ABCFT YOUnionews for December 3, 2021
KEEPING YOU INFORMED - Negotiations Update By Ruben Mancillas
The ABCFT negotiating team met with the district team this Tuesday, November 30. We presented a proposal and the district countered with an offer of their own. So now the team is reviewing this proposal and preparing our latest proposal when we return to the bargaining table next Tuesday, December 7.
As I noted last week, this is the part of the process where specific elements that are being negotiated cannot be shared. But for an insight as to what actually takes place at the table here is a standard hypothetical agenda:
The ABCFT team arrives in advance of the district team in the conference room at the district office. We either review what we are about to present or the latest offer that was presented to us. The district team then joins us and we begin with whichever team is presenting first that session. During the presentation, a team will offer a rationale for their position and argue for the various points in their proposal. The presentation is then followed by the opportunity to ask questions regarding any points in that particular proposal. This may also be a time where questions from previous sessions may be answered. For example, sometimes we ask a question that requires some data collection or clarification and this is the time when we can follow up on any such requests for information. Detailed notes are taken by both sides throughout our shared time at the table. Typically, we would then caucus or take a break for each team to review the proposal. This may lead to a list of more clarifying questions or even writing language to address an identified need. The teams then typically meet again to make progress on the items that remain to be agreed upon. At the end of each session, we review overall timelines and set a date for the next round of negotiations. Following the formal negotiating with the district, the ABCFT team will debrief and continue to work together on our next steps.
We will continue to keep you updated via this forum as well as during reports to your site representatives and our YOUnion chat for members too. I hope your fall break was a good one.
In Unity,
MEMBER-ONLY RESOURCES
Winter Holiday Activities with Share My Lesson
The season we know as winter has a diverse meaning throughout world cultures and traditions, what does it mean to your students and their respective communities? Winter traditions –whether it’s celebrating family, the new year or just a simple meal together – bring us together and remind us what we have in common instead of what divides us. Celebrate inclusivity and community this season and share these curated prek-12 winter holiday activities and lessons including things like:
Explore new ways to teach your students about cherished traditions and meanings from multiple perspectives with these special Share My Lesson's winter resources.
ABCUSD Education Foundation - Mini-Grants
Earlier this week teachers in ABC were notified via email that The ABC Education Foundation annual Mini-Grant Program application are now open. There are a new set of dates and deadlines but will be able to provide funding by mid-January 2022 as we have in the past. Please refer to the email to find the documents which include: official announcement, calendar/timeline, and applications (general and special programs) for more information. The ABC Education Foundation and our generous sponsors and donors who have contributed to this program are excited to see all of the wonderful programs you are submitting for funding! While this is a competitive grant process, the ABC Foundation seeks to fund as many projects as possible to support our students. Mini-Grant submission deadline is December 17, 2021, by 4:00 p.m.
If you have any questions regarding the 2021-22 ABC Education Foundation Mini-Grant Program, please contact Sasha Leonardo at sasha.leonardo@abcusd.us or 562-926-5566 X 21197.
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 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.
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.
December is upon us and we now have two weeks before the next much-needed vacation. Perhaps all of us will actually get around to doing more activities and fun instead of sleeping most of our break away. In the meantime, ABCFT has been in weekly negotiations with the district, and the overall sentiment of the ABCFT negotiation team is that our bargaining sessions have been productive and continue to be constructive. With some confidence, I can say that we are in the late stages of concluding these 2021-2022 compensation negotiations and that we hope to have something before you soon.
As with last month, it seems like the information I get from the district’s COVID Compliance Committee each month has some of the most pertinent information that I can pass along. Here are some of the topics that were discussed at the meeting on Wednesday:
Student Plexiglass barriers have been successfully dismantled and taken down during the Thanksgiving week break. If you have any questions about any remaining barriers please consult with your principal. There are still plexiglass barriers for IEP testing, parent requests, or for students that have mask exemptions.
