ABCFT - YOUnionews - February 26 , 2021
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Negotiations Update By Ruben Mancillas
This week’s report is slightly limited by the fact that we remain in the midst of our negotiations process. My commitment to transparent communication with our membership is balanced with the necessity of confidentiality and the integrity of the bargaining process. Just as I expect our partners to not negotiate in public we need to let elements of what happens at the (virtual) table remain in confidence for now.
Our members have been instrumental in helping us craft our proposals. Thank you for the many responses we have received on surveys, emails, and the input we get from our well attended YOUnion chats. Our negotiating team and our executive board has been listening carefully and offering solutions based on your ideas.
We emphasized to the district the importance of vaccinations and we now have positive news regarding access for all of our members who want them. We have heard how crucial it is that a second semester secondary grading policy not only be done right but that it be presented in a timely manner to give teachers and students the certainty they need moving forward. I anticipate an announcement about an improved policy very, very soon.
Reopening is still the single biggest unresolved issue but a great deal of progress has been made here too. The school board will be looking at a potential schedule in closed session on Tuesday, March 2. The negotiating team is ready to meet immediately afterward if the news is positive and we can come to an agreement that involves the safety and compensation elements that have been a consistent feature of our proposals. Ideally, we would not be up against such tight timelines but we understand that some state and county guidelines and data have changed quickly and we have had to adjust accordingly. For example, being in the red tier means that secondary would also be eligible to return to some type of in-person instruction while all of the previous discussion had been focused exclusively on TK-6.
We have heard the concerns about potential disruption and how many teachers would prefer to remain with their current students if possible. We also understand the argument that there is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to returning at a given date in the spring with all of its attendant upheaval as opposed to maintaining the status quo. There is a great deal of pressure from many stakeholders to reopen schools as soon as it is deemed safe to do so. The county data is trending in this direction and the reality is that we will need to reopen secondary if and when we meet these standards as well as the stipulations of our district’s health and safety plan.
My hope is that our next negotiating update can be filled with details and solid dates. I am cautiously optimistic that this will be the case. The eventual MOU - Memorandum of Understanding will be voted on by the executive board and the rep council before it is presented to you with opportunities to ask further questions before going out for ratification. Your vote matters and your voice will be heard. Thank you for your support and patience during these most challenging times. And a personal thanks to the members of the negotiating team and executive board who have made themselves available for marathon bargaining sessions and emergency meetings at all hours in order to better serve their colleagues.
In Unity,
KEEPING YOU INFORMED -
FEDS MAKE DECISION ON STATE TESTING
(Information is taken from an email to all AFT local presidents)
Dear AFT Leaders,
Today the U.S. Department of Education announced that for the assessments and accountability that are required as part of ESSA in Spring 2021, they are inviting states to submit waivers for some of the requirements. Specifics are below.
For assessments:
For the most part, they are requiring that states try to administer state standardized tests but will encourage flexibilities including:
Shorter options;
Remote options; and
Extending the testing window into the summer or even the 2021-2022 school year.
The letter includes a statement that students who are unable to attend school in person should not be brought into a school building just for the purpose of taking a test.
They will consider state requests on a case-by-case basis to address state-specific needs on how the above flexibilities will not work. They would want to hear from states, for example, on how they can't operationalize their assessment in the following places in the following ways, and will give states a fair hearing. They will not accept blanket requests for waivers of all federally-required assessments this Spring.
Specifically for English language proficiency assessments: For now, they are extending the window and encouraging the above flexibilities.
For accountability:Will allow waivers to just about all accountability requirements, and will specifically call out the 95% as waivable.
States that do request waivers to accountability requirements will have to report out disaggregated data on chronic absenteeism and on student and educator access to technology, if available.
Will encourage states to consider reducing stakes beyond ESSA, specifying graduation and promotion.
AFT’s statement is attached and here. While we are disappointed that the Education Department is still requiring tests, we think there is important flexibility in today’s announcement. I mean what I said in my statement—we intend to hold the Department to its word that states that can’t administer their assessments get fairly considered.
We encourage affiliates to review their waiver requests to state chiefs and update based on today’s announcement. As always, please reach out with questions.
In Unity,
Randi Weingarten
MEMBER ONLY RESOURCES
(Information from Share My Lesson)
What Does It Mean to Be Anti-Racist?
