Education News in Alabama

November 22, 2004 (archive)

SPECIAL SESSION RE-CAP
On Tuesday, November 16, the Alabama State Legislature wrapped-up a successful, cooperative special session addressing the escalating costs of health care for state employees and educators. The reform measures passed ultimately will save the state $300 million over the next five years.

The health care reforms will:

• Give the 14-member state teachers' insurance board and 11-member state employees' insurance board broader power to raise premiums or other out-of-pocket expenses for public employees and retirees, but only if two-thirds or more of voting board members agreed.

Monthly premiums for active teachers currently are $2 for single coverage and $134 for family coverage. State agency employees pay nothing for single coverage and $164 for family coverage. The approved reforms will allow the insurance boards to require smokers to pay higher premiums starting Oct. 1, but no amount is set. State officials say the monthly increase likely will be about $20. The boards also could adjust premiums based on other avoidable risk factors, on family size, and on people's participation in preventive care or wellness programs.

• Allow insurance boards to offer supplemental coverage to an employee or retiree who volunteers to be covered by a spouse's insurance and drop primary coverage by the state. A supplemental plan could cover out-of-pocket expenses due under the spouse's coverage.

• Require employees working elsewhere after retiring from the state to rely on their new employer for primary insurance coverage if that employer pays half or more of the total insurance cost. Now, a retiree can keep getting insurance from Alabama and not use a new employer's insurance.

• Require public employees with less than 25 years in the system to pay higher premiums if they retire after September 30. The extra amount, for each year short of 25, initially would range from $5.44 a month for a retiree on Medicare with single coverage to $13.48 a month for a retiree not on Medicare with family coverage. People who retire after Sept. 30 with more than 25 years' service would pay premiums lowered by those amounts for each year worked over 25. The changes would not apply to anyone who retires because of disability.

• Lower premiums by 10 percent to 50 percent for low-income employees and retirees.

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION UPDATE:
The State Board of Education held its monthly meeting to discuss K-12 business on Thursday, November 18. In the first order of business, David Byers, District VI, stepped down as Vice President of the Board, citing personal reasons. Vice President Pro Tem Sandra Ray, District VII, will assume the position of Vice President until next July, when the board annually elects its officers.

Other key actions included:
• Approval of the FY 2006 budget for K-12 schools and the State Department of Education (SDE). As reported in the last issue of Education News in Alabama, the proposed budget includes an additional $3.1 million for library enhancements, a line item that has not been increased in many years. Further, the SDE is recommending in increase in professional development dollars from $60 to $90 per teacher, for an additional cost of $1.4 million. The proposed budget also includes an increase in textbook funding per student from $57.50 to $67.50, for a total of $7.3 million. This increase moves the allocation closer to the actual average cost of $80 per student.

The SDE is requesting $35,000 per school system to fund a Technology Coordinator to address data/technology issues within local school systems and between local school systems and the SDE. Due to the continued success of the Alabama Reading Initiative, the proposed budget includes an additional $15 million to fund training and reading coaches for the expansion to 225 new schools. The SDE is requesting $14.7 million for the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) to keep the program operational and to expand the successful initiative into new areas.

• Approval of Textbooks for Social Studies
The Social Studies Textbook Committee recommended adoption of an extensive list of textbooks for use in social studies courses in the state. Local districts using state and local dollars for the purchase of textbooks must select textbooks from the list approved by the State Board of Education.

A minority report was filed opposing adoption of the textbook American Pageant, a book used in advanced placement history courses. The members of the committee filing the minority report objected to what they perceived as a liberal bias on the part of the author and cited several passages that they felt were inappropriate for students. However, Dr. Clinton Carter, chairman of the social studies textbook committee, read a letter from an Advanced Placement (AP) Social Studies teacher, who lauded American Pageant for its ability to engage students and promote in-depth discussions of American history. Dr. Carter also pointed out that 49 other states use American Pageant in AP History classes.

A representative of the Eagle Forum voiced objections to two other recommended textbooks for use in Sociology classes. Opponents of these textbooks maintain that the books do not comply with Alabama’s Abstinence Law, which cites that public schools must advocate that abstinence is the expected form of social behavior for students. The textbooks discuss the effectiveness of condoms in the prevention of STDs, AIDS and teen pregnancy.

After some discussion, the State Board voted 5-3 to approve the American Pageant and 5-3 to reject the two sociology texts.

IN THE NEWS
Alabama’s Apparent Rejection of Amendment Two Draws National Attention
Education Week reporter David Hoff delves into the recent defeat of Amendment Two, which would have removed segregationist language from the Alabama Constitution.
http://tinyurl.com/69rvt

Education Week examines the future of national education policy post-election:
Bush’s Agenda Gets a Second Term
http://tinyurl.com/4drrv

Bush’s Education Plan Up for Renewal
http://tinyurl.com/72cgy

JUST THE FACTS, MA’AM!
If you are looking for facts and figures about the K-12 public education system in Alabama, look no further than the Alabama Education Policy Primer. A joint project of A+ and the Peabody Center for Education Policy at Vanderbilt University, the primer is a research-based resource providing answers to frequently asked questions about education issues facing our state. It is available to download for free at http://www.aplusala.org/primer/index.asp. Hard copies in sturdy three-binders are available for $24.95 (includes shipping and handling) and can be ordered by calling 334-279-1886, sending an email to jennifer@aplusala.org , or mailing a check to the A+ Education Foundation at P.O. Box 4433, Montgomery, AL 36103. Don’t miss out! Order yours today!

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Education News in Alabama is published bi-weekly by the A+ Education Foundation and is distributed to A+ board members, the media, and list serve subscribers. View archived newsletters.

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