The district has administered about 1500 vaccinations since July with about 200 of those being students between the ages of 5-12. The district has implemented weekly booster opportunities and plans to expand this service to include first/second shot vaccinations for those who are in need of the vaccination. The district is working with the agency that is providing vaccinations to expand their availability to two days a week sometime in January (they have not done this yet due to staffing issues).
For employees who are having weekly tests or have opted to get tested may be receiving mail from your health provider that looks similar to a bill. In my discussion with Director of Risk Management, Josie Cox at the district office, she explained that these are NOT BILLS but that they are EOBs (Explanation of Benefits) similar to those that you receive from Delta Dental as your dentist works with Delta for payment. Mrs. Cox stated that this is typical and to not be alarmed. However, if you have additional questions please contact the district office’s Risk Management department at extension 21212 for additional information.
During the COVID Compliance meeting, I did ask the district’s administrative team if we had data on the number of students who have been impacted by short-term independence due to quarantines or unfortunately for vacations. I also requested that the district share the length of these short-term contracts and which schools have been impacted the greatest. Both teachers and students have been impacted by these short-term independence contracts due to quarantines and vacations. The ABCFT negotiating team is working at the bargaining table to acknowledge your efforts to ensure that your students receive the necessary materials and support for their time out of the classroom. I don’t want to get too far ahead here and say too much because our negotiations are fluid but STIS is demanding and it takes time and effort to do it properly.
I don’t want to get on another rant but for the students, this is an even worse situation. We as teachers are well aware that our students for the most part do not do well working either virtually or with independent curriculum assignments. Gone are the days where teachers were fearful that we would be replaced by a computer. We all can see the detriment of what a year of online learning did for a majority of students. At the December ABCFT Site Representative meeting yesterday a teacher from Fedde, Daniel Ramirez said it best when he stated district administrators and the community should be mindful that our current in-person situation is NOT what it was in 2019. “I need my students in my classroom. I’m a math teacher and I need them in my classroom every day. Our students need consistency.” Daniel equated our classroom situation to a sports athlete that needs to consistently work on their game to enhance their skills just like our students need consistency in our classrooms. He went on to say that in sports if you don’t practice and prepare consistently you will lose (competitions) and that it is the same for our students. If they aren’t in our classrooms practicing their skills with their teachers (coaches) then when it comes to life challenges or academic challenges they could lose.
The state of California and our county health departments need to rethink their COVID guidelines for contact tracing. Those guidelines were made in 2020 when we didn’t know what we were all facing it it was downright scary to even think about being in a classroom. Things need to change because it is directly impacting our students learning environment and their opportunities to learn consistently. Let me know in the chat next Tuesday if I’m off base here. I need your feedback. If I’m on the right track then I will speak to this issue to the ABC School Board members and implore them to contact legislators about changing these guidelines.
As always, have a good weekend and I look forward to seeing you in the chat on Tuesday.
In YOUnity,
Ray Gaer
President, ABCFT
CALIFORNIA FEDERATION OF TEACHERS
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
Latest White House COVID Precautions Will Keep Schools Safely Open In-Person, Educators Say
WASHINGTON—-
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
Sheriff: Sixty Michigan Schools Close Under “Flood” Of Copycat Threats
MLive (MI) (12/2, Burns) reports in the aftermath of the “Oxford High School shooting that led to the death of four students Tuesday, ‘a flood’ of ‘completely false, intentional’ threats have resulted in the closures of at least 60 Michigan schools, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Thursday.” The sheriff added, “It’s overrunning our resources to investigate these false threats,” and that, “If you’re making threats, we will find you.” The FBI is assisting “the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office with investigations into copycat threats.” Timothy Waters, the special agent in charge of FBI Detroit Field Office, “said his office has investigated 25 separate threats since the Tuesday shooting.”
