May 1 Day of Action – CTA is asking our local chapters and members to hold actions with parents and community members at their local school sites. Actions may include “walk-ins” with parents and community members, unveiling new safe zone policies and safe zone resolutions, taking the pledge, hosting community meetings, and more. Please join our Facebook groupand fill out our form to let us know how you are participating.
Why May 1st? May 1st has been historically linked to international worker’ rights. On May 1, 1886, the U.S. Federation of Organized Trade and Labor Unions (including immigrant workers) ruled that an 8-hour work day, would be a full and legal work day. NEA and the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools (AROS) are also holding a national day of action on May 1. May 1, or May Day, continues to be a national day of action to raise awareness about immigration rights and the need to keep families together as they fight for a better life. There is a toolkit available on the CTA website, go here to check it out.
There were 200 (!) bills on education and education-related issues reviewed for this legislative cycle. CTA has co-sponsored three of them. They are:
- AB 1360: EQUITY AND STUDENT ACCESS AT CHARTER SCHOOLS- Assembly Member Rob Bonta has authored AB 1360, which prohibits discriminatory admissions practices and ensures due process in pupil discipline at charter schools.Read CTA’s letter to bill’s author | Details
- AB 1478: ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY AT CHARTER SCHOOLS-Assembly Member Reggie Jones-Sawyer has authored AB 1478, which expressly states that charter schools and the entities managing charter schools are subject to the Brown Act (open meetings), Public Records Act (open books), and two laws preventing conflicts of interest: Political Reform Act and Government Code 1090. Read CTA’s letter to bill’s author| Details
- SB 808: LOCAL CONTROL AT CHARTER SCHOOLS-Senator Tony Mendoza has authored SB 808, which requires that all charter school petitions must be approved by the school board of the school district in which they reside.Read CTA’s letter to bill’s author | Details
These are some of the bills we will be opposing
- AB 20 (Kalra) D-27 Requires CalSTRS and CalPERS divest funds and refrain from making additional investments in a company constructing or investing in the Dakota Access Pipeline.
- AB 950 (Rubio) D-48 Permits a charter school to bypass school boards in the petition process, submitting a petition for establishment of a charter school directly to the county office of education or State Board of Education (SBE) without reasonable justification for why the charter school could not be established locally and permits a charter school petitioner to skip the county board of education on appeal, filing directly with the SBE when a petition is denied by a school board.
- AB 586 (Holden) D-41 Allows a tax credit for teacher professional development expenses paid or incurred.
- AB 624 (Maienschein) R-77 Allows a tax credit not to exceed $10,000, to a robotics club at a school in California during the taxable year
This is one bill we will be watching:
- Senate Bill 807, introduced by Democratic Sens. Henry Stern of Los Angeles and Cathleen Galgiani of Stockton, offers an incentive for teachers to remain in the classroom. After teaching for five years, California educators would be exempt from paying a state income tax. The bill would also provide a tax deduction for the cost of attaining a teaching credential. The Legislature has not yet calculated the estimated loss in tax revenue to the state if the measure is approved.
Other issues you should be aware of:
- State Board of Education – The Dashboard metrics has not been finished. The Parent Trigger group wants one single score to be prominent, they would like more weight for Test Scores, CTA will be watching. California Dashboard is online and everyone needs to continue to advocate for a dashboard and not a single score for sychool accountability.
- Public Employment Relations Board – This agency is vital to the work of our locals in contract struggles and it is incredibly understaffed. This could result in a delay for getting rulings in ongoing disputes.
Remember that CalSTRS Annual Progress Reports are only delivered electronically via www.mycalstrs.com. If you have not created your mycalstrs.com account, YOU NEED TO! Anyone that wished to continue receiving a hard copy must make that request directly to CalSTRS at 800-228-5453. Forms must be received by July 1st.
Finally, watch for a survey to be emailed to all CTA members to strengthen the rationale for State support to address the bilingual teacher shortage. It will also be on the CTA website, and will be pushed via Facebook and Twitter. The Language Acquisition Committee would like surveys to be completed by April 14th.
SOL-1 Representatives: Corey Penrose, Alyson Brauning, Jeanette Wylie
