Student Class Sizes May INCREASE

According to a February 8^th article in the Daily News Journal, Rutherford County School Officials are against an idea being proposed in the state to increase the size of a classroom by five students. The increases being proposed in Senate Bill 2210 and House Bill 2348 call for Kindergarten through 3^rd grade classes to be increased to a maximum class size of 25-students, grades 4 through 6 class sizes will not be able to exceed 30-pupils and grades 7^th through 12^th classes could not exceed 35-students. The bills will also make teachers pay increase slightly for the increased class sizes.

MORE (HB 2348):

Present law requires that every public local school system have as a policy that pupil to teacher ratios should not exceed 20 for grades K - 3, 25 for grades 4 - 6, 30 for grades 7 - 12, or 20 for vocational education. Additionally, in no school building may the average size of any grade level unit exceed the above stated pupil to teacher ratios. Any individual class within that unit may exceed the above stated pupil to teacher ratios, as long as no class exceeds a pupil to teacher ratio of 25 for grades K - 3, 30 for grades 4 - 6, 35 for grades 7 - 12, or 25 for vocational education.

This bill rewrites the above provisions to instead require that each LEA have a policy prohibiting pupil to teacher ratios from exceeding 25 for grades K - 3, 30 for grades 4 - 6, 35 for grades 7 - 12, or 25 for career and technical education. In no school building may the maximum class size of any grade level unit exceed the above stated number.

TEACHER SALARIES

Present law requires the commissioner, as approved by the state board of education, to annually formulate a table of training and experience factors and a state salary schedule to be effective for each school year and to be applicable to all licensed personnel in every LEA. The salary schedule must include an established base salary per school year consisting of a term of 200 days for beginning licensed personnel with a bachelor's degree and zero years of experience. Licensed personnel having more training and experience will receive more than the established base per school year and certified personnel having less training and experience will receive less than the established base per school year. The salary schedule is not applicable to substitute personnel. In the alternative, an LEA may submit to the commissioner its own proposed salary schedule, subject to collective bargaining where applicable. Implementation of such a salary schedule is subject to approval by the commissioner and the state board. In no case may a salary schedule result in the reduction of the salary of a teacher employed by the LEA at the time of the adoption of the salary schedule. 

This bill removes the requirement that the commissioner formulate a table of training and experience factors and salary schedule and instead requires each LEA to annually submit to the commissioner a salary plan, which would be applicable to licensed personnel and which would include an established base salary per school year consisting of a term of 200 days. In no event may the salary plan result in the reduction of the salary for a teacher employed by the LEA at the time of the adoption of the salary plan. The salary plan would not be applicable to substitute personnel. 

Present law requires the state board, as approved by the commissioner, to annually establish both the education programs and the cost differentials of the programs applicable to the following school year. This bill removes this requirement.

BEP FUNDING

According to the 2011 - 2012, Tennessee basic education program, BEP 2.0 booklet, the dollar value of the BEP instructional positions component is $38,700 and the BEP funding level for regular classroom positions is:

(1) One position per 20 students in grades K-3;
(2) One position per 25 students in grades 4-6;
(3) One position per 25 students in grades 7-9; and
(4) One position per 22.08 students in grade 10 - 12.

This bill specifies that for the 2012 - 2013 fiscal year, the dollar value of the BEP instructional positions component would be $42,250 per instructional position and the following BEP component funding levels for regular classroom positions would be:

(1) One position per 25 students in grades K-3;
(2) One position per 30 students in grades 4-6;
(3) One position per 30 students in grades 7-8;
(4) One position per 25 students in grade 9; and 
(5) One position per 22.08 students in grades 10-12 

An LEA would not receive from the BEP in fiscal year 2012-2013 and in subsequent fiscal years a lesser amount of state funds for instructional salaries, benefits, insurance, and unit costs adjusted for any mandatory increases in these categories and adjusted for any changes in average daily membership, than it received for such purposes in the 2011-2012 fiscal year. 

OTHER PROVISIONS

Under present law, in Monroe, Hardeman, and Lauderdale counties, where a high school counselor must serve more than one school, the school counselor, in addition to earning a regular salary, is reimbursed at the rate of 15 cents per mile for the expense of traveling between schools. This bill removes this provision.