The Detroit News (12/2, Brand-Williams) reports the FBI and the Secret Service “are joining in to help assess claims, [Bouchard] said.” WDIV-TV Detroit (12/2, Hutchinson)reports Bouchard cited “hundreds” of threats reported, and Waters added the FBI has about “40 people working around the clock at the Detroit command post to track down school threats, Waters said.” The Detroit News (12/2) reports the FBI’s Detroit office “released a statement Thursday saying it is aware of threats to area schools and is coordinating with law enforcement,” and authorities in Southfield and “Sterling Heights said Thursday they have made arrests tied to school threats.”
EdWeek: Tuesday’s Attack Is The 28th School Shooting Of 2021. Education Week (11/30) reports that including Tuesday’s attack at Oxford High School, “there have been 28 school shootings this year, 20 since August 1.” The pandemic and shift to remote learning appears to have slowed down the frequency of attacks, as there were only 10 shootings in 2020, which was “significantly lower than 2019 and 2018, which each had 24.”
Fourth student dies from Michigan shooting
A fourth student has died following Tuesday afternoon's shooting at a Michigan high school. Justin Shilling, 17, died at about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday in the wake of the shooting at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, sheriff's officials said. Three other students, ages 14 to 17, died Tuesday, while seven people, including a teacher, were injured. The suspected gunman is in custody and is being charged as an adult. In the hours after the shooting , Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said that without the measures taken by students, as seen in a widely-circulated video posted on TikTok, the tragedy would have been worse. “It is also evident from the scene that the lockdown protocols, training and equipment Oxford schools had in place saved lives,” he said in a statement. David Riedman, lead researcher on the K-12 School Shooting Database, said that the lockdown procedures that were deployed in Oxford, in which students sheltered and stayed out of sight, “absolutely saved lives.” The training that appeared to be on display in Michigan is similar to what students all over the country are taught, he said. The shooting is the deadliest on school property this year, according to Education Week, which tracks such shootings in the United States and has reported 28 of them in 2021.
ABC News New York Times Washington Post
----- COVID Variant -----
School Leaders Look To Avoid Closures Due To Omicron COVID Variant
The Seventy Four (11/29, Lehrer-Small) reports school closures were already “continuing to increase across the country” prior to the WHO last week labeling the Omicron coronavirus strain a new “variant of concern.” According to data from Burbio, 621 schools across 58 districts last week “announced new closures for a variety of reasons including teacher burnout, staffing shortages and virus outbreaks.” With K-12 staff “stretched thin in districts across the country, health experts are scrambling to understand the threat posed by the new variant.” A lack of substitute teachers earlier this month “forced multiple large school systems to announce unplanned closures as teachers took additional time off around Veterans Day and Thanksgiving.” Dan Domenech, executive director of the School Superintendents Association, told The 74 the variant is “only going to make matters worse.” He said shutting down is a last-resort option for schools, “but sometimes it’s school leaders’ only viable choice.”
US News & World Report (11/29) reports some school district leaders have started “bracing for the likely introduction of a new variant in the U.S., omicron, which currently has public health officials on high alert after being first identified in South Africa last week.” In an address to the public on Monday, President Joe Biden said it’s “inevitable” that the variant will spread to America, but said the US will fight the virus this winter “not with shut downs and lockdowns,” but with vaccinations and boosters. Biden said, “We are learning more about this new variant every single day. The best protection against this new variant is getting fully vaccinated and getting a booster shot.”
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
At least 3 students dead, 8 injured in Michigan high school shooting
A 15-year-old boy is in custody after three students died and eight were injured in a shooting Tuesday afternoon at a high school in Oxford, Michigan, authorities said. The Oxford High School students killed were Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14, and Madisyn Baldwin, 17, according to Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard. Eight others - seven students and a teacher - were shot; three are in critical condition with gunshot wounds, including a 14-year-old girl who is on a ventilator after having surgery. A 14-year-old boy is in serious condition with a gunshot wound to the jaw and head, Bouchard said. Three students are in stable condition and the teacher who was shot has been discharged. The 9mm pistol the suspect used during the shooting was bought by his father on Black Friday, November 26th, according to Bouchard. It was loaded with seven rounds of ammunition when police arrested the suspect. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan said in a statement that she was “devastated for the students, teachers, staff, and families” of the school. President Joe Biden also offered condolences to the victims of the shooting.
