Feb-March Advisor 2020 Online

MOBILIZING

4 CEA ADVISOR FEBRUARY–MARCH 2020

GET INVOLVED THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION Your profession depends on it

Dozens of legislative proposals— including several that are important to teachers—will come before Connecticut’s General Assembly in the coming months. In anticipation of the 2020 legislative session, which runs from February 5 through May 6, CEA members were asked about top priorities for their students, their profession, and their schools. A survey was emailed to all members and posted to CEA’s website. More than 1,200 teachers responded. Based on survey results, which matched input from CEA’s Legislative Commission and the UniServ Representatives who work with teachers in their locals every day, CEA is advocating for several measures this legislative session. These include bills that • Strengthen education funding and prevent the use of state education dollars for non-education purposes • Protect teachers’ right to collectively bargain for fair salaries, benefits, and working conditions • Enhance classroom safety • Provide meaningful help for students whose behavior indicates

social-emotional learning, and interventions for students in need and ensuring teacher input into the necessary supports • Ensure that the ratios of social workers, school psychologists, and school counselors meet national standards • Improve school infrastructure issues by addressing problems with indoor air temperature, mold, and other air quality issues • Safeguard teachers’ hard-earned pensions and health insurance benefits • Develop a plan for implementing universal preschool statewide • Eliminate standardized testing in pre-K through second grade and limit the amount of classroom time required for statewide assessments • Reduce stress on our youngest learners by establishing a minimum kindergarten start age of five years • Revise the Common Core State Standards for the early grades and incorporate strategies to promote social-emotional learning in all grades • Limit special education caseloads for teachers, taking into consideration intensities of

session and work to advance those that have positive outcomes for students, teachers, and public schools as well as defeat those that threaten to erode public education or the teaching profession. “We need every classroom to be a safe, compassionate learning environment, we need to elevate the teaching profession, and we need our members to be actively engaged in this process,” says CEA President Jeff Leake. “We know teachers are extremely busy. Finding time to engage with lawmakers can seem daunting, but laws that impact teachers and their classrooms deserve teachers’ attention and input. Legislators may believe they are voting for a bill that is education- friendly without fully understanding the effects that bill might have on educators and students. Talk to them. Let them hear from you firsthand. They welcome your advice, your experience, and your expertise.” To stay current on legislation that impacts you, subscribe to blogcea.org and watch your inbox for important developments at the legislature and the State Department of Education. coast so that teachers can discuss what’s at stake in the election and how they will play a key role in choosing the next president • Launching StrongPublicSchools.org, where teachers can learn more about each of the candidates and how to get involved in the 2020 campaign “It’s very important for Connecticut teachers to be a part of this movement,” says CEA President Jeff Leake. “While many of the decisions that affect teachers day to day are made at the state and local level, the federal government also plays a critical role in issues ranging from teacher compensation and retirement benefits to class size, school safety, education funding, teachers’ rights, school privatization, social justice, and so much more. We need to elect officials who will be champions for our students and public schools, who respect educators and value the teaching profession, and who will fully fund our neighborhood public schools to ensure students have the qualified, committed educators they need to succeed.”

various services, the amount of time students’ IEPs indicate as classroom inclusionary time, and other key factors • Ensure that school climate committees include paraprofessionals, mental health or health experts, and the perspectives and information provided by teachers’ unions • Establish pilot programs for educators, and the community in developing solutions to a school’s biggest challenges CEA will monitor various proposals throughout the legislative comprehensive community schools that involve parents, For the past several months, the National Education Association’s Strong Public Schools 2020 campaign has looked at the presidential candidates’ stances on critical issues that must be addressed in order to strengthen public schools across the United States. “Over the last several years, educators have joined with parents and students across the nation as part of the #RedforEd movement, which has forced politicians to better fund our public schools, expanded opportunities for students, and helped educators find their collective voice,” said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García. “With major wins in governors’ elections as well as legislative races, educators are reshaping the political landscape to deliver victories for students and public schools. Now they’re ready to harness this energy, go door to door, and play a powerful role in electing the next president, as we take this activism and ground game to the 2020 campaign.” NEA’s Strong Public Schools Campaign has provided forums where teachers can hear from presidential hopefuls as well as ask direct questions about how they intend to strengthen public schools. The campaign’s key activities so far include • Compiling tens of thousands of questions that teachers around the country have for their presidential candidates and focusing candidate interviews on the top issues raised • Hosting the #StrongPublicSchools Presidential Forum at the annual NEA Representative Assembly last summer, and co-hosting Public Education Forum 2020: Equity and Justice for All, where presidential candidates answer questions posed by NEA members • Holding house parties from coast to

deeper needs, by advancing trauma-informed instruction,

NEA’S STRONG PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2020 Critical for CEA members to get involved in election campaign

Governor Pledges Support for Students, Families, and Teachers in New Budget, Legislative Session

On the opening day of the legislative session, Governor Ned Lamont made a series of pledges aimed at increasing support for Connecticut’s students, families, and teachers and continuing to build on the strides the state has made over the last year. “Our budget provided predictability to

those counting on it most,” he said, adding, “I have heard from school principals, city and town leaders, small businesses, and families, all saying, ‘Finally, we can plan for our future.’” The budget, he noted, made Connecticut’s largest-ever investment in K-12 education, reducing some of the burden on cities and towns and providing teachers with more of the resources they need. He added that a priority of his administration is ensuring that teachers, among others, can afford to live in the communities they serve. “I’ve said it before: Connecticut has always had the best-trained, best- educated, most productive workforce in the world, and that starts with the best teachers in the world.” Educators and unions, he pointed out, are providing input to the revamped Governor’s Workforce Council to make sure Connecticut maintains the highest-quality education in the nation. Governor Lamont received a standing ovation when he said, “With half our students being children of color, Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona and I have prioritized recruiting black and Hispanic teachers and developing courses that showcase the important contributions those communities have made to American history.” Noting that educators of color comprise less than ten percent of Connecticut’s teaching force, the governor said his goal was for all children to look up and see themselves reflected in their teachers as well as see a potential future for themselves in the teaching profession. He also noted that the recently established Partnership for Connecticut, formed with the help of local philanthropists, will give more students “their opportunity at the starting line of life,” focusing on providing support for disengaged and disconnected children and young adults and funding for teachers and nonprofits “to turn their best ideas into more hope for their students.” Governor Ned Lamont says Connecticut’s skilled workforce “starts with the best teachers in the world.”