May-June 2019 Advisor

UPDATING

MAY–JUNE 2019 CEA ADVISOR 9

The legislative session that ended June 5 was a busy one for CEA members, staff, and leaders, who advocated for students, teachers, and public education and fought hard to defeat measures that would take away precious rights and resources. Here is a look at some key legislation that impacts you, your students and colleagues, and your classrooms. IVE RECAP

In addition to holding back-home meetings, CEA members from across the state traveled to the Capitol to meet with their lawmakers. Representative Greg Haddad meets with teachers from his district.

An Act Concerning the Provision of Special Education protects teachers against negative evaluations or retribution from administration when they offer input or recommendations in a planning and placement team meeting for special education. CEA lobbied legislators for this important change allowing teachers’ voices to be an integral part of students’ special education planning. Classroom Safety and School Climate A bill that would have helped ensure safer classrooms and provided much-needed support for disruptive students failed to pass this legislative session. The bill was killed in part by lawmakers’ unwillingness to act on it. They also did not want to fund a $150,000 uniform statewide survey of teachers and school personnel, which was included in the bill. CEA will be back next session to ensure that this much-needed legislation passes. Meanwhile, elements of the Classroom Safety Bill that CEA strongly advocated for have been incorporated into a bullying and school climate bill. While it does not provide the support and ensure that a minimum of 250 minority teachers statewide are hired by local and regional boards of education each year, with at least 30 percent of those hires being male. See page 6 for more on this important piece of legislation and how CEA has been at the forefront of this issue. Minority Teacher Recruitment A bill that aims to recruit more teachers of color to the profession has passed and will help Connecticut grow and diversify its teaching force in ways that better reflect the diversity of its student population. Among other things, the bill requires the State Department of Education to

African-American, Puerto Rican, and Latino Curriculum Starting with the 2022-2023 school year, all public school districts must offer a course combining African-American, Puerto Rican, and pension income from state income taxation. Alternatively, because of a law that applies to all retired taxpayers, 28 percent of pension income can be exempted from state income tax beginning in tax year 2020. This exemption is available to those with an annual income below $75,000 for single/separate filers and below $100,000 for joint filers. This pension income exemption increases year to year until tax year 2025, when 100 percent of pension income for those whose income is below the threshold for eligibility will be exempt from state income taxes. State Tax Exemption for Teachers’ Pension Income Retired teachers can exempt 25 percent of their

Students and Sunscreen Students age eight or older can bring and self-apply over-the-counter sunscreen products while in school, provided a written authorization signed by their parent or guardian is submitted to the school nurse.

Latino studies. (Districts may offer the course earlier but are not required to.) The one-credit course is not a graduation requirement, but all local and regional districts must offer it to students in grades 9-12. The State Education Resource Center will develop the curriculum and make it available to districts.

No More Sick Schools Several Connecticut school buildings closed temporarily or permanently this past school year, as extreme temperatures, humidity, mold, and water damage posed health and safety risks for students and teachers. Earlier this legislative session, CEA members testified on these issues before legislators, and more recently, CEA launched #IsMySchoolSick , a pilot program to document the problem. Teachers in five school districts are recording daily temperatures and humidity levels in their classrooms, and a survey has been distributed to all members inquiring about conditions in their schools. If you haven’t already taken the survey ( surveymonkey.com/r/YQQXRRB ), it will be available through the end of June. The information collected will help CEA lobby for solutions that ensure a timely, appropriate response to health and safety issues in Connecticut’s public schools. “Our goal is to improve the student learning and teaching environment, making every school a safe, healthy place to come to every day,” says CEA President Jeff Leake.

Computer Science Curriculum All school districts are required to offer instruction in computer science in addition to computer programming.

protections called for in the Classroom Safety Bill, An Act Concerning School Climate expands the definition of bullying to include actions that are pervasive and persistent, single acts that are severe, and actions that infringe on the rights or opportunities of anyone in a school—including,

Better Student Access to School Counselors The State Board of Education will develop guidelines for a school counseling program that requires that all students have access to academic, social-emotional, postsecondary, and career readiness programming by a certified school counselor with adequate training. This important legislation passed thanks to the efforts of school counselors and other CEA members who came together at CEA’s office in Hartford and organized a “Day on the Hill” at the State Capitol. Their ongoing advocacy succeeded with the passage of An Act Concerning Guidelines for a Comprehensive School Counselor Program.

importantly, teachers. Bullying is also redefined as an act causing direct or indirect physical or emotional harm or fear of harm. With this expanded definition, provisions of Connecticut’s existing bullying law—which address procedures for reporting bullying, prevention and intervention strategies, notification of parents, and protection from retaliation against those who report bullying—now apply to classroom safety incidents that teachers often face. In addition, the bill develops a model school climate policy, a required school climate survey for districts, an assessment for students who pose a suicide risk, and discrimination/harassment prevention training materials. The bill’s goals include creating better learning environments by incorporating best practices in social- emotional education and regularly assessing school climate, with input from parents, school officials, mental health specialists, educators, and others. To help address the problem of bullying, this new legislation establishes a collaborative that ensures schools have access to best practices in social- emotional learning. CEA will have a seat on the collaborative.

Senator Marilyn Moore (far right) meets with (L-R) Harding High School library media specialist Laina Kominos, Bridgeport Educational Alliance for Public Schools community organizer Shamare Holmes, and Bridgeport Education Association President Gary Peluchette.