CNN USA Today The Hill New York Times
Hostile behaviors on the rise in schools, says GAO
K-12 on-campus hate crimes and the number of schools with at least one hate crime nearly doubled between school years 2016-17 and 2017-18, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, with students' race or ethnicity being the most common motivation for the offenses. Hate speech or symbols also were prevalent, with an estimated one in four students ages 12 to 18 exposed to racial and homophobic slurs, anti-Semitic slurs and symbols, references to lynching or the Holocaust, and more during the 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2018-19 school years. At the same time, complaints of hostile school behaviors filed with the U.S. Department of Education were resolved at a faster pace in recent years due to more complaints being dismissed and fewer complaints being filed. Civil rights experts told GAO researchers changes to Office for Civil Rights guidance made them reluctant to file certain complaints on behalf of students. The report also spotlights increased efforts to address hostile behaviors at schools as well as the social-emotional well-being of students. Additional programs have included training for the prevention of bullying and violence, restorative circles, peer inclusion activities, diversity groups and positive behavioral intervention strategies training.
First public servants awarded student loan forgiveness
The first wave of people have benefitted from a temporary expansion of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which cancels outstanding federal student debt held by public servants after 10 years of on-time payments. More than 30,000 borrowers are receiving an estimated $2 billion in debt relief in this initial round, according to the Education Department. Of that group, at least 10,000 have already had their balanced canceled, while the remainder will have a clean slate in the coming weeks. The department said 965,000 borrowers who are working toward forgiveness will see an increase in their payment count, 75% of the people who have indicated their interest in the program by submitting an employment verification form.
Omicron variant weighs on 'already short-handed' schools
Last week, 621 schools across 58 U.S. districts announced new closures for reasons including teacher burnout, staffing shortages and virus outbreaks, according to counts from data service Burbio. Since the start of the academic year, 9,313 campuses across 916 districts nationwide have added extra days off, Burbio says, suggesting that almost 10% of the nation’s roughly 98,000 K-12 schools have experienced closures this year. In Maryland for example, more than three in 10 schools have been affected by at least one day of disruption this academic year, while in North Carolina, where such events have been most frequent, the number is above 40%. Schools already struggling to keep classrooms now face further challenges should the recently identified Omicron variant fuel a COVID surge this winter. Dan Domenech, executive director of the School Superintendents Association, laments: “This is only going to make matters worse. We already see that most districts are short-handed.”
----- STATE NEWS -----
California lawmakers hold hearing on chronic school absenteeism
State lawmakers held an oversight hearing Tuesday on learning loss and a drop in enrollment at California schools. California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond testified at the hearing as schools across the state face chronic absenteeism and significant dips in enrollment. “Things have been as difficult as you can imagine. There’s no question this is the toughest time we will experience in our lifetime,” Thurmond said. Officials said chronic absenteeism is defined by students missing 10% or more of school and that the percentages of the issue across California have nearly tripled compared to two years ago. “We are facing an attendance crisis at every grade,” said Hedy Chang of the organization Attendance Works. Experts who presented Tuesday noted the attendance issues stem from an increase in COVID-19 cases, students sticking with remote learning and older students juggling family and work responsibilities. “Every public school traditional public and charter public will tell you they’re experiencing issues around attendance. They are concerned what that means for the fiscal cliff going forward,” Thurmond said. But state lawmakers Tuesday told education leaders funding shouldn’t be an issue this upcoming year. In the upcoming state budget, the California Legislative Analyst Office projects a surplus that would make $20bn total available for education.
