EDUCATION

 POSITION: Every child is entitled to an appropriate education which meets individual needs. Therefore we support the following:
· Coverage, implementation, and funding of the Tennessee Basic Education Program should be adequate to assure a satisfactory standard of public education.

· Regular classroom instruction, kindergarten, special education including but not limited to the gifted and the disabled, and vocational education should be adequately funded and every school district should provide for the special needs of its students.

· The rules, regulations, and minimum standards of the State Board of Education should be enforced.

· Teachers and administrators should be evaluated using procedures that ensure fairness, should receive adequate compensation, and should be eligible for incentive pay increments.

· Proficiency testing should begin in the primary grades and should be used for diagnostic purposes to determine remedial programs to improve students' competencies and basic skills.

· Superintendent of Schools should be appointed by the local elected school board.

· Schools and school systems should be consolidated when consolidation will result in better education. There should be specified qualifications for local and state school board members. · A statewide mandatory kindergarten program should be implemented.

 ELECTORAL PROCESS

POSITION: The League of Women Voters of Tennessee supports action to simplify the election process, to protect the right of every citizen to vote, and to promote the full disclosure of income and expenditures by candidates, parties, and committees formed to support candidates. Therefore we support the following:

• Flexible hours and places for registration so that all eligible voters can register.
• Statewide uniformity of procedures to maintain accuracy of voter registration rolls and to clarify and simplify polling place procedures.
• The principle of closed primaries, the governing of all primaries by state statute, and administration of all primaries by duly constituted election officials.
• A nondiscriminatory arrangement of names and issues on the ballot.
• More flexibility in absentee voting regulations.

 FINANCING STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

POSITION: The League supports a balanced system of taxation that considers the ability of the taxpayer to pay and which produces sufficient revenues to fund essential services. Constitutional taxation provisions should be broad and sufficiently flexible to meet future revenue needs. Therefore the state position includes the following:

State Income Tax: The League supports a broad-based personal income tax and repeal of the Hall income tax in order to enhance the equity and balance of the tax structure and to produce adequate state and local government revenue. An occupational privilege tax (payroll tax) and retention of the Hall income tax is a less desirable second choice. The League opposes the levy of local option income or payroll taxes. The corporate excise (income) tax should be retained. The statewide income tax should be adopted by Legislative action rather than Constitutional amendment. For this reason, a flat-rate tax with a standard deduction and personal exemptions sufficient to reduce regressivity would be acceptable.

Sales Tax: The League opposes continued and increased reliance on sales tax for revenue. The local option sales tax rate should be no higher than currently authorized at 50 percent of the state levy. The sales tax on food for home consumption should be eliminated; broadening of the sales tax base and any raise in rate should be contingent upon the exemption of tax on food.

Property Tax: The League supports classification of property for tax purposes into real, personal tangible, and personal intangible; the League opposes subclassification of real property and erosion of the property tax base. Income producing property, including that owned by religious and nonprofit charitable organizations but not used for religious and/or charitable nonprofit purposes (investment property), should be subject to the property tax. The League supports a mandatory periodic reappraisal program, accomplished by professional assessors, that is equitable statewide, and supports increased involvement of the state in the local reappraisal process. Property tax relief for low-income persons and families should be provided by state legislation coupled with a state income tax.

User Fees: The League supports expanded local government levies of user fees providing they meet accepted League taxation criteria.

Intergovernmental Revenue: A percentage of statewide personal income tax proceeds should be transferred to local government(s) earmarked principally for public education. State services mandated and performed by local government should be fully state funded. State/local transfer formulas should be equitable and consider the recipient local government's tax capacity and effort.

The League used the following criteria to evaluate a system of taxation:

1. Ability of the taxpayer to pay

2. Diversity of revenue sources

3. Economy of administration

4. Simplicity and convenience

5. Certainty

6. Sufficiency

7. Elasticity

Each tax should be considered and evaluated in relationship to all other state and local taxes. No single tax will meet all of the above criteria.

