MEMBERSHIP UPDATES-Reading Your Paystub By Tanya Golden
When you receive your paycheck or direct deposit stub, you may wonder what does all the coding and numbers represent. ABCUSD processes employee payroll in conjunction with LA County of Education therefore many of the descriptors used are generic. In the sample below are the descriptors for each category. You may be tempted to not closely examine your monthly paycheck since the amounts only tend to vary when you have hourly pay. However, it is important to check the paycheck for accuracy so if there is an error, you can get it corrected. It is the employee’s responsibility to ask for corrections and if there is a discrepancy in pay you can claim up to three years of lost wages. Similarly, if you are overpaid, the district can recoup those funds for up to three years so catching any discrepancies early is key. Here is the link to how to read your paycheck and direct deposit stub.
ABC PARENTS MEET TO DISCUSS STUDENT SUPPORT FOR BLACK FAMILIES AND STUDENTS By Ray Gaer
This week I attended the second meeting this school year for ABCUSD’s Black Family Circle. In attendance were about 55+ parents and a few students, along with a number of ABCUSD administrators who had presentations throughout the evening. ABC’s District Equity Officer, Blain Watson and Assistant Superintendent of Academic Services, Dr. Carol Castro provided parents with an overview of the district's focus on the four pillars of our ABC Vision for student success.
From their email introduction: “The Black Family Circle was created in 2020 by ABCUSD Director of Secondary Curriculum and Professional Learning, Dr. Crechena Wise, with the specific goal of increasing Black student success by acknowledging students, educators, parents, and the community through strategic planning and solutions. For the last three years, we have worked to create a support network with the needs of our Black students and families at the center.”
There were numerous opportunities for parent questions and for constructive conversations among the attendees. One conversation topic with parents was centered around a pie chart diagram of the ethnic backgrounds of ABC students. There has definitely been a shift in the diversity of the students we teach in ABC and this was reflected in this supporting data. Recognizing the changing demographics of the ABC community and the need for culturally responsive teaching training will be vital stepping stones for ABCUSD’s future growth and achievement.
You can find additional information, resources, and upcoming events by visiting the Black Family Circle website. The Black Family Circle meets once a month at the district office.
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR EXECUTIVE BOARD By Catherine Pascual
Hello, I am Catherine Pascual, I am a Vice-President At Large on the ABCFT executive board. I am PAL partners with Dr. Wise, and we discuss what is happening in Academic Services at the secondary level. I would love to hear from any members with any concerns or ideas related to academic services (curriculum adoption, district training, coaching from TOSAs…). Please feel free to email: Catherine.pascual@abcusd.us
I have been working in ABCUSD at Artesia High School since 2013. I was newly married and new to the Cerritos area (my husband grew up here though). We now have 7-year-old twin boys who are in ABC. I currently teach physics, engineering, and AVID, and I am the new AVID coordinator at AHS.
My first memory with ABCFT was phone banking and door-knocking for Measure AA. Years later, I joined the Teacher Leader program, where I studied literature and did action research on high school start times. Going up to Sacramento for Lobby Days helped activate me in my union and political life. I am on the COPE committee (Committee on Political Education), where we work to raise funds to support our endorsed school board candidates and work to help them get elected to our school board. I am ABCFT’s representative on the ABCUSD Legislative/Policy Board Advisory Committee, where we review new and changing school board policies. I am also on the CFT PreK-12 Education Issues Committee, where we track policy issues that are related to teaching conditions, student learning, and recruiting and retaining school staff. I love education policy and have a strong desire to make public schools better for students and employees. I feel like with my work through the union, I am able to have a voice on policies and issues both locally and at the state level.
When Cerritos moved into 3 purple districts (state senate, assembly, and congress), my local involvement outside of education intensified. I also think that by advocating for policy to make life better in our communities, we will have students with better and more stable lives and these better life circumstances help our teachers to be more able to teach, our students more prepared to learn, and their families more able to support their education. I am on the Hubert H. Humphrey Democratic Club’s executive board, I am an LA County Democratic Party Central Committee member and I volunteer at and attend California Democratic Party Conventions. I have also found my voice speaking at school board and city council meetings. I know that I have more democratic and education advocacy work in my future.
This month, I received the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Democratic Woman of the Year in Assembly District 67 from LACDP. I earned this award through my work towards strengthening our democratic systems locally, my labor involvement, and my work in the 2022 election cycle, where I tirelessly door-knocked and supported candidates.
