Association of Texas Professional Educators

Growing support for tapping into the Rainy Day Fund

The 82nd legislative session moves forward

With the state dealing with an unprecedented $28 billion budget deficit, the 82nd legislative session is becoming one of the most significant in recent history—especially for future educators. And while grappling with budget constraints continues to be legislators’ primary focus of the session, other issues are beginning to be considered in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Support growing for tapping into state’s Rainy Day Fund

Gov. Rick Perry has long opposed tapping into the state’s $9.4 billion Rainy Day Fund (RDF) as a means of shoring up the state’s budget problems. However, not all legislative leaders share his position. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Pitts (R–Waxahachie) has filed a bill to draw $4.3 billion from the RDF for the current biennium (2011-12), thus freeing up an equal amount to apply to the next biennium (2013-14) in which budget problems are also expected. State Comptroller Susan Combs appeared before Pitts’ committee and expressed support for tapping into the RDF, stating that she couldn’t see how the state could make up the budget deficit through cuts alone. Several other senators and representatives have also come forward in recent weeks in support of tapping into the fund, including Sen. Bob Deuell (R–Greenville) and Rep. John Zerwas (R–Simonton).

On March 15, Gov. Rick Perry, along with House Speaker Rep. Joe Straus (R–San Antonio) and Combs, released a statement announcing that they have agreed to tapping into the RDF to cover the deficit in the state’s budget for the current biennium. Under the agreement struck with Pitts, the state will draw $3.2 billion from the fund for the current biennium. However, Perry vowed he will not sign a budget for the 2012-13 biennium that includes money from the RDF. While the deal will give the state an extra $4 billion for the coming biennium, the state will have to find alternative methods to make up the remainder of the massive deficit.

ATPE continues to advocate for a balanced approach to the budget that includes some cuts, raising revenue and tapping into the RDF. ATPE also supports creative money-saving ideas such as House Bill (HB) 233 by Rep. Scott Hochberg (D–Houston). HB 233 calls for changing the structure of the state’s accountability testing system to allow students who have been predicted to pass the math and reading assessments under the Texas Projection Measure (TPM) to be exempt from taking those tests in grades 4, 6 and 7. If passed, the bill would greatly reduce test administration costs and save the state much-needed funding.

House Public Education Committee considers ATPE’s anti-bullying bill

The House Public Education Committee has spent a great deal of time considering a bill that is aimed at curbing bullying and cyberbullying in public schools. Developed in cooperation with ATPE, HB 224 by Rep. Mark Strama (D–Austin) would require districts to adopt policies that prohibit bullying and to outline strategies for the intervention of school district personnel in bullying cases. The bill applies to bullying that occurs on school property and bullying that occurs off campus if the conduct interferes with a student’s learning opportunities or the orderly operation of a school or school-related activity. This includes bullying through electronic media and social networking sites. The bill would also amend the education code to allow the bully, rather than the victim, to be transferred to a different class or campus, as well as require the district (in most cases) to notify the parents of both the bully and the victim if a transgression occurs. ATPE testified before the committee in support of the bill, which was left pending.

State looking to save money on TRS

Freshman House member Rep. Kenneth Sheets (R–Dallas) filed HB 1974, which calls for the conversion of both the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) and the state employees’ retirement system from the current defined-benefit plans (DBP) to defined-contribution plans (DCP). And Rep. Warren Chisum (R–Pampa) filed HB 2056, which would force new employees into a DCP beginning in 2012.

A DBP is a plan under which participants are guaranteed a certain level of benefits for meeting eligibility requirements. A DCP is more like a 401(k) or 403(b) in which contributions are subject to fluctuations in the market and returns are not guaranteed. Proponents of converting TRS from a DBP to DCP believe it would lower the costs of providing benefits for retirees and save the state money. ATPE is opposed to such a switch and reiterated this position during the March 2 hearing of the Senate Finance Committee.

You can keep up with the latest legislative information by reading the ATPE Legislative Update. And if you have questions about the ATPE advocacy program, contact ATPE Governmental Relations at government@atpe.org or (800) 777-ATPE.

Looking to the future

Steps for a successful job search

With graduation approaching, so looms the search for an official position in the classroom. Where’s the best place to start? At district and education service center (ESC) job fairs.

Unfortunately, the current education job market is somewhat unstable due to the budget crisis at the state level. Many districts have canceled their job fairs for this summer. But don’t give up! The 82nd legislative session isn’t over yet.

To find a school district’s website, follow these steps:

1. Visit the Texas Education Agency Web page that links to ESC websites across Texas. Click on the area of the state that interests you.
2. Look for a listing of school districts. Visit the sites of districts that interest you.
3. Locate the district's employment or hiring section, and follow given instructions.

Before you start interviewing, make sure to update your résumé, research and review the application processes for the districts in which you’re interested in working, and create a portfolio with long-term unit and lesson plans.

Copying isn’t sincere, nor is it flattery

Copyright basics for new educators

As a new teacher, you will likely need materials with which to supplement your textbooks, and more often than not, you will want to make copies of what you find to share with your students. When doing so, you need to consider copyright law, which determines what can and what cannot be copied.

Copyright law protects original, creative works from unauthorized use and duplication. Works that can be copyrighted include literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and other intellectual works including computer software. Information found on the Internet may or may not be copyrighted.

The owner of the copyright has the right to control who may copy the work and use it. If the poem, short story or other work is copyrighted, it cannot be reproduced except by permission of the copyright owner, with a few exceptions. Sometimes a general copyright notice includes permission to reproduce the material; in this case, the licensing agreement will specify if copies can be made, how many can be made and for what purpose those copies can be used. Any other copying is a copyright violation.

Another exception to copyright law that applies to educators is “fair use.” Fair use means that it is OK to duplicate a small portion of a work if it will be used in a way that is not harmful to the work’s commercial value. For example, you can copy a passage of a story to put on a worksheet, but you can’t copy a book to avoid buying it. The federal government has set guidelines for what constitutes fair use in the educational setting, and schools must meet only the minimum standards. The Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians covers these guidelines in detail.

General fair-use guidelines

These guidelines cover situations in which individual teachers wish to duplicate copyrighted works but do not have reasonably sufficient time to get permission.

You may make a single copy of any of the following for use in teaching or preparation to teach a class:

• A chapter from a book.
• An article from a periodical or newspaper.
• A short story, short essay or short poem.
• A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture from a book, periodical or newspaper.

You may make multiple copies (no more than one copy per pupil in a course) for classroom use or discussion, provided:

• The copying is brief and spontaneous.
• It meets the cumulative effect test.
• Each copy includes a notice of copyright. (Copyright notice generally includes the year of copyright, a copyright symbol or the actual word “copyright,” and the name of the copyright owner.)

Fair-use don’ts

• Don’t copy workbooks, exercises, standardized tests, test booklets, answer sheets or any other similar consumable material. Consider them copyrighted.
• Don’t copy any work simply to avoid purchasing it.
• Don’t think it is OK to copy a work just because your supervisor told you to.
• Don’t continue to duplicate and distribute copies of a copyrighted work from term to term, even if you sought permission for the original use. Seek permission each time.

Reminders

• The first-ever ATPE Summit will be held July 20–23, 2011, in Austin. These four days of association decision making, professional development and ATPE leader training sessions are jam-packed with information you need as an educator. University students and teacher trainees can attend the ATPE Summit for free! Check out www.atpe.org/summit for more information.
• Each year, the ATPE Foundation awards up to 10 $1,500 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate education students. The deadline to apply is June 1, 2011. For more information and to apply, visit www.atpefoundation.org/scholarships.asp
• Like Answer Key on Facebook.