O.C. Board of Education sues Gov. Newsom over COVID state of emergency
For the second time in recent months, the Orange County Board of Education is mounting a legal challenge to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pandemic-related state of emergency declaration. In August, the California Supreme Court declined to hear the board’s previous petition seeking to overturn Newsom’s emergency rule-making authorities that included allowing state officials to issue a mask mandate for K-12 students this summer ahead of the new school year. Now, attorneys for the board have filed a complaint with the Orange County Superior Court, which doesn’t share the state Supreme Court’s discretionary authority to decline cases. “This case is not about vaccine or mask mandates, or any other specific policy measures,” Scott Street, an attorney for the board, commented. “It seeks to restore the normal process of governance and to ensure transparency and accountability in the political process, things that have been lacking during the past two years.” The California Department of Public Health vehemently disagrees any violation has taken place. “Numerous courts have recognized that state law authorizes the continued state of emergency, which remains necessary to ensure hospitals are equipped to handle a surge in COVID-19 cases and to support the state’s ongoing vaccination and booster programs,” it said. “California will continue to lead with science and public health to keep Californians safe.”
California data system to help with education planning moves closer to reality
California this week officially kicked off its first attempt at a statewide education data system to provide trend information to help students and families with college and career planning. The Cradle-to-Career system is meant to answer questions about, among other things, how much college graduates are earning in the workforce, whether enough college students have access to financial aid and whether a high school student is on track to qualify for a California public university. Dozens of other states have such a system, and California educators, policymakers and researchers have been asking for one for years. On Tuesday, the organization's board, composed of 21 legislators, education leaders and advocates, met for the first time, appointing Amy Fong as its chair. The project’s work will include linking a slew of data systems that contain much of the information so that a student’s education experience can be accessed and analyzed. The state plans to bring together a comprehensive set of dashboards from data collected from early childhood education, pre-K-12 schools and the state’s public colleges and universities.
----- DISTRICTS -----
San Francisco school board members face recall vote
Three San Francisco USD school board members could soon be recalled as the same voter focus on education that helped elect a Republican governor in Virginia earlier this month finds an outlet on the other side of the country. In February, voters will decide on whether to recall school board president Gabriela López and commissioners Alison Collins and Faauuga Moliga, with their opponents arguing that they spent too much time on social justice issues during the COVID pandemic and not enough on ending one of the nation’s longest suspensions of in-person learning. Across the country, attempts to recall school board members are growing, reflecting frustration in some quarters with how long schools were closed during the pandemic, masking and testing policies. More than 240 recalls have been launched against school board members in 2021, nearly three times as many as the number last year, says Joshua Spivak, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform who studies recall elections.
Long Beach USD's new pools to have all-gender locker rooms
Construction work on Wilson High School’s new, multimillion-dollar aquatic center is scheduled to begin next summer, one of five high-school pools Long Beach USD plans to build. The $23m facility will have an all-gender locker room, with 58 individual changing stalls as well as individual stalled showers and restrooms. The facility will have a common area, where students will gather to wait for a stall to open so they can change or shower. “All-gender facilities affirm our commitment to providing a safe, productive learning environment for all students,” said David Miranda, LBUSD’s executive director of Facilities Development and Planning. “Wilson’s inclusive locker room also will benefit gender-diverse students and students with disabilities, including students who require the assistance of a caregiver of a different gender.”
Court temporarily halts San Diego schools’ COVID-19 vaccine mandate
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily blocked San Diego USD's student COVID-19 vaccination mandate from going into effect, siding with a 16-year-old junior at Scripps Ranch High School who had sued last month saying that the district's mandate violated her religious beliefs. The San Diego board voted in late September to require that staff and students 16 and older be fully vaccinated against COVID by December 20th, meaning they had to have their first dose by Monday, in order to continue to attend school in person. Those who don’t comply would have to attend school remotely. The student, identified as Jill Doe in the complaint, said her Christian beliefs prevent her from taking the COVID vaccine because the vaccines were tested using historical stem cell lines derived from abortions during the 1970s and 80s. COVID vaccines do not contain any aborted fetal cells. The 9th Circuit granted the student plaintiff’s request for an emergency restraining order against the district’s mandate, pending appeal. The court blocked the mandate only as long as San Diego Unified continues to allow pregnant students to postpone getting the vaccine. If San Diego Unified stops offering deferrals to pregnant students, the court’s block of the mandate will end.
