated with Alabama public K-12 schools from implementing or maintaining any program that uses American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Standards and competency indicators or any variation of these standards designed to direct Alabama public school students' perception of ASCA's view of concepts, values, attitudes, and beliefs, using the process of introducing the competency indicators at selected grade clusters, then reinforcing them with the expectation that all students master the concepts by the end of the 12th grade.

SB306, by Sen. Rodger Smitherman, would establish and provide for the qualifications and duties of a mental health service coordinator and would require each local board of education in the state, subject to appropriations by the Legislature, to employ a mental health service coordinator to serve those schools under the jurisdiction of the board.

Capital Pulse March 11, 2022

March 8-11, 2022