July 15, 2008

Dear LSHA Members:

 

The day of true celebration is finally here!  Governor Jindal has signed HB1 after using his line item veto power on more than 250 items.  His vetoes stripped over 16 million dollars from the state budget bill mostly in the area of appropriations for non governmental organizations.  Our salary supplement remains intact and the legislative battle comes to an end with a major victory for Louisiana’s nationally certified Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists working in the public school arena. 

 

Yesterday evening, Ayn Stehr sent an e-mail confirming our victory and congratulating LSHA’S membership for all of the work, dedication, time and enthusiasm they put forth this year.  Ayn and I had a phone conversation this morning and  discussed the need to talk with the Department of Education as soon as possible.  We need to work out a method of dealing with the short fall in the appropriation for this year and to begin discussing the importance of keeping us in the budget for next year.  So celebrate, but do not hibernate! We need to stay alert and involved.

 

I will be asking for volunteers for the legislative committee for next year.  If you have a desire to work in this capacity, let me know.  I can’t imagine the need for the intensity of involvement that was required during the 2008 legislative session, however, we still must do the following:

·        continue to educate legislators about our professions

·        monitor and respond to proposed legislation

·        communicate with one another and legislators on key issues

·        rally the membership to action as needed

 

As soon as we know anything definitive about the process/timing, etc. that will be utilized to distribute the salary supplement funds to school systems and ultimately to Nationally Certified SLPS and AUDS, we will send out an e-mail blast or post new information here on the legislative information page.

 

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

 

For those of you working for school systems, enjoy the last few weeks of the summer. For our members working in other settings, thank you for your support of your colleagues in the public school arena.  The next legislative issue may be yours.  All members must work together to address issues that impact our professions.

 

Steve Harris

Legislative Liaison

June 26, 2008

Dear LSHA Members:

 

I have been waiting for Governor Jindal to sign HB1 prior to sending out the last e-mail blast regarding the 2008 Regular Session and our quest for funding of the Salary Supplement for Nationally Certified public school Speech–Language Pathologists and Audiologists.  Ayn Stehr, LSHA’s Lobbyist, hasn’t heard that the Governor has any inclination to use his line item veto to defeat our salary supplement.  That being said, it is time for a membership update.

 

We were successful in keeping the salary supplement in HB1 and it now simply waits for the Governor’s signature.  The amount of the appropriation remains at 2.4 million dollars which is 1.4 million less than the amount our survey projected is needed.  The legislators continue to tell Ayn Stehr, LSHA’s Lobbyist, that the funding level is not an issue.  She has been told that either the SDE will ask permission from the legislature to make changes within the Department of Education’s budget or the legislature will deal with the shortfall in the 2009 regular session via a Supplemental Appropriations Bill. 

 

The legislature puts forth a Supplemental Appropriations Bill each year as the revenues of the state are verified.  The current budget is based on a report by the Revenue Estimating Committee and each year as of late that estimate has been an underrepresentation of the actual revenues received.

 

I have spoken to the personnel director in my school system as well as social workers who received their supplement last year. Based on these conversations and the review of documents utilized by the other groups (School Social Workers, Guidance Counselors, School Psychologists) in obtaining their salary supplement I would like to provide you with a probable scenario:

1. Paul Pastorek, State Superintendent of Education, (if it remains consistent with the other disciplines who have received a salary supplement) will send a memo to School Superintendents with an “Employment Verification Form” and directions addressing how they are to proceed in filing for the supplements.

2. The memo, if consistent with the others, will indicate individuals must have received their national certification by June 30^th of 2008.

3. The Employment Verification Form will ask for:

·        Membership ID number for ASHA

·        Year Achieved National Certification

·        Date of Expiration

·        Schools or offices where services are provided

·        Copy of your ASHA Certificate

·        Copy of your State Ancillary Certificate or Teaching Certificate indicating you are certified by the SDE as a SLP or AUD.

·        The Superintendent’s signature

·        Supervisor’s Signature

 

This information will need to be sent to the appropriate SDE personnel by September 15^th in order to be processed and eligible for the supplement for the 2008-09 school year. (This will be handled by each district’s Human Resources Department.)  Based on the verification information received, the allocation for this program will be submitted to the State Board of Secondary and Elementary Education for approval at the October meeting.  The grant award notifications will be prepared and forwarded to the districts, along with an application packet that will need to be completed and returned to the Division of Education Finance. Districts will distribute the $5000.00 supplement to each eligible speech-language pathologist and audiologist in the same manner as the annual salary, and then should request reimbursement from the Department.

 

At this point that is all I know.  We are planning to make contact with the SDE to determine how they will address the shortfall and to see if there is anything we can or need to do. 

 

I would like to thank everyone for their diligence and tenacity.  We knew we could make this happen.  We just needed our membership to get out and contact their legislators, and to coordinate the efforts with our lobbyist.  It seems unreal that after all this time we have achieved our goal.  The intensity and hectic schedules we all lived through are beginning to pale.  Now that we have won, it is oddly quiet and peaceful.  The energy we had going was awesome.  I wish we had a way to get together and have a celebration

 

Major thanks once again to Doug Mouton, Theresa Rodgers, and Ann Barrosse for their time and testimony.  No one could have hoped for anything better.  Many of you know this but many do not, so I will tell you that Theresa Rodgers began this endeavor in 2002.   It was exciting that she was one of the individuals who provided testimony in this final, successful year.

 

Thanks should be provided to Representative Joe Harrison who was the lead author and handler of our bill.  He was our advocate and put it all together.  All members of the House Appropriations Committee stood up against the Governor’s wishes and, according to Ayn Stehr, are going to pay a political price.  Chairman James Fannin was supportive, and without his blessing we would not have been successful.  Eddie Lambert, Chairman of the Education Sub-Committee of the House Appropriations Committee, and all its members are to be thanked as they made a positive recommendation to the full House Appropriations Committee regarding funding of the supplement.  Our strongest support was on the House side but the Senate Finance Committee (unofficially) voted 10 to 2 in favor of the supplement.  Please feel free to thank any and all of these individuals if you have not done so already.

 

There are so many individuals to thank it is virtually impossible to do so.  Renae Colwick, LSHA’s President, and Michelle Barra, SPALS’ President, joined forces and agreed to share expenses including funding of our lobbyist and expenses related to the Day at the Capitol.  The efforts of both organizations to make our Grass Roots Campaign so successful were as important, if not more so, than the financial pact they entered into.  

 

In addition to all the responsibilities that the LSHA President has, Renae Colwick  is our WEB Master.  Renae did an outstanding job updating our WEB Page throughout the legislative session.  The number of hits indicated that the LSHA WEB PAGE was a very useful and sought-after resource.

 

St. Tammany Parish, under Emily Homer and Carol Negrotto’s leadership, and Bossier City School System’s energy and dedication organized in great measure by Kimberly Stafford, were but two of many exemplary efforts from around the state.  Cindy Chauvin and Christi Roya, SPALS legislative contacts, did an outstanding job of coordinating and communicating all information to and from LSHA.  As I said, there are too many to recognize but rest assured it was a team effort and everyone who contributed made a difference.

 

An e-mail blast will be sent out from the LSHA office in approximately two weeks indicating the final status of all bills monitored by Ayn Stehr as bills of interest to LSHA members.  Ayn Stehr will be meeting with the 2009 LSHA Legislative Liaison in September to begin developing a strategic plan for the 2009 regular legislative session.  Some areas of interest already under consideration are as follows:

• Revision of the Autism Bill that mandates insurance reimbursement for certain services for children diagnosed with Autism (Requires SLPs to be under the direction of a Physician or Psychiatrist/Psychologist in order to treat and be reimbursed by private insurance),

• Increase of Early Steps Reimbursement Fees

• Maternity Leave Compensation for individuals with ancillary certificates

• Maintaining funding for the Salary Supplement.

 If you have areas of concern that you wish LSHA to consider during the next legislative session, please feel free to send your comments to sharris@stmary.k12.la.us.  Also, if you are interested in taking an active role, please let me know.  There are lots of jobs that need to be done to keep LSHA on top of and proactive regarding the legislative process.  This year was the year of the Salary Supplement (Part 5).  Next year the issues are as of yet unknown.  Issues in private practice, reimbursement, insurance mandates, retirement, professional encroachment, university funding, public schools; any and all of these subjects may be our next area of concern.

 

 So stay tuned, stay engaged, and stay energized.  You are the difference.

