ABCFT YOUnionews for October 8, 2021
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Negotiations Update By Ruben Mancillas
The school board voted to approve the opening of our negotiations during last Tuesday night’s meeting. This meeting was the first to be held in person for a long time and it was helpful to be there to better ascertain the concerns of the community and the responses of the board. A big thank you to the ABCFT members who stayed for the entire meeting; Lori Eulberg and Brittney Parker-Goodin (our newest executive board member!). The negotiating team will be meeting with Mr. Nguyen, our Chief Financial Officer, to get a budget update before we proceed with our first formal negotiating session in the coming weeks.
Yesterday afternoon we held our site representative meeting. I appreciate Dr. Zietlow joining us to present the latest district protocols regarding testing. It allowed your site reps the opportunity to ask questions directly of our Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and take that information back to you. Our monthly meeting typically ends with site concerns, where individual reps can share what is going on at their sites and solutions can be sought. This is one of the core structural opportunities that members have to be effectively represented by their union. The site rep is the individual (or individuals depending on the size of the respective site) that knows their site best and has an understanding of the needs of his or her colleagues. One of the helpful things about sharing site concerns is that we can realize as a group when there is an issue that is occurring district-wide. ABCFT leadership can then take these concerns directly to their partners at the district to get these problems addressed.
One of the issues that I heard mentioned was the idea of mandated professional learning. This is linked to the problem of our limited substitute teacher capacity but member trainings held after the professional duty day cannot be considered mandatory. Members can be subbed out to attend professional learning during the day but after school participation is voluntary.
I had hoped that this year would be the “post-pandemic” year but it clearly is becoming the “next pandemic year” in terms of the challenges we are all still adjusting to. My message is that we need to focus on the main thing, which remains student achievement, and that expectations need to remain reasonable. There is only so much time and only so much that can be done. We will remain flexible and resilient as we adapt to meet the needs of our students but as education professionals, it is also up to us to set realistic boundaries and limits.
In Unity,
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - SCHOOL BOARD REPORT By Ray Gaer
You can find a recording of this weeks school board meeting here
This week’s school board meeting from the written report below is pretty much a boilerplate agenda and it was uneventful because the board did its typical required job of running the school district. However, a look under the hood and we can see that this car’s engine is sputtering and having fits. It is always unfortunate that board members and community members start pointing fingers, aim their well-intentioned slingshots, and everyone starts circling their wagons for the big fight.
In the YOUnionews last week we provided a brief outline as to the drama that has been unfolding concerning the Cerritos Republican Party hosting an alt-right and known white supremacist in a forum that bashed the ABC School District with accusations that Critical Race Theory (CRT) was being taught in our classrooms and that our sex education programs were “pornographic” (so says ABCUSD board member Dr. Eugenio). Our students and this community deserve better than to promote the conspiratorial misinformation lurking in the dark corners of Facebook in place of reasoned discourse based on facts.
In our research prior to the school board meeting last Tuesday we uncovered a picture revealing two ABCUSD school board members (Soo Yoo and Michael Eugenio). In addition to the articles, we shared last week which have some very concerning quotes from Soo Yoo and a summary of an overall anti-public education event with racist undertones. I guess what is most disturbing is that these two democratically elected school board trustees have chosen to align themselves with corrupt forces that are bent on destroying public education and its intended mission to raise up children of all walks of life so that they may have an opportunity to thrive and achieve their own American Dream. We have included this disturbing picture here of board members Soo Yoo and Michael Eugenio in their attendance at this event. Notice in the background the symbol for the Department of Education has been crossed out in a gang-like fashion. The sole purpose of a local school board member is to uphold the ethics and standards of the Department of Education at the local level so I find this picture completely hypocritical. This controversial meeting has caused weeks of ABC community drama as each side points fingers and twists words and actions to further their own gains. Politics that negatively affect our school district, the employees, and the students of this community are destructive and will only weaken our school district and ultimately hurt the academic achievement of our students, the main thing.