 HEALTH CARE

POSITION: The League of Women Voters of Tennessee supports a comprehensive physical and mental health service system which emphasizes cost effective, preventive health care, and widespread health education efforts. This system must seek to ensure that the health and safety of all Tennesseans is adequately protected. The achievement of this comprehensive health system must be a cooperative effort involving individuals, parents, health care providers, schools, and the public and private sectors.

Tennessee citizens should assume the primary financial responsibility for their own and their children's health care; however, public financing of health care services should be provided for those unable to pay, using a sliding fee scale that allows citizens to pay what they can afford.

Components of the League's position encompass priorities for specific groups within Tennessee's population. The League supports:

For infant through preschool:
Provision of adequate prenatal care for pregnant women

Expansion of child auto safety restraint programs to include widespread public awareness of auto safety requirements

Expansion of immunization regulations to include preschoolers and the establishment of a medical records "home" for each child to ensure that adequate tracking of immunization and other health care services is available

For school age youth:
Provision of adequate funding for needed services such as WIC, school lunch programs, and other outreach efforts to serve targeted groups

Continued compliance with school immunization programs

Establishment of a comprehensive health education program for youth (K-12). Education efforts should include family life education appropriate to the child's developmental level and physical education programs which emphasize lifelong "fitness" and good health habits rather than primarily focusing on team sports.

Encouraging mass media outlets, such as the print and electronic media, to scrutinize advertising aimed at youth to ensure that positive health habits are being promoted and to sponsor more public service announcements directed to promoting good health habits for youth

For adolescents:

Ensured availability of family planning services for sexually active teenagers

Increased education programs on effective parenting and family life

For adults:

Improved health education promoting health and disease prevention

Access to appropriate levels of health services. Early intervention and the use of less intensive quality alternatives should be encouraged.

For the medically indigent:

Expansion of the role of the State of Tennessee in providing health services for the medically indigent

Development of programs aimed at decreasing the number of individuals lacking health insurance, including 1) extension of Tennessee Medicaid program eligibility; 2) development of group insurance for the employer with few employees and for the self-employed; 3) continuation and conversion of commercial insurance for those who have changed or lost jobs; and 4) implementation of an insurance plan for the uninsurable

Establishment of a fair system of reimbursement of health services for the medically indigent, and the development of pilot programs for comprehensive alternative health delivery systems for this population

Adequate funding for health care to the medically indigent, with necessary additional revenues to be obtained from general revenue sources, as well as special excise taxes, and tax revenues from the health care industry. The provision of needed health care for the medically indigent, however, is a joint financial responsibility to be shared by the federal government, state government, local governments, and providers of health services.

 JUDICIAL ORGANIZATION

POSITION: The League supports reform of the judicial system, particularly in the areas of redistricting, uniformity of structure, and methods for the discipline and removal of judges. The League supports retention of the Modified Missouri Plan* for selection of judges at the appellate level.

The following components of reform of Tennessee's judicial system were recommended:

Redistricting - In order to provide equal access to the court system for all, the League concluded that redistricting was required to correct imbalances in caseloads then existing in the Tennessee court system. A redistricting plan should take into account geography, population, and caseload history. Districts should also be as compact as possible, thus alleviating excessive time required of judges in some areas to serve courts in their districts. The area within each district should also be demographically similar, i.e., urban or rural.

Restructuring - The League found that a uniform structure of the court system, with flexibility to meet local needs, is important. Making the jurisdiction of the courts uniform throughout the state, having similar types of cases heard in the same type of court in each county or judicial district, would eliminate confusion and difficulty of access. Consolidation of trial-level courts would alleviate overlapping jurisdiction by combining the functions of these various courts into one trial court. The need for flexibility to meet local needs might be filled by the use of specialized judges rather than special courts and could be handled administratively by assignment.

Selection of Judges - The Modified Missouri Plan for selection of judges at the appellate level should be retained. Qualifications of residence and citizenship are valid, but also of importance is the requirement of license to practice law in the state. (This latter is not, however, intended to exclude law professors.)

*The Modified Missouri Plan is a merit selection process: when a vacancy on the bench occurs, a 15 member judicial Nominating Commission selects three nominees for the judgeship for consideration by the Governor, who must then select one of the three. The appointee then holds office until the next general election, when his/her name appears on the ballot for retention or rejection. If the nominee is rejected, the nominating process starts over.