My Song of the Moment: “Non-Stop” from Hamilton — I feel a major sense of urgency to make our world and education system better. In order to take on some of these new-to-me roles, I had to make some decisions about other roles I had and step down from those to make room for these roles where I feel I can do the greatest good.
ACADEMIC SERVICES UPDATE-Elementary by Megan Mitchell
“If one door closes and another door opens, your house is probably haunted.” - Casper the Philosopher
The Great Shake Out hasn’t been the only thing shaking in the month of October. If you’re like me, not only has this month been loooonnnngggg, but it also seems to have a never-ending list of responsibilities.
We had a small turnout to the first elementary town hall, but it was a great opportunity to check in and hear what is happening at school sites. For the month of November, the monthly town hall will take place on 11/7 at 3:30pm. If you are interested in attending, please register here.
Attention TK Teachers, you received an email from Amber regarding the LACOE Community of Practice (CoP) virtual meetings that Academic Services is offering our TK teachers. In addition to these meetings, A.S. is also hosting virtual follow-up meetings where teachers have the opportunity to collaborate and discuss best practices with each other. For TK teachers that choose to attend the CoP and follow-up meetings, will be compensated at the hourly rate on a timecard.
The next LACOE CoP date is 11/15. Below is the link: https://lacoe-edu.zoom.us/j/84440523631?pwd=cGFRcVlDUVNOZTBydnR4SVo1ME1wQT09
Meeting ID: 844 4052 3631
Passcode: 583262
The next ABCUSD TK Collaborative follow up meeting is scheduled for 11/16.
Elementary Coaches are available for help during office hours and by appointment.
Michelle Joyce (Imagine Learning, Renaissance, McGraw Hill)
Julie Yabumoto (Renaissance, RCM)
Amber Prieto (Savvas Math & Savvas History)
Reminder: Teacher resources in the ABCUSD Elementary Teacher Resources file (Use your abcusd.us account)
Elementary Academic Services Resource link
For Elementary curricular issues, please email Megan at Megan.Mitchell@abcusd.us
For Secondary curricular issues, please email Catherine at Catherine.Pascual@abcusd.us if you have any questions or concerns.
ABCFT PRESIDENT’S REPORT - Ray Gaer
Consistent and regular communication is a union’s most important tool for advocating for its members at the bargaining table. Every conversation with members is focused on the end result of negotiating for the future prosperity and well-being of ALL ABCFT members. This weekly report informs members about issues impacting their working/learning conditions and mental well-being. Our work as a Union is a larger conversation and united we make the YOUnion.
“Society thinks that we only work with kids 6 hours a day when that is not the reality.” - A Site Rep commenting about the constant battle of maintaining personal balances between work and personal life.
I had the opportunity to sit with parents and students multiple times this week and from what I am seeing and hearing, students and parents are for the most part satisfied with our work as a district. In fact, when I sat with parents at the Black Family Circle on Tuesday night there was a great deal of excitement among parents regarding the discussions surrounding THE FOUR PILLARS (Environment, Engagement, Empowerment, Evaluation of Learning). Hearing their reactions and comments regarding the pillars illustrated to me that parents not only understand this framework but that they also are welcoming of this direction as a district.
I also appreciated that during the QandA section of the presentation, Equity Officer Blain Watson pointed out that we are in the beginning stages of this transformation and that teachers and administrators will need additional time, support, and guidance to make this vision a reality. This group of ABC parents was incredibly supportive of teachers and understood that this effort would take some additional time and effort to be fully implemented. Going slow to go fast. In attendance was Superintendent Dr. Zietlow commented to parents “As a district, we need to go fast enough to make significant progress but we also cannot leave anyone behind in our desire to transform.” One parent asked how we can continue to attract and retain teachers of color? I didn’t have the opportunity to speak to this parent but my answer which I shared with Dr. Zietlow is that “We need to become a lighthouse district for teachers of color where there is a culture of support embedded in an environment of inclusion and equity.” If we use this framework to lift teachers of color then ABC will continue to be a lighthouse for outstanding teachers of every background and subject.
