Florida House Democrats Reject `Son of 6’ Education

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida House Democratic Caucus members today voted unanimously against a controversial education bill that ties public school teacher pay raises and job security to student performance on standardized tests.

The Republican-sponsored bill (SB736) is dubbed “Son of 6” by some Democratic Caucus members because of its vast similarities to Senate Bill 6 that was vetoed last year following major protests by teachers and their supporters.

During several hours of debate, Democratic members criticized the bill on a number of fronts, with some describing it as harshly punitive to educators and others noting that the measure fails to improve teacher salaries.

Here are portions of some of their House floor remarks:

Rep. Geraldine Thompson (D-Orlando) said: “Just because a cat crawls into an oven and has a litter of kittens, you shouldn’t confuse her offspring with biscuits. We should not confuse testing with teaching. They are very different things. Effective teaching focuses on critical examination, analytical thinking, out-of-the-box approaches, and how-to learning rather than regurgitating information on a test. We should not kill creativity in our students. Without creativity, we would not have a Bill Gates, Google or Facebook. Let’s not discourage people who don’t focus on rote learning.”

Rep. Luis R. Garcia, Jr. (D-Miami) said: “As President Reagan once said, `There you go again.’ This was a bad bill last year and it is still a bad bill this year. This bill will be a bonanza for the private companies that make their money grading tests but will do nothing for teachers or our children’s education.”

Rep. Irv Slosberg (D-Boca Raton) said that under the bill “no one will really win…The state will force the teachers to play this game, and the biggest joke of all is this: The gamble is backed by a bankrupt casino…Florida has no money (for teacher merit pay). Governor Rick Scott is slashing funding left and right.”

Rep. Janet Cruz (D-Tampa) said: “This bill is sets new standards for teachers and administrators to meet. Unfortunately, it’s missing the professional development needed to help all teachers and administrators get there…There’s a lot you ignored in this bill. That’s why `Son of 6’ is no better than Senate Bill 6.”

Rep. Darren Soto (D-Orlando) said:  “You can only push a good teacher so far before they’re gonna up and leave. We must strike a balance between measuring student achievement and maintaining recruitment (of good teachers).

Rep. Steve Perman (D-Boca Raton) said that under the bill…“Teacher’s jobs will hang in the balance based on whether or not students care enough to show up, pay attention, do their homework, get enough rest, and are able to do well on a test on one day of the year. While this bill seeks to create a mechanism to eliminate under-performing teachers, it also arbitrarily allows for the dismissal, without explanation, of high-performing, superior teachers though they have lived up to or exceeded the very criteria that should earn them a raise, rather than dismissal.”

Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda (D-Tallahassee) said: “As a mother and a teacher, I know how important it is to be effective in helping children learn. I also know that being an effective teacher is an art. It is difficult to define. What troubles teachers and others troubled about this bill is that this bill grapples what it is to be a good an effective teacher, without including teachers and parents in the discussion…This bill holds teachers accountable with new and experimental methods but does not hold the Florida Legislature accountable to determine if this experiment in educational reform will prove effective. We need to adopt simple, understandable, standardized measures to adequately compare Florida’s students with those of the best states in American and nations around the world.”

Rep. Elaine Schwartz (D-Hollywood) said: “There’s no money here for any merit pay; there’s no money to create all the new tests demanded by this bill. So-called `merit pay’ is just a euphemism for the nation-wide attempt to kill unions, taking away the core job security and benefits that can be negotiated for members.”

Rep. Lori Berman (D-Delray Beach) said: “I think of Mrs. Mears, my first-grade teacher at Margate Elementary who fostered my lifelong love of reading and learning. I fear that this legislation will deter people like Mrs. Mears from becoming teachers in Florida. Under this law, half of a teacher’s salary is based on the FCAT or end-of-course exam. I can’t imagine half of my salary based on one test on one day of the entire school year.”

Rep. Daphne Campbell (D-Miami) said: “Merit pay for our teachers is obviously malicious, unnecessary, unacceptable and simply unfair.”

Rep. Jeff Clemens (D-Lake Worth) said: “I would like to extend a sincere thank you to my colleagues for being so supportive of President Obama. I would like to extend an offer to my colleagues. I will print 81 ‘I Support President Obama’ bumper stickers for every member who votes for this bill. And I promise to come to each one of your districts and personally place it on your bumper.” Representative Clemens also said: “If you think the 254-million dollars that Florida is paying Pearson for the FCAT is a lot of money, just wait until the testing companies get their hands on all these other tests this bill mandates. Instead of calling this the Student Success Act, we should call this the High State Standardized Test Company Relief Act.”

