Louisiana Federation of Teachers Agrees to Principles of Unity
Breaking News: Louisiana Federation of Teachers Agrees to Principles of Unity
The Louisiana Federation of Teachers has endorsed a set of general principles that a number of public education stakeholders have pledged to honor in the upcoming legislative session.
“For the past six years, education reform has been defined by politicians, corporate profiteers and ideological extremists,” Federation President Steve Monaghan said. “The result has been an avalanche of unconstitutional laws, a raid on public education funds and baseless attacks on teachers in our public schools.
“The leaders of this bogus reform movement have manipulated data and used misleading statistics to justify the destruction of public education in Louisiana,” he said. “We are proud to stand with other public education stakeholders to correct the narrative touted by the current administration and offer real hope for our children’s future.”
In an invitation asking educators to adopt principles of unity, Louisiana School Boards Association Executive Director Scott Richard wrote, “We are experiencing unprecedented times during this era of ‘education reform’ in our state. It is of the utmost importance that we strive to work collaboratively as stakeholders in order to facilitate practical initiatives that truly work to improve student achievement.”
The principles adopted by the signers of the agreement include:
- United advocacy for prioritizing public education funding regarding the state funding formula.
- United advocacy for a more strategic and comprehensive transition to raising standards and adopting accompanying assessments.
- United advocacy for a non-punitive accountability system and a flexible employee evaluation system during the transition to higher standards.
- United advocacy for addressing issues regarding privatization of public education in Louisiana.
- United advocacy regarding meaningful and sincere stakeholder input in all policy matters so that we are all working together to improve student achievement in Louisiana.
[SURVEY] Bullying Prevention – FREE Toolkit
Educators, complete this survey and receive a FREE Bullying Prevention Toolkit.
Bullying is a community issue that extends beyond the school campus and is prevalent online. The American Federation of Teachers is partnering with educators, school leaders, community and advocacy groups to recognize, prevent and combat bullying.
The purpose of the AFT’s campaign, “See a Bully, Stop a Bully: Make a Difference,” is to raise awareness and provide resources to educators, students and parents.
Screen Bully in your classroom or at your school
The movie Bully has captured the hearts and minds of students and adults across the nation, offering a window into the damage bullying can cause. The Bully Project has a wonderful toolkit with materials and a DVD (including a version of the video that is appropriate for younger audiences). Educators who thoroughly complete this short surveywill receive a kit for FREE, while supplies last (feel free to share this survey with any AFT member who works with students).
LFT News: Bogus Reform Group Touts Vouchers Again
Bogus reform group touts vouchers again
(Baton Rouge – January 14, 2014) To no one’s surprise, an organization dedicated to promoting school vouchers for private and religious schools is heaping praise on Louisiana’s voucher scheme.
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute today released a review of vouchers across the United States, and lauded Louisiana as a “national model when it comes to transparency and accountability.” It marked the second year that Fordham has issued a report supporting Louisiana’s voucher law.
Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan characterized the Fordham Institute as a right wing storefront that exists as a shill for vouchers.
“Obviously, Fordham did not read the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s review of the state voucher program,” Monaghan said. “They would have known that just a handful of the 118 voucher schools reported their performance data to the state.”
In addition, Monaghan said, Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera said that only three of the 118 schools tracked their public dollars separately from private funds, and that one of those overbilled the state by nearly $400,000. That school was subsequently excluded from the voucher program.
“A model for transparency and accountability? It is simply astounding that anyone can hold such a dismal record up as a model,” Monaghan said.
In what it described as a “policy toolkit,” Fordham suggested three objectives that define accountability for voucher schools:
All voucher students should participate in state assessments.
The result of those assessments should be publicly disclosed except when a school has so few voucher students that disclosure would identify individual students.
A “sliding scale” should be used when acting on test results, meaning that “private schools that derive little of their income from vouchers should be largely left alone.”
Despite the legislative auditor’s findings, the Fordham survey concluded that Louisiana has one of four voucher schemes “that have generally gotten these policies right.” Others are in Indiana, Cleveland and Milwaukee.
But Monaghan said that even the metrics suggested by Fordham’s toolkit are flawed.
“Requiring all students who receive vouchers to participate in state assessments is not the same as requiring that these assessments have the same high stakes consequences as they do for public school students,” Monaghan said.
As far as the second recommendation is concerned, Monaghan said that voucher schools have figured out how to game the system by keeping numbers low in certain grades and subjects.
