Please spend a few moments to help persuade Governor Crist to veto Senate Bill 6 by going to http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/uff_sb6 for one minute.

Senate Bill 6 (HB 7189), which attacks the very idea of professionalism in education, passed both houses of the Legislature. It now lies on the Governor's desk, and he has until Friday to sign or veto the bill.

SB 6 limits teachers’ salary increases to how well students have scored on standardized tests and eliminates rewards for teachers getting advanced degrees in their specializations. It is the perfect strategy for dummying down the content of the curriculum while pretending “scores” show students are improving.

It also limits the academic freedom of teachers by abolishing tenure and creating economic incentives for school boards to fire experienced teachers in order to hire less experienced teachers who are willing to work for less. (We can expect faculty tenure will be next as a target.) This will certainly drive even more teachers out of the state. The bill also imposes new funding mechanisms that might force colleges of education out of existence.

When you are at http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/uff_sb6 you will be asked for contact information, and you will need to add material at the bottom of the letter to speak about your own experiences and concerns. You should use your personal e-mail address in the form rather than your campus (work) e-mail address. While unionvoice.org does not route e-mails through your college or university e-mail server, it is much better for recipients to see private e-mail addresses than your work address.

But you should head today to http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/uff_sb6 on your personal computer or smartphone to help persuade the governor to veto SB 6.