During this week’s school board meeting you had community members and a board trustee calling on Soo Yoo to resign from her position due to her attendance at this event and for her divisive, disrespectful, and deeply disappointing comments about Hispanic parents and what they can do to help their daughters and sons academics. This is not the first time that board member Yoo has uttered culturally insensitive remarks. Her co-conspirator at the meeting of the Cerritos Republicans, Dr. Eugenio was careful enough not to be quoted at the event but his attendance at this event speaks volumes about his mission to weaken our district from the inside out. ABCFT has had concerns about Mrs. Yoo but we have created a working relationship with her and her voting record as a board member has always reflected her support for students and ABC employees. In stark contrast, board member Euginio has never voted in support of the employees of ABC, has lobbied for his own beliefs about the inclusion of alt-right curriculum, bashed the department of education, trashed ABCFT and other education unions and teachers in a time when teachers and staff have done everything in their power to keep our students safe and educated. Dr. Eugenio has basically voted NO for everything good about education yet our community is not asking for his resignation. That is troubling. It has been frustrating to see the dysfunction and turmoil that we have seen at school board meetings nationwide begin to show its insidious influence here in ABCUSD but, in the end, the community will have to render its judgment.
The justice that will be served to these school board members needs to be handed down by their constituents and the trustee areas they serve. Let the democratic process work as it should. The next school board election is November 2022 for two of the trustee areas. ABCUSD needs school board members that will give their most to better our districts, care for the employees, and most importantly will have the main thing, our students’ achievement as their top priority. Resignations would only allow an already conservative school board to appoint other like-minded officials that will NOT have our best interests at heart. Elections have consequences and we can see how we as a community have let a fast-moving poison of destructive trustees invade our sacred education circle of trust. I hope that in the coming year you will join with other ABCFT members, CSEA members, AFSCME members, ABCUSD administrators, and concerned ABC community leaders to get this school board back on track. Let’s bring back a board that isn’t worried about using the ABC School Board as a stepping stone for their precious city council positions in Cerritos or Artesia. Our students should never be used as pawns in a larger political game. ABCUSD deserves better.
BOARD MEETING RECAP from ABCUSD Scott Smith:
The ABCUSD Board of Education took the following actions at the October 5, 2021 meeting:
• Artesia High School Principal Mr. Garcia presented on Hispanic Heritage Month
• Passed Resolution 21-35 – National Hispanic Heritage Month
• Approved community and student members to board advisory committees
• Approved an MOU with ABCFT for health and wellness benefits for the 21-22 school year
• Held a public hearing and adopted Resolution 21-36 – Textbook and instructional materials compliance and certify provision for standards-aligned instructional materials
• Approved bid award ABC-1572 for HVAC replacement at Niemes Elementary School
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - COVID-19 Testing
COVID-19 testing will begin for ABCUSD employees the week of October 11, 2021, in order to adhere to California’s State Health Order, all school employees are to provide verification of COVID-19 vaccination or participate in weekly COVID-19 testing. Each site or program will have a designated time to get tested. Although weekly testing is only required of those who have not disclosed their vaccine status or are unvaccinated, over 300 teachers who are vaccinated have chosen to participate in the testing. An email detailing the testing protocols has been shared with those who will be testing. If you are interested in testing, contact your site/program administrator so you can register.
World United Health is the vendor in charge of obtaining the test samples and processing them. An ABCFT member who obtained this information from World United was kind enough to share the questions and answers we obtained regarding the testing protocols. We believe that this information would be invaluable for any ABCFT member who has questions or concerns about how testing will be conducted.
You can access the COVID-19 Testing Protocols Q&A here.
MEMBER BENEFITS - Wellness Wednesday Archive
Maintaining our mental health and well-being is important for all of us. Last year, ABCFT offered Wellness Wednesdays members had an opportunity to virtually participate in Guided Meditation and Chair Yoga. These weekly sessions gave members a chance to practice self-care. Even if you were not able to attend these wonderful restorative practices you can still access the archive by using the link below.
Click here to view the recording of the Guided Meditation and Chair Yoga for the weekly archives
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.
MEMBER ONLY RESOURCES
Your New Share My Lesson Is Here
When the AFT launched Share My Lesson back in 2012, AFT had a vision of designing a virtual space where all educators could find and share on-demand, high-quality and free classroom resources, including the best educator-created lesson plans, learning materials, and teaching practices.
Among the many new pluses you’ll find in the reimagined SML:
A robust search feature, with easier and faster ways to find the content you want and the resources you need.
Role-based search functions, content, and collaboration spaces—all customized to meet your specific needs whether you’re a parent or caregiver, a teacher, a paraprofessional, a specialized instructional support person, or a higher education faculty member. You can now collaborate more easily in revamped online communities centered on how you interact with kids and colleagues.
Streamlined ways to move around the site, with fun and engaging new illustrations and graphics.
The latest news-related lessons and blogs, plus resources for “topics to address this month,” whether it’s celebrating America’s immigrant heritage, teaching civics education, or understanding and honoring Juneteenth.
All this with the same high-quality content from trusted partners and the same popular, proven features, such as lesson plan sharing and user ratings.
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.
Okay, hopefully, you will read our piece this week about the school board drama that has been unfolding over the last month and how it came to a head this week at the Tuesday night board meeting. That article was the best of my mojo for the week and I hope you see that it is a rallying cry for members to get involved in school board elections, speaking at board meetings when they don’t agree with something the board members are doing or just to be informed about the trustees who impact your lives directly every time they vote for a raise, additional compensation, your safety, your classroom materials and supports, who your administrators are, who the superintendent is, and everything else that impacts your workplace environment.
ABCFT held its monthly site representative meeting this week and I will report that we have an amazing team of site representatives this year consisting of new faces and union leadership veterans. This month we invited the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, Dr. Gina Zietlow to join us for a question and answer session concerning the COVID-19 testing that will begin next Monday in ABC and in every school district in California by October 15, 2021. I hope that you take a few minutes to review the information we provided this week concerning these testing protocols. The ABCFT site representatives had some great and insightful questions for Dr. Zietlow who answered to the best of her ability taking into account how some details continue to change going forward. For example, there have been questions about next year’s mandate for vaccinated employees and the possibility of a vaccine being rolled out for students, and how these changes will affect ABCFT members or their students. At this time, Dr. Zietlow and ABCFT are not sure if these mandates will stick or how they will impact ABCFT members but we do understand that the California Legislature will be discussing the impact of future mandates and how they will impact staffing and enrollment in our public school system.
Another important discussion was held during the site rep meeting concerning the actions of a couple of the ABC school board members and how ABCFT will proceed in the coming weeks at the next board meeting. I would personally like to thank all of the ABCFT site representatives for your participation and passion in this important discussion. ABCFT strives to create a space where points of view can be shared and understood. Thank you site reps for your “ownership” of this union and its collective vision for the future.
Personally, I was out sick for a couple of days but there was plenty of time to catch up with members via email and phone calls to stay on top of what was going on this week. Helping individuals navigate the bureaucracy is my personal favorite thing I cherish about my position as a union representative. We’ve all had that moment where we find ourselves in a situation where we aren’t sure how to proceed and hopefully in those times we have a helpful resource, person, or organization to offer support. That’s exactly what your YOUnion provides in your time of need, a guiding hand or advocate to help your situation. Anyway, it’s a pleasure to work with members during those times and I relish the opportunity to assist you.
Now that I’m feeling better, I’ll be taking my family to an all-female demolition derby this Saturday in Irwindale as an exercise in pure distraction and fun. I hope that you will find something equally fun to do in your well-deserved downtime.
In YOUnity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
Governor Newsom announces coming vaccine requirements for K-12 staff and students
Earlier today, Governor Newsom announced the state of California is implementing a vaccine requirement for all K-12 school staff and students. The requirement will be implemented for students in two phases: first, grades 7-12; then, grades K-6, and will take effect following full FDA approval for each of the subgroups of students. Based on current projections, vaccine requirements will likely apply to students in grades 7-12 and school staff starting on July 1, 2022.
In a statement released following the announcement by the Governor, CFT President Jeff Freitas pledged to work with state and local officials to implement the plan.
Citing the fact that 89% of CFT members are already vaccinated, and that supermajorities of CFT members support vaccine requirements for both staff and students, Jeff Freitas said:
“We look forward to working with Governor Newsom, state health and education officials, and our local school districts as they implement a vaccine requirement for our schools. We will work to ensure our members continue to have a voice at the state and local level to address the impacts of any new policies. We will also continue to advocate for other essential safety mitigation strategies, including mask requirements, ventilation upgrades, and regular testing in 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
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
School officials fear for their safety amid meetings
Members of of the public are delaying or shutting down school board meetings up and down the state of California according to officials, defying school board mask rules, chanting over school board members, and even storming into meeting rooms and refusing to leave. The California School Boards Association and the National School Boards Association recently asked Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden to use local and federal agencies, including the FBI, to protect school boards from what they say is an unprecedented onslaught of attacks. “Board members … are used to harsh public criticism,” said Troy Flint, spokesman for the California School Boards Association. “Board members are dealing with people’s children, which is the most valued part of their life. This is not a case of people who are unable to take public criticism and who are objecting to the normal, lawful expression of First Amendment rights. This is about an issue of public safety.” School boards and their staff have reported receiving threats and hateful social media messages. Several said they feared for their safety. The national association said these attacks amount to domestic terrorism and hate crimes. It is calling on the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the U.S. Postal Service to investigate threatening letters and online messages sent to students, school board members and staff.
----- COVID-19 VACCINE -----
California Announces US’ First COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate For Schoolchildren
The AP (10/1, Rodriguez, Beam) reported California “is poised to impose the nation’s first coronavirus vaccine mandate for schoolchildren, a moved announced Friday that could push other states to follow as many did after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the first statewide stay-at-home order in the U.S. during the early days of the pandemic.” Newsom “said the mandate won’t take effect for all children until the U.S. government has finished fully vetting the vaccine for two age groups – 12 to 15 and 5 to 11.” This means students 13 and older will most likely have until July 2022 to receive their vaccine doses, and it “will be even longer for children in kindergarten through sixth grades because the government has yet to approve any COVID-19 vaccine for that age group.” The mandate “will eventually affect more than 6.7 million public and private school students in the nation’s most populous state.” A separate AP (10/2, Rodriguez, Beam) article noted that “exemptions would be granted for medical reasons or because of religious or personal beliefs but the exemption rules haven’t been written yet pending public comment.” Currently, “any student without an exemption who refuses to get the vaccine would be forced to do independent study at home.” Until the announcement, Newsom “had left the decision on student vaccine mandates to local school districts, leading to a variety of different orders.” The announcement “drew swift reaction from parents, including some who said they have the final choice of whether to vaccinate their children.”
The Los Angeles Times (10/1, Luna) reported that an exemption for personal beliefs “would have to be granted because the new vaccination requirement is being imposed through a regulatory process, rather than through the Legislature.” However, the California legislature could “later pass a law to eliminate the personal-belief exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine.” While some state legislators have announced support for legally eliminating the personal-belief exemption, Newsom “declined to say Friday whether he would pursue such a measure.”
COVID Vaccine Requirement For New York City Education Personnel Takes Effect
The AP (10/4, Matthews) reports a COVID vaccine mandate for New York City school personnel became effective Monday. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the share of New York City public school staffers that had gotten at least one shot stood at 95% as of Monday morning, including 96% of teachers and 99% of principals. De Blasio said, “Our parents need to know their kids will be safe.” De Blasio added, “They entrust us with their children. That’s what this mandate is all about. Every adult in our schools is now vaccinated, and that’s going to be the rule going forward.” Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross Porter “said she did not know exactly how many employees had declined the shots and been put on leave.”
CNN (10/4, Westhoff, Simon, Alsharif) reports US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona appeared virtually during Monday’s mayoral briefing. He applauded NYC for its accomplishment in teacher vaccinations, saying “every effort that you take to make sure that the folks that come in contact with our children are vaccinated is well-received.” Cardona said, “I applaud everything that you are doing to promote a safe return to school, and that includes better ventilation systems, you know, masking to make sure that we are reducing the spread, but that also included taking advantage of what we have this year that we didn’t have last year. Vaccinations.”
The New York Times (10/4, Shapiro) reports the mandate marks de Blasio’s “first attempt at requiring vaccination without a test-out option for any city workers. It could lay the groundwork for a much broader requirement for the city’s vast work force.” De Blasio said, “These mandates work, and we’re going to consider in the days ahead what else makes sense to do.” The Times also reports that roughly 8,000 school personnel refused to get inoculated and were “placed on unpaid leave, city officials said Monday.” Educators who get inoculated following Monday may go back to school upon the receipt of “a first dose, and Mr. de Blasio said he expected some numbers of educators and staff members to return in the coming weeks.” Bloomberg (10/4, Chen) reports Porter “said the school system had enough substitute workers for now.”
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Ed Dept issues guidance on IEPs during pandemic
Federal officials say that individualized education program (IEP) teams must consider everything from goals to masks to compensatory education in order to ensure that students with disabilities are being provided the free appropriate public education they’re entitled to during the pandemic. A 41-page document from the U.S. Department of Education, the second special education guidance release from the agency since the start of this school year, offers input on how IEPs should be modified to address changes brought on by COVID-19. Schools and IEP teams must account for the needs of students with disabilities who are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. If an IEP team determines that COVID-19 prevention strategies are necessary in order for a student to receive a free appropriate public education, those measures must be included in the child’s IEP. This could include wearing masks, cleaning or other mitigation steps. If state or local laws or policies limit IEP teams from making sure these measures are in place in the least restrictive environment, that would be a violation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Further, if an IEP team is unable or unwilling to address the health and safety needs of a child with a disability who is at increased risk for COVID-19, parents can utilize the dispute resolution procedures available under IDEA.
Republicans Continue Attacks On AG Garland’s Push To Curb Threats Against School Boards
The New York Post (10/6) reports Republicans on Wednesday continued to attack Attorney General Merrick Garland for “weaponizing” the Justice Department over his plan to use federal law enforcement to crack down on threats at school board meetings. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said the crackdown was part of a “disturbing trend” in which Democrats are trying to muzzle parents and stop them from having a say in their children’s education. McCarthy said in a statement, “This latest decision by President Biden is yet another example of him using his executive power to federalize every sector in our society.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) also “accused Garland of breaking his vow not to weaponize the DOJ.” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) wrote on Twitter, “I just asked the Biden DOJ to name one instance in American history when the FBI has been directed to go after parents attending school board meetings to express their views. There isn’t one,”
HuffPost (10/6) reports that in response to Hawley’s comments, MSNBC’s Chris Hayes released a “stinging montage” contrasting Hawley’s “indignation” at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday with reports of death threats toward school board members. Hayes said, “We’re going to send him that montage just to read him into a little bit of what’s been going on at the local level, but I suspect he knows.”
AG Garland Directs Authorities To Address School Board Threats
The AP (10/5, Fields) reports Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday “directed federal authorities to hold strategy sessions in the next 30 days with law enforcement to address the increasing threats targeting school board members, teachers and other employees in the nation’s public schools.” In a memorandum, Garland said there has been “a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff who participate in the vital work of running our nation’s public schools.” To address the issue, “Garland said the FBI would work with U.S. attorneys and federal, state, local, territorial and tribal authorities in each district to develop strategies against the threats.” Garland said, “While spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution, that protection does not extend to threats of violence or efforts to intimidate individuals based on their views.”
Education Week (10/5) reports the Justice Department will establish a federal task force to address “the rise in criminal conduct toward school personnel.” The task force would “include the FBI, the National Security Division, the Criminal Division, and other divisions of the department.” The DOJ also said it will create “specialized training” to help school leaders understand the behavior behind the threats, how to report them to law enforcement, and how to preserve evidence of crime stemming from threats against educators.
US News & World Report (10/4, Camera) reports Chip Slaven, NSBA’s Interim Executive Director and CEO, said in an evening statement Monday, “Over the last few weeks, school board members and other education leaders have received death threats and have been subjected to threats and harassment, both online and in person.” Slaven praised Garland’s swift action as “a strong message to individuals with violent intent who are focused on causing chaos, disrupting our public schools, and driving wedges between school boards and the parents, students, and communities they serve.”
ED Says Florida Remains Only State Not To Submit School COVID-19 Relief Funding Plan
CNN (10/4, Stark) reports Florida is the only state that has not yet submitted a plan to the Education Department” for how it will use federal Covid-19 relief funds for schools, according to a new letter from the agency.” On Monday, the ED sent Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran a letter “inquiring about the status of the state’s plan and underscoring it is needed to unlock more than $2.3 billion in remaining American Rescue Plan funds.” Ian Rosenblum, acting assistant secretary for the ED’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, wrote, “The U.S. Department of Education (Department) has now received an ARP ESSER State plan from 51 of 52 State educational agencies (SEAs), with the exception of the Florida Department of Education.” Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office responded in a statement to CNN on Monday that “at this time, no district has articulated a need for funding that cannot be met with currently available resources. Whenever this may change in the future, the state of Florida will coordinate with USDOE to ensure Florida students and educators have all the resources they need.”
News Service of Florida (10/4) reports Rosenblum said the ED has “heard repeatedly from parents, teachers, and superintendents from school districts in Florida that FDOE has not yet awarded” disbursements from money already received under the American Rescue Plan. The Florida Times-Union (10/4) reports that districts around Florida “need billions to cover COVID leave to pay employees to stay home, install air purifiers and upgrade HVAC systems to improve air quality because of COVID, said Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Educators Association.” Spar said, “There is a massive crisis with bus shortages and teacher shortages. It’s clear that districts need the money.”
Biden Administration Tells Arizona To Stop Using COVID Funds For Anti-Mask School Programs
The AP (10/5, Binkley) reports the Biden Administration on Tuesday “ordered Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) to stop using the state’s federal pandemic funding on a pair of new education grants that can only be directed to schools without mask mandates.” Ducey “launched a $163 million grant program using federal funding he controls, but he made it available only to schools without mask mandates. He also established a $10 million program that offers vouchers to families at public schools that require masks or that tell students to isolate or quarantine due to COVID-19 exposure.” In a correspondence to Ducey, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the stipulations “undermine evidence-based efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19.”
Politico (10/5, Perez) says the Treasury Department’s “notice marks a new front in the Biden administration’s attempts to clamp down on Republican governors who have resisted public health guidelines for schools.” In the letter to Ducey, Adeyemo also wrote, “A program or service that imposes conditions on participation or acceptance of the service that would undermine efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19 or discourage compliance with evidence-based solutions for stopping the spread of Covid-19 is not a permissible use of [federal] funds.”
The New York Times (10/5, Rappeport) reports Arizona has been awarded $4.2 billion in relief funds and has received about half of that so far. The letter to Ducey “was the first warning that the Treasury Department has sent to a state over what it views as misuse of funds.” Adeyemo in his letter said the department is giving Ducey 30 days to respond about how the state will change or end the programs, adding that failure to do so could result in potentially losing funds.
----- STATE NEWS -----
Newsom signs California education budget
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a trio of bills as part of a $123.9bn legislative package delivering record levels of investment in public schools. The package promises universal pre-kindergarten, expands dual immersion language programs, and seed money for college savings accounts for millions of students. A host of local and state officials and educators joined Newsom for the signing at Fresno's Sunset Elementary School yesterday, including State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, several assembly members, senators, and Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer. About $2.7bn of the funds will help create a universal pre-K program for four-year-olds in the state by 2025; $1.9bn will help set up college savings accounts of up to $1,500 for vulnerable students, with an ongoing $170m used to establish accounts for every vulnerable student when they enter first grade;$1.5bn will go toward special education; and $4.3bn over five years will be used to transform the youth behavioral health system, to identify and treat trauma, depression, anxiety, psychological disorders, and substance abuse for those under 25.
Proposed ballot measure could see challenges to teacher protections
Education reform advocates have proposed a ballot initiative in California that could allow them to use the courts to challenge teacher-tenure laws and other policies they believe are harming public school students. Similar ballot measures were proposed last year in Minnesota and earlier this year in New Mexico. As with the California proposal, they would put children’s right to a quality public education in state constitutions. If the measure makes it on to the November 2022 ballot, a costly fight could ensue between unions and wealthy education reform backers. One of its primary backers is Students Matter, a nonprofit founded by Silicon Valley executive David Welch. Proponents cite persistent achievement gaps, particularly among Latino and Black students in the state, and argue that policy makers have forced students into low-performing schools. Under the proposed amendment, plaintiffs could only seek to invalidate offending laws or policies. Remedies couldn’t include mandates that trigger new spending or taxes. The California Teachers Association is an umbrella group for teachers unions in the state with about 310,000 members. CTA spokeswoman Claudia Briggs said the union had not been aware of the initiative and is reviewing the language.
California moves to implement changes to youth prison system
California is seeking to reform its juvenile justice system by housing young people closer to their communities in facilities that are intended to replace the youth prisons run by the Department of Juvenile Justice. Senate Bill 823, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed last year, requires the state’s youth prisons to shut down by 2023, and has stopped allowing counties to send youth to the state Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) as of July 1st 2021. Now, the state’s 58 counties must each designate a local facility for the incarceration of young people who, prior to this year, would have been sent to a state youth prison. Newsom first suggested shutting down the state youth prisons in May 2020 and shifting the housing of the incarcerated youth to the counties with little notice. Some critics of the juvenile justice system pushed back, citing concerns that if alternative county facilities were not ready, the young people could end up in state adult prisons. They argued that sending them to adult prisons would stymie their own rehabilitation. “Unless and until we develop a viable alternative to DJJ that judges can take seriously for kids that commit the most serious crimes, it is a fool’s errand to shut down DJJ, at least if you value the lives of these young people,” said Frankie Guzman, senior director of the Youth Justice Initiative at the National Center for Youth Law. The compromise was to delay the shutdown of state facilities to 2023 to provide counties some time to prepare.
----- DISTRICTS -----
TikTok challenge to slap a teacher prompts urgent CTA warning
The California Teachers Association is warning educators and school staff about a disturbing TikTok challenge that emerged this month urging students to slap teachers while recording it on a video. The slapping challenge, which reportedly began this month, has put educators across the country on alert. So far, one elementary school teacher in South Carolina was hit in the back of the head, the Lancaster County School District said. The CTA alert comes a month after theft and vandalism provoked by "devious licks", another TikTok trend left some California school districts grappling with thousands of dollars in damage to their facilities. The September challenge encouraged students to share videos of their misdeeds online. The primary target has been bathrooms, where students have stolen and destroyed mirrors, sinks and urinals, videos of the trend show. San Francisco USD schools superintendent Vincent Matthews has also put out a warning to the district about the issue; he encouraged parents to have conversations with their children about the recent social media trends and noted that smacking a staff member could result in suspension or expulsion.
Los Angeles Times San Francisco Chronicle
Berkeley school district considers proposals to desegregate middle schools
Berkeley USD has proposed plans to revise its enrollment policies in an ongoing bid to address disparities in student enrollment patterns that have emerged since the current middle school assignment policy was created in 1994. According to the California Department of Education, the student populations of Willard Middle School and Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School are 30% and 24.1% socioeconomically disadvantaged, respectively, compared to 57.3% of students at Longfellow Middle School. The enrollment differences between schools, Superintendent Brent Stephens said, were partially caused by demographic changes and an “unfair” perception among some that Longfellow is lower in quality than the other two schools. According to Stephens, the current enrollment policy divides Berkeley into two geographic zones: one for King Middle School and one for Willard Middle School. Any family can choose to send their children to Longfellow Middle School, which serves the entire city, Stephens said. One proposed plan would establish three geographic zones for the three middle schools, while another plan would assign each middle school its own set of feeder elementary schools whose students would graduate into the middle school. Maintaining the status quo is also an option. “There are benefits to integrated schools, both social and academic benefits,” said Frank Worrell, a campus professor in the GSE. “When students have cross-race, cross-ethnic friendships, they are actually more socially competent. There’s also some evidence to suggest there’s greater academic competence across the board.”