To create an equitable society, we as educators and parents must commit to making unbiased choices and being anti-racist in all aspects of our lives. To be anti-racist is to be actively fighting racism; a choice resulting from a conscious decision to make frequent, consistent, equitable decisions daily. As students nationwide have joined the fight for racial equity and justice, many educators are engaging students in discussing our nation’s fraught history of systemic racism. Racism is everyone’s problem, and we all have an integral role to play in stopping it.
AFT’s Share My Lesson designed this collection of free PreK-12 anti-racism resources to not only help educators foster meaningful conversations, but to create respectful, understanding, and safe school environments for all students. Below, explore blogs, lesson plans, webinars, and other anti-racism resources to engage students in being actively anti-racist and help your community commit to anti-racist action. Find anti-racist educational resources covering topics like:
Promoting racial literacy
Analyzing systems of oppression
Building culturally responsive and anti-racist classrooms
UNDERSTANDING COVID TERMS
Isolation vs. Quarantine (Taken from this week’s MAKE IT SAFE MONDAYS)
You’ve likely heard the terms isolation and quarantine used when discussing people who have or may have been exposed to COVID-19, but what’s the difference? According to the L.A. County Department of Public Health, those identified as close-contacts to a person diagnosed with COVID-19 must quarantine for ten days.
Quarantine means that you stay home, limiting your contact with others and only leaving for needed medical care. If you are in the same rooms as others, stay six feet apart. Wear a face covering if you cannot maintain physical distance. If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19, you are required to isolate yourself for at least ten days, AND you haven’t had a fever for at least 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medications), AND your symptoms have improved. You will need to separate yourself from others, even at home. Use a separate bathroom if possible. If not possible, disinfect the bathroom after each use. Do not visit with any non-essential visitors and do not handle pets. The L.A. County Department of Public Health has more information on quarantining and isolating.
ISOLATE: Stay home
You must stay home and separate yourself from others until your home isolation ends.
Stay away from household members.
Do not go to work, school, or public areas.
If you must leave home to get essential medical care, drive yourself, if possible. If you cannot drive yourself, keep as much distance as possible between you and the driver and others (e.g. sit in the back seat), leave the windows down, and wear a mask, if possible. If you do not have a mask, wear a cloth face covering (see below).
If someone from outside your household is shopping for you, ask them to leave the food and other supplies at your door, if possible. Pick them up after the person has left. If you need help finding free delivery services, social services, essential items like food and medicines call 2-1-1 or visit the Public Health resource webpage ph.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus/resources.htm.
Work and school
If you work or study in a setting where you could have gotten COVID-19 or passed it on to others, please tell your workplace or school so that they can advise others to test and/or quarantine as needed.
Information about Disability Insurance, Unemployment & Paid Family Leaves for people who are unable to work because they, or a family member, need to isolate or quarantine is available on the California Employment Development Department website.
For more information on COVID-19 related work issues, including employee benefits, protections for workers, and resources, view the Workers’ Rights Frequently Asked Questions.
You do not need to have a negative test or a letter from Public Health to return to work or school.
MEMBER BENEFITS - WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS
Maintaining our mental health and well-being is important for all of us. ABCFT will be offering Wellness Wednesdays from 3:00 to 3:30 pm members will have an opportunity to virtually participate in Guided Meditation and Chair Yoga. These weekly sessions will give members a chance to practice self-care.
In partnership with Kaiser Permanente, you can also access mindfulness resources for all ABCFT members. For Kaiser members, you have free access to the app Calm and myStrength which offers personalized self-care programs based on the cognitive behavioral therapy model. Please be kind to yourself and find time in your busy schedule to take care of yourself.
This week, Donna focuses on energy systems within our bodies and how to get it aligned using Chakra. Participants practice yoga moves to open Chakra points within the body.
The session closes with a quote from author Caroline Myss,
“The soul always knows what to do to heal itself, the challenge is to silence the mind.”
ABCFT PRESIDENT’S REPORT - Ray Gaer
Communication is a union’s most important tool for advocating for its members at the bargaining table. Every conversation with the membership is focused on the end result of negotiating for the future prosperity and wellbeing of ABCFT members. This weekly report aims to keep the membership informed about issues that impact their working/learning conditions and their mental well-being. Together we make the YOUnion.
