HB1652-SB1827

Until we resolve this Category IV situation regarding daycare workers and police officers:
**NOTICE** You should know that currently the homeschooling community in Tennessee is dealing with the fact that the TN Department of Education is telling the Department of Human Services and the POST (Peace Officers Standards and Training) Commission that Category IV diplomas are insufficient for qualifying to obtain jobs as police officers or daycare workers. This despite their acceptance by a myriad of colleges, university and training schools. Many of our umbrella (church-related) schools are Category IV schools and issue these diplomas. The Tennessee homeschooling community will continue to vigorously defend these diplomas.  The current workaround is that high school graduates wanting to obtain jobs in these fields should obtain a General Equivalency Degree.

5/23/08: See Rob Shearer's blog for more links and comments from across the nation.

5/22/08: The DOE's characterization of private school (Category IV diplomas) as worthless made it national this afternoon as it moved from our own TennConserVOLiance writers to Warner Todd Houston at StopTheACLU and then on to Rush Limbaugh's daily 'stack of stuff' and on to Neal Boortz and the day's not over yet.

You've already read some of Rob Shearer's stuff here, let's move on to fellow ConSerVOLiance blogger Blue Collar Muse's comments:

In essence, it [ERIC Digest] says the digest reports home school students outperform government school students by significant margins. They do so throughout their academic careers. They do so measured any way you choose, including standardized tests. They do so consistently as reported in studies covering a variety of samples, locations and times. But ERIC concludes home schools are not superior to government schools. It only demonstrates ” … home schooling [provides] a very successful academic environment.” I only attended government schools but even I can read between those lines and discern the truth.

Let's move on to Houston's comments:

It’s true. The State of Tennessee has officially declared that from this point forward it will accept only less educated student applicants for state, county and city jobs in the Volunteer State. Why would the kindly folks in Nashville make such a stupid rule? Well, it’s all about control, you see. The state controls the less educated kids and they don’t control the ones that show higher academic aptitude. It really is just that simple.

So, after seeing these interesting statistics, one has to wonder why the State of Tennessee would rather accept the least educated kids of the State to become policemen, firemen and daycare workers? Does Tennessee really want to promote the more stupid above its best and brightest?

From Neal Boortz:

Here's some commentary on the state of Tennessee and its decision not to let home schooled students work for the government. It would seem to me that if you are home schooled you are probably too damned smart to be working for government. Here in Atlanta the main purpose of the local government school system is to provide the city with government employees.

5/14/08:  The following update from THEA states that Rep. Mike Bell pulled this bill from the Calendar & Rules Committee and killed it himself.

Yesterday, the companion Senate bill, SB 1827, was put in the General Sub Committee of the Senate Education Committee. This is a way to table and kill the bill. This meant that the bill was dead in the Senate for this session.

As a result there were meetings with the Department of Education, Senator Dewayne Bunch, sponsor of SB 1827, Senator Jamie Woodson, Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, and Bruce Opie of the DOE. These are the meeting participants Rep. Bell informed us of, perhaps, there were others of whom we are unaware. He was not in attendance.

In this meeting it was discussed that since legislation had not passed to remedy the problem of the Category IV diplomas not being recognized by the POST, the TN Police Training organization, and by the Department of Human Services, which sets policy for hiring of day care workers, there would be a temporary remedy agreed upon. That remedy would be that on a case-by-case basis, individuals could request a review by these agencies when their diplomas were denied recognition, with the hope that the Category IV diplomas would be recognized by these agencies. This, again, would be the temporary solution until there could be a legislative remedy agreed upon, hopefully next year.   

Upon learning of this, Rep. Mike Bell determined that the best step for him was to take HB 1652 "off notice" which means to take it off the Calendar & Rules Committee agenda so that it would not be heard, killing the bill in the House.

He intends to bring a new bill to the House Education Committee next year. He is already working on the strategy for this legislation. The bill would state that Category IV diplomas would be recognized by the state and their agencies, whether obtained by a full time, on campus, church-related school student, or a home schooler affiliated with a church-related school, when the student makes a score of 16 on the ACT.

Taking the ACT and making a 16 is about the equivalent of a "C" grade and is the accepted ACT score for admission in many colleges, including student athletes in the UT system. Rep. Bell thinks that this score could be used as a way to validate the student's high school education and thereby validate their Category IV diploma.  In discussion with the DOE, with fellow House members and others, he has had very positive response to this strategy.

5/14/08: The Senate companion SB1827 was placed in "General Sub" yesterday by Sen. Dwayne Bunch. This usually means that the bill is dead for the year. Sen. Bunch stated that it was his understanding the House version wasn't going to pass through their Calendar & Rules Committee.

