TEXAS AFT LEGISLATIVE HOTLINE--THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2009 (copyright 2009 Texas AFT)   * Enforcing Class-Size Limits * Getting the Facts Straight on Health-Care Reform--Myth #6   Enforcing Class-Size Limits: The state commissioner of education reminded school districts this week of the rules for compliance with class-size requirements for the 2009-2010 school year. You can see the full text of the commissioner's letter to administrators at http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/taa/comm090109-2.html.   The letter notes that every school district in Texas is required to conduct a class-size enrollment survey "for Kindergarten through Grade 4 no later than September 11, 2009. If the survey indicates that any class for Grades K-4 exceeds the allowable class-size limit of 22:1, the district must submit" to the Texas Education Agency a class-size waiver request plus a copy of its plan for coming into compliance with class-size limits. (The commissioner's letter says classes in physical education or fine arts are not covered by class-size limits.) If a district later in the school year exceeds the allowable class size for any class in grades K-4, it has 30 days to submit a waiver request. No waiver is required for exceeding the limit during the last 12 weeks of school.   Districts that seek a waiver for more than one section per grade level at a campus may not use unanticipated enrollment growth as the reason. They must assert as the reason for the waiver request either a shortage of teachers or a shortage of facilities or both. Their compliance plan must specify actions that will be taken to address the shortage. The commissioner's letter also notes: "All campuses covered by the waiver are expected to have a student performance rating that is at least acceptable, if the waiver request is due to shortages of facilities and/or teachers."   For districts that persist in requesting class-size waivers for more than two consecutive years, the commissioner requires an escalating series of actions to make sure the community is aware of the request and of the district's efforts to reduce the need for class-size waivers. The commissioner's letter also cites Texas Education Code Section 25.113, which requires notice to parents of students affected when a class-size waiver has been granted. The notice must indicate the particular class for which the waiver was granted, state the number of students in that class, and be delivered not later than the 31st day after the waiver was granted.   Getting the Facts Straight on Health-Care Reform--Myth # 6: Here's another mythbuster message from the American Federation of Teachers on the issue of health-care reform.   MYTH #6: Congress is moving too quickly.   THE FACTS: Many Americans are uninsured or struggle to pay the soaring costs of care. As costs continue to rise, even those with employer-provided insurance pay a heavy price in forgone pay raises, increases in insurance deductibles and premiums, and greater insecurity about the availability of high-quality health care in the future.   Since 2000, employee contributions to employer-provided health insurance have increased more than 120 percent, and out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, co-payments for medications, and co-insurance for physician and hospital visits have risen 115 percent. Skyrocketing health-care costs strain family budgets, burden businesses of all sizes, squeeze state and federal budgets, and are delaying America's economic recovery. The time for health-care reform is now.