The LFT president said the idea of a “sliding scale” is absurd. “If they’re in for a dime’s worth of state dollars, they should be in for the full dollar of state accountability,” he said.
Holding voucher schools unaccountable just because they have few students is an invitation for abuse and an insult to public education and every classroom teacher, Monaghan said.
– See more at: http://la.aft.org/press/bogus-reform-group-touts-vouchers-again#sthash.iO4uUYYG.dpuf
VIDEO: The Truth about International Education Comparisons
What Does the PISA Report tell us about US Education?
When the OECD releases the PISA report every three years, many people use the ranking to claim public education in the U.S. is failing and push their corporate education reform agenda. But looking at the data, lessons that can be learned from the highest performing countries point in a completely different direction. For more information: http://go.aft.org/pisa #ReclaimIt
BREAKING NEWS: Act 1 Found Unconstitutional (again)
(Baton Rouge – January 8, 2014) For the second time in less than a year, a Baton Rouge district court judge has ruled Act 1 of 2012, the so-called “talent act,” unconstitutional.
Judge Michael Caldwell first ruled the act unconstitutional last March, agreeing with a lawsuit brought by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers. The judge said Act 1 violated a ban on bundling multiple objects into one piece of legislation. But the State Supreme Court remanded the case to the 19th Judicial District, asking Judge Caldwell to reconsider his ruling in light of another decision.
In a carefully worded ruling that acknowledged the Supreme Court’s reservations, Judge Caldwell said that while the high court’s decision had broadened the definition of a bill’s objects, “The object (of the bill) is not apparent to me in several provisions of the act.”
Therefore, Judge Caldwell said, Act 1 violates the multiple object clause and is “unconstitutional in its entirety.”
“The judge basically affirmed what we said from the very beginning,” LFT President Steve Monaghan said after the verdict. “Facts are facts. This was a sprawling piece of legislation that was duck taped together. It was hastily done and we took it to court as we promised to do. As we said from day one, we came to court out of respect for the constitution.”
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.
An attorney for the state told reporters that Judge Caldwell’s decision will be appealed directly to the Supreme Court.
The law will remain in effect until the high court makes a final decision. Sections of the act dealing with teacher evaluations, tenure, promotions and salaries are unfair and unworkable, the LFT president said.
“No matter how this case is ultimately decided, the legislature will have to revisit the whole concept of education reform,” Monaghan said. “We hope they will not try to pass the repugnant sections of this act as individual pieces of legislation.”
At a press conference following the verdict, Jindal said that he is willing to work with anyone to provide excellent teachers for Louisiana’s classrooms.
“That is our goal as well,” Monaghan said. “We are ready to talk to the governor at any time about reforms that will truly improve education and create a better future for the children of Louisiana.”
Another of the governor’s education bills, Act 2 of 2012, has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court because it unlawfully diverted public education funds to private, religious and corporate education providers.
– Louisiana Federation of Teachers
Commitment vs. Servitude- Workshop on January 18, 2014
Commitment vs. Servitude
Do you know the difference?
Come hear from an expert: Ronald Key
Workshop for ALL school employees
Saturday, January 18
9:00 – 12:00 PM
Red River United Office
1726 Line Avenue, Shreveport, LA 71101
Space is limited to the first 50 people to RSVP
RSVP HERE
318-424-4579
redriverunited@redriverunited.org
Reducing stress in a stressful world
Balancing life and career obligations
Establishing effective coping mechanisms
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room – workplace politics!
This class is ideal for ALL school employees who have a passion for public education and are looking to reconnect with their passion for LIFE.
Please come wearing comfortable clothing.
RSVP to 318-424-4579 or redriverunited@redriverunited.org
We welcome members and potential members to come and enjoy this FREE workshop.
LFT had warned state about voucher accountability
Audit slamming voucher schools is no surprise, LFT president says
(Baton Rouge – December 17, 2013) A legislative auditor’s report criticizing state oversight of the controversial school voucher scheme was foreseen by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers more than a year ago, Federation President Steve Monaghan said today.
“I do not hate to say we told them so because we did just that,” Monaghan said. “The state education board and department of education had ample warning that their accountability standards were inadequate.”
Monaghan was responding to a report by Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera saying that the state does not properly monitor the use of public funds or the academic standards of private and religious schools that accept state vouchers.
“We realized in July of 2012 that rules adopted by BESE couldn’t pass muster, and requested a public hearing in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act,” Monaghan said. “In October, BESE finally agreed to the hearing as required by law. But sadly, that hearing was a mockery. We were limited to just 10 minutes to present more than a dozen specific, constructive recommendations to make vouchers more accountable to parents and taxpayers.”