Do we have a plan yet? Not officially but the ABCFT negotiating team is waiting for the ABC School Board to provide the last piece of the puzzle for the opening of elementary schools. By mid-week we hope to have a signed agreement and by next Friday we hope you will have an agreement that we can take out to the membership to be ratified. I’ve always read newspaper articles that talked about negotiations during stikes and fiscal standoffs going long hours and into the night but I never in my wildest dreams thought I would experience that kind of situation. Your ABCFT negotiating team has been working overtime to ensure that the needs of our members are best reflected in the final agreement.
The strategy of ABCFT over the past twelve months has been to delay opening until it was safer and teachers. I am pleased to see that vaccines are being administered, plexiglass is on its way, the desks are being moved into place, the PPE is being stockpiled, protocols are being formed and the opening of ABC schools is inching closer. Because of the negotiating process, I cannot divulge the exact date of the opening in ABC but I can give hints. It will take about four weeks for the school district to prepare for opening. Elementary schools need to be open by April 15th to capture additional state funding so districts are scrambling to meet this funding deadline. You do the math and think about a rational place to start and you’ll know the date.
What about secondary schools? Ray, you said you didn’t think we would come back. True, I didn’t think we would but I am happy to say that the rate of infection in LA County is low enough for it to be a possibility. I am as surprised as you are. Will our secondary schools open at the same time as elementary schools you ask? It is a possibility, but the situation is dependent on the cases per 100,000 and estimates are that Los Angeles is on target for secondary school to be eligible to open by next week. If in fact we do start negotiations for bringing back secondary schools we will meet with secondary teachers for input. However, we foresee little class roster disruption because secondary schedules were built with a hybrid in mind.
This weekend, members of the negotiating team will discuss final language and proposals with the school district in preparation for a Monday morning negotiating meeting. Hopefully by Wednesday, we will have something concrete to report to you. Thank you for your patience and for being so thoughtful about communicating your concerns and ideas for consideration. We hope that you will see your input reflected in the final agreement which we hope to have next week. If all goes to plan you will be voting by the end of next week.
I know the last twelve months have been a rollercoaster and you have all worried about your safety. I’ve spent many nights thinking about your families and how ABCFT could work to keep you and your families safe. It’s been my number one job and it will remain a top priority as we move forward. Together we will move forward, change gears to prepare for in-person instruction and do the best to help our students adjust and move forward. Our job as a union is sweat out the details so you can do your job of teaching. I hope that you believe that we have met this goal. Thank you for all you do with our students and for being a part of the ABC Federation of Teachers.
In Unity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
CFT members say they are ready to return to school with vaccine and safety measures
CFT members indicated in a recent poll that they were ready to return to in-person instruction so long as they were offered the vaccine and safety measures were in place. The results of the poll, which was conducted between January 25 and February 5, come as President Joe Biden and the CDC both urge states to prioritize vaccinating teachers and school workers.
When considering how to safely returning to in-person instruction, 90% of CFT members rated as extremely important or important each of the following:
Ensuring a COVID-19 vaccine is readily available for all educators and classified professionals.
Having an adequate supply of personal protective equipment, or PPE, including masks, gloves, face shields, and cleaning equipment.
Having ventilation plans that take weather and air quality into account and maximize fresh air circulation.
Having regular testing available for all educators and classified professionals.
The results of this poll are timely, as earlier this week Blue Shield announced the goal of being able to administer 3 million shots a week by March 1 in California. And today, Governor Newsom announced that California will set aside 10% of all first doses of COVID-19 vaccines for educators and support staff starting March 1. With the increased production and delivery of vaccines that we are anticipating, we absolutely can vaccinate every teacher and school worker in the state.
But we don’t need to wait until March 1. More and more counties are already vaccinating teachers and school workers. For example, Santa Cruz County vaccinated 1,500 school employees in the last week and they are making vaccinations a part of the phased-in reopening approach for which CFT has long advocated.
In Berkeley, teachers reached a deal this week to phase in the reopening of schools to hybrid teaching and in-person instruction by including educator and classified worker vaccinations as part of their agreement. Vaccinations for teachers and school staff will begin February 22 and continue through the spring as the schools phase in reopening for students, beginning with lower grades first.
Governor Newsom and the state legislature are still hammering out a deal for school reopening. But in the meantime, we shouldn’t wait to vaccinate our school workers. The progress over the last few weeks is promising, and we will continue to urge state and local officials to prioritize vaccinating teachers and classified employees to pave the way for a safe, phased reopening of our schools.
