Your Voice Matters: Help Strengthen the Special Educator Workforce

This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

It was a busy week in Washington, and we are slated for another one ahead. This coming week, House Republicans are expected to begin consideration on the Parent Bill of Rights Legislation, H.R. 5. It is anticipated that discussions will begin on Thursday with the final vote slated for Friday. Members introduced several amendments to the bill last week — it remains to be seen if House Rules Committee will now allow floor votes on those amendments. 

In the States: Nearly 65,000 LA Unified School District Employees Go on Strike

The new “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.

This week, the nation’s largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, will cancel classes for its nearly 422,000 students as nearly 65,000 school district employees begin a three day strike. The dispute involves Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which represents people who work for Los Angeles Unified in a variety of nonteaching positions — bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and paraprofessionals among others. The union represents 30,000 employees who are seeking a 30% pay raise — citing the increasing costs of living in Southern California. For context, the average Local 99 SEIU employee makes only $25,000 per year.  The Los Angeles teachers’ union has asked its 35,000 members to join the walk out in solidarity and to avoid crossing the support workers’ picket lines. The joint walkout of marks the first of its kind for the district and is limited to three days.

Young Children Develop Better Learning Skills When Taught by Teachers of the Same Ethnicity, National US Study Suggests

Young children who are taught by a teacher of the same ethnicity as themselves are developing better learning and problem-solving skills by the age of seven, new research suggests.

The effect was most pronounced in Black and Latinx children, the findings – looking at more than 18,000 pupils across the US – showed.

Published in the peer-reviewed journal Early Education and Development, the study revealed that if the ethnicity of children is shared with that of their teachers, the children are more likely to go on to develop better working memory. This is the ability to hold and process information in your mind – a skill which is essential for learning and problem solving.

Deadline Extended to March 24 for Global Ed Faculty PLC Applications: Ph.D. Students Encouraged to Apply

AACTE is still accepting applications from all AACTE member faculty and Ph.D. students who are interested in joining the Longview-supported Global Education Faculty PLC.

The Global Education Faculty Professional Learning Community (PLC ) will provide a peer support network and professional development to faculty and Ph.D. students at comprehensive teacher preparation programs to effectively integrate global teaching competencies within their curriculum and practices.

Register for the 2023 Holmes Research and Dissertation Retreat

Are you ready to take the next step in your journey to completing your dissertation? Prospective and current doctoral students are invited to join peers and gain the knowledge and tools to successfully navigate the dissertation process.
 
Now is the time to reserve your spot at the AACTE Holmes Program Research and Dissertation Retreat on April 3 – 4 at the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. View the full agenda and register today.

Co-sponsored by the PNC Foundation and Florida Atlantic University, the Holmes Research and Dissertation Retreat will equip Holmes scholars with knowledge and tools to enhance their research productivity and navigate the dissertation process. Topics will include research methods and approaches, how to select and integrate a theoretical framework, how to identify grants and funding opportunities to support their dissertation and scholarship, and strategies to successfully publish and present their research to an interdisciplinary audience. Registration ($25) is required for scholars.

AACTE Endorses Legislation to Boost Teacher Salaries: Urges Members to Act

Members of the House of Representatives and Senate recently introduced legislation that would help ensure that all public school teachers earn a livable and competitive wage that is at least $60,000 a year and increases over the course of their career.  ACCTE strongly supports this legislation and encourages you to contact your members of Congress to encourage them to support it as well.

Education is key to ensuring that our nation has access to a well-trained, highly qualified workforce to meet the needs of tomorrow’s economy.  However, our nation faces a shortage of teachers and other educators to help meet these needs.  Today, 44% of public school teachers quit the profession within 5 years and teacher pay has been stagnant for decades. Unacceptably, after adjusting for inflation, the average weekly wage of a public school teacher has gone up by only $29 over the past 30 years, forcing many public school teachers to work two or three jobs during the school year to make ends meet.

This is simply unacceptable.

To help remedy this, Rep. Federica Wilson (FL-24) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) recently introduced legislation (H.R.882/S.766) to address this challenge and attract more individuals to the profession.  Among other things, the legislation would increase federal investments in public schools and in supporting the teaching profession and require States to establish a “minimum salary for teachers” that must be at least $60,000 and to pay teachers a livable and competitive annual salary that is at least and commensurate with similarly college-educated and experienced professionals and increases throughout a teacher’s career.

Urge your members of Congress to support this critical legislation today using the AACTE Action Alert.

Can We Have It All: Speed and Scale of Alternative Programs with the Quality of University-based Teacher Preparation?

A reflection on the Understanding the Landscape of Alternative Preparation session at #AACTE23

The current need for teachers is urgent. Enrollment and completion in university-based teacher preparation has been declining for more than a decade and production is not keeping pace with demand. Some states have turned to alternative teacher preparation to rapidly address the growing crisis but with mixed results. The Understanding the Landscape of Alternative Preparation session at ACTE 2023 brought together several leaders in the space of university-based alternative programs aiming to increase the speed and number of teachers prepared while maintaining the quality of the preparation provided.

