2019 Priority Bills
Each year, The Parents’ Campaign closely monitors and takes a position on several education bills. Below are the priority bills for the 2019 legislative session.
Law
HB 1643 Funds pre-k through grade 12 education for Fiscal Year 2020 at roughly the same level as Fiscal Year 2019 (in current year, public schools are funded $239-million below what state law requires)
• Referred to House Appropriations Committee, 2/18/19
• Committee substitute bill passed by House Appropriations Committee, 2/19/19
• Committee substitute bill passed by House, 2/19/19
• Held on a motion to reconsider, 2/19/19
• Motion to reconsider tabled, 2/20/19
• Referred to Senate Appropriations Committee, 2/20/19
• Amended and passed by Senate Appropriations Committee, 3/13/19
• Passed by Senate, 3/14/19
• Returned to House for concurrence or nonconcurrence, 3/18/19
• House declined to concur, invited conference, 3/19/19
• House conferees announced: Read, Bennett, Eure, 3/21/19
• Senate conferees announced: Clarke, Tollison, Burton, 3/22/19
• “Dummy” conference report filed (0’s for all line items), 3/26/19
• Conference report filed, appears to underfund the MAEP by approximately $250-million for 2019-2020 school year, incudes funding to cover $1,500 pay raise for certified and assistant teachers, level funds literacy initiatives, level funds ESA vouchers, increases pre-k collaboratives’ funding by $170,000, decreases School Recognition Program by $260,000, fully funds NBCT and Chickasaw Cession; 3/27/19
• Conference report passed by Senate, 3/28/19
• Conference report passed by House, 3/28/19
• Signed by Governor, 4/16/19
SB 2770 Provides a salary increase of $500 in 2019-2020 school year and $500 in 2020-2021, for a total of $1,000 increase for teachers and teacher assistants
• Referred to Senate Education Committee, 1/21/19
• Passed by Senate Education Committee, 2/5/19
• Amended by Senate to replace salary increase with bonus pay of $500 paid in December 2019 and $1,000 bonus paid in December 2020 and every year thereafter, passed by Senate as amended, 2/13/19
• Referred to House Education and Appropriations Committees, 2/19/19
• Amended by House Education Committee to revert to salary increase rather than bonus pay, passed by committee as amended, 3/4/19
• Passed by House Appropriations Committee, 3/5/19
• Amendment proposed in House by Reps. Holland, Hines, and Paden provides a $2,000 salary increase in 2019-2020 school year and $2,000 in 2020-2021, for a total $4,000 increase for teachers, provides a total $1,000 increase for teacher assistants, 3/11/19
• Motion to table (kill) the $4,000 pay raise amendment failed in House; yeas: 50, nays: 55, present/not voting: 10, absent: 3, vacant seats: 4; 3/11/19 See vote
• $4,000 pay raise amendment passed by House on a voice vote, 3/11/19
• Amended bill passed by House, 3/11/19
• Held on a motion to reconsider, 3/11/19
• Motion to reconsider tabled, 3/12/19
The Parents’ Campaign supports this bill as amended by House.
• Returned to Senate for concurrence or nonconcurrence, 3/13/19
• Senate declined to concur, invited conference, 3/19/19
• House/Senate conferees not named publicly as of 10 a.m., 3/27/19
• House conferees announced: Bennett, Read, Roberson, 3/27/19
• Senate conferees announced: Tollison, Clarke, Caughman, 3/27/19
• Conference report filed, 3/27/19; provides for $1,500 pay raise for certified and assistant teachers
• Motion to recommit conference report for purpose of increasing pay raise to $4,000; motion failed in Senate, 19 yeas, 28 nays, 5 absent or not voting, 3/28/19 See vote
The Parents’ Campaign supports the motion to recommit for purpose of increasing pay raise to $4,000.
• Conference report passed by Senate, 3/28/19
• Motion to recommit conference report for purpose of increasing pay raise to $4,000; motion failed in House, 46 yeas, 70 nays, 4 absent or not voting, 3/28/19 See vote
The Parents’ Campaign supports the motion to recommit for purpose of increasing pay raise to $4,000.
• Conference report passed by House, 3/28/19
• Signed by Governor, 4/16/19
In a last-minute, corrupt move during the end-of-session conference process, Lt. Governor inserted $2-million voucher funding in DFA appropriation conference report; both chambers passed the conference report without the voucher provision being revealed during floor debate; after voucher provision was discovered, the conference report was held on a motion to reconsider in both chambers
• 1st motion to table the motion to reconsider failed in House (yea vote is a vote to send to governor with voucher funding intact, nay vote is against sending to governor with voucher funding), yeas: 51, nays: 58, present/not voting: 5, absent: 6; 3/29/19 See vote
• 2nd motion to table the motion to reconsider failed in House; yeas: 56, nays: 56, present/not voting: 2, absent: 6; 3/29/19 See vote
• 3rd motion to table the motion to reconsider passed in House; yeas: 55, nays: 51, present/not voting: 8, absent: 6; 3/29/19 See vote
• Motion to table the motion to reconsider passed in Senate; voice vote ruled by Lt. Governor, who refused to acknowledge senators’ request for a roll call vote, 3/29/19
The Parents’ Campaign favors a vote of nay on the motion to table the motion to reconsider.
• Signed by Governor, 4/18/19
Dead
Opens current special needs ESA voucher program to all students, adding an estimated 4,700 new vouchers each year; funds each private school voucher at a higher rate than MAEP per-student funding for public schools; more than quadruples voucher funding, adding an estimated minimum $25-million every year; says private voucher schools that accept taxpayer dollars “shall not be required to report data…” and shall not be regulated; reduces funding for public schools by changing how average daily attendance is counted for funding purposes by deleting the law allowing excused absences for academic field trips or school-related events off campus; allows voucher parents to use a mobile app to charge the state for supplies and expenses
• Referred to Senate Education Committee, 1/21/19
• Committee substitute bill passed by Senate Education Committee, 2/5/19; substitute bill removes voucher expansion and other provisions of original bill, extends current voucher program to 2024 (it is slated to end in 2020)
• Committee substitute further amended by Senate to provide for voucher funds to follow student who leaves private school during the school year to return to public school, amended bill passed by Senate; yeas: 37, nays: 13, absent: 2; 2/14/19 See vote
• Referred to House Education Committee, 2/20/19
• Died in committee, 3/5/19
The Parents’ Campaign opposes this bill.