Rep. Alan Williams, (D-Tallahassee) said: “No successful business would allow the dismissal of its highest performing employees who did more with less without giving them a reason…No successful business would demonize the very employees who made them successful and then provide a disincentive for new employees under forced annual contracts.”

Rep. Richard Steinberg (D-Miami Beach) said: “I have heard many of you say we should run government like a business.  If that’s what we should do, then why are we considering a policy with a price tag in excess of one billion dollars yet no additional funding?”

Rep. Gwyndolen Clarke-Reed (D-Deerfield Beach) said: “This bill puts unnecessary pressure on students by tying teachers’ salaries and jobs to student outcomes on a test. This bill puts power in the hands of those who may be subjectively hiring teachers.”

Rep. Mia Jones (D-Jacksonville) said: “As a public school student at Northwestern Junior High School, I had a teacher by the name of Dr. Jordan E. Baker who taught me a lesson that I see my colleagues in the front haven’t learned. That lesson is that none of us are perfect and recognizing that we need to learn from and accept constructive criticism.  Constrictive criticism is defined as ideas kindly given to improve some areas of another person’s life or work. The members of the Democratic Party at every stop have offered constructive criticism in the form of amendments and at every stop you turned a deaf ear.  We stand ready and willing to work with you but as long as we are locked out of the process we will continue to do our state a disservice.”

Rep. Scott Randolph (D-Orlando) said: “This is the mother of all unfunded mandates.”

Other Florida House Democratic Caucus members who spoke in opposition to SB736 are:  Reps. Betty Reed (D-Tampa), Leonard Bembry (D-Greenville), Barbara Watson (D-Miami), Darryl Rouson (D-St. Petersburg), and Dwight Bullard (D-Miami).

The following quotes were provided in an earlier version of this news release.

House Democratic Leader Ron Saunders (D-Key West) said the bill comes on the heels of Governor Rick Scott’s  proposed 10-percent cut to public school funding and his proposed 5-percent tax on teachers’ salaries. “This bill will divert millions of dollars from the classroom to pay for more tests that teachers do not feel are needed.”

Rep. Evan Jenne (D-Fort Lauderdale) said the measure simply promotes “increased reliance” on unpopular student tests and, as a result, “will continue to erode our public schools.”

Rep. Cynthia Stafford (D-Miami) said: “Teachers in Florida are some of the lowest paid in the nation…That’s not caring, that’s careless. The low pay coupled with this proposed overhaul makes one ask: `Why would a teacher want to come to Florida to teach?’ `And why would a teacher want to stay?’”

Rep. Rick Kriseman (D-St. Petersburg) said: “This bill is nothing more than an attack on public school teachers. That’s it. That’s all. It attacks teachers, maybe because they’re the easiest target, or because they may belong to unions, or maybe it’s because those who support this bill may not like teacher’s politics.”

Democratic Leader Pro Tempore Joseph Gibbons (D-Hallandale Beach) said: “This bill provides no protection for teachers. This bill is a disincentive for young people who may want to go into teaching. This bill provides no security for teachers.”

Rep. Dwayne Taylor (D-Daytona Beach) said: "This bill is an unproven scientific experiment with our children's education."

Rep. Mark Pafford (D-West Palm Beach) said the bill provides no major incentive for highly effective teachers to continue teaching in Florida’s public schools. “We were told yesterday that if teachers `stick around’ for two to 10 years, they could receive merit pay, if there is money. Basically, this bill carries a big stick, yet offers no carrot.”

Rep. Franklin Sands (D-Weston) urged Floridians to take note of the bill’s passage. “Today is truly a day of infamy in Florida history. For today is the day that this bad bill turns Florida into an educational wasteland…This Republican-sponsored bill essentially fires nearly every teacher each year…This bill does great harm to Florida’s children and their future.”

Rep. Hazelle Rogers (D-Lauderdale Lakes) said: “For Florida to compete for businesses and retain businesses, we must demonstrate that we have the best and brightest workforce.  This bill is not good for business.  If we cannot reward highly effective teachers with job security, then we will lose the crème de la crème of our workforce and doom our state to the only business that can survive in this economy and that is the prison industry