National Certification: Legislative update for FSCA members

Legislative update for FSCA members

January 11, 2007

 

Thank you to all FSCA members and colleagues who took the time to contact the Senators on the Education Appropriations committee this week.  As a result of your efforts and FSCA’s collaboration with other advocacy groups like FEA and ASCA, the funding of NBCT incentives seems safe for the time-being. 

 

News reports after the meeting are favorable and our advocates in Tallahassee were present at the meeting to monitor and report the outcome.  It appears the lobbying efforts were successful and the committee is well aware of the good things NBCTs are doing in Florida schools.

The Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. --
A program that pays teachers bonuses for obtaining national board certification is safe from the budget ax even though the state is facing a tight fiscal year, the chairman of a Senate appropriations committee said Thursday.

Questions had been raised about the program's value after a Florida State University study found no correlation between board certification and student achievement.

Senate Prekindergarten-12th Grade Education Appropriations Chairman Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, said there are no plans to cut the program after the panel heard a presentation on it.

Wise said he put the issue on the agenda simply to provide committee members with information because they had been unfamiliar with the program.

Board certified teachers receive a bonus of 1 0 percent of average statewide teacher pay and can earn another 10 percent by mentoring other teachers on their own time.

As of December, 10,908 Florida teachers were board certified. The program is expected to cost the state $110 million in the next budget year, which begins July 1.

Certification comes from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, a nonprofit agency that reviews teacher-submitted portfolios of instruction methods and then tests them on their subject-area knowledge. The process can take up to three years and certification is good for 10 years.

 

If you would like to become more involved in advocacy & public policy issues as they impact school counseling in Florida, please contact LeAnn Pollard leannjax@yahoo.com