Whenever I feel overwhelmed by my troubles as a teacher, I take comfort in knowing that I can write about it. I feel my blood pressure drop swiftly as I step back and try to behold the larger picture. Knowing that there are people at the other end- you- reading it, parts the clouds even further.
So I was aghast when I received an email from our Florida Education Association president, Andy Ford, stating that our freedom of speech was no longer guaranteed. He was giving us advice about how to handle questions from parents wanting to opt out of state testing. In his email to teachers he stated, "Gagging teachers is one of the many direct and intended consequences of Senate Bill 736, the very first bill signed by Gov. Rick Scott. Teachers can no longer speak out in the best interest of students or for themselves. Teacher evaluations are affected and job security can be threatened if teachers do not implement current policies... even those widely recognized as educationally unsound. The most effective and highly effective annual contract teachers can be released for any reason or for no reason at all."
This floored me. I read SB 736 a couple times for an educational policy class and never remembered anything about teacher speech in this bill. Just to be sure, I reread it this morning over my banana chocolate chip pancakes and coffee. I know, super exciting Saturday for this teacher.
I was correct in my memory. There is no mention of teacher speech in the bill. What our president was trying to say is that we are now incredibly more vulnerable when speaking up for students. This is because of the changes in employment policies and the elimination of tenure in SB 736. It is my understanding that while there are protections from being fired in the middle of the year, districts can let us go without any reason at the end of the year. This may have been the case for local Hillsborough County educator Michael Weston See Diane Ravitch's blog post "Should Teachers Have Freedom of Speech? Hillsborough County Florida Says No" For younger teachers like me, hired after July 1, 2011, we can only receive an annual contract. From SB 736:
1012.335 Contracts with instructional personnel hired on or after July 1, 2011.—
(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
(a)
(a) ―Annual contract means an employment contract for a
period of no longer than 1 school year which the district school board may choose to award or not award without cause.
My dear USF School Law professor taught me that I am protected if speaking "as a citizen as a matter of public concern". SB 736 says yes, but only for that year. At the end of the year, you may be dismissed without any reason.
Please vote in our elections this November. Democracy is not a spectator sport. We need a governor who is willing to listen to educators. According to Florida Senate Bill 736, teachers do not have protection to speak up for students.
