SPECIAL SESSIONThe General Assembly will convene Tuesday in special session to consider Gov. Phil Bredesen’s proposed reforms on K-12 and higher education. The governor will address lawmakers at 6 p.m. EST.The speech will be carried on live streaming video on the state’s Web site — www.tn. gov.
Leaders of the 55,000-member Tennessee Education Association voted Saturday to oppose Gov. Phil Bredesen’s proposal that student achievement, as measured by testing, account for 51 percent of decisions involving teacher tenure.
The move puts TEA, which represents teachers, on a collision course with the Bredesen administration during the special legislative session on education that starts Tuesday.
TEA officials in a statement thanked Gov. Bredesen for his previous support on education issues, but they said, “Tennessee’s teachers tell us that basing more than half of a teacher’s annual evaluation on student performance is excessive.
“In trying to help the governor reach his objective, TEA will support 35 percent of teacher and principal evaluation being based on student performance,” the TEA statement continued. “We believe the weight of 35 percent student performance, with the backing of Tennessee’s teachers, makes the state very competitive in applying for federal funds.”