NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The state's teachers have serious reservations about a measure that would make it tougher for them to get tenure, but they're not going to "adamantly oppose" the changes, a lobbyist for their union said Monday.The proposal by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam would require a teacher to be on the job five years instead of three to get tenure and would also create a way for job security to be revoked for poor teaching performance.Haslam is scheduled to present his first state budget plan to Tennessee lawmakers Monday evening.Critics say the evaluation system for tenure isn't in effect yet and that it has not been determined how best to rate educators whose subjects aren't covered by the state's value-added test scoring program.The measure has passed the Senate, and sponsors believe it will likely have the votes in the House.Tennessee Education Association lobbyist Jerry Winters said he understands the votes are there for the proposal to pass this session, which is why the TEA plans to make sure all teachers understand the new rules."We think until teachers know the rules, which will be outlined in the evaluation system, it could have a negative impact on attracting new people into the profession," he said. "So, we're going to work hard to educate prospective teachers and current teachers that would be impacted about the evaluation system. We're not going to adamantly oppose these changes, but we do think they need to know the rules of the game."One issue that Winters said teachers will continue to be vocal about is a separate Republican proposal to strip teachers of their collective bargaining rights, similar to the contentious measure that was recently signed by Wisconsin's governor.Haslam has remained neutral on that measure, which has brought criticism and protests from either side of the political spectrum."We have a whole different view toward the collective bargaining proposal," Winters said. "We view that as just a mean-spirited attack on teachers. It's something we're going to adamantly oppose."(http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/tennessee/031411-teachers-prepare-for-possible-tenure-changes) Now if I was a teacher I wouldn't be able to deal with laws like this. On the other hand there does need to be stronger evaluations done on teachers because there are some teachers that are wasting time and space and should have been released a long time ago. It also seems that teachers are going to keep opposing this bill but lets see how this bill turns out and its affects
