Input to SBEC Regarding Limitations on Public Testimony
May 9, 2008
Agenda Item 12
In 2005, the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) completed its most recent sunset review. Veteran board members will recall that the 79th Legislature came very close to sunsetting the SBEC board in its entirety that year. One of the issues at stake during the sunset review was that SBEC’s rulemaking process did not effectively ensure stakeholder input. The sunset commission noted that SBEC had been criticized for the same problem during its previous sunset review, and yet the problem still had not been addressed by the time 2005 rolled around.
In response to that sunset review, SBEC revised its Board Operating Policies (BOP) in March 2005 to include new provisions for public testimony. The changes allowed the chair to limit testimony only if there were a large number of speakers and subject to being overruled by a majority of the board. The minutes of that meeting reflect that Dr. Bonnie Cain voted against the new policy, because “she felt that discretion of the chair to limit or exclude testimony was a burden far too great for the chair.” The minutes further state that Dr. Cain “said heated issues may produce a large amount of testimony and forecasts that, even if voted on, decisions may be split down party lines and become more stressful.”
The proposed BOP amendment under consideration today would essentially give the SBEC chair complete decision-making authority over public testimony, unchecked by the remainder of the board. The new policy would state as follows: “The Board shall allocate up to 30 minutes, total time, to public testimony on all agenda items. The presiding officer retains discretion to determine which speakers shall be heard.” Presumably the current board chair, Dr. Cain, does not even want such responsibility, based upon her statements three years ago.
It is worth noting that SBEC’s counterparts who serve on the State Board of Education attend regular meetings each lasting three consecutive days, during which they listen to dozens upon dozens of witnesses. By contrast, based on anecdotal experience with this board, SBEC’s meetings rarely last more than four hours, and the majority of its agenda items do not produce any public testimony. For the items that do generate public testimony, there are typically five or fewer witnesses wishing to testify orally. Accordingly, it is hard to comprehend why there would be any hew and cry to drastically limit the amount of testimony permitted at SBEC meetings.
Adopting the policy change proposed today is a step in the wrong direction. It reverses progress this board made in response to its last two sunset reviews and opens the door for yet another round of harsh criticism from the Sunset Advisory Commission and the Legislature, not to mention the possibility of litigation. ATPE respectfully urges the board not to make any changes to the current operating policy and to embrace public testimony in accordance with SBEC’s own core principle, which states, “We believe stakeholder input is valuable and student success is primary.”
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