Month: September 2014

HOUSTON—The nation’s first anti-bullying policy for school employees was announced today in Houston, an effort initiated by Houston educational support workers, developed collaboratively with school administration and now part of the district’s standards of conduct for all employees.

The groundbreaking policy was announced at an event in which American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten honored Houston Educational Support Personnel President Wretha Thomas, Houston Independent School District Superintendent Terry Grier and HISD Board of Education President Juliet Stipeche for their collaborative work.
“Bullying by anyone is unacceptable and this policy states very clearly that everyone deserves to work in an environment that’s civil, respectful and safe,” Weingarten said. Current HISD policy prohibits bullying by students.

Thomas said the policy comes after a decade of reports of bullying among employees, resulting in some frustrated employees quitting.

“We saw a problem and realized we had to not only acknowledge it but fix it,” said Thomas. “Frankly, it could only be effective if we developed the policy through labor-management collaboration and if there was district buy-in to enforce the policy.”

The policy defines bullying as engaging in written or verbal expression, expression through electronic means, or physical conduct in the workplace that harms an employee or his or her property; creates an intimidating, threatening or abusive environment; exploits an imbalance of power; or interferes with someone’s job or the operation of the work location.

The AFT’s “See a Bully, Stop a Bully: Make a Difference” campaign partners with educators, school leaders, community and advocacy groups to recognize, prevent and combat bullying. The purpose is to raise awareness and provide resources to educators, students and parents.
Weingarten was in Houston as part of her back-to-school visits, highlighting how educators and school staff are leading efforts to reclaim the promise of public education. In Houston, she visited Middle College High School at Houston Community College.

AFT on the PDK/Gallup Poll on Investing in Teachers


WASHINGTON—Statement by Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, on the 2014 PDK/Gallup Poll on teacher preparation and training:

“This poll should be yet another wake-up call to policymakers, who for too long have ignored the sentiments of parents and teachers on what it takes to meet students’ needs.
“We entrust teachers with great responsibility yet there’s schizophrenia in the treatment of the teaching profession. We recognize teachers’ importance in preparing students for college, career, life and citizenship, yet we don’t provide teachers with appropriate preparation and we ask them to do their jobs with less trust, less latitude and less support.

“This poll reaffirms what I have seen in my visits to schools and communities across the country: Parents trust teachers and want more investment in preparing and assisting teachers, yet those who make policy are not listening. They are starving schools of critical funding and pushing market-based, test-driven policies that create a system of winners and losers and ultimately fail our kids.

“The public’s frustration with testing has reached critical mass. Parents want data about how their kids are doing and educators and kids want feedback, but more and more those closest to the schools are fed up with standardized tests driving every decision affecting students and teachers. The poll numbers reflect the need for a new accountability system based on multiple and meaningful measures of student learning and teacher practice, and a rigorous teacher preparation program focused on the real world of teaching, which the AFT has been promoting for more than a decade.”

Supreme Court to rule on Jindal’s education law

Oral arguments in the September 5 hearing will be streamed online from the Supreme Court’s Web site. Go to www.lasc.org and click a link to Oral Arguments on the right side of the page. The session begins at 9:30 A.M.

(Baton Rouge – August 29, 2014) The Louisiana Supreme Court will consider Governor Bobby Jindal’s appeal of a ruling that Act 1 of 2012, the so-called teacher “talent act,” violates the State Constitution on Friday, September 5.

Arguments will be presented in what could be the ultimate legal decision on the act, which the Louisiana Federation of Teachers says violates a constitutional ban on bundling multiple objects into one legislative bill.

Last January, 19th Judicial District Judge Michael Caldwell ruled for the second time in less than a year that the act is unconstitutional.

The act was one of the bills that Gov. Bobby Jindal touted as his education reform agenda in 2012. It amended and reenacted nine statutes and enacted two entirely new statutes. It tied teacher salaries, tenure, promotions and termination to a new evaluation system. It changed the way school boards contract with superintendents, altered the general powers of school boards, delegated new authority to principals and superintendents and mandated different reduction-in-force policies.

Judge Michael Caldwell first ruled the act unconstitutional in March of 2013. But the State Supreme Court remanded the case to the 19^th Judicial District, asking Judge Caldwell to reconsider his ruling in light of another decision.

In his ruling last January, Judge Caldwell acknowledged the Supreme Court’s reservations. He said that even though the high court’s decision in another case had broadened the definition of a bill’s objects, he did not believe that Act 1 of 2012 met that standard.

“The object (of the bill) is not apparent to me in several provisions of the act,” Judge Caldwell said, concluding that Act 1 is “unconstitutional in its entirety.”

The law remains in effect until the high court makes a final decision. No matter what the final outcome, LFT President Steve Monaghan said, sections of the act dealing with teacher evaluations, tenure, promotions and salaries are unfair and unworkable.

“Ultimately,” Monaghan said, “the legislature will have to revisit the whole concept of education reform. Their actions thus far have disrespected our constitution, vilified teachers, siphoned funds from already underfunded public schools, and resulted in endless legal battles. It’s time to refocus on teaching and learning.”