5/14/08: HB1652 is first up on the Calendar & Rules Committee which is scheduled to meet this afternoon right after Finance, Ways & Means. The electricity went out for a time at the Legislative Plaza so things will have been delayed. Here's the agenda and here's the video streaming, when it comes back up.

5/13/08: Both Kay Brooks and Rob Shearer were interviewed on talk radio stations. Rob's interview with Michael DelGiorno of Nashville's WWTN 99.7 SuperTalk station can be downloaded in mp3 format from this link.

While we're waiting to hear from Calendar & Rules the blogsphere has taken up the cause as well as and one television station, one radio station and one newspaper.

An Old Broad's Ramblings: I’ll be honest. I don’t understand what all the fuss is about. If a kid comes to your agency wanting to apply for an academy of one sort or the other, don’t they have to take tests to prove they are competent? A diploma from a home school is just as valid as one from the public school system and probably more so! I know some of the tests I have taken for employment had absolutely nothing to do with the type of job I to which I was applying.

WPLN (Nashville's Public Radio affiliate): Representative Ulysses Jones tried to get the bill sent to a study committee. Jones said there are similarities between the category 4 students and students who don’t pass the Gateway exams and wanted the issue explored further.

Bill Hobbs: Bredesen's education commissioner, Tim Webb, told four legislators in April that until the legislature passes a law stating that the diplomas given by church-related schools are acceptable, they aren't acceptable for certain kinds of employment.

Rob Shearer at TennConserVOLiance: Church-related schools (CRS) have been issuing high school diplomas since at least 1975 - and until now, they’ve always been accepted, never been challenged. The bigger irony in this is that the Tennessee university system and the Lottery scholarships continue to accept CRS diplomas. It’s a fair assumption to predict that the Department of Education would like that practice to stop as well.

KnoxNews.com: Bruce Opie, legislative liaison for the Department of Education, told the committee that department officials "were a little overzealous" in deciding that homeschool certificates do not count as high school diplomas. But he insisted that "it has not been out of malice or any mean-spiritedness on our part."

Starting this week, he said, the department has adopted a policy of looking at each situation on a case-by-case basis and determining whether a person has the equivalent of a high school education.

In the case of someone such as Evans [the Rockwood Police Officer who has been demoted until this is worked out], who had formal post-secondary education after his homeschooling, it might seem "ludicrous" to deny approval, Opie said. (snip)

Rep. Ulysses Jones, D-Memphis, said the bill would give special treatment to homeschool students not granted to those attending public schools and receiving a certificate of attendance rather than a regular diploma - typically after failing to pass required Gateway exams showing proficiency in key subjects. The certificates do not qualify as a diploma.

"We have kids who fail the Gateway algebra test by one point, and they get nothing," said Jones, adding that the same student attending homeschool with no proficiency exam required would be treated as having a diploma under the bill.

"That's just unfair," he said. "We're turning our back on these kids (with public high school certificates) and telling them, 'No. You can't be anything.'"

Donnell King: This seems ludicrous. As someone who teaches college classes, I am quite aware that graduates of church-related schools and homeschools usually come to college much better prepared than graduates of state-run schools. There are plenty of exceptions, of course, but this is the trend. It’s impossible to make the case that bringing these schools under the oversight of the state more than they already are would somehow improve the education offered by these schools.

5/6/08: This legislation is waiting to be heard in the Calendar and Rules Committee. It must pass there before going on to the full House floor for a vote. The legislature is in their usual end of the session chaos and so it's unknown when they will meet next, or when this bill will come before them. HB1652 didn't make it onto their 8:00 a.m. 5/6/08 session. I'm suggesting that folks hold their calls/faxes/emails until we have more details. You can check the Committee schedule here and their agendas here.

5/5/08: The legislation passed in the House Education Committee with the amendment proposed by Rep. Mike Bell (R-Riceville) and Rep. Dennis Ferguson (D-Midtown). The DOE Amendment never came into play. It now goes to the full House for a vote. It must also pass through the Senate. Stay tuned for information of when it will be heard next. More details on the days events to follow. I highly recommend Rob Shearer's overview in the meantime.

5/4/08: This legislation is currently scheduled to be heard before the House Education Committee at 3:15 on Monday, 5/5/08 in Room LP16 of the Legislative Plaza. Here is contact information for the House Ed Committee. It is suggested you focus on the DEMOCRATS on that list as the Republican's have been consistent supporters. Here is the agenda for the meeting. We're twelfth but these can move around depending upon the availability of the legislators and time constraints. Here is other information for those planning on attending the hearing to include directions, parking, etc.