Other groups that had come to the hearing prepared to offer suggestions were given just two minutes each to testify, Monaghan said.
Instead of giving serious attention to the deficiencies in BESE’s voucher rules, Monaghan said, the hearing degenerated into a pep rally for vouchers. Numerous supporters were allowed to praise the voucher program without even mentioning the subject of the hearing, which was Bulletin 133 (Criteria for School Participation in the Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence Program).
Almost immediately after that faux hearing, Monaghan recalled, the Louisiana Department of Education released a statement praising those who had attended the meeting in support of vouchers, even though the purpose of the meeting was not to debate educational philosophy.
“This sent a very clear signal,” Monaghan said. “The mission of the department of education was to champion vouchers and privatization by any means necessary, and that’s why more than a year later we have audit report stating the obvious, and what we had attempted to fix in October 2012.”
In light of this audit report and BESE’s refusal to consider reasonable accountability for the $40 million-plus voucher program, Monaghan said, it will be up to the State Legislature to pass appropriate legislation requiring proper oversight in order to protect students, parents, and taxpayers.
– See more at: http://la.aft.org/press/lft-had-warned-state-about-voucher-accountability#sthash.Vwf0rYvn.dpuf
News from LFT: District Court will Rule on Teacher Suit Next Month
State attorney agrees with LFT: Act 1 is flawed and imperfect
(Baton Rouge – December 20, 2013) A Baton Rouge district court judge said today that he will rule on January 8, 2014 whether one of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s signature education bills violates the state constitution. But in a surprise turn of events, an attorney defending the controversial law noted that it is “flawed” and “imperfect.”
“This law is harming professional educators right now,” Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said after court adjourned this morning. “It is obvious that, no matter how Judge Michael Caldwell rules in January, the legislature will have to revisit this law and try to correct its defects.”
The Federation alleges that Act 1, known to its supporters as the “talent act,” violates a section of the State Constitution that prohibits bundling multiple objectives in one bill. In addition, LFT General Counsel Larry Samuel argued, the act violates state and federal constitutional protections of due process for teachers.
Act one 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.
The Act includes a process for termination of teachers that Samuel said does not allow teachers’ side “to be heard at a meaningful time in a meaningful manner.”
After being terminated, a teacher may ask for a hearing by a panel. One member is appointed by the superintendent, one by the teacher’s principal, and one chosen by the teacher.
Obviously, Samuel said, the panel is a panel stacked two-to-one against the teacher. Even so, he said, the superintendent still has ultimate authority to validate the firing no matter what the panel recommends. The panel is essentially powerless.
The teacher’s final option is to challenge the termination in court. Under the old law, a teacher could request a hearing by the local school board
Attorney Jimmy Faircloth, representing the Jindal administration, said he believes the hearing process constitutional. But Judge Caldwell asked him if the Act doesn’t make the superintendent both the “judge and the appellant judge,” which would not be allowed in the legal system.
Faircloth agreed, and said that he believes the law is both “flawed” and “imperfect,” but that its flaws do not rise to a constitutional level. The biggest problem, he said, is that many more teacher termination cases will wind up in district courts.
“The Federation agrees with that assessment,” Monaghan said, while maintaining that the law is unconstitutional.
Last March, Judge Caldwell ruled Act 1 unconstitutional. But the State Supreme Court vacated that decision and sent it back to the 19th Judicial District for a rehearing.
Judge Caldwell took the arguments by both sides under advisement, and said that he will render a decision on Wednesday, January 8, at 11:00 A.M.
– See more at: http://la.aft.org/press/district-court-will-rule-teacher-suit-next-month#sthash.AFZ7qzIv.dpuf
AFT’s First Book Program- Sign Up!
AFT’s First Book Program
All teachers can sign up for the AFT First Book program.
If you work in a school, community program, library, or city or county program in an under-resourced community, sign up with First Book to get free and low-cost new books for children in your area.
You can also register with Share My Lesson for access to lesson plans and other free educational resources that you can use in your classroom or program.
Click here to sign up for First Book and Share My Lesson*.
Click here to sign up with First Book without also registering for Share My Lesson.
When signing up, be sure to indicate your affiliation with AFT to stay informed about book grants and special opportunities. If you have questions or need assistance contact First Book at 866-READ-NOW or help@firstbook.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .