NWPE News Notes
The Online Communiqué of Northwest Professional Educators
April 28, 2004
TESTIMONY ON HIGHLY-QUALIFIED TEACHER PROVISION BY AAE NATIONAL PROJECTS DIRECTOR
WEA CONTINUES TO MISINFORM TEACHERS ABOUT NWPE - GREAT JOB NWPE MEMBERS!
CHARTER SCHOOL UPDATE
PROMOTING TOLERANCE FLYER THAT HONORS MORALITY AND RELIGION OF STUDENTS
MERIT PAY PLAN PASSES IN DENVER
FREE LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR RELIGIOUS/POLITICAL OBJECTORS
NWPE WEBSITE UPDATED WITH ARTICLES AND LEGAL SERVICES COMPARISON
TESTIMONY ON HIGHLY-QUALIFIED TEACHER PROVISION BY AAE NATIONAL PROJECTS DIRECTOR
Mr. Tracey Bailey, Director of National Projects for the Association of American Educators testified on 4/21/04 before the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce. He applauded policy changes and clarifications in No Child Left Behind (NCLB) that provide for increased flexibility for teachers to meet the Highly Qualified Teacher (HQT) provision of the law. Problem areas that have caused the most difficulties for states have included Rural Schools, Middle Schools, Special Education, Science, and Social Studies.
Bailey pointed out, to the USDOE's credit, that clarification and significant flexibility have been provided in nearly all the problem areas. A problem area that has not been fully addressed by policy changes and clarifications, however, is how highly qualified provisions are applied to Special Education teachers.
Mr. Bailey noted that states haven't been taking full advantage of flexibility (in requirements and in funding) already at their disposal through No Child Left Behind. "The greatest single frustration to teachers about HQT - and a huge obstacle to a clear and effective implementation of the provisions - is that teachers have not received timely and accurate answers from many states and school districts about their Highly Qualified status.
"We should be giving teachers clear answers and guidance now - and getting them the professional development they need - rather than waiting until a manageable training issue becomes a significant problem for teachers and schools. . . We should be certain that the state-designed HOUSSE matrices are truly encouraging helpful, subject-oriented staff development - and not simply encouraging 'point-earning' activities of questionable value."
WEA CONTINUES TO MISINFORM TEACHERS ABOUT NWPE - GREAT JOB NWPE MEMBERS!
Members have alerted NWPE to the WEA's continued attempts to misinform educators about NWPE. Accusations include that NWPE is part of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation (false), that we heavily lobby the legislature against the WEA (false), and that AAE supports school vouchers (false).
Union officials admit that NWPE provides legal services and liability insurance which it claims the union already provides. But, it does not reveal the superiority of NWPE's benefits which include guaranteed fees for legal services for job protection issues using an attorney of the MEMBER's choice. The union MAY provide legal services for job protection issues if it wants to--but they are not guaranteed. And, the union member may not pick his/her own attorney.
We are so proud of our members! You are actively setting the record straight with your colleagues. We appreciate that your efforts put a friendly professional face on NWPE. This builds credibility for your organization. While not all union members and leaders will care about the truth that you share with them, many will have their eyes opened and will truly respect your stand for professionalism and students. Some may thank you while others quietly reflect on what you share. Please continue your efforts and contact me if you need any help or information about how to respond. With your educational efforts this spring and summer, next fall will be our best new member recruiting season yet! (We are also working on an exciting project that will support your efforts even more! Stay tuned.)
The union has admitted, "Many of our members will look at the difference in the dues amounts and perhaps will want to change." (With the $25 new member discount, first year NWPE dues are $144. Regular NWPE dues are $169. Average "unified" NEA-WEA-LEA dues are around $760. The union will not allow teachers to belong to their local association only. They must belong to all three levels of the union or none at all.)
NWPE educates educators about their rights regarding union membership; but, we do not discriminate against union members. NWPE membership includes a number of union members and local union officials who value NWPE's exceptional benefits and contributions to the education system and who are willing to pay NWPE dues in addition to full union dues. We will always welcome both nonunion AND union members into our membership.
For nonunion agency fee payers who receive a dues rebate for objecting to the union's use of dues for politics and for religious objectors who donate their union dues to a charity, the union rebate or tax savings usually fully covers the cost of NWPE dues.