If you can't make it to Nashville you can view it via video streaming at: http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/bills/currentga/committeemain.asp?vchamber=hf&vcommnum=840000 . If that doesn't do it start here: http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/house/video105.htm and search for the House Education Committee which should be in Room LP16.

My suggestion is you make it clear to your representatives and those on the House Education Committee that you want them to support Rep. Mike Bell's amendment NOT the Department of Education's Amendment. Rep. Bell's amendment requires the state to recognize Category IV diplomas and will essentially set into law the status quo.  The DOE's amendment will make a radical and unnecessary change that requires all 9-12 teachers (homeschool included) to have a baccalaureate degree from an approved school in order to get that recognition which will gut the will of the people through the legislature as expressed in the creation of the church-related school law. Of course, their onerous rules for us won't apply to their teachers who don't currently have baccalaureate degrees, doesn't take into account student ACT/SAT scores and doesn't take into account the tens of thousands of homeschoolers who have somehow matriculated on to colleges and trade schools since the CRS law was written.

Remember that TCA 49-50-3050 is the homeschool code. TCA 49-6-801 is the church-related school code. The links take you to TnHomeEd's copy of those codes.

05/04/2008: The following is from the Tennessee Home Education Association (not to be confused with this TnHomeEd.com site) via a post made to the TnHomeEd list on Sunday, May 4, 2008. It's NOT posted on the THEA website so I'm taking the liberty of presenting it here. Cindy Benefield is the woman at the TN Department of Education that oversees their homeschooling office as 'Executive Director of Field Services'. Cindy.Benefield@state.tn.us http://www.tennessee.gov/education/homeschool/

Date sent: Sun, 4 May 2008 09:35:34 -0500
From: "Claiborne Thornton"
Subject: URGENT: Monday May 5, 2008 Come to Nashville and
Watch the Legislature Decide if Your High School Diploma is
WORTHLESS

Monday May 5, 2008 at 3:00 PM the House Education Committee
Convenes. HB1652 is one of 40 bills on their overloaded agenda. It
may be the first item or the last. We don't know. What we do know is
this, they will decide if the high school diplomas given by church related schools are
worthless.
 
Cindy Benefield with the Department of Education told a graduate
from a church related school, "Your diploma is not worth the paper it
is written on." He has to have a high school diploma to be able to
work in his current profession. (You won't believe the courage and
heartbreak I must tell you about below.)

Later the department did offer that he could take the GED and they
would accept that. What that means is this The DOE will accept
making a 70 on a 6th grade level test, but they flatly reject a high
school diploma given by a church related school. (They also rejected
a Police Officer who after receiving his diploma, graduated from the
Police academy with a 4.0 and are setting suspects free, because the
arrestin g officer, a CRS graduate, had to be administratively demoted
and cannot appear in court to be a witness in his cases.)
INCREDULOUS?

I couldn't believe what I had heard. (Why would a grandmother have
to fire her grandchild? You'll see.)

Later on April 29, 2008 when 4 legislators met with the Tim Webb
Commissioner of the Department of Education to see if there is any
remedy for this situation, he was very apologetic for that graduate
being told that his diploma was worthless. But when asked for a
remedy, he offered one option, "The Legislature must pass a law
stating that the diplomas given by Church related schools are
acceptable." He confirmed with more pleasant word, "Your High
School Diploma is WORTHLESS."

Earlier that morning Representative Mike Bell had presented HB1652
to a subcommittee of the House Education Committee.That sub
committee was completely incredulous that the departments were
rejecting those diploma s. Chairwoman Dr. Tommie Brown from
Chattanooga asked very pointedly, "What has changed?"Rep. Bell did
not know. Bruce Opie, legislative leison for the DOE, did not know.
Since this was the last meeting of this sub committee they voted the
bill to full committee with the admonition to find out and to see, "Is
there any other way to fix this than to pass this bill." This is what
House Education Chairman Winningham wanted to know.

HB1652 received its first vote of YEA. It passed.In the meeting with
the Commissioner he was given a copy of HB1652 as it passed the
sub committee. At the time he could not see any problems with the
bill, but said he needed to have further review.

In the meeting with Commissioner Webb he said, "A rule was passed
in 1992 that invalidated the diplomas." That means that any person
who graduated from a church related school designated Category IV
since 1992 will have their diploma rejected by the state.