California School District Will Let Students Unvaccinated Against COVID-19 Attend Classes
The Washington Post (12/2, Bella) reports the Alpine Union School District in San Diego County “has announced plans to create in-person learning for unvaccinated students, defying the state’s [covid-19] vaccine mandate for schools, which goes into effect next year.” The plans “will allow unvaccinated students to continue learning in person and be taught by district teachers at an off-campus location, the superintendent said in a letter to parents last week.”
Newport-Mesa USD board president on vaccine mandate
Karen Yelsey, president of the Newport-Mesa USD board of education, writes in the Los Angeles Times on the challenges the district continues to face due to COVID-19. She states that "The board is not considering a district-initiated vaccine mandate for students, and we have no intention of doing so. Parents who want to influence the state's direction on this potential mandate should contact the governor's office, as well as state Sen. Richard Pan's office."
Los Angeles Times
----- CLASSROOM -----
Report finds that white characters continue to dominate school texts
Educational materials don’t reflect the diversity of the nation’s schoolchildren, and many that do feature characters of color reinforce stereotypes, according to a research review from the New America think tank. The study analyzed more than 160 studies and published works on representation in children’s books, textbooks, and other media dating from the mid-20th century through the present. It found that white characters still dominate children’s media, including school textbooks. Characters of color are underrepresented compared to the demographics of U.S. youth (a little more than half of all schoolchildren in the country are children of color). Female characters are also underrepresented, though there has been an uptick over time. Still, girls of color may be left out: one cited 2020 study of books that won the Newbery Medal, an award for children’s literature, found that only 20% of Black characters and 25% of Asian American characters were female. There is less research on transgender representation in books, though the report cites one study on books with LGBTQ themes that found 14% of primary characters and 21% of secondary characters were transgender. “Over time, what the research shows is that we’ve made progress as far as having more gender-balanced representation, though ... that gender representation tends to be from a binary perspective,” said Amanda LaTasha Armstrong, a research fellow in New America’s Education Policy Program, and the author of the report. “We’re also having more representation from communities of different racial and ethnic groups, but there’s still a very clear disparity.”
----- FINANCE -----
Pitfalls to avoid when spending COVID relief funds
Marguerite Roza, research professor at Georgetown University, where she leads the McCourt School of Public Policy’s Certificate in Education Finance, offers advice to school district leaders on how to avoid costly errors when spending their Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds. Typical mistakes, she says, include spending in a way that creates a disruptive fiscal cliff, deploying funds inequitably across schools, and failing to make sure the school district community sees and values investments.
States bolster ESSER funds with additional federal aid
Thirty nine states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have appropriated over half of their federal relief funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARP), using the aid largely to replace state revenues, including for education budgets. A report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities showed that states had appropriated $105bn, or 53% of the total $198bn, as of early November. Nevada, Maryland and New Jersey are among states that have appropriated the most for K-12 from their current allocations, at more than 25%. The 11 states that have not appropriated their ARP funds have lagged because the money became available late into or after their legislative sessions. Administrative and logistical delays have also led to states receiving their last third of ARP Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds later than initially planned. At least four states — Florida, Mississippi, Vermont and Wisconsin — and Puerto Rico are now waiting to have their state plans reviewed and approved by the Education Department before they can receive their remaining funds
----- LEGAL -----
Supreme Court Weighs Eliminating Emotional Distress As A Form Of Damages Schools Can Face In Civil Rights Lawsuits
Education Week (11/30) reports “the US Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared wary about eliminating emotional distress as a form of damages in lawsuits accusing recipients of federal funds of violating major civil rights laws, including those covering race and sex discrimination in public schools.” The case before the high court in Keller v. Premier Rehab Keller PLLC “involves a Texas woman, Jane Cummings, with vision and hearing impairments who sued a federally funded physical therapy provider for alleged discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 after she was denied the provision of a sign-language interpreter.” However, “the justices’ ruling in the case will likely affect the availability of emotional distress damages in multiple civil rights statutes that often cover schools.”