 JUVENILE SERVICES

 TROUBLED/AT RISK CHILDREN

POSITION: The League believes that state-provided services to troubled/at risk children should be comprehensive and accessible, emphasizing early screening and identification, prevention, and early intervention.

Services should be individualized, community based, and include participation by the family, if appropriate. Services should be delivered and coordinated through a case management system with agency linkage.

Early screening and identification of children at risk should be available through health care providers such as health departments, hospital nurseries, and physicians. Prevention and early intervention services should be provided through the Department of Health and other community sources, e.g., schools, childcare centers, Head Start programs, and mental health centers.

State services to troubled/at risk children and families should be available to all, regardless of ability to pay. The highest priority should be given to children who are abused, neglected, delinquent, mentally ill, or diagnosed with multiple risk factors.

Perpetrators of abuse/neglect should have access to treatment, within the family structure if possible, to encourage family preservation.

State and local government should share responsibility for providing services for troubled/at risk children and families.

To assure effective action, the League supports adequate funding for state mandated programs.

JUVENILE JUSTICE

POSITION: The League supports a statewide juvenile justice system based on uniformity, equity, accessibility, and accountability.

Youthful offenders should remain with their families, within their own communities, and be diverted from the court whenever possible.

The juvenile court should be required to select the least restrictive alternative program or placement. Consistent implementation of the least restrictive alternative concept should result in a more effective rehabilitation of children.

The League supports the improvement of the state supported institutions for children through:

Employment of adequately trained and paid personnel, regional diagnostic and treatment centers, additional educational and rehabilitative programs and adequate after-care programs.

A juvenile justice system should include the following:

1. Juvenile court judges should be required to be licensed attorneys. It is recommended that they also have training and experience in juvenile law and child development.

2. The state should provide funding for paying juvenile court judges in order to attract qualified attorneys with special interest in juvenile law. The state and counties should share the responsibility for funding court staff, training, and operations.

3. All salaried and volunteer personnel working in juvenile institutions and detention centers should be provided with periodic, updated, and relevant training in child development, effective communication skills, juvenile law, and other related subjects.

4. All salaried juvenile court personnel, except for clerical workers, should meet certain minimum education and/or experience requirements in juvenile social services, juvenile law, and/or related fields.

5. Uniform intake procedures and standards, including detention screening guidelines, should be adopted and mandated for all juvenile courts. Legal sufficiency to prosecute a case should be the primary intake/detention criterion with diversion being the primary option. Detention hearings should be expedited through the use of referees and other court personnel trained to conduct such hearings.

6. A uniform recordkeeping system should be adopted and mandated for all juvenile courts, facilities, and institutions in Tennessee. Confidentiality of records should be strictly enforced.

7. The due process rights of youth and families should be fully protected and explained at all stages of the juvenile court system process.

8. Dispositional guidelines or sentencing ranges for each type of offense should be adopted to allow for uniformity, consistency, and fairness. This will include age, type of offense, record, etc.

9. Counseling services should be made available to all youth and their families who come into contact with the juvenile justice system.

10. Preference should be given wherever possible to public service or restitution programs in the disposition of delinquency cases. Such programs provide for effective rehabilitation through the development of a sense or responsibility for one's acts, and also provide for the repayment to the victims of offenses and to the community as a whole for the wrongs committed by juveniles.

11. Status offenders should not be incarcerated or detained except when necessary to protect them from immediate and serious danger. Whenever appropriate they should be left in their homes or with relatives or friends. The least restrictive appropriate alternative should be used. The development of emergency shelter resources should be encouraged for all children who need them.

12. Standards should be developed regarding the operation of, conditions in, and treatment of children in correctional institutions and detention facilities. Disciplinary procedures and behavioral expectations should be clearly spelled out, made known to the youths in the institutions, and applied uniformly and fairly. The use of isolation should be discouraged, and strict conditions and time limits placed on its use. Whenever isolation is used, the use and its reasons should be written into the juvenile's record. Corporal punishment should not be used in institutions and facilities for juveniles.

13. The placement of children in adult jails should be prohibited.