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HB2795-SB3412
Testing for all students

105th Tennessee General Assembly
2007-2008

3/18/08: This statement just in from TACRS:

HB2795 and TACRS - Statement from TACRS - by Rob Shearer - rob@greenleafpress.com

To: Representative George Hardaway and all interested parties

From: Rob Shearer, vice president, TACRS

I have just reviewed the text of the proposed amendment to HB2975 which now seeks to mandate an annual consultation between the department of education and "representatives from the Tennessee association of independent/municipal schools, the Tennessee home education association representing schools established under 49-6-3050, and the Tennessee association of church related schools representing schools established under 49-50-801." Ron Scarlata, the president of the Tennessee Association of Church Related Schools (TACRS) and I spoke by phone this morning and he has authorized me to speak on this matter for TACRS.

Please be advised that this proposal came as a complete surprise to both of us. Neither of us has ever spoken with Representative Hardaway.

And while we have no objections to consulting with the Department of Education, we could not do so "representing schools established under 49-50-801." There is a rich diversity of private schools, both church-related and independent throughout Tennessee. No one organization could ever speak for all of them. There is a rich diversity of church-related schools even within the TACRS membership. We would be reluctant to speak about methodologies even on behalf of our member schools, since the membership is so diverse.

The kind of consultation ostensibly desired by Rep. Hardaway does not need to be mandated by the legislature. It could easily be achieved by the department issuing broad invitations to all the organizations designated in 49-50-801.

We urge Rep. Hardaway to withdraw this bill, even with this last-minute amendment substituting new language. It does not appear to have been very carefully thought out. And the organizations named in it have not been consulted.

- Rob Shearer
Vice President, TACRS

Please feel free to distribute/forward this email (so long as the distribution includes the entire message)

3/18/08: We've got a transcription of the amendment to HB2795 as submitted by Rep. G. A. Hardaway (D-Memphis). Here it is:

AMEND   Senate Bill No. 3412            House Bill No. 2795*

By deleting all language after the enacting clause and by substituting instead the following language:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 1, Part 6, is amended by adding the following language as a new, appropriately designed section:

     49-1-614.

       The department of education shall consult at least annually with representatives from the Tennessee association of independent/municipal schools, the Tennessee home education association representing schools established under 49-6-3050, and the Tennessee association of church related schools representing schools established under 49-50-801, to assess actions taken by such non-public schools which, if taken by public schools, may lead to improved student performance in public schools.  The department shall report the results of such consultation to the select oversight committees of the house of representatives and the senate no later than February 1 each year.

SECTION 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.

 This is still completely unacceptable and calls against this bill and its amendment should continue. It's obvious from the wording of this bill that Rep. G. A. Hardaway (D-Memphis) is completely unfamiliar with the homeschooling community and how it operates.

• He seems to have cherry picked one homeschooling group over others by designating 'the Tennessee home education association' as representing homeschoolers. He may have meant that generically and its use is just sloppy legislative writing. Regardless,  Tennessee Home Education Association does exist. However, it doesn't represent all homeschoolers and I suspect doesn't want the job. Further not all homeschoolers want to belong to this group and there are many who would vehemently oppose any requirement that any one group speak for all homeschoolers.
• Again, he's used phrasing in this legislation that is an actual entity. Sloppy or intentional there is a 'Tennessee association of church related schools'. TACRS accredits some of our church-related schools but certainly not all. Ditto the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools (TAIS) There are actually seven listed in TCA 49-50-801.

a)  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, "church-related school" means a school operated by denominational, parochial or other bona fide church organizations, which are required to meet the standards of accreditation or membership of the Tennessee Association of Christian Schools , the Association of Christian Schools International , the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools , the  Southern Association of Colleges and Schools , the Tennessee Association of Non-Public Academic Schools [*see below--ed.], the Tennessee Association of Church Related Schools, or a school affiliated with Accelerated Christian Education, Inc. [Now called School of Tomorrow --editor note]

• There is no sunset provision to this legislation. Once created, have you ever known a government entity to disappear? We do not need this oversight committee to expand its mandate and start demanding more and more accountability from non-public schoolers in their misguided effort to improve public schools.
• The 'at least annually' portion seems to leave room for the Department of Education or the legislature to require more than annual meetings once the meetings are required.
• Under this amendment the fiscal note will not be anywhere near the $4 million his original testing attempt would have cost. That makes it more friendly to other legislators. Of course, the hidden cost born by non-public schoolers, both in resources and loss of freedom could eventually be enormous.

  The information about best practices that  Rep. G. A. Hardaway (D-Memphis)  says he's trying to obtain can be found outside of enacting a law, expending tax dollars and encroaching on the freedoms that people who privately school their children already have.

My suggestion is that phone calls, faxes, emails and personal contacts continue. Again, seriously consider attending tomorrow's meeting. Details are just below.

3/18/08

From Kay Brooks of www.tnhomeed.com,

It's become obvious to even the most hopeful among us that Rep. G. A. Hardaway (D-Memphis) is not a man of his word. Despite assuring the public, Special Initiatives sub-committee members and the Chair of the House Education Committee that he would communicate with them and the homeschooling community regarding changes he was making to HB2795 he still hasn't done so. He has ignored phone calls and personal contacts. The result is we're just a day away from the next scheduled sub-committee hearing for this bill and the new wording is not public information. He fully expects us to get a copy of this legislation cold and deal with it immediately.  Well, we shall.

You are, again, encouraged to call the Special Initiatives sub-committee members and voice your concerns regarding this bill. Most of them have expressed surprise at Hardaway's actions and do not see the need for the state to test all children in this manner. They, and their staffs, are also frustrated but the process must run its course.

If you can make the trip to Nashville come. The committee meets at 11:45 a.m. in the Legislative Plaza. This committee usually meets in Room 29, however, it may be moved to Room 16 again to accommodate a larger crowd. HB2795 is early on a short agenda so don't be late. If there is no way you can make it to Nashville you can watch streaming video via the Internet from the legislative website here. In the meantime, make phone calls, send faxes, contact their district offices. Focus on Rep. Hardaway, the bill sponsor, and Reps. Brown and Towns who enabled this legislation to even be heard three weeks ago.

I believe we need an even bigger turn out than we had three weeks ago. If our effort is smaller, it will give the appearance that we're already tired of the battle and don't have the stomach for a full scale assault. Let's ensure that's not the case.

If you pray this is certainly the time for that.

 Kay Brooks

Kay@TnHomeEd.com

http://TnHomeEd.com