State Education News
Follow the links below for information on the listed issues
House Committee
on Pensions, Investments meets
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TSTA's Richard
Kouri talks with Equity Center Radio
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Buy a home for half
price
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Charters are heard
at Texas Education Agency
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SBEC approves new CTE
standards
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Teacher Retirement
System hires search firm
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Senators study
special education
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Contest:
email for Educator Jobs through June 23
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Employers increasingly expect more education
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TEA offers July
conference on education's future
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TSTA president on
the radio: concerned about education
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Dallas and
Houston among 25 U.S. 'dropout epicenters'
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Education Research Center sees
adverse consequences
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Supreme
Court
denies review of unfunded mandates case
•
RTI
leadership
network applications due July 30
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Help NEA
Health
Information Network improve website
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Attorney general
rules against PAC deductions
•
Bill White's first TV ad talks about education
•
Become a
fan of Bill White on Facebook
•
Why Bill White? Read this article
•
TSTA endorses Bill
White for
Governor
TSTA has shifted its Members Only area to a protected area of NEA's website. There are two benefits to the new configuration.
The site will now carry a design similar to the rest of the TSTA website, so it should be less confusing.
The login will be different. When you click on "Members Only" in the left column and go to the new site, you will be asked to register to join NEA's online community if you have not already done so. Only one login is now necessary for both NEA and TSTA Members Only content. If you haven't used your Access card to access the the member benefits page of the NEA or TSTA , all members need to do this to access discounts and member's only information.
Several new laws need to be mentioned. The new mandated graduation requirements law has put some districts into a tizzy. FWISD decided not to put the new requirements into effect until next year. Basically the law eliminates some elective requirements in order to give students more choices for their electives.
Another law passed by the Legislature mandates that the grades that teachers give students are the grades that they get. Districts are not allowed to mandate minimum grades. The law is unclear whether or not report card grades are included. FWISD has interpreted the law to mean that they are not, so the old grading system is still in place. The maker of the bill has said that the intent is to apply to ALL grades.
Finally (at least for our purposes), a new cell phone law is now in effect that bans the use of cell phones in school zones. This applies to texting as well as talking on them.
National Education News
The NEA is working hard on several fronts. Foremost of these is the reorganization of NCLB. Last year NEA sued the government over unfunded mandates and won. The fed appealed so how this will all play out is still to be determined.
The Obama administration's domestic priorities have been and still are, health care for all Americans, jobs for all Americans, and better schools for America's children. The President did get health care legislation passed even if it fell short of many people's expectations. A jobs bill is still being discussed and debated in congress, and several issues remain on the education front including a rewrite of ESEA (also known as "No Child Left Behind), saving the educator jobs and paying them as professionals, and education funding.
Also still to be determined is the fate of the Bills to repeal the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision of the Social Security Act. These two provisions prevent public employees who have paid into Social Security from receiving fair benefits, both survivor and individual. The election of President Obama should have resulted in the repeal of both these acts. So far they have not.
The educator tax deduction helps recognize the financial sacrifices made by teachers and paraprofessionals. Studies show that educators spend more of their own funds each year to supply their classrooms, including purchasing essential items such as pencils, glue, scissors, and facial tissues. The deduction will expire at the end of this year unless Congress acts. We are still waiting for Congress to act.
FWISD Education News on the "Local Education News" Page