Thousands of SC teachers rally against ‘slap in the face' education reform bill

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s new education reform bill is under fire from the state’s most powerful group of teachers.

The teaching group, SC for Ed, has approximately 22,000 members and many of them are rallying together this week to oppose Senate Bill 419.

The bill, which is also known as the South Carolina Career Opportunity and Access for All Act, would turn the state’s education system on its head by changing how teachers are tested and trained. It would also change how school tax dollars are spent in order to punish districts for low test scores.

To get a deeper understanding of how the bill would impact education, Channel 9 talked to Ali Tracy-McHenry.

She teaches students with special needs at Finley Road Elementary in Rock Hill where she was honored with the teacher of the year distinction for the 2018-2019 school year. When she started teaching in the district five years ago, she was also named Beginning District Teacher of the Year.

McHenry has worked at a number of high-performing and low-performing schools but she told Channel 9 SB-419 is a slap in the face of teachers everywhere.

She is one of several local teachers who are attending a public hearing for the bill Monday night in Gaffney.

Teachers are expressing their concerns and are trying to change the course of the bill.

Lack of teacher pay 

The bill proposes a 4 percent raise for teachers.

SC for Ed is asking for a 10 percent raise because South Carolina offers one of the lowest teacher salaries in the nation. McHenry said the state is suffering from a major teacher shortage and she thinks a raise will help retain teachers and attract new ones.

Businesses can take over schools instead of educators 

McHenry said if low-performing public schools aren’t able to raise their scores, the state would allow a private charter or business to come in and take over. The new owner would then decide which teachers will get fired and which teachers would remain. McHenry said many teachers are concerned about that particular aspect of the bill because qualified educators wouldn’t run schools. Instead, teachers worry schools could be run like businesses.

Teacher shortage could worsen because the bill would make it harder to get certified

McHenry said the bill would make it harder to become a teacher because the state would add more tests for college students. Teachers are already required to take a series of certification exams administered by the Educational Testing Service. SB-419 would add even more tests that students would have to pay for. McHenry worries that would discourage students from a career in teaching. The state is currently grappling with a teacher shortage that’s so serious, it has tried to recruit teachers overseas.

More professional development and more training would also be required for existing teachers, which would mean teachers would have to spend more time out of the classroom and away from their students.

Tax dollars can be used to punish low-performing schools 

If the bill passes, McHenry said low-performing school districts will be forced to take money out of their budget to take out ad space in the local paper to print an alert to parents that the school isn’t performing well. McHenry said in schools that are strapped for resources, that would be a poor use of money because it isn’t being poured into students or the school.

If a majority of schools in a district are underperforming, parents can elect to have their student attend school in a neighboring district. However, the low-performing district will still have to pay for the cost of the student’s transportation, food and program services. McHenry said that aspect of the bill reinforces teachers’ concerns that tax dollars could be used to hurt underperforming schools instead of help them.

 Teachers and their colleges will be blamed for low scores 

McHenry said if a teacher’s students are failing, the state could share the teacher’s tests scores with the college education program they graduated from. She said rather than try to blame a teacher or a school for low student scores, the state could look at the area where the teacher is working, consider whether the neighborhood is economically depressed and look into the type of home-life the students have.

SB-419 has already been passed through the House and it is now on the Senate floor.

As they wait for the next vote, many teachers with SC for Ed are meeting with state legislators and attending public hearings to try and help shape the thinking of the lawmakers voting on the bill.

Sen. Greg Hembree is one of the main sponsors of the bill. He is also the chair of the Senate Education Committee.

Channel 9 called him on Monday afternoon to ask for a response to all of the concerns outlined above but so far he hasn’t called us back.

Cox Media Group