April 2021 Advisor

ADVOCATING

6 CEA ADVISOR APRIL 2021

CEA Advocates for Pro-Education Measures

them and their students are being debated by those elected to represent them,” says CEA President Jeff Leake. “Teachers from every corner of the state, together with CEA leaders and staff, have been actively engaging with legislators on these and

With the legislative session in high gear, CEA is hard at work tracking and testifying on bills that affect how you teach, how your students learn, and the types of protections teachers, students, and school communities need and deserve.

other issues, joining virtual public hearings, testifying live over Zoom, submitting written comments, and making calls to their elected officials. Hearing from teachers directly has an impact on lawmakers. They listen. They value our members’ experiences and feedback. But it’s important for all teachers to make their voices heard, because that collective voice sends a powerful message.” Be a part of the process that shapes the future of public education in your community. Check your inbox for CEA Action Alerts and CEAgo emails with up-to- the-minute news on what’s happening at the state legislature and how you can make your voice heard.

CEA, TEACHERS CALL FOR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL SUPPORTS FOR STUDENTS Long before the pandemic, it was evident to teachers that students per 500-700 students. Key bills that have been heard so far include proposals to fund social emotional supports for students (especially relevant during the pandemic), identify racism as a public health crisis, recruit more teachers of color to the profession, uphold unions’ ability to empower and communicate with teachers, provide fair access to workers’ compensation for teachers who contracted coronavirus, and enact a state budget that provides public schools with the funding they need to build back better. These are just a handful of proposals making their way through the legislature; CEA is tracking dozens of measures—good and bad—that could impact your classroom and your profession. “It’s important for members not to be bystanders when decisions that affect

BILL UPHOLDS UNIONS’ ABILITY TO EMPOWER, COMMUNICATE WITH EMPLOYEES

“School counseling is more important this year than any year,” Naugatuck school counselor Mary Schone explained in written testimony. “We have been learning in person since the beginning of the school year. I have watched the trauma from COVID, in addition to the trauma that my students already experience with chronic poverty, racial disparities, loss, violence, and separation. My families are struggling, and most of all, my students are struggling.” “I’m already planning for the 2021-2022 school year to be filled with students ‘catching up,’ finding routines, getting organized, and connecting emotionally and socially with others,” Danbury school counselor Curtis Darragh told legislators. Not having enough personnel to provide support for students, he said, is deeply problematic. “I can’t tell you how many times I have been meeting with a student and have a line of other students waiting, or that one student who comes to me and has to be told to ‘wait’ because of all my other responsibilities as a school counselor. Danbury Public Schools’ ratio of one school counselor for every 375 students is not ideal,” he said, adding that the same problem plays out in cities across the state. Concerned about mounting mental health challenges and the risks of suicidal ideation, he acknowledged, “Missing that one student is one of my biggest fears.” “I worry about every one of those students I can’t get to or don’t have the ability to see as often as needed until they can be

In a powerful speech championing unions, President Joe Biden in early March said, “Unions put power in the hands of workers. They level the playing field. They give you a stronger voice for your health, your safety, higher wages, protections from racial discrimination and sexual harassment. Unions lift up workers, both union and nonunion, but especially Black and brown workers.” Though Connecticut has a proud, decades-long history of union strength, the forces that have worked to undermine unions in other parts of the country are very much at work here too. State legislators have been debating a new law that would provide much-needed support for unions. In testimony before the Labor and Public Employees Committee, attorney Daniel Livingston—speaking on behalf of CEA and other unions—urged legislators to support Senate Bill 908: An Act Concerning the Right of a Public Employee to Join or Support a Union. By protecting unions, Livingston said, the bill strengthens democracy in the workplace and gives employees “a genuine voice about the wages, benefits, and working conditions that play such a critical role in their lives and in their families’ lives.” SB 908 protects unions’ ability to communicate with employees about how their contract works, how the grievance procedure works, and how they are free to speak their minds and receive representation. “All of those things are important,” said Livingston, “and you need strong unions to ensure them.” “Over the past year, teachers and others have been targeted by misinformation from national groups aimed at undermining unions,” said CEA President Jeff Leake in written testimony on SB 908. “They have received messages from their employers that violate labor law by seeking to unfairly meddle in union business. Some have been strong-armed to reject their union in contradiction to their own interests. In short, their rights have been violated. The bill we support today helps to ensure that educators are treated fairly and provided accurate and helpful information about their employment, their career, and their profession.” The bill ensures that unions are aware when new hires occur, have the contact information needed to reach out to them, and have access to new hire orientations so that new employees have an opportunity to learn about the union, their contract, and their rights and responsibilities. Similar laws have been passed in numerous other states. Senator Julie Kushner, who co-chairs the committee with Representative Robyn Porter, said, “We like to be a leader in supporting workers and workers’ families.” “We understand the critical importance of unions having a strong voice,” Porter agreed.

were facing a mental health crisis— one that called for additional social emotional supports. COVID-19 has only intensified those unmet needs. With that in mind, CEA leaders, staff, and members spoke out in support of several provisions of a bill—House Bill 6557: An Act Concerning Social Emotional Learning—that would provide $10 million to increase mental health support and resources in Connecticut’s schools. “Schools face great challenges in the coming years, as the pandemic’s impact on children’s academic and social emotional well-being becomes clear,” CEA Teacher Development Specialist Kate Field told legislators at an Education Committee public hearing in March. “The pandemic has given us an opportunity to reimagine what school can be, and CEA commends the sponsors of this bill for taking steps toward creating the space needed to try something new.” “There is a disconnect between what students need, recognition of those needs, and our ability and willingness to pay for those needs,” CEA Vice President Tom Nicholas explained. “Many schools do not have ready access to student support personnel such as social workers, counselors, or school psychologists.” He noted that Connecticut must do more to ensure that the ratios of social workers, school psychologists, and school counselors meet national standards, which call for one social worker and school counselor per 250 students and one school psychologist

referred to an outside provider,” said Sharon

Veatch, a school counselor in Region 1. “Thirty-six percent of my students receive free or reduced lunch and thus are on the state’s insurance, but only a few places in our area provide therapeutic services to low-income students. Many of these are full and not accepting new clients.” In addition, she said, many families lack transportation, and some of the closest state agencies are more than a 45-minute drive away from the nearest town in Veatch’s six-town district. “This makes what I do more important.”

Subscribe to CEA’s blog ( cea.org/blog ) for updates on Connecticut’s legislative session as well as information on how to take action on education initiatives legislators are considering.