What is State Council and why, as a local leader, this this matter to me?
CTA’s top policy-making body is the State Council of Education. Meeting four times a year, the council’s nearly 800 delegates elect the three state-level CTA officers and the CTA Board of Directors. Council also sets forth CTA policy, develops legislation, and makes recommendations in general elections.
As a local leader, however, State Council is your conduit to issues at the State level which you would like to see changed. For example….
- Is there Ed Code you’d like to CTA change? Talk with your State Council representative!
- Is there a bill you’d like to support, oppose or introduce? Talk to your State Council representative!
- Is there a law you’d like to see the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing change or add? Talk to your State Council representative!
- For example, one committee directed CTA lobbyists will work with our legislators to ensure that School Psychologists have a 1 to 500-700 ratio per National Association of School Psychologist Standards. Do you have a similar issue you’d like to see addressed? Talk with your State Council representative!
So, what went on at State Council this October? For the full report, go here, but highlights from the meeting included the following:
- California School and College Facilities Bond will be on the March Ballot and we will be supporting it. For more information, please click here.
- Signature gathering for The California Schools and Local Communities Funding Act – which will restore over $12 billion per year to California’s schools, community colleges, health clinics, and other vital local services. We can no longer afford to keep giving billions of dollars in tax breaks to millionaires, billionaires and big corporations. Closing California’s commercial property tax loophole restores $12 billion for schools, community colleges and other vital community services, including emergency response services, parks, libraries, health clinics, trauma centers, affordable housing, homeless services, and roads. For more information, please click here.
- Assembly members Jim Fraizer, Ceilia Aguiliar-Curry, Tim Grayson and Bill Dodd – will need to speak with us if they are going to receive the valued endorsement of the California Teachers Association. If you, or any of your members, would like to participate on that interview committee, please contact your board member, Jerry Eaton or your ABC member, Corey Penrose – we would love to have you be part of the interview panels!
- For your fall campaigns:
- There are about 50 school board seats up in the November 2019 election.
- There are about 40 school board seats up in spring of 2020.
- There will be almost 2,200 school board seats up in fall of 2020 – so, please, have your local PAC’s in good order and be ready to support candidates for the local, and county, school board races. If you need helping starting, or restarting, your local PAC’s, please contact your ABC member, Corey Penrose.
- The California Department of Education – has developed a survey to solicit feedback from stakeholders regarding both the draft Local Control and Accountability Plan Template (LCAP) and draft LCAP Template instructions. The survey will be available from October 9, 2019 through November 1, 2019. The survey may be accessed here: https://www.lcapredesign.org/
- HR 4540 – was introduced in the House of Representatives to address the inequities in Social Security and public pension recipients. NEA has a position of watch because the bill only targets the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP.) For more information on this, and why it needs to be changed, please see below.
- Nicole Piscionere, Liaison to the CA School Library Association – reported that the Annual Conference is in February in the City of Industry. CSLA has worked with KQED on a Teacher resource page regarding media literacy at CDE Media Literacy Resources (https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/ml/). The webpage includes lesson plans.
- Kirsten Barnes, Liaison to the California Association of School Counselors – reported on the CASC Annual Conference held this October in Riverside. CTA had a table at the Conference. The ACLU is partnering with CASC to strengthen the number of student support personnel in schools and characterize such school-based services as a civil right. The information is available at www.aclusocal.org/edjustice
- Please check out the following great scholarship opportunities:
