Senator Beason’s SB438: Elected State Superintendent?

UPDATE 3/15/14: Senate Education Committee has carried over this bill.

Senator Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, has filed a bill calling for a Constitutional Amendment to change the State Superintendent of Education from an appointed to an elected position. SB438 would provide for the state superintendent to be elected every four years beginning in November 2016.

Currently, only 12 state superintendents are elected across America.

Most superintendents are appointed by the state board of education (22) or the governor (14).

Washington, D.C.’s chancellor (the equivalent of the superintendent) is appointed by the Mayor.

Oregon’s superintendent is appointed by the state Education Investment Board.

Wyoming’s 2013 law moving most duties from the state superintendent to an governor-appointed director of instruction was recently ruled unconstitutional and legislators there are seeking ways to determine who should serve as superintendent.

The map depicts the various ways state superintendents are chosen for their position. Click on a state for more information.

Beason will not seek reelection to his state Senate seat, but will run for Representative Spencer Bachus’ Congressional seat in the June primary alongside six other Republicans.

Of the nine bills sponsored by Senator Beason, four have an impact on K-12 public education. Besides SB438, the other three are:

SB380 – Returns Alabama’s course of study to what it was prior to implementing the most recent courses of study for English Language Arts and Math. Here’s an al.com article about the bill. Here’s another one. There are 14 co-sponsors on the bill. This one was filed on February 20.

SB430 – Provides for Alabama’s colleges and universities to produce digital textbooks for free download by Alabama’s K-12 schools. The Alabama Council of College and University Presidents would have complete control over the development of the textbooks. There are three co-sponsors on the bill. This bill was filed March 4.

SB443 – Sets a moratorium on any further adoption of Common Core standards or any “derivative thereof”, including the Next Generation Science standards, the National Curriculum for Social Studies, the National Health Education Standards, and the National Sexuality Standards, through January 2017. Also provides for local boards of education to “opt out” of current state course of study. There are other far-reaching provisions in this bill, including setting a state curriculum advisory panel, limiting testing to three grade levels during the K-12 grade levels, and allowing parents to prohibit schools from collecting data on their children. There are 12 co-sponsors on this bill. This bill was filed March 5.

 Thursday, March 5 marks the 22nd day of the legislative session. Will Senator Beason be able to push this through with nine days left?