If you are confronted with union misinformation, please alert your colleagues to the truth. Some great information rebutting false accusations is available on NWPE's website at http://www.nwpe.org/responsewea.htm. Of course, you should also call attention to how NWPE's legal services and liability insurance compare with the union's. (http://www.nwpe.org/legal.htm and http://www.nwpe.org/insurance.htm)
NWPE depends on our members to keep us informed. Please alert me to what you are hearing in your districts. I would also sincerely appreciate your letting me know of any efforts you take to dispel union rumors and innuendos. Happy educating!
CHARTER SCHOOL UPDATE
The Washington Charter School Law will take effect on 6/10/2004 . Qualified charitable organizations that file applications on that day can open NEW or CONVERSION charter schools as early as October 10, 2004 .
OSPI has applied for $5,000,000/year in federal charter school funding. Oregon has received over $24,000,000 in federal charter school funding since the Oregon Charter School law was passed in 1999. These federal funds translate into $50,000 planning grants, $200,000 start-up grants, and $200,000 implementation grants for most charter school applicants and schools (a total of $450,000 over three years). This is in addition to the state and local funding that charter schools receive based on their enrollment (about $5,500 - $7,500 per student per year, depending on the school district in which the charter school is located).
An article outlining interest in charter schools in the Seattle area, Education: Open and Soon Shut - As the Seattle School Board ponders closing schools, charter-school advocates rush to see if they can open new ones, published by Seattle Weekly, April 28-May 4, 2004, may be found at:
www.seattleweekly.com/features/0417/040428_news_schools.php.
For more information about charter schools, please visit www.WAcharterschools.org.
PROMOTING TOLERANCE FLYER THAT HONORS MORALITY AND RELIGION OF STUDENTS
Many people are uncomfortable with an anything-goes attitude that defines tolerance as a non-critical acceptance of just about everything someone says or does. Teachers fear that if they oppose this "non-critical" approach to tolerance that they will be accused of advancing bigotry, intolerance and even hate. Gateways to Better Education shares a flyer that provides another way to view tolerance that respects individual human dignity while also honoring the moral and religious views of students and their families. This flyer is available at http://www.gtbe.com/resources/resource_articles/promoting_tolerance.pdf
MERIT PAY PLAN PASSES IN DENVER
The Washington, D.C. based Center for Education Reform reports, "Bucking the usual union stance, 59 percent of Denver, CO Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) members voted to approve a modest pay for performance system. The new pay structure eliminates pay raises based on seniority and bases them instead on student performance, including students' scores on standardized tests and teachers' willingness to work in high-risk schools. Denver conducted a 4-year pay-for-performance pilot project that was highly successful and led to the plan's approval. For more, go to: www.denverteachercompensation.org."
NWPE has not taken a position on merit pay but wishes to keep you informed of various education reform strategies throughout the country.
FREE LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR RELIGIOUS/POLITICAL OBJECTORS
Education employees may utilize the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Act (which prohibit employers and labor unions from discriminating against workers based on religion, including "all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief") to ensure that their union dues are paid to a charity rather than being used for purposes that violate their religious beliefs.
The Washington Times reports that some "State affiliates of the National Education Association, a sponsor of last weekend's pro-choice March for Women's Lives, are fighting members who have invoked federal antidiscrimination laws against the union's use of their dues to support abortion, contraception and homosexuality." (See "Teachers Battle NEA over Politics" at http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040426-102743-4447r.htm.)
The article states that "the MEA, along with the Ohio Education Association (OEA), Washington Education Association and California Teachers Association, are 'the hardheads' among state NEA union affiliates who 'run religious objectors through the gantlet,' said Bruce N. Cameron, a lawyer for the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation in Springfield, VA ."
Bruce Cameron, staff attorney for National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides free legal aid nationwide to thousands of employees whose human and civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses, provides FREE legal advice to education employees interested in exercising their rights not to pay union dues for politics that violate their religious and political beliefs. Bruce is available for consultation at 800-336-3600, or through email at bnc@nrtw.org. (Spanish speakers, please ask for Elsa Matos).
The Washington Times' April 27, 2004, article continues, "Mr. Cameron, who said he has not lost a religious-objector case against the NEA, said the eight-year fight in Ohio of veteran industrial-arts teacher Dennis J. Robey was a major turning point against union stonewalling. As a result of Mr. Robey's case, the EEOC in 2002 ordered the NEA and all its state affiliates to stop using a maze of invasive bureaucratic requirements to force schoolteachers and support personnel to justify their religious faith."
NWPE WEBSITE UPDATED WITH ARTICLES AND LEGAL SERVICES COMPARISON
You will also find an updated NWPE Legal Services page comparing NWPE's legal services with those of the teachers union at http://www.nwpe.org/legal.htm.
Please take a look and share the information!
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