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From the Desk of Your Attorney- Assault and Battery on a School Employee

In the past month, there have been several incidents in Caddo and Bossier schools where a student has committed an assault or battery against a teacher. While these events are certainly disturbing, what is even more disturbing is that, in many cases, the school administration has allowed the student to return to the campus. This is counter to Louisiana law. Please be advised that under Louisiana Revised Statue 17:416, any student formally accused of committing assault or battery against a school employee must be immediately suspended and is not allowed to return to the campus until all hearings and appeals are complete. If the student is convicted of assault or battery on a school teacher, he or she is not allowed to return to the campus at all, unless it is determined that there is no other school where the student can be placed.

 

It should be noted that “assault on a school teacher” and “battery on a school teacher” are specific charges. It has occurred that a student, after assaulting or battering a school teacher, has been charged with “simple assault” or “simple battery”. An charge and conviction of these crimes will not trigger the automatic removal required by 17:416. It is extremely important that if you are a victim of a threat or attack from a student, the arresting officer needs to arrest them for “assault on a school teacher” (14:38.2) or “battery on a school teacher” (14:34.3). Also, you should request a copy of the arrest report. This will give you proof that the student has been accused of violating a crime that will trigger 17:416. Finally, you should be sure to file a referral against the student, so that there will be a record that the school administration was aware of exactly what happened.

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General Membership Meeting: April 3, 2014 at 5:00 PM

Mark your calendars! Red River United will be holding its spring General Membership Meeting on April 3,2014 at 5:00 PM* at the Red River United office on 1726 Line Ave., Shreveport, LA 71105

Both members and potential members are encouraged to attend.

Come out and learn about RRU’s initiatives this legislative session, and much, much more!

*Note that this date was recently corrected. 

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Share My Lesson Hosts Unprecedented Virtual ‘Ideas and Innovations’ Conference

Share My Lesson Hosts Unprecedented Virtual ‘Ideas and Innovations’ Conference

Washington, DC—Share My Lesson, the largest online community of American educators sharing lesson plans and other teaching materials, will host on March 11-13 an unprecedented virtual conference of 24 webinars for educators and parents, ranging from creative ways to teach the arts and natural sciences, proactive and positive behavior management tips, and ways to cultivate innovative thinkers.

“Ideas and Innovations,” an interactive digital festival of professional learning, will take place on the evenings of March 11-13 and is a pre-conference option to the Teaching and Learning 2014 conference. AFT President Randi Weingarten will kick off the virtual conference with a keynote presentation:

“Reclaiming the Promise of Public Education,” on March 11 at 6 p.m. EST.

The webinars will be presented by Share My Lesson content leaders and partners, including the American Federation of Teachers Innovation Fund, Storyboard That, Achieve, NBC Learn, the Nature Conservancy, ConSource, the Center for Arts Education, LearnZillion, PBS LearningMedia and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

 

Share My Lesson was created by the American Federation of Teachers and Britain’s TES Connect to provide educators with a virtual professional community, which now boasts nearly 300,000 lesson plans, videos, handouts and other teaching resources, more than 30,000 of which are aligned to the Common Core State Standards. Participation in the event is free but limited to those who register—also, free of charge—on www.sharemylesson.com

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Nominate a Student for the Most Improved Student Awards

Red River United, in conjunction with the Caddo Parish School Board, is hosting its 11th annual “Most Improved Student Celebration” on Tuesday, May 13, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Southwood High School.

Remember, in selecting the MOST IMPROVED STUDENT, our goal is to encourage and recognize a student who is normally not recognized at school. In order to encompass the entire school body, be sure to include special needs students as well.

If at all possible, we would encourage you to recognize the student (s) at your end of the year Awards Day program. The RRU and the CPSB will supply the certificate and award. Many schools select a teacher committee to choose ONE most IMPROVED student PER SCHOOL.

CRITERIA:

* Raised grade point average from grading period to grading period

* Fewer Disciplinary Infractions

* Display School Pride

* Improved Peer Relations and Teacher Respect

* Met classroom expectations (Improved attendance when attendance has been a concern)

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ACTION ALERT: Bossier Parish to Gut Dismissal Policy – BPSB Meeting this Thursday!

Bossier Parish to Gut Dismissal Policy – BPSB Meeting this Thursday!

Actions speak louder than words. On two separate occasions, you have expressed a willingness to take action and change policy/procedure to the benefit of your employees, but no action has been taken. We want to take you at your word. We want you to take action.
Red River United is asking all Bossier Parish employees to continue push the Bossier Parish School Board to take their suggestions seriously (Caddo can lend support to its sister Parish, too). Please come to the BPSB meeting this Thursday, March 6 at 6:00 PM at the BPSB office in Benton and put the pressure on the BPSB to follow through with their rhetoric of listening to their school employees with actual action on the issues.

Last year, members in Bossier Parish called Red River United and asked if there was anything we could do about asking the Bossier Parish School Board to give employees the OPTION of receiving a paycheck twice monthly. The OPTION of receiving your pay two times per month is something that new and transferred employees are looking for. Additionally, unexpected expenses (blown tires, emergency surgery, etc.) can quickly deplete a person’s savings. Knowing that a paycheck is coming soon can help navigate through a financial quagmire. Red River United is not pushing for anyone to change their pay schedule who does not want to. By request from our members, Red River United brought this request to the Bossier Parish School Board at the September 5, 2013 school board meeting. After hearing testimony from RRU members about twice monthly pay, the BPSB responded saying that they will send surveys to employees and look into the possibility of implementing the twice monthly pay option for the next school year. Well, it’s almost next school year and BPSB employees have seen no such survey nor have heard any more news on the topic from the BPSB since.

Are you really listening to us, Bossier Parish School Board?

In a BPSB Admin meeting on Tuesday, February 25, the BPSB indicated to Red River United that they would consider adding one more step to the dismissal policy. The suggestion was made by Jackie Lansdale, President of Red River United, based on lengthy experience navigating school board policies that already limit your ability to appeal wrongful terminations. Although they indicated that they would consider these suggestion but they made no moves to formally draft the new policy for a vote at the next board meeting.

We are asking for consistency. We are asking for transparency. We are asking for action. Join us at the next Bossier Parish School Board meeting, Thursday, March 6 at 6:00PM (BPSB Office in Benton).

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Red River United Hosts Louisiana Coalition to Preserve Retirement Society Press Conference

RRU Hosts Press Conference – Louisiana Coalition to Preserve Retirement Security

On Thursday, February 26, 2014 Red River United, labor and community leaders called on their elected officials to protect retirement security. Click here to view the video of the press conference.

 

The group is part of the National Public Pension Coalition and called on Gov. Bobby Jindal and the Louisiana Legislature to stop future attacks on the modest retirement benefits of Louisiana teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public workers, who don’t receive social security. Last year Gov. Jindal’s effort to gut their defined benefit pensions was found unconstitutional by the Louisiana Supreme Court, who said it would drive up costs for taxpayers.

 

According to a new report from Louisiana Budget Project,<http://www.labudget.org/lbp/2014/01/louisiana-state-pension-plans-contribute-to-state-local-economies/> retirement benefits of public employees are also a key economic driver in the state, representing 1.7 percent of all personal income.

 

If you care about maintaining your retirement benefits sign out “I am Committed” form and Red River United will keep you apprised of upcoming legislation and how you can get involved!