TEXAS AFT LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE--FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, 2009
(copyright 2009 Texas AFT)

* Just in Case: Preparing for a Flu Outbreak When School Starts
* Certification Board Rejects Criticism of Generalist Certificate for Grades 4-8

Just in Case Swine Flu Breaks Out Again: Yesterday the American Federation of Teachers joined other stakeholders at the U.S. Education Department to discuss a coordinated response in the likely event of a H1N1 (swine flu) resurgence this fall.

AFT stressed that health considerations should take precedence over education concerns if there is a flu outbreak. Educators have plenty of experience in helping students, even in significant numbers, make up missed schoolwork, AFT's spokesman said, and any decisions about school dismissals and closures should involve all stakeholders.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has agreed that health comes first, and today the Education Department released guidance for K-12 education at http://www.flu.gov/plan/school/schoolguidance.html, which describes policies and procedures regarding any H1N1 outbreak. Guidance for higher education and early childhood will come out later in the month. The department is posting other information as well and plans monthly meetings and regular conference calls with stakeholders.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control have posted reporting forms for school closures and dismissals at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/schools/dismissal_form/index.html, and encourage any school staff member to report a school closure and not worry about duplication. There's also a CDC toolkit for teachers and parents (http://www.flu.gov/plan/school/toolkit.html).

AFT's own health and safety staff will release pandemic-flu resource materials for affiliates later in August.

In addition to all the steps outlined above, AFT also is calling on government officials to address other key concerns, including:

--Having state and local plans in place, including tracking tools, specific recommendations for mitigation procedures, and resources for emergency availability of equipment and supplies, such as thermometers, gloves, and respirators.

--Adjusting timelines and reporting obligations or deadlines for education programs so staff can concentrate on H1N1, if necessary.

--Conveying information clearly and without fear, so that all the people involved, especially parents, understand the actual health conditions in their communities.

SBEC Revisits "Generalist: Grades 4-8" Certificate, Finds It Good: Members of the State Board for Educator Certification met today in Austin to consider, among ot her things, concerns about the appropriateness of the current generalist certificate for teachers in grades 4 through 8.

The discussion was couched in unusual terms in the SBEC agenda for today's meeting: "This item provides the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) an opportunity to discuss concerns raised by some State Board of Education (SBOE) members regarding the SBEC approval of the Generalist: Grades 4-8 certificate. The concerns relate to a teacher who may be teaching in a content area where they may not have any college credits in that specific area on the transcript but were able to pass the certification examination. The certificate has provided flexibility for school districts that need certified teachers to teach multiple subjects in the middle school."

If this item was included to appease SBOE members, that's about as far as the appeasement went, for SBEC members today reaffirmed their support for this generalist certificate despite SBOE misgivings. SBEC some years ago adopted this certificate in a conscious effort to ease certification standards and make it easier for school districts to fill middle-school teaching slots. And current SBEC members, judging by today's discussion, clearly hew strongly to that line of thinking.

In one sense, SBEC's difference of opinion with SBOE on this issue is almost academic. According to TEA Deputy Commissioner Raymond Glynn, very few teachers have availed themselves of this certificate option.

But the discussion does illuminate a contradiction in state education policy. On the one hand, we see an ever-increasing demand for high-quality teaching to improve student performance in middle school in core subjects such as science. On the other, we see state policies like this SBEC generalist certification that reflect the difficulty, under current salaries and working conditions, of recruiting appropriately certified teachers in science and other crucial subjects to teach middle-school students.