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Report on gifted education reveals gaps in learning for Black and impoverished students
A new report on gifted education in Ohio suggests the existence of significant gaps in long-term learning for Black and impoverished students who were in the top 20% on third-grade tests. The study, released by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and penned by Michigan State University economist Scott Imberman found that students in the top 20% of those tested while third-graders were much less likely to be identified as gifted, stay among the highest achievers, take the ACT college admission test and attend college if they were Black or low-income students. “Thousands of early high-achieving children, including smart kids of poor and working-class parents from places like Cincinnati, Dayton, or Mansfield, Ohio, are going adrift as they make their way through middle and high school,” Fordham Institute president Michael J. Petrilli and Ohio research director, Aaron Churchill said in a foreword to the report. “This not only limits these kids’ opportunities to move up the social ladder, but also threatens the nation’s economic competitiveness and derails our aspirations for a more just society where children from all backgrounds can become inventors, doctors, and business leaders."
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California vaping tax aims to curb teen use
Amid concern over widespread teen vaping, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday approved a new 12.5% excise tax on electronic cigarettes to be paid by California consumers to boost public health and education programs. The aim of the legislation is to discourage vaping by minors and bring taxes on e-cigarettes more in line with levies on other tobacco products, said state Sen. Anna Caballero (D-Salinas), who authored Senate Bill 395. The senator said making vaping devices more expensive will reduce the number of purchases by those younger than 21, which is the age at which people can legally use tobacco products. The new vaping tax is supported by health groups including the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association and the California Medical Association. In 2020, e-cigarettes were used by 19.6% of high school students and 4.7% of middle school students— a total of 3.6m students, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The legislation is opposed by Tony Abboud, executive director of the Vapor Technology Assn., a trade organization for the e-cigarette industry. “By signing SB 395 into law, Gov. Newsom will be the first governor to impose a double tax on California consumers who use less harmful vapor products, thereby driving more Californians to smoke deadly cigarettes,” Mr. Abboud said.
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Teachers across America leaving profession in record numbers
School reopening are causing teachers to quit or retire because there has been a surge of COVID-19 outbreaks due to some states banning mask mandates, exacerbating shortages that existed prior to the pandemic. “A Teacher Shortage Area (TSA) as a subject matter or grade level within a state in which there is an inadequate supply of elementary or secondary teachers. The shortage may be caused by teaching positions that are unfilled or are filled by teachers who have temporary certification or teach in an academic subject other than their area of preparation,” according to Teach. In Florida, there is a teacher shortage in career and technical education, English as a second language, language arts, math, science and special education. Florida teacher vacancies increased 67% in August 2021 compared with August 2020. Teachers like Amanda Tower, an elementary school teacher who recently resigned, wanted her district to have more restrictive COVID-19 safety protocols because the classrooms were tightly packed and poorly ventilated, students were not required to wear masks and often showed up sick, and teachers were receiving significant pushback from science deniers. “I needed a change for my physical and mental health and that of my family, some of whom have conditions that make them vulnerable to COVID,” she said. “There was a lack of transparency in the reported numbers and the push to do business as normal. It was all far too much. I did not want to be a martyr. I loved my job. I’ll miss my kids, but I can’t pour from an empty vessel.”
Teachers more likely to report burnout than other government employees
K-12 employees are almost twice as likely as other government employees to say they have had a difficult time adjusting to changes brought on by COVID-19, at 42% and 22% respectively, according to a MissionSquare Research Institute survey of 1,203 state and local government employees conducted in May. School employees also reported higher levels of anxiety (34%), stress (52%) and burnout (52%) during the pandemic. However, K-12 employees were more likely to say they preferred to stay in the same general line of work or with the same employer, and less likely than other government employees to say they’d like to change the industry or department they worked for.
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House moves to protect K-12 schools against cyberattacks
The House has unanimously passed legislation intended to strengthen K-12 institutions against cyberthreats, which have increased as classes moved online during the pandemic. The Senate unanimously approved the bill last month. The K-12 Cybersecurity Act would require the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to create cybersecurity recommendations and tools for schools to use to defend themselves against hackers. It now goes to President Biden for approval. A report released by the K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center earlier this year found that U.S. K-12 institutions had experienced a “record-breaking” number of cyber incidents in 2020, with an 18% increase as compared to 2019 and an average of two attacks per school day.
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NTA Life Insurance - An ABCFT Sponsor
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 in 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 online. 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 online.
Please contact Leann Blaisdell at any time either by phone or email.
562-822-5004
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