The role of teachers unions in education reform has been on my mind a great deal lately. The issue was front and center when I talked to school board members in California. It looks like Maryland's union might obstruct that state's efforts to make changes to teacher policies. And during ED's Race to the Top technical assistance workshop??yesterday, the role of unions and reform came up several times.
I've been trying to decipher where Secretary Duncan comes down on all of this, and I've reached some tentative conclusions.
First, he has strong reform inclinations. He was willing to talk about reform issues during a speech at this year's NEA convention, a move that got him booed on several occasions by the organization's membership. In a little-noticed but important November speech at the Chamber of Commerce, after noting some reform-oriented moves by some local unions, he delivered very pointed words: "Now let me be absolutely clear about this: Labor issues are an impediment in many places, and we must continue to challenge them." In an article recently published on the NEA website, he challenges antiquated rules on tenure and pay.
And then of course there is the Race to the Top. Although the final application was unquestionably a small retreat from the much stronger initial documents, state proposals must be relatively strong on important issues like state laws governing the use of student achievement data.
What has become clear to me is that Secretary Duncan is comfortable challenging teacher unions on the policy level. This is welcome, and he should be given credit for it.
But in many areas, union contracts are where the rubber meets the road. And this appears to be the Rubicon the secretary is unwilling to cross.
I've pointed out before that a search for "collective bargaining agreement" or "union contract" in the official Race to the Top documents yields zero matches. It's as though they are completely unrelated to reform. Similarly, the secretary has yet to publicly call out a specific union for protecting harmful provisions. In DC, for example, rather than saying loudly and firmly that Michelle Rhee is trying to launch the most progressive pay program in the nation and that the union is stubbornly standing in the way, the secretary has merely encouraged the sides to come to an agreement.
Uniform pay scales are in union contracts. Policies that protect the lowest-performing teachers are in union contracts. Rules that lead to "rubber rooms" are in union contracts.
It's time for Secretary Duncan to address these facts. And the approaching Race to the Top deadline provides him with the perfect opportunity.
Before the holidays, he should visit a state eager for RTT funds (say??California or??Michigan) and deliver a speech along the following lines:
I know the Race to the Top application encourages you to get union officials to sign off on your proposal as an indication of their support for your plans. That is all well and good, but understand that we fully recognize that a signature is merely symbolic. We are not looking for symbols, we are not looking for promises, we are not looking for good intentions.We are not going to invest in a "commitment to negotiate." We are not going to invest in a "willingness to discuss." We are only going to invest in sure things.
So let me be very clear: We will look at your union contracts. Your laws tell us what can be done. Your proposal tells us what you hope to get done. But in many ways, your collective bargaining agreements tell us what will be done.
When your submission reaches the US Department of Education, know that we will be looking at Los Angeles's/Detroit's contract. We will be looking at San Francisco's/Lansing's contact. We will be looking at Oakland's/Flint's contract.
The larger the gap between your application and your contracts, the smaller your chances of getting these unprecedented funds.
Such a speech would illuminate a shadowy corner of the current education reform discussion and greatly increase the RTT's chances of bringing about lasting, meaningful change.
--Andy Smarick