From May 2015 Legislative Update
By Rep. Mark Keough
One of the hot topics, which I have received a lot of calls in regards to, is House Bill 2543. HB 2543 was authored by Marsha Farney (R-Georgetown) and it relates to public school teacher performance appraisals, continuing education, professional development, career advancement, and compensation. Having read HB 2543, and having had multiple discussions with stakeholders, I believe this bill removes local control and micromanages the education system we currently have in place. Teachers are employees of independent school districts, which are entities of their own. Therefore, local school boards should be conducting performance/accountability reviews and determining their own pay structures according to the values of the local district. Not all school districts are the same and implementing the elements delineated in this bill would be a laborious and burdensome process. The potential unintended consequence of tying teachers’ pay to testing scores would mean that instructors would be teaching to the test, as opposed to the material, which I know you all would agree.
