By State Rep. Gus Blackwell
To begin this week, I would like to thank those people who responded to last week’s column by contacting me with their suggestions for legislative bills in the 2011 Session. Your help and input is greatly appreciated, in this matter. Feel free to continue contacting me concerning bill suggestions or issues of importance, into the Autumn and Winter months.
Besides the four Interim Studies I have been approved for, two of my requests were combined with other legislator’s requests for Interim Studies, in the same topic. Besides the four I detailed last week, I will also be holding Interim Studies in the areas of Education and Social Services.
In Education, I will be looking at restructuring the Achieving Classroom Excellence-ACE bill, passed in 2006. Although the idea for this bill was good, the logistics have become a nightmare for educators. This bill requires, among other things, an “end of instruction” testing in seven different subjects: Algebra I & II, English II & III, Biology I, Geometry and US History. They must pass Algebra I, English II and at least two out of the remaining five subjects, with a score of proficiency, to graduate.
Should they fail the EOI testing, the school is required to begin remediation in the subjects failed, then offer an alternative testing. One school requires a spreadsheet with forty-eight different fields in each subject area, required by the ACE Bill. Many schools require the whole month of April, simply to do the EOI testing, which must be done on computers. Funding for such testing and remediation is no longer being provided through Education funding formula. I will be looking at ways to maximize performance, while reducing the amount of testing and voluminous data required for each student.
In Social Services, my final Interim Study deals with Youth Services in Rural Areas. As you can imagine, when budget cuts are made service to rural areas are the first on the chopping block. Although, I will deal with Youth Services, this is only the tip of the iceberg. I will also have testimony about cuts to child counseling, mental health services, DHS and Health Services.
Another issue I continue to works on, separate to Interim Studies, is the high cost of services to customers of West Texas Gas. I am continuing to work with the Corporation Commission about receiving a rehearing on the recent rate hike approved for this company.
Recent complaints with HealthChoice have also been brought to my attention. These mirror long-standing problems people in the panhandle have had with this company. Please, remember if you need any health services in Amarillo or Liberal you MUST contact HealthChoice before the procedure to receive a “prior clearance.”
If after the procedure, you have problems with billing, please contact my office. It appears bonuses are being paid by the billing company for HealthChoice to those individuals who deny the most claims. One of the bills I will file, next Session will prohibit this practice.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, please contact me at home in Goodwell, 580-349-2263, or at my office in OKC at 405-557-7384. You can also e-mail me at gusblackwell@okhouse.gov or just chat with me when you see me at area events.