The latest CFT articles and news stories can be found here on the PreK12 news feed on the CFT.org website.
AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
AFT President Randi Weingarten Reacts to Changes in Educational Assessment Requirements
for 2020-2021 School Year
WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement in response to the Biden administration’s announcement of changes to assessment and accountability requirements for the 2020-2021 school year:
“Nothing is ideal during a pandemic, especially when it comes to navigating how best to educate our nation’s students. The Biden administration took office at a critical moment and was left to clean up myriad messes left by its predecessors, including addressing the difficult reality of how to support children and their educators, and how to monitor their safety as well as their academic, social, and emotional development and progress. It has done admirable work amid this chaos, so it is a frustrating turn to see the administration ask states to continue requiring assessments during this tumultuous school year. While its plan does offer the option for testing modifications and waivers for accountability requirements, which is a start, it misses a huge opportunity to really help our students by allowing the waiver of assessments and the substitution, instead, of locally developed, authentic assessments that could be used by educators and parents as a baseline for work this summer and next year.
“As the educators in the classroom, we have always known that standardized tests are not the best way to measure a child’s development, nor do they particularly help kids or inform best practices for teaching and learning. That is especially true in these unprecedented times, when students and teachers alike are remaking the school experience in the most unlikely of circumstances.
“Today’s announcement includes two very important points: that no student should be brought back in person just to take a test, and that states that require additional flexibility in administering such tests will get a fair hearing from the Education Department if and when they present real operational challenges. For the benefit of students and educators everywhere, we intend to hold the Biden administration to its word on both.”
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
Teacher vaccinations ‘not a prerequisite’ to reopening schools, says White House
On Sunday, the White House reiterated that teachers do not need to be vaccinated against the coronavirus before schools can reopen, a stance Biden administration officials say is in line with scientific guidelines but that puts them at odds with some teachers unions that have insisted members will not return to the classroom until they receive the vaccine. “The CDC is saying in order to be safe, there are a number of steps that can be taken. Vaccinating teachers is one of them,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on ABC’s This Week, before listing an array of other measures, including smaller class sizes, separating children on school buses, providing personal protective equipment to schools, and making testing facilities more available. “Our secretary of education will work with school districts to implement that,” Ms. Psaki continued. “So [teachers] should be prioritized. But our science experts are saying it’s not a prerequisite and that’s the guidelines that we follow.” American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten agreed that “not every single teacher has to be vaccinated before you open any schools,” but stressed that her members are understandably fearful of the risks. “I want to debunk this myth that teachers’ unions — at least our union — doesn’t want to reopen schools,” Weingarten said on NBC’s Meet the Press. "… Look, we’ve had 500,000 deaths and we’ve had such grim realities here. But the teachers of this country understand that in-person education is really important.”
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Schools must give standardized tests this spring
States will not be allowed to cancel federally mandated standardized exams this school year despite the pandemic, though they will be offered significant flexibility in how they give those tests and how they’re used, the U.S. Department of Education informed state education leaders Monday. The first high-stakes decision for the Biden education department, it means that schools will have to find ways to safely administer tests to tens of millions of students, many of whom are still learning remotely. States may seek permission to move assessments to the fall, administer tests remotely and/or shorten the exam, the agency said. However, the Biden administration rejected calls to allow states to skip the tests altogether, which they were allowed to do last year. “State assessment and accountability systems play an important role in advancing educational equity,” Ian Rosenblum, an official with the federal department, wrote in a letter Monday to state school chiefs. “At the same time, it is clear that the pandemic requires significant flexibility for the 2020-2021 school year so that states can respond to the unique circumstances they are facing.”
Education Week Chalkbeat Washington Post EdSource
Teachers drive COVID-19 transmission more than students, CDC says
A paper published Monday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that teachers may be more important drivers of COVID-19 transmission in schools than students. Researchers based their findings on a study of eight Georgia public elementary schools conducted between December 1st and January 22nd, a period when the region was experiencing a surge in cases. The study discovered nine linked infection clusters at six schools that involved several dozen educators and students. “All nine transmission clusters involved less than ideal physical distancing, and five involved inadequate mask use by students,” researchers said, with educators “central to in-school transmission networks.” The authors said their findings were consistent with studies in other countries, including the UK and Germany. The CDC again advised that schools need to pursue "multifaceted" strategies to prevent the spread of the virus, including cutting down on teacher-to-teacher meetings, making sure masks are worn correctly, and increasing physical distancing, especially during mealtimes when people can’t wear masks.