I also attended the EXCELS Lights On event at Nixon Elementary for the before and after school EXCELS program (Teacher, Jessica Sandoval pictured). If you aren’t familiar with EXCELS it is the umbrella organization for the ABC before and after school programs. At Nixon Elementary and Stowers Elementary ABCFT teachers work in these sought-after programs. These highly effective programs and their veteran staff have maintained before and after-school programs for decades. It was not until a couple of years ago that Governor Gavin Newsom created a universal access program for qualifying parents and their children. The EXCELS program is the umbrella program that houses these opportunities after school for ABC students. I spoke to a couple of parents in attendance at the Lights On! Celebration and they spoke highly of school staff across the district and how important the EXCELS program has been for their children's joy in education.
For a long time, there seemed to be a separation between those who taught during the school day and those who taught after school. With that silent division, our students needed a continuance of services. The EXCELS program has helped to bridge the gap between these workloads and has helped parents to see that teachers in schools open up to eleven hours a day and that teachers are a big part of why we can meet the needs of our students and their families. I know that there are still difficulties to be worked out about the combined use of teacher's classrooms and the implementation of who has EXCELS in their classrooms. However, I will always point out that ABC teachers have adjusted to these changes with grace and dignity because we get it. These students are OUR ABC students, regardless of when they are being taught and who is teaching them.
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
Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten
----- NEWS STORY HIGHLIGHT-----
Fresno educators vote to strike starting Nov. 1
Educators to start picketing Nov. 1 if talks with FUSD fail
Thousands of educators in Fresno Unified have voted to strike, the Fresno Teachers Association announced Tuesday morning.
From last Wednesday to Monday, more than 4,000 FTA members had the opportunity to cast their votes on whether to strike. Nearly 3,700 voted with 93.5%, or over 3,400 educators, voting yes.
Teachers union President Manuel Bonilla said the vote sends a clear message: “We have a mandate, and we are willing to strike.”
“Our teachers are tired,” he said. “Tired of the empty promises, the nonsense slogans, the highly paid administrators paying lip service to solving real issues on our campuses.”
After more than a year of negotiations, four key issues have emerged, Bonilla said: reducing class size, reducing the caseload for special education teachers, paying educators a wage that keeps pace with inflation and maintaining the employee health fund.
If Fresno Unified School District and the teachers union can’t agree by next week, starting Nov. 1, teachers will strike and form picket lines in front of the district’s 100-plus campuses and district office.
https://edsource.org/2023/fresno-teachers-vote-to-strike-negotiations-with-district-continue/699186
Fresno USD prepares thousands of substitute teachers for possible strike
As a teacher strike looms in Fresno, the school district has 2,300 substitute teachers ready to cover classes. The district has 2,100 confirmed substitute teachers and another 150 to 200 going through background checks. The district plans to pay substitutes $500 per day. If a strike occurs, substitute teacher costs would amount to approximately $14m. Union leaders and the district have not scheduled a meeting to resolve the issues. The district has allocated over $3m to prepare for a work stoppage, covering expenses such as health services, school supplies, and contracted security. The last time the Fresno Teacher Association went on strike was in 1978.
----- KAISER UNION STRIKE IS OVER -----
Tentative Agreement for Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions!
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions—SEIU-UHW, SEIU 121RN, OPEIU Local 29, OPEIU Local 30, and IFPTE Local 20--went on a 3-day Unfair Labor Practice Strike earlier this month. This was the largest healthcare worker strike in U.S. history and included 75,000 Kaiser workers nationwide and 66,000 alone in California. The Labor Federation granted statewide strike sanction so all picket lines were honored by the Federation, local labor councils, and over 1,200 affiliated unions.
Thanks to the tremendous demonstration of solidarity, the Coalition won a tentative agreement! The TA includes a 21% increase to wages over four years, a new healthcare worker minimum wage of $25 per hour, and a commitment from the employer to accelerate hiring to address the critical staffing shortage. The full membership will vote on the tentative agreement between October 18 and November 3. Congratulations to the heroic healthcare workers who take care of us and our families!