On April 30 Bruce Opie brought the amendment the DOE wants.
Basically, they want to take complete control of the Church related
school teacher certification process. Right now they are prevented by
state law from controlling the curriculum and the teacher
requirements.

The Department of Education, the Department of Human Services,
the Higher Education Commission and others in the departments of
state government are very distressed that there is any school in
Tennessee that does not have to have "state approval".

Actually there are hundreds of church related schools in Tennessee
that do not have and do not want state approval.They believe in
religious freedom, in the US Constitution, and more importantly in
the Bible and in God. They want to be free from entanglement with
the State.

Remember this - the state may not be able to teach every child to
read, but they can force every graduate to have a diploma from a
school "approved" by them to be able to work in any occupation that
they regulate.

Now you see what happened. During a routine visit to a child care
facility in Jackson, TN the Department of Human Services asked to
see the records of each of the employees. The day care is connected to
the YMCA. It is a needed service.The owner of the day care facility
was delighted when her granddaughter, who had graduated from a
church related school not only wanted to work there, she saw this as
being the profession she would pursue. This was her life's ambition.
She went to work in 2000.

DHS came to review their records in 2004 and during that review the
discovery was made. The church related school she had graduated
from was listed by the Department of Education as a Category IV
school, a school that does not seek or want "state approval". (Please
understand there is no requirement in law that they seek state
approval.)

Based on their fi ndings they went to the owner and told her, "She
must be fired. Her diploma is not from a school approved by the
DOE."

Cindy Benefield is working with all 9 regional offices of the
Department of Education training their employees that high school
diplomas from church related schools are not accepted by the state.
If this hasn't affected you yet, just wait. The rule of 1992 is now being
enforced. I've seen the training material.
Your diploma is REJECTED.

Better yet, come to Nashville on Monday May 5, 2008 and ask the
House Education Committee to pass HB1652 without the Department
of Education's amendment.

If you cannot come, please call your state Representative and call all
members of the House Education Committee, beginning with the
ones that live closest to you. (See the list below.)

In any case we have called for a day of Prayer and Fasting on May 5,
2008, asking God to deliver us from this intrusion into our famili es
and religious freedom.

THREAT: ACTION NEEDED NOW!!
This is perhaps the largest threat we've seen in many, many years. If
passed it may require all parents of 9-12 graders to have 4 year
degrees!

It has come on very quickly, being rushed through with amendments
that could seriously jeopardize your freedoms. Please read the
following forward and take the following actions: (1) Pray and (2)
Call now! Please call immediately or before2:45 pm on Monday!!! It
will be heard on Monday, May 5th at 3:00 pm. When you call, be
polite and thank them for their service to the people of Tennessee.
Some legislators have been treated harshly in the past and this hurts
our cause.

HERE IS WHAT TO SAY:
1. We DO support/want Mike Bell's amendment (see below).
2. But we DO NOT want the attached amendment by the TN
Department of Education (see below).

Tennessee Homeschoolers,
This is a brief history of the Category IV legislati on about which we
are asking you to call the House Ed. Committee members (see that
list below).

On April 19th we received an e-mail from John Evans, Sr. that his
policeman son, John Jr., a 2001 graduate of Gateway Christian
School, was told he would lose his job as a policeman if he did not
take and pass the GED within 90 days. Rep. Mike Bell found a bill to
which he could attach an amendment requiring state agencies to
recognize the diplomas of Category IV schools, schools such as
Gateway, Aaron Academy, Family Christian Academy and others.
Reps. Mike Bell (R) and Dennis Ferguson (D), sponsor &co-sponsor
of the Category IV bill, testified before the Higher Education sub-
committee of the House Education Committee yesterday, Tuesday,
April 29th. Mike told the sub-committee members that he has a very
personal stake in this matter; his son who is now working towards
certification as a fire-fighter is a graduate of a Cate gory IV school and
his daughter who is a high school senior will graduate in a few weeks
with a Category IV diploma intending to attend a near-by Technical
School after graduation.

Rep. Ferguson (the representative of Evans family) and Rep. Bell are
both deeply distressed over the treatment of John Evans, 2001
graduate of a Category IV school who lives in Roane County
(Ferguson's district), graduate of Walter State Community College
with a 4.0 GPA from the Police Academy, serving as a Police Officer
since Jan. '08, now required to give up his cruiser work and take a
desk job with all of his pending criminal arrests possibly invalidated,
until he takes and passes the GED b/c the TN DOE says that his '01
Category IV high school diploma is invalid or "worthless".

With discussion and supportive comments from many of the sub-
committee members, including Les Winningham, (D), Chair of the
House Ed. Comm., and Rep.Tommie Brown (D ), the bill passed the
sub-committee Wednesday, April 29th..

