Fla. Senate Passes Teacher Merit Pay Bill
TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) -- A new version of the controversial teacher merit pay and tenure bill that was vetoed last year after statewide protests has been approved by the Florida Senate.
SB 736 was approved by a 26 to 12 vote which fell mostly along party lines, with only one Republican, Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, voting against it, and one Democrat, Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, voting for it.
An attempt to amend the bill to allow teacher evaluations to include a student's socioeconomic status and the number of students in free and reduced lunch programs was rejected.
Key features are a merit pay plan based heavily on student test scores effective in 2014 and a ban on tenure for teachers hired after July 1, 2011.
"I think we're sending a very strong message that the State of Florida wants young people from across the country, to come to Florida, because we are going to pay you for your hard work," said Senator Anitere Flores (R-Miami).
Opponents have said that the bill is unacceptable because it leaves students out of the mix.
"The focus should be on improving education in the classroom, focusing on the curriculum, focusing on getting a better quality of life for all kids out there. Instead (we are) focusing on the teacher only. This bill says there are bad teachers out there, we're going to get rid of them as quickly as possible," said Senator Eleanor Sobel (D-Hollywood).
The House was expected to pass its version out of its education committee Thursday and send it to the House floor next week for a vote.
It could be one of the earliest measures to go this year to the desk of Gov. Rick Scott, who has indicated his willingness to sign it.
It's similar to a controversial measure passed by the Florida Legislature last year that tied teacher pay to test scores. That bill was vetoed by then-Gov. Charlie Crist after his office was inundated with calls, e-mails and letters from thousands of angry educators and Crist expressed doubts about the fairness of linking pay to the test scores of students whose difficulties may be beyond the control of the classroom teacher.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
