2-Oct-Nov 2020 ELECTION pp 12-20 Advisor

DECIDING

2 CEA ADVISOR OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2020

ELECTION 2020 YOUR VOTE, YOUR FUTURE

From collective bargaining rights to education funding and school safety, the outcome of the 2020 presidential election will have far-reaching effects on public education and the teaching profession. Teachers have an important obligation and opportunity to make their voices heard on November 3. Over the last four years, this country has seen one of the most sustained protest movements in decades—#RedforEd—which mobilized tens of thousands of teachers across the country to march on their state capitols protesting low salaries, poor working conditions, and chronic underfunding of schools. In addition to massive education budget cuts, President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have proposed schemes that divert federal tax dollars to private school vouchers. While the President has accused our nation’s public

“You are the most important profession in the United States. You are the ones that give these kids wings. You give them confidence. You let them believe in themselves. You equip them. And I promise you, you will never find in American history a President who is more teacher-centric and more supportive of teachers than me,” Biden told nearly 8,000 delegates at the National Education Association’s virtual Representative Assembly this summer. As we have learned from Bob Woodward’s tapes and other sources, on the other hand, Donald Trump was pushing to reopen school buildings while intentionally downplaying the pandemic and claiming children were immune—something he admitted knowing wasn’t true. NEA has endorsed Joe Biden for president of the United States Teachers

applaud Joe Biden’s plan to fire Betsy DeVos on his first day in office and replace her with an education secretary who comes from a public school classroom and believes that educators are essential partners in crafting education policy. His plan includes dismantling the systemic racism that prevents too many Native, Black, and Hispanic Americans from reaching their full potential, mounting an effective crisis response to the COVID-19 pandemic based on sound science and medicine, and providing the necessary funding to support our nation’s teachers, students, and public schools. Read more about where the candidates, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, stand on education. See facing page.

schools of teaching children to “hate their own country,” his son Donald Jr., campaigning for his father, has similarly referred to the indoctrination of students by “loser teachers.” Former Vice President Joe Biden, who has consistently reached out to educators across the country with his wife and longtime educator/NEA member Dr. Jill Biden, pledges, “When we win this election, you’ll get the support you need and the respect you deserve.” Biden attended all three of NEA’s presidential forums—in Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Texas—and listened to teachers on the front lines of the COVID crisis about the heroic ways in which they’ve supported their students and communities, and what is needed to safely reopen schools.

“In addition to getting the raises you deserve, we’re going to get you the resources you need. We’re going to double the number of school psychologists and counselors and nurses and social workers at school. Mental health is an enormous issue, and the need has only been exacerbated by this pandemic on both educators as well as students. There’s a whole lot more in my plan.” Former Vice President Joe Biden

Educators Vow to Honor RBG Legacy by Continuing Fight for Education Justice After the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18, teachers and students mourned the

A New Education Secretary? The outcome of the presidential election could bring changes to the U.S. Department of Education—something educators welcome. If elected, Joe Biden has said he would replace Betsy DeVos, the least-qualified U.S. secretary of education in our nation’s history, with a well-qualified, pro-

education person to lead the nation’s public schools. “I can’t wait for the departure of Donald Trump and the chance to replace Betsy DeVos and the opportunity for us to make a whole lot of progress together,” says Biden, “because I’m confident—I’m absolutely confident—we can. And I want to assure you this is going to be a teacher-oriented Department of Education, and it’s not going to come from the top down. It’s coming from the teachers up.” The nation’s first education secretary with zero public school experience, DeVos has long led efforts to defund

longtime advocate of equity and justice and commemorated her remarkable 27-year service on the nation’s highest court. A steadfast proponent of school desegregation, strict separation of church and state, gender equity in schools and workplaces, and the rights of students at all levels of education, Justice Ginsburg was the second woman ever to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Her first opinion on an

Betsy DeVos

education-related matter came in the case of Missouri v. Jenkins , where she dissented from a decision overturning a Kansas City desegregation plan.

and privatize public education. In her home state of Michigan, she was one of the architects of a failed charter school system that downplays regulation and accountability while draining resources from public schools. Earlier this year, she used federal coronavirus relief funds to create a $180 million voucher program for private and religious schools, ordering states to redistribute CARES Act funds to private schools.

“As educators, we know that she is now considered, and always will be, a teacher and champion of racial and social justice,” said NEA President Becky Pringle. “Her loss is more than a seat on the nine-justice Supreme Court; her loss is devastating and will be felt for generations. NEA members will honor her legacy by redoubling our efforts to fight for justice.”

Continuous calls for deep cuts to federal funding included a budget proposal for fiscal year 2021 that would slash education funding by $6.1 billion. Her proposals have included a 26 percent reduction in state grants for special education, and her claims have included statements such as, “Students may be better served by being in larger classes.” With regard to safe learning environments, she has pushed for the use of federal dollars to supply guns to schools, and she has pushed for a full- time, in-person reopening of schools in the midst of a global pandemic. “The job of the secretary of education is to support and strengthen our public education system,” says CEA President Jeff Leake. “Betsy DeVos seems determined to do just the opposite.”

IN THIS ISSUE 2-3 DECIDING

Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden have vastly different views on public education. A side-by-side comparison makes clear why Biden has earned the endorsement of our state’s and nation’s teachers’ unions. 4-5 RE-ELECTING With a strong history of fighting for students, teachers, and public education, Connecticut’s five Congressional incumbents—all endorsed by CEA and earning top marks on NEA’s Report Card—seek to continue working on your behalf in the halls of Congress. 7-9 VOTING Learn about CEA’s Report Card for legislators, meet the education champions seeking your vote for Connecticut’s General Assembly, and see how casting your ballot will be different this year.

Connecticut teachers, parents, and students came out in full force to protest the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education.