Feb 24
Message from the President about Vergara v State of California
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This Thursday, Feb. 25th, we will be heading to court in Los Angeles for oral arguments in the Vergara v. State of California lawsuit. Because it has been a little while since I last wrote you about the case, I’ll refresh your memory. In June 2014, Judge Rolf Treu issued a misguided decision indicating that the statutes challenged in the lawsuit are unconstitutional.
That’s why we are appealing the decision in this case that seeks to strike down statutes protecting teachers from arbitrary firings, providing transparency in layoff decisions, and supporting due-process rights, all of which contribute to student success. The decision was “without support in law or fact,” and the original notice of appeal says the presiding judge’s errors were too numerous to list.
This lawsuit has never been about helping students. It’s another attempt by millionaires and corporate special interests to undermine the teaching profession and push their agenda on California’s public schools and students.
In addition to having our legal team in court this Thursday, Civil Rights icon Dolores Huerta, fellow educators and community supporters will be standing alongside us.
But just because you won’t be there in person doesn’t mean you can’t join us virtually.
Using your own social media platforms to share CTA’s message is a great way to reach a large audience. Twitter and Instagram tend to get the largest national reach due to hashtags and most users having public profiles. While sharing content on your own personal Facebook page is great, it only reaches your selected friend group. We recommend “liking” and commenting on CTA’s Facebook posts to help increase the reach of the posts.
Here’s how you can be there…virtually!
Twitter
Instagram
Create your own content:
If you want to create your own tweets and posts supporting CTA, you can use the hashtag #Vergara. We will be monitoring the hashtags and will retweet the posts we see that are using the hashtag. Here are talking points you can use to craft your own posts.
Sample tweets and posts:
#Vergara v. California is the latest in a series of simplistic ‘blame teachers first’ solutions to complex challenges facing #PublicEd.
As educators, we believe every student has the right to a caring, qualified and committed teacher. #Vergara
If #Vergara v. CA is successful, it would make it more difficult to recruit and retain good teachers in California. http://cta.org/Vergara
Who’s really behind #Vergara? @students_matter, a group created by wealthy businessman David Welch, supported by corporate ed “reformers.”
The law allows admins to deal with unfortunate circumstance of layoffs due to budget cuts or declining enrollment. #Vergara
These laws ensure teachers are granted due-process rights and are not fired for arbitrary reasons. #Vergara
We are sick and tired of parents being exploited by wealthy corporate interests like those backing @students_matter & the #Vergara lawsuit. #Vergara lawsuit has nothing to do with what’s best for kids. It was brought by @students_matter, created by millionaire & special interests
We will keep you updated on the day’s events at cta.org/Vergara and on these social media sites.
In solidarity,
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Eric Heins
CTA President
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Feb 22
National Read Across America Day (Dr. Seuss Day) 2016
Would you like to know more? Click here!!!!!
Books are an incredible way to model diversity in our classroom and on our campuses.
The American Association of University Women publishes a list every year of books for their Book of the Month club ¡Adelante! Like CTA, AAUW wanted their members to talk about issues of social justice!
The selections for 2015-2016 are;
June LGBT Pride Month
Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America
By Rachel Hope Cleves
July
Soldier by Helen Thorpe
August
Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography
By Laura Ingalls Wilder and Pamela Smith Hill
September National Hispanic Heritage Month
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
October National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan
November Native American Heritage Month
The Cherokee Rose by Tiya Miles
December
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
January National Mentoring Month
The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance – What Women Should Know
By Katty Kay and Claire Shipman
February Black History Month
Disgruntled: A Novel by Asali Solomon
March Women’s History Month
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
April Sexual Assault Awareness Month
A House in the Sky: A Memoir
By Amanda Lindhout and Sara Corbett
May Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
Happy Reading!
Alyson Brauning
Redwood Service Center GLBT contact & State Council Rep
Vacaville Teachers Association VP & Equity Team Chair
Feb 13
Signature Campaign for Children’s Education and Health Care Protection Act
Four years ago, CTA worked with Governor Brown to put forward Proposition 30 to increase funding for public education by temporarily raising income taxes on California’s highest wage earners and a small sales tax increase. Passing that initiative in 2012 has been a life saver for our students as money is being restored to our schools and colleges after years of budget cuts, layoffs, tuition hikes and furlough days.
Unfortunately, the additional revenues from Proposition 30 are coming to an end. It’s why CTA has been working with a coalition of education, labor, health care and community organizations to plan ahead and ensure our state stays on the road of economic recovery and doesn’t fall back to more budget cuts. State economic projections show a $5 billion hole for public education in just two years.
At our meeting on January 31, CTA State Council members voted to support a new initiative, The Children’s Education and Health Care Protection Act, which extends the income tax on the wealthiest Californians for 12 years. The sales tax increase of Prop. 30 expires as planned this year. The new measure is expected to raise $8-11 billion a year. Like Prop. 30, that money will go directly into a special fund to support education. By helping the state maintain education resources, the state has additional funding for other critical programs like health care for low-income children.
CTA and our coalition partners are now working to qualify this new initiative for the November 2016 ballot and is launching a signature gathering campaign. We must get 850,000 voters to sign petitions. In order to meet this statewide goal, we will all need to work together!
Just as you helped in 2012, we need your help now in circulating petitions and gathering signatures from members, friends and family. We just received petitions this week, and they are available at CTA offices across the state. Talking points and other information about the initiative and signature gathering effort are below. I ask you to work with your primary contact staff to get the petitions and other resources you need.
We have a relatively short window for signature gathering, as all petitions need to be returned by the first week of April. Keep an eye out for more e-mails and updates in coming weeks. Working together and with our coalition partners, we can get this initiative qualified to ensure California stays on the road to recovery and to protect our students, schools, colleges and communities from another round of devastating cuts.
Thank you!
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