As the state and teachers union resumed negotiations Thursday after months away from the bargaining table, the union raised new concerns about a bill that would require a performance management system for teachers, saying the latest version of the measure “would effectively strip teachers” of collective bargaining rights.
Hawaii State Teachers Association President Wil Okabe also warned members Thursday that the proposed legislation could have a “chilling effect on the spirit of negotiations” and urged them to contact lawmakers to stop the bill.
After negotiations wrapped up Thursday, Okabe described the talks as “cordial” and said future dates for bargaining have been set.
The legislative push to write into law a requirement that the Department of Education institute a performance management system for teachers has been among the most hotly debated education issues this session.
Senate Bill 2789 passed the House Finance Committee early Wednesday and must be taken up by the full House before it goes before a House-Senate conference committee.
The bill would require teachers be evaluated based in part on the academic growth of their students, and directs the department to use the evaluations in high-stakes decisions, such as tenure.
Lawmakers and the department say the measure doesn’t take away any rights and ensures teachers will be evaluated fairly and entitled to due process.
State Rep. Roy Takumi, chairman of the House Education Committee, said he was “puzzled” by the union’s latest concerns about the bill.
He said the newest version, with amendments added early Wednesday, would essentially tweak existing law to give the Board of Education authority to establish the new evaluation program for teachers, determining how much of the evaluations would be based on student growth and what range of ratings teachers could receive. Current law gives the department that authority.
But the union contends giving the board the authority would take away rights from its members.
Okabe told the Star-Advertiser that the bill “does not support teachers.”
“All unions in the state of Hawaii should be very concerned. This is just the beginning,” he said.
Dozens of teachers called and emailed Takumi and Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Jill Tokuda on Thursday to express their concerns with the bill.
Tokuda said she received about 100 emails by late afternoon.
“It was a bit surprising given that the bill is very similar to what had passed out of the subject matter committee,” she said. “We already had a requirement for teacher evaluations in statute. This is not something new.”
The new concerns from the union come as the state is looking to show significant progress in reaching key education reform goals for its $75 million Race to the Top grant.
Delays in meeting Race initiatives prompted the U.S. Department of Education in December to put the state’s grant on “high-risk status” and warn officials the money could be lost if more progress is not made.
A federal team visited the islands last week for a comprehensive look at the state’s efforts and is expected to announce the results of its review as early as next month.
The move to a performance management system has emerged as among the highest-profile elements of the state’s ambitious grant-related goals, in large part because of the continuing labor dispute with teachers, which has raised questions about how the rating system will move forward.
In January teachers overwhelmingly rejected a proposed six-year contract that included several elements of Hawaii’s Race plan, including a new evaluation system, performance-based compensations and tenure rule changes.
Teachers continue to work under a “last, best and final” contract offer with wage reductions the state imposed in July.
Justin Hughey, a special-education teacher at King Kamehameha III Elementary on Maui, said there is considerable concern among teachers about the new evaluation system and legislative moves to write performance management into law.
He said much of the language in Senate Bill 2789 is “what the teachers voted down.”
“The message is, ‘You don’t like it? Tough,’” he said.