New York Times Fox News Politico Pro CDC
----- STATE NEWS -----
California moves ahead to pursue flexibility waivers for testing
The State Board of Education has voted unanimously to prepare to apply for more flexible standardized testing options this year as nearly 80% of students across the state continue with distance learning. California will prepare to submit a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education that will relieve any consequences for the state if less than 95% of students are tested, which is currently required under the federal education law. In a typical year, federal funding can be withheld from states that dip below the 95% benchmark. Additionally, the timeframe for administering all tests will be extended until July 30th, giving districts two extra weeks to continue testing students.
California will set aside vaccine doses for educators, staff
California plans to set aside 10% of first vaccine doses for educators, school staff, and childcare providers starting in March to help get children back in classrooms, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday. He explained that the state expects more consistent vaccine shipments and that its allotment from the federal government will start rising. That consistency gives the state the confidence to set aside a baseline of 75,000 first doses of vaccine each week for teachers, school staff, and childcare workers from March 1st - a move welcomed as “an important step” by the California Teachers Association, which represents 310,000 educators. The governor did not say whether teachers and other staff members should expect to receive full treatment - the two injections required by current vaccines - before returning to campuses or should expect to be vaccinated soon after schools open.
Los Angeles Times The Mercury News The Daily Journal USA Today
----- DISTRICTS -----
LA Super: April 9th still feasible for limited school openings
Los Angeles USD Superintendent Austin Beutner said yesterday that elementary campuses in the district could still reopen by April 9th, provided that vaccines are prioritized for school employees. He again pressed upon state officials the need to ensure vaccine availability for school staff, as pressure continues to mount by parents, business leaders, and some medical experts calling on the district to provide in-person instruction. “We need a specific plan with a specific commitment of doses to Los Angeles Unified so we can protect our school staff and all in the school community,” Mr. Beutner said. “That’s what Chicago did and that’s what Long Beach did. We need to do that here.” “My goal of April 9th is still possible, but we need to start today, not tomorrow, not next week,” he continued. “We stand ready to work with state and local health authorities. Get us the doses and we’ll get it done.” In news from LA, Service Employees International Union Local 99 announced Monday it had reached an agreement with the district to bring back thousands more custodians, food service and afterschool workers, and others to prepare for the reopening of schools. As well as priority access to vaccines when available, workers mandated to work onsite will receive an additional $5-per-hour bump in pay until in-person instruction resumes and all other employees are required to be back on campuses.
Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Daily News CBS Los Angeles
LA County green-lights outdoor high-school-sports
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer said during a press briefing on Wednesday that the county will adopt the state’s revised guidelines for high school sports, and that will allow football and other high-contact outdoor sports to begin having practices and playing games. The California Department of Public Health’s updated guidelines will take effect this Friday, and that will be the first day that football teams can have full practices in pads if they have completed their required conditioning workouts. Teams could play their first games on March 11th-13th. “I know this is good news for so many, but I am going to temper that with let’s do this carefully,” Dr, Ferrer said.
Los Angeles Times The Press-Telegram
Entire Oakley school board resigns over 'hot mic' mistake
The Oakley Union Elementary School District announced on Friday that its entire school board has submitted their resignations from their positions after offensive comments were caught on tape. The district says board members Kim Beede, Erica Ippolito, Richie Masadas, and board president Lisa Brizendine have all stepped down from their roles. Trustees were awaiting the start of the meeting when they began discussing parents’ letters and social media posts about reopening schools. “It’s easy to hide behind a screen but when you’re face to face with people it’s a whole different ball game,” Mr. Nasadas said. Ms. Beede then defended herself against a parent who chided her on social media for going to a party during the coronavirus pandemic after declaring it wasn’t safe to return to school. After some laughter, Ms. Brizendine then commiserated with others about the growing criticism they’ve faced over closed schools, suggesting parents really want schools to reopen so they get their babysitters back. “We deeply regret the earlier comments that were made in the meeting of the Board of Education earlier this week,” a joint statement by now ex-board members Kim Beede, Erica Ippolito, and Richie Masadas say, “As trustees, we realize it is our responsibility to model the conduct that we expect of our students and staff, and it is our obligation to build confidence in district leadership; our comments failed you in both regards, and for this, we offer our sincerest apology.”