----- NATIONAL NEWS -----
Widespread school staff reductions predicted
Widespread school staff reductions are likely ahead, according to new research. The districts most at risk will be those that have lost the most students and those that got the most ESSER money, which tend to be large, urban, high-poverty districts. To further appraise those most at risk, non-profit Education Resource Strategies (ERS) examined how ESSER receipts compared with states' typical education budgets. Assuming that districts spent federal aid evenly over the entire grant period, the figures ranged from 4% to 5% in states like New Jersey, Connecticut, Colorado, and Utah, and up to 12% to 17% in states like Alabama, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Furthermore, about three-quarters of school districts across the country have reduced their student-teacher ratios over the course of the pandemic. That is, they have more staff per student than they used to. Overall, ERS found that if every district in the country went back to the same staffing ratio it had in 2018-19, the nation would lose 136,000 teaching positions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021 had the fewest layoffs in public education in the last two decades. Last year was just a bit higher, and 2023 is so far tracking about the same. Marguerite Roza at the Georgetown Edunomics Lab has called the expiration of federal relief funds in September 2024, combined with unprecedented enrollment declines, a “perfect storm” for school budgets.
Child care sector vulnerable since federal support expired
A large swathe of federal relief money that helped keep the child care sector from going under during the pandemic expired September 30, leaving providers in a tight spot. That includes the 2021 American Rescue Plan’s historic $24bn infusion into the sector, which allowed tens of thousands of centers to avoid permanent closures. Some states have set aside funding to help, but, overall, researchers for the Century Foundation predict that 70,000 programs could close, with 3.2m children potentially losing spots. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden asked Congress to extend the funding for another year as part of a broad ask for spending on domestic priorities. For child care, Biden proposed an additional $16bn "to help keep child care providers afloat, mitigating the likelihood that providers will close or raise costs for families."
Schools can use federal funding for school bus Wi-Fi
Under a change just approved by the Federal Communications Commission, schools will be allowed to use federal E-rate funding to pay for school bus Wi-Fi starting next year. The move aims to help students, particularly those in rural areas with long commutes, to use their travel time for studying or completing homework. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel supported the measure, stating that it would turn ride time into connected time for homework. Education organizations, including the Consortium for School Networking, welcomed the decision, stating that it extends the learning space for students. However, Republicans on the commission argued that the change is unnecessary and goes against Congress' intent when it created the E-rate program. The E-rate program currently has a spending cap of $4.4bn, but it has been allocating less than that. Rosenworcel has also proposed a pilot program to provide grants for schools and libraries to guard against cyberthreats.
Cardona 'totally against' school vouchers
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona is "totally against" any private school voucher program. Speaking at an event in Philadelphia this week about career and technical education, he said: “The moment public schools are fully funded, we could have that conversation. Right now, I am totally against any public education dollars going to private school vouchers.” Cardona’s comments present a political risk for Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who supports a state-backed school voucher program. This summer, as part of a budget deal he cut with legislators, Shapiro vetoed a $100m statewide voucher proposal he supported but said the so-called Pennsylvania Award for Student Success Scholarship Program, or PASS, is "unfinished business."
----- STATE NEWS -----
New laws impacting schools in California
In the legislative session that ended this month, more than 80 bills were passed and signed into law in California, impacting schools. Ed100, a website that informs parents on education policies, has listed and summarized all of these laws, with a focus on the seven most far-reaching ones. These laws include prohibitions on censuring instructional materials, protocols for responding to opioid overdoses, the purchase of zero-emission school buses, and the expansion of school safety plans. The Legislature reviewed 1,927 bills, of which 891 became law and 156 were vetoed. Notably, in 2016, lawmakers considered over twice that number.
California A.G. warns schools over discriminatory policies
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has celebrated a judge's ruling that blocked a Southern California school district's discriminatory policy against LGBTQ students. The judge granted a preliminary injunction, stating that parts of the policy were unconstitutional. The ruling prevents the district from requiring staff to notify parents when a student identifies as a gender other than their biological sex or wants to access sex-segregated facilities or participate in athletic teams. However, the ruling allows the district to notify parents if a student wants to change information in their student records. Bonta called the ruling a "significant step forward" and a warning to other school districts considering similar policies. Parental notification policies regarding a student's gender have faced controversy and lawsuits in several districts across California.
California’s K-8 Students Guaranteed Outdoor Time with New Recess Law
Kids across California are getting a lot more time to play outside. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 291 into law last week, making a half-hour of recess mandatory for all elementary school students from kindergarten through eighth grade in the state.
The new law will also prohibit educators from withholding recess as a form of punishment. Laura Medina Quintanar, executive director of the nonprofit Playworks, Northern California, which encourages kids to stay active while building valuable social and emotional skills through play, sat down with KQED’s Brian Watt to discuss the impacts quality outdoor recess can have on growing minds.
She also discussed what parents and educators can expect once the law goes into effect next school year.
California and many other states sue Meta over youth mental health
In a major push to grapple with the impact of social media on children, as the Washington Post reported, many states including California are suing Meta, alleging that the high-tech goliath harms children by designing products that are deliberately addictive.
While the specific nature of these multiple lawsuits varies in detail and scope, they all reflect the mounting concern that social media may harm children by optimizing for engagement over safety, profit over public good, thus fueling the youth mental health crisis.
https://edsource.org/news-updates#california-and-many-other-states-sue-meta-over-youth-mental-health
California commission launches road map to teaching initiative
The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing has launched a Road Map to Teaching initiative to address the state's ongoing teacher shortage. The initiative provides a digital tool on its website that guides potential teachers, substitute teachers, counselors, librarians, administrators, health service workers, and aides through the credentialing process. The commission has also hired career counselors to offer individualized guidance to those interested in a career in education. The Roadmap to Teaching Initiative is funded by $1.4m in state funds and aims to engage and inform a qualified and diverse pool of future educators. Last year, the state saw a 16% decline in the number of new teacher credentials issued, worsening the teacher shortage. "This initiative is a direct response to California's ongoing teacher shortage and Gov. Gavin Newsom's efforts to support education throughout the state," said Mary Vixie Sandy, executive director of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
California requires schools to address fentanyl overdoses
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed "Melanie's Law," which mandates schools to have prevention and response resources for fentanyl overdoses. Schools will instruct employees on opioid prevention and response techniques through a Comprehensive School Safety Plan. The law raises awareness of growing risks and ensures schools have necessary resources. According to Sen. Dave Cortes's office, fentanyl leads to 20% of youth deaths in California. Santa Clara County alone saw an increase in 863 fentanyl deaths between 2018 and 2021.
California mandates cursive instruction for students
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a new law mandating instruction in cursive handwriting for students in first through sixth grade. The law, introduced by Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, aims to give students the ability to read and write in cursive, as well as preserve historical records. The law requires teachers to implement cursive instruction throughout these grades, rather than during a specific grade. California now joins 21 other states that require cursive in public school curriculums.
----- DISTRICTS -----
San Francisco teachers reach tentative agreement with district
The San Francisco Unified teachers’ union, United Educators of San Francisco, has reached a tentative agreement with the district. The agreement includes a $9,000 salary increase for teachers this year and a 5% raise for the 2025 academic year. It also ensures a minimum salary of $30 per hour or an 8% increase in the first year, as well as a 5% increase in the second year. Substitute teachers will receive a 15% raise, and additional stipends will be provided for special education teachers, nurses, and social workers. Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne expressed appreciation for the educators and their commitment, stating: “This increase in compensation reflects our commitment to valuing and supporting our educators, and attracting and retaining talented professionals.”
Portland's teachers vote to authorize strike
With contract negotiations between the union and district still at an impasse, teachers in Portland Public Schools have voted by a wide margin to authorize a strike. Roughly 93% of eligible teachers participated in the vote and nearly 99% of them voted to authorize the strike. A strike now could begin November 1, barring an eleventh-hour agreement between the union and the district, who remain at least $200m apart. Notably, the district has already made significant concessions over the past nine months, raising its cost-of-living offer from 7.5% over three years to 10.5%, adding an extra 40 minutes of planning time per week for elementary school teachers, and offering bonuses for first-year teachers and special education educators. District leaders say the average salary for a Portland teacher under their offer would be $87,000 a year.
Debate over parental rights vs. student rights to gender identity privacy comes to Clovis Unified
Recent Clovis Unified school board meetings have been filled with posters bearing contrasting messages. “Support parental notification in schools. Stop keeping secrets from parents” as well as “Stop forced outing.”
With those starkly different messages in the background, nearly 100 people spoke at the Sept. 20 board meeting, joining a debate that’s sweeping the state: parents’ right to know how their children identify at school versus students’ right to privacy about gender identity and expression.
The contentious discourse came to Clovis Unified not because of a proposed school board policy — as has been the case in other school districts, including Chino, Temecula, Anderson Union High, Murrieta Valley and Rocklin — but because of a Student Site Plan, an optional form that, some say, could undermine students’ right to privacy by outing them to their parents. The district says it uses the form to gauge students’ needs for access to facilities such as restrooms and locker rooms.