SCOTUS considers type of damages schools can face in civil rights lawsuits
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared wary about eliminating emotional distress as a form of damages in lawsuits accusing recipients of federal funds of violating major civil rights laws, including those covering race and sex discrimination in public schools. The case before the high court in Keller v. Premier Rehab Keller PLLC (No. 20-219) involves a Texas woman, Jane Cummings, with vision and hearing impairments who sued a federally funded physical therapy provider for alleged discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 after she was denied the provision of a sign-language interpreter. But the justices’ ruling in the case will likely affect the availability of emotional distress damages in multiple civil rights statutes that often cover schools. Ms. Cummings’s suit includes a claim for compensatory damages for emotional distress. Two lower courts ruled that such emotional distress damages are not available under the Rehabilitation Act, or by extension under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which bars discrimination based on race and other factors in federally funded programs. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, in New Orleans, held that under high court precedent, the remedies available for a violation of a federal law enacted pursuant to the “spending clause” in Article I of the U.S. Constitution are limited to those for which the federal-funding recipient is “on notice” and those “traditionally available in suits for breach of contract.” The logic of the appeals court’s decision would also apply to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which bars sex discrimination in federally funded schools. Cummings appealed to the Supreme Court. A decision in the case is expected by next June.
----- WORKFORCE ----
Almost half of teachers considering job change, claims survey
Forty-eight percent of 6,000 teachers surveyed in November said they had considered changing jobs in the past month, up from 32% in June, according to data from Teachers Pay Teachers, an online marketplace for curriculum content created by teachers for teachers. Slightly over a third of teachers (34%) considered changing careers entirely in the past month. Additionally, 11% said they considered taking a leave of absence. Areas teachers listed as needing administrators' support included providing a budget for teaching materials, addressing student behaviors, listening to teachers’ concerns, and providing more planning time.
Efforts to toughen teacher evaluations show limited impact
New research shows that efforts to strengthen teacher evaluations had no impact on student test scores or educational attainment. The research is the latest evaluation of a significant push between 2009 and 2017, spurred by federal incentives, philanthropic investments, and a nationwide drive for accountability in K-12 education, to implement high-stakes teacher evaluation systems in nearly every state. “There was a tremendous amount of time and billions of dollars invested in putting these systems into place, and they didn’t have the positive effects reformers were hoping for,” said Joshua Bleiberg, an author of the study and a postdoctoral research associate at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. “There’s not a null effect in every place where teacher evaluation [reform] happened...[But] on average, [the effect on student achievement] is pretty close to zero.” A team of researchers from Brown and Michigan State Universities and the Universities of Connecticut and North Carolina at Chapel Hill analyzed the timing of states’ adoption of the reforms alongside district-level student achievement data from 2009 to 2018 on standardized math and English/language arts test scores. Tougher teacher-evaluation systems can work, said Michael Petrilli, president of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute, though he added that there was no political will to act on the results at the time of the reforms.
----- CHILD DEVELOPMENT ----
House spending bill expands early childhood education
Following months of intense negotiations, the House on Friday passed a sprawling, roughly $2 trillion social policy, climate, and tax package. Though the measure is likely to change as it moves through the Senate, the bill "as is" would provide nearly $400 billion to help states build universal prekindergarten and affordable childcare programs over six years, including an estimated $100 billion in funding for childcare expansion and subsidies over the first three years, and similar spending levels for the duration of the program. The federal government would also provide at least $18 billion, and unspecified spending levels for the duration of the program, to fund state programs that provide preschool programs for all 3-and 4-year olds. For the first three years, it would cover 100% of a state's universal preschool expenditures, and lesser percentages in subsequent years. Preschool spending reserves $2.5 billion annually to increase the pay of staff in Head Start programs, and the legislation would also extend for a year the expansion of the Child Tax Credit included in the $1.9 trillion pandemic aid law enacted earlier this year. In a formal statement, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said of the Build Back Better Act: "The impact of this proposal on educational equity, excellence, and opportunity—from cradle to college and career—will be nothing short of transformative."