East Bay Times ABC 7 The Mercury News
----- CLASSROOM -----
Low-income children less likely to get ‘live’ contact with teachers
Many students may be learning virtually, but children from lower-income families are less likely to have live contact with their teachers than kids from wealthier families, according to an analysis of census data by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Researchers found that 21% of children from families making less than $25,000 a year reported having had no “live contact” with a teacher in the prior seven days, whether in-person, by phone, or virtually, compared with 11% of children whose families make at least $200,000 a year. It’s unclear just what impact the switch from in-person to virtual learning will have on kids over the long term, said Anthony Carnevale, the Center’s director, and Megan Fasules, a research economist at Georgetown. “What is clear, though, is that gaps in access to the technologies necessary for virtual learning are exacerbating the challenges already faced by students in lower-income households,” they added.
----- LEGAL -----
SCOTUS to decide scope of transgender student rights
A Virginia school district has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether schools must allow transgender students to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity. The appeal came in the long-running case of transgender student Gavin Grimm, who was barred by a policy of the Gloucester County school district from using the boys’ restroom at his high school. In its appeal in Gloucester County School Board v. Grimm, the Virginia district acknowledges that several federal appeals courts have joined with the one that ruled in Grimm’s case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, in Richmond, Va., in favor of a broad reading of transgender student rights under Title IX and the equal-protection clause. The district also cited an executive order signed by President Joe Biden that declared Title IX to protect students on the basis of gender identity. The American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement from one of its lawyers and from Grimm, its client, expressing disappointment in the school district’s decision to take the case back to the Supreme Court.
School District Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Scope of Transgender Student Rights
A Virginia school district on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether schools must allow transgender students to use restrooms consistent with their gender identity.
The appeal came in the long-running case of transgender student Gavin Grimm, who was barred by a policy of the Gloucester County school district from using the boys’ restroom at his high school. A federal appeals court ruled last year that the district’s policy violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which bars sex discrimination in federally funded schools, and the 14th Amendment’s equal-protection clause.
In its appeal in Gloucester County School Board v. Grimm, the Virginia district acknowledges that several federal appeals courts have joined with the one that ruled in Grimm’s case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, in Richmond, Va., in favor of a broad reading of transgender student rights under Title IX and the equal-protection clause. And the district cites an executive order signed by President Joe Biden during his first week in office that declared Title IX to protect students on the basis of gender identity. The court rulings and the Biden order amount to a “nationwide policy” that deprives school districts such as Gloucester County from tailoring restroom and locker room policies that would also protect the privacy rights of cisgender students, the district said in its brief.
According to the 4th Circuit and the Biden administration, the district argues in its brief, “even schools that lack sufficient facilities or resources to ensure the bodily privacy of all their students are still [ITAL] required by Title IX and the Fourteenth Amendment to allow biologically male teenagers into multi-user girl’s restrooms, locker rooms, and showers, and vice versa.”
The 4th Circuit panel said last year that Grimm’s Title IX sex-discrimination claim was bolstered by the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga.. In that case, the high court held that the prohibition against sex discrimination in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 covered sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace. In Grimm’s case, the 4th Circuit said that the district’s “bathroom policy precluding Grimm from using the boys’ restrooms discriminated against him “on the basis of sex.’”
The Gloucester County district argues that the 4th Circuit’s reliance on Bostock was misplaced because Title IX is a “vastly different statute” than Title VII. Title IX allows for sex-separated living facilities on school campuses and its regulations allow for sex-separated restrooms, the district argues.
The district also argues that the 4th Circuit’s equal-protection ruling has far-reaching consequences and that Grimm’s case remains a good vehicle to decide an issue that is being debated nationwide. (Although Grimm graduated from Gloucester High School a few years ago, his suit seeks damages and both sides continue to fight over Grimm’s gender classification in the school district’s permanent records.)
Grimm’s case was granted review by the Supreme Court in 2016, based on an earlier 4th Circuit ruling that the district had violated Title IX and that courts should defer to the interpretation of the federal statute by President Barack Obama’s administration. When President Donald Trump’s administration withdrew the Obama Title IX guidance, the Supreme Court sent Grimm’s case back to the lower courts.
The American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement from one of its lawyers and from Grimm, its client, expressing disappointment in the school district’s decision to take the case back to the Supreme Court.