The Department of Education has just entered an amendment to this
bill which will require all parents teaching grades 9-12 (and all
teachers in category IV schools teaching grades 9-12) to have a
baccaluarreate degree from state accredited associations. We Ask you
to please call NOW to the House Education Committee members,
then callyour state representative,and ask them to support HB 1652
without the DOE amendment.

Thank you!!

Here is the amendment, HB 1652, which Mike Bell is sponsoring:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 1, Part 1,
is amended by adding a new section thereto, as follows:
Section 49-1-1__. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the
contrary, a student who has a diploma recognized under or awarded
by § 49-50-801 or § 49-6-3050 shall be considered by all
departments, agencies or entities of state government as possessing a
valid high school diploma. This section shall not apply to state lottery
proceeds as provided in title 49, chapter 4, part 9.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law, the
public welfare requiring it.

HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS
EAST TENNESSEE members:
Livingston: John Mark Windle, (D), [Dist. 41], 615-741-1260
Knoxville: Harry Brooks, (R), [Dist. 19], 615-741-6879
Sevierville: Richard Montgomery, (NaifehR), [Dist. 12], 615-741-
5981
Chattanooga: Tommie Brown, (D), Vice-Chairman, [Dist. 28], 615-
741-4374
Gerald McCormick, (R), [Dist. 26], 615-741-2548

END OF THEA post.

###

YouTube videos of the 4/29/08 hearing before the House Higher Education Committee.

There are two 'page turns' where info has been deleted. The first is when Rep. Barbara Cooper (D-Memphis) wonders if a bill she introduced regarding remedial classes for public schoolers is related to this diploma bill. Rep. Mike Bell says no. The second is, again, Rep. Barbara Cooper (D-Memphis) interrupting the proceedings with a point of personal privilege by recognizing the AKA sorority members in attendance, a former Tenn Ed Assoc president and the new president of the Memphis Education Association. Both I felt were time wasters for most of us...though Memphis folks may want to review the original video and see her in action before casting votes this election season. Those distractions pushed me over the Youtube limit and would have forced me to create 3 sections.

This is the amendment offered by the State Department of Education on 4/30/08 and likely to be heard on 5/5/08 in front of the House Education Committee.

Amend Senate Bill No. 1827 House bill 1652

By deleting all of the language after the enacting clause and by substituting instead the following:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, chapter 1, Part 1, is amended by adding a new section thereto, as follows:

Section 49-1-1-1____. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a student who has a diploma awarded by § 49-50-801 or §49-6-3050 shall be considered by all departments, agencies or entities of state government as possessing a valid high school diploma as long as all entities issuing diplomas pursuant to the above statutes require and document that all teachers conducting classes in kindergarten through grade either (K-8) hold a valid high school diploma or GED and all teachers conducting classes in grades nine through twelve (9-12) hold at least a baccalaureate degree awarded by a college or university accredited by an accrediting agency or association recognized by the state board of education. This section shall not apply to state lottery proceeds as provided title 49, chapter 4, part 9.

SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 50, Part 801, is amended by deleting subsection (b) in its entirety and substituting instead the following:

(b) with the exception of requiring all teachers conducting classes in kindergarten through grade either (K-8) to hold a high school diploma or GED and all teachers conducting classes in grades nine through twelve (9-12) to hold at least a baccalaureate degree awarded by a college or university accredited by an accrediting agency or association recognized by the state board of education, the state board of education and local boards of education are prohibited from regulating the selection of faculty or textbooks or the establishment of a curriculum in church-related schools.

SECTION 3. this act shall take effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.

HB1652 as passed by the House Higher Ed Committee on 4/29/08. This is Rep. Mike Bell's amendment.

Amend Senate Bill No. 1827 House bill 1652

By deleting all of the language after the enacting clause and by substituting instead the following:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, title 49, chapter 1, Part 1, is amended by adding a new section thereto, as follows:

Section 49-1-1___. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a student who has a diploma recognized under §49-50-801 or §49-6-3030 shall be considered by all departments, agencies or entities of state government as possessing a valid high school diploma. this section shall not apply to state lottery proceeds as provided in title 49, chapter 4, part 9.

SECTION 2. this act shall take effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.

HB1652 as originally filed.

HB1652
00206209
-1-
SENATE BILL 1827
By Bunch
HOUSE BILL 1652
By Bell
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-1-302(a), is amended by adding
the following language as a new, appropriately designated subdivision:
( ) Develop a model grading policy;
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring
it.