Ed.gov New York Times Washington Post
Northeast and West led pre-pandemic Pre-K enrollment rise
The percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in public preschool increased overall between 2005 to 2019, while the percentage of children in private preschools decreased. According to a new analysis by the U.S. Census Bureau, enrollment in public preschools rose by 3.4% between 2005 and 2008, after which it dipped until 2013 likely due to the global recession, then slowly trended upward again between 2013 and 2019. The Northeast and West are considered “high-growth areas” and, in the Northeast, states enrolled 54% of their children or more in preschool. Preliminary numbers released by the U.S. Department of Education in June showed enrollment for the 2020-21 school year overall dipped by 3%, with losses concentrated primarily in pre-K, which experienced a 22% drop in enrollment. While states experienced losses at different levels, with drops varying from 15% to 41%, according to the National Institute for Early Education Research, Peggy Carr, the acting commissioner for the National Center for Education Statistics, warns that the declines were “widespread and affected almost every single state and every region of the country."
----- HEALTH & WELLBEING -----
Fewer teens taking to vaping
A handful of studies suggest that adolescent e-cigarette use dropped substantially during the pandemic. Prior to 2020, the number of teens vaping had been on the up, doubling between 2017 and 2019, according to a survey by Monitoring the Future, which is funded by the federal government and administered by the University of Michigan. In that survey, 16% of 8th graders, 30% of 10th graders, and 35% of 12th graders reported vaping 2019. Another annual survey of teens, the federal National Youth Tobacco Survey, also found in 2019 that more than a quarter of teens vaped in the 30 days prior to taking the survey. This year, however, 11% of high school students and 2.8% of middle school students reported currently using e-cigarettes in the National Youth Tobacco Survey. That marks a significant drop from peak use in 2019 and from 2020 when the survey found that nearly 20% of high schoolers and 5% of middle schoolers were vaping. Researchers from Stanford have found that teens who used e-cigarettes were at greater risk of getting sick from the coronavirus, likely because vaping damaged their lungs. Other research has found that e-cigarette use can lead to smoking traditional cigarettes.
-----CHARTER SCHOOLS -----
Catholic schools enjoying reverse in enrolment declines
Catholic schools across the country are seeing increases in enrolments this autumn. The National Catholic Educational Association is still collecting and analyzing the latest pupil data, but its preliminary numbers show increases in most dioceses. Falls in pupil numbers of a couple of percentage points a year have been the norm for years however. The number had fallen from a peak in the early 1960s, when Catholic schools had 5.2 million pupils, to around 1.6 million last year.
----- INTERNATIONAL -----
Fewer international students could impact domestic higher education
The number of international students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities fell by 15% – or 161,401 students – from 2019 to 2020. According to new data from the Institute of International Education and the U.S. State Department, and driven further down by the global pandemic, the number of international students in the U.S. has been declining since 2016. The decrease in 2020 is the largest on record based on data dating back to 1948 and enrollments are down across all fields of study at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, which fell by 14.2% and 12.1%, respectively.
----- OTHER -----
Parkland families to be compensated for FBI’s inaction
The families of most of those killed and wounded in Florida's Parkland school shooting tragedy of 2018 have reached a multi-million dollar settlement with the federal government over the FBI’s failure to stop the gunman - even though it had received information he intended to attack. Attorneys said the settlement’s details are confidential but a person familiar with the deal said the government will pay the families $127.5 million overall. Nikolas Cruz, now 23, pleaded guilty last month to 17 counts of first-degree murder. He will receive either a death sentence or life in prison.
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
Leann.Blaisdell@horacemann.com
Click here to schedule an appointment