Under a 10-year-old law known as Assembly Bill 1266, students in California have the right to access school facilities that are consistent with their gender identity, regardless of what’s listed on their school record.
https://edsource.org/2023/parental-rights-vs-student-privacy-debate-comes-to-clovis-unified/698746
----- WORKFORCE ----
SAG-AFTRA Strike Continues
We have all been celebrating that the writers in WGA just ratified their contract by historic margins. But we can’t forget our SAG-AFTRA siblings who continue to be on the line in the fight for a fair contract. This past Saturday marked their 100th day on strike!
SAG-AFTRA members are fighting for all of us to have a say in how technology and AI are used in the workplace. We stand with them and we ask all of California Labor to show solidarity. You can find their picket lines here.
For a full list of workers on strike in California and picket lines where you can show support, check out calaborfed.org.
----- CLASSROOM -----
Report: What impact does transitional kindergarten have?
California’s transitional kindergarten program is designed as a bridge between preschool and kindergarten. Launched roughly a decade ago for “fall babies” who narrowly missed the cutoff for kindergarten, the early education program is being expanded to all 4-year-olds by 2025–26.
A new Public Policy Institute of California report aims to take stock of TK‘s long-term impact on those who started in the program before the pandemic, particularly among multilingual students and students with disabilities, groups that might most benefit from expanded early education.
Based on data from five large school districts, the report’s key findings include the fact that expanded transitional kindergarten often leads to earlier identification of English learner students and those with special education needs. Early identification is often associated with more positive outcomes.
Another notable takeaway is that there is generally a boost in social-emotional learning SEL, but primarily for English-only students. Also, transitional kindergarten does not appear to improve grade three and four test scores any more than other early education options, which include preschool.
Find the report here: https://www.ppic.org/publication/assessing-transitional-kindergartens-impact-on-elementary-school-trajectories/
----- LEGAL -----
Oklahoma A.G. sues to stop nation's first public religious school
Oklahoma’s Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond has sued to stop a state board from establishing and funding what would be the nation’s first religious public charter school. Drummond filed the lawsuit with the Oklahoma Supreme Court against the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board after three of the board’s members this week signed a contract for the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School, which is sponsored by the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. “Make no mistake, if the Catholic Church were permitted to have a public virtual charter school, a reckoning will follow in which this state will be faced with the unprecedented quandary of processing requests to directly fund all petitioning sectarian groups,” the lawsuit states.
Supreme Court to appraise school board members' use of social media
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon mull whether school board members can block certain constituents from their digital platforms. The justices will consider whether two school board members from Poway Unified in California engaged in "state action" when they blocked parents from social media accounts that the members held out as official spaces for updates on school district business. The blocked parents allege that their First Amendment rights of free speech and to petition the government were violated. A friend-of-the-court brief filed by the California School Boards Association says that upholding that decision "could have catastrophic consequences by increasing the risk of litigation and, as a result, chilling speech and civic participation in school boards." Evelyn Danforth-Scott, a staff lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union, says: "This is really a case about how we distinguish between public officials' public and private capacities in the digital space."
----- TECHNOLOGY -----
Schools want E-rate funding to support cybersecurity upgrades
The federal E-rate program has the potential to be a well of funding for cybersecurity in K-12 schools and libraries. According to an annual report, 95% of surveyed schools and libraries agree they should be able to use E-rate funds for cybersecurity upgrades. Cybercriminals often target school districts for valuable student data, and there have been at least 1,619 publicly disclosed cyberattacks on schools between 2016 and 2022. The "E-rate Trends" report highlights the need for cybersecurity in educational institutions. The E-rate program, with a spending cap of $4.4bn, distributed $2.5bn last year. Many schools want more advanced firewalls and the Federal Trade Commission is exploring the possibility of making funding eligible for such upgrades. The Federal Communications Commission's chair has proposed a pilot program to provide grants for schools and libraries to fortify their cyber defenses.
House democrats warn schools over digital monitoring tools
A coalition of House Democrats has issued a warning to schools about the potential violation of civil rights laws through the use of digital monitoring tools. The lawmakers expressed concerns that schools could unwittingly misuse these tools in ways that infringe upon students' civil rights. The warning comes as schools increasingly rely on digital monitoring tools to track student activities and behavior. One lawmaker comments: "We must protect students' privacy and ensure that their civil rights are not compromised in the name of surveillance." The coalition emphasized the importance of ensuring that these tools are used in compliance with civil rights laws.
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