 

Steve Harris

LSHA Legislative Liaison

Monday

June 9, 2008

 

Dear LSHA Members:

 

The Senate Finance Committee heard public testimony on HB1 Friday, June 6, 2008.  We were fortunate, once again, to have Theresa Rodgers, former LSHA President and current Ascension Parish Special Education Supervisor; Ann Barrosse, a St. Tammany parish parent of a child with communication issues and a nationally certified SLP; and Doug Mouton, parent of a child with a communication issues and a WWL news reporter, as the witnesses on our behalf.  An informal count indicated we had approximately 100 SLPs and AUDs at the Capitol during the Senate Finance Public Hearing on HB1.  If you were not able to be there, I would suggest visiting the Louisiana Legislative Web Page to view the testimony of our witnesses (follow this link- http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Finance/archives/video.htm

scroll down for June 6). The presentations were excellent and the reaction by the committee members was very promising.

 

Also, see the following link that will bring you to an article that appeared in The Advocate, Baton Rouge ’s newspaper.  The article reported on the testimony and issues addressed at the Senate Finance Committees public hearing on HB1.  http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/19624089.html?index=1&c=y

Ayn Stehr, our lobbyist, said the day was fabulous!  She asked that I convey to all of our members that we should be very proud of our efforts. It has been an outstanding job thus far and we have been very successful.  Our success is due to the fact that so many of you have made extraordinary efforts to stay involved and to be physically present at the Capitol on key days such as Friday, June 6^th.

 

One of the many good points related to Friday’s activities is that we were able to obtain hard data regarding the actual number of nationally certified SLPs and AUDs who are eligible for the salary supplement.  As you know LSHA worked on obtaining survey information from each parish regarding the number of nationally certified personnel who would be eligible for the salary supplement.  The survey generated data indicating there are 775 nationally certified SLPs and AUDs working as full time employees in Louisiana Public School Systems. Information supplied by ASHA and the Louisiana Board of Examiners of Speech Pathology and Audiology (LBESPA) indicates our survey numbers are on target and definitely dispute the State Department of Education Finance Department’s numbers (480) generated via the PEP report. Theresa Rodgers was able to present this information to the Senate Finance Committee during her testimony in a concise, comprehensive manner.  Further, Ayn Stehr will take the same information and share it with David Ray, Finance Analyst for the Senate, in an effort to get the fiscal note in line with our expectations.

 

The remaining days of the current 2008 regular legislative session will unfold as follows:

 

1. By the end of the week, the Senate Finance Committee will complete its work on HB1 and will vote to send it on to the full Senate for consideration. When this happens, we will know if we are in HB1 and what the appropriation is.

2. If we are in HB 1 and the right amount (3.8 million) has been allocated, we ask all of the Senate to keep our funding in HB1.

3. If we are not in HB1 then we must try to get an amendment from the Senate Floor.  This means we would have to find someone to offer an amendment and we would have to get the amendment passed.  (Hopefully this will not be the path as it is very difficult to get an amendment to HB1 from the Senate Floor).

4. If there are any significant differences in the House and Senate versions of HB1, it will then go to a Conference Committee which will consist of several members of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee.

5. They would iron out the difference and HB1 would then go for a final vote.

6. It will then go to the Governor for his signature.

7. The Governor does have Line Item Veto Power, so he can theoretically veto any line item issue he wishes.

8. Ayn Stehr, LSHA’s Lobbyist, does not feel this is a concern regarding our funds, but you never know.

9. June 23 is the final day of the 2008 Regular Session.

Action Requested

1. Please stay alert and tuned in as we travel the final leg of our journey.

2. At this time, please send e-mails to the members of the Senate Finance Committee thanking them for their attention during our witnesses’ testimonies. 

3. Be ready to send out e-mails and letters as well as make phone calls to all Senators asking for their support of HB1 with our supplement in it once we know it is there.

4. Communicate any significant feedback from your Senator to me so I can pass it along to Ayn Stehr.

5. Send letters thanking our witnesses for their testimony.  Their addresses follow:

   1. Theresa Rodgers- 42189 Greenfield Crossing, Prairieville , LA 70769

   2. Doug Mouton- 221 Woodridge Blvd. Madisonville , 70471

   3. Ann Barrosse- 226 Gulch Street , Abita Springs , LA 70226

6.  Pray if you are prone to do so.

Steve Harris

Legislative Liaison