“It is disappointing that after six years of litigation, the Gloucester County School Board is still digging in its heels,” said Josh Block, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU. “Federal law is clear: Transgender students are protected from discrimination. Gloucester County schools are no exception.”
Grimm said in a statement, “I graduated four years ago—it is upsetting and disappointing that Gloucester County continues to deny who I am. Trans students in Gloucester County schools today should have the respect and dignity that I was denied.”
The ACLU will file a formal response to the district’s appeal sometime this spring, and it is likely the Biden administration would chime in as well.
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
CDC Study: Teachers May Drive COVID-19 Transmission In Schools More Than Students
The AP (2/22, Amy) reports a new CDC “study finds that teachers may be more important drivers of COVID-19 transmission in schools than students.” The paper “studies nine COVID-19 transmission clusters in elementary schools in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta in December and January.” In just “one of the nine clusters was a student clearly the first documented case, while a teacher was the first documented case in four clusters.” In the other “four, the first case was unclear.” Out “of the nine clusters, eight involved probable teacher-to-student transmission.” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said, “Educators played an important role in the spread. ... COVID-19 spread often occurred during in-person meetings or lunches and then subsequently spread to classrooms.”
Reuters (2/22, Maddipatla) reports “two clusters involved probable teacher-to-teacher transmission that was followed by teacher-to-student transmission in classrooms, the agency said in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.” COVID-19 “transmission from teachers resulted in about half of 31 school-related cases, according to the investigation.” Newsweek (2/22, Impelli) reports “the study also tested 69 household members of individuals with school-associated cases and found that 18, or 26 percent, received a positive coronavirus test.” The study said, “All nine transmission clusters involved less than ideal physical distancing and five involved inadequate mask use by students.”
HealthDay (2/22, Murez, Mundell) reports researchers led by Dr. Jeremy Gold, an epidemic intelligence service officer for the CDC, wrote in the study, “Although not required for reopening schools, COVID-19 vaccination should be considered as an additional mitigation measure to be added when available.” Other studies have also shown adults contribute to spreading COVID-19 in schools. In a large UK study, “teacher-to-teacher transmission was the most common source of school infection. Another large study conducted in German schools found that in-school transmission rates were three times higher when the initial case started with a teacher as opposed to a student.”
How far apart should students be in classrooms?
Making space to separate students and teachers remains one of the biggest challenges to in-person instruction during the pandemic. The World Health Organization’s guidelines are for spaces of six feet between students in classrooms; however, this is too much according to some administrators, who say they don’t have the physical space for such distancing. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that there should be a space of around three feet, keeping students separate while allowing more to fit into classrooms. The six-foot buffer zone has been a rule of thumb since the 1800s, in the earliest studies of infection spray in sneezes and coughs. However, an analysis of research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Fluid Dynamics of Disease Transmission Laboratory described both the three-foot and six-foot rules as “outdated”, with the risk of airborne transmission of COVID-19 based not on simple distance, but whether people were in a generally crowded area, a well- or poorly ventilated space, whether they were wearing masks, and whether they were speaking softly or loudly.
NTA Life Insurance - An ABCFT Sponsor
About three years ago ABCFT started a working relationship with National Teachers Associates Life Insurance Company. Throughout our partnership, NTA has been supportive of ABCFT activities by sponsorship and prizes for our various events. This organization specializes in providing insurance for educators across the nation. We have been provided both data and member testimonials about how pleased they have been with the NTA products and the opportunity to look at alternatives to the district insurance choice.
To All Members of the ABC Federation of Teachers,
National Teacher Associates (NTA) is committed to our efforts to helping educators through tough times. It’s what we do. After all…in our eyes, you are the heart and soul of our communities.
Protecting you and your families has been our goal for over 45 years. Despite the current global pandemic, we are not about to slow down now. We know that many of you have had our programs for years and sometimes forget the intricacies of how they work. NTA wants to help facilitate any possible claims for now and in the future. Fortunately, all claims and reviews can be done by phone and on-line. I personally want to offer my services to guide you in the right direction with your NTA benefits.
We also apologize for not being able to finish the open enrollment for those of you who wanted to get our protection. We are still able to help by extending our enrollment window for the near future. Again, this can be done over the phone, email, or on-line.
Please contact Leann Blaisdell at any time either by phone or email.
562-822-5004
leann.blaisdell@ntarep.com
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