The panel included Jacqueline King, consultant for research, policy, and advocacy for AACTE; Suzanne Arnold, executive director of ASPIRE to Teach Alternative Licensure Program at the University of Colorado Denver; Tommy Hodges, dean and professor of mathematics education at the University of South Carolina; and Robert Lee, dean of the Sandford College of Education at National University. The panel was moderated by Stephanie Knight, dean of the Simmons School of Education and Human Development at Southern Methodist University.

An #AACTE23 Recap: How the Digital Equity & Transformation Pledge Creates Digital Efficacy

At AACTE’s 75th Annual Meeting in February, incoming Committee on Innovation and Technology Member Laurie Bobley (Touro University) attended the Deeper Dive Session, “Technology Pledge into Practice – How the Digital Equity & Transformation Pledge Creates Digital Efficacy at EPPs,” presented by the committee. In the following article, she recaps the session’s content and implications.

Education at all levels has undergone a rapid transformational shift towards digital learning environments and the use of technology. Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) are now grappling with how to ensure that the changes are implemented in a way that is truly beneficial to teaching and learning. As EPPs also consider the future of learning, they have begun to recognize the vital role that technology must play.

The U.S. Department of Education and ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) worked with input from EPPs and other stakeholders by developing the EPP Pledge ­­for Digital Equity and Transformation. The pledge focuses on “a vision for transforming educator preparation providers to meet the needs of today’s schools.” It consists of five pillars that can guide the preparation of educators to engage and educate students with technology in new learning environments.

AACTE Welcomes New Holmes Council Officers

Each year, participants of the Holmes Program elect peers to represent the needs of the Holmes community and to collaborate with AACTE to enhance programming and initiatives to benefit the Holmes student body. Established in 1991, the Holmes Program’s primary goal is to increase the diversity of tenure-track education faculty and leaders within higher education and the PK-12 school system. Holmes Scholars benefit from culturally relevant professional development and mentorship offered by AACTE and its member institutions. Holmes participants are immersed in an identify affirming community of over 200 peers and 800 alumni mentors. AACTE is excited to welcome the 2023-24 Holmes Council officers who will work alongside the association and its stakeholders to implement impactful programming for the Holmes community.

AACTE Expresses Support for President Biden’s Budget

AACTE expressed its support for President Biden’s fiscal year 2024 budget, which calls for strong investments in education that will help address the critical shortage of educators in our nation’s schools as well as help millions of students achieve their academic dreams. 

The nation faces an unprecedented challenge hiring and retaining well-qualified and diverse educators to lead our classrooms.  This shortage has been exacerbated by the pandemic, stagnant wages, and difficult work environments.  The president’s budget proposal seeks to address many of these challenges.  AACTE urges Congress to fund these priorities at the highest possible levels.

AACTE Weighs in on Parental Bill of Rights

The House Education and Workforce Committee recently approved legislation that would establish a Bill of Rights for parents of elementary and secondary school students.

The legislation, introduced by Rep. Julia Letlow (LA-5), would, among other things, empower parents to inspect books and other teaching materials in schools. While AACTE supports parental involvement in their children’s education, it opposed the legislation, in part, because the legislation would restrict any classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity and expression and would pose an undue burden on educators by creating unnecessary and burdensome reporting requirements on schools.

You’re Invited to the March 16 Listening Session for Colleges of Education 

The U.S. Department of Education is refreshing the National Educational Technology Plan. I am writing to extend this special invitation to participate in a group listening session. The group listening session for teacher education faculty and teacher preparation candidates only will take place on Thursday, March 16 from 1:00 –2:30 p.m. PDT/ 4:00-5:30 p.m. EDT.

To accept this invitation, please complete this confirmation form. Registration is required to participate.

Biden-Harris Administration Proposes 13.6% Increase in Education Funding

This weekly Washington Update is intended to keep members informed on Capitol Hill activities impacting the educator preparation community. The views expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of AACTE.

On Thursday, the Biden-Harris Administration unveiled their FY2024 budget proposal. Under the request, the Department of Education would receive $90 billion in total discretionary funding — a $10.3 billion or 13.6% increase over the FY 2023 enacted level of funding provided for the Department of Education. In addition to the $90 billion in discretionary spending, the proposal also calls for new mandatory spending requests which include $600 billion over ten years for universal preschool and expanded support for childcare and $96 billion over ten years in new spending to double the maximum Pell grant by 2029, and $90 billion over ten years for a new free community college program. The budget request also includes $578 million in new funding to increase the number of counselors, school psychologists, and other health professionals in schools. This increase is spread among three programs: $428 million split between the School-Based Mental Services and Mental Health Services Professional Demonstration programs and $150 million within FIPSE for colleges to address student mental health needs.

Florida House Subcommittee Passes Bill to Ban DEI Programs and Certain Majors at State Universities

The new “In the States” feature by Kaitlyn Brennan is a weekly update to keep members informed on state-level activities impacting the education and educator preparation community.

On Monday, lawmakers on the Florida state House Postsecondary Education and Workforce Subcommittee passed FL HB999 (23R) — a wide ranging legislation that would introduce a number of new policies for the state university system across Florida. These policies include but are not limited to eliminating majors or minors that touch on subjects such as critical race theory and “radical” feminist or gender theories. The proposal would also prohibit universities and colleges from spending or accepting funds — from the state, feds, or elsewhere — on programs linked to diversity, equity and inclusion and critical race theory.

#AACTE23 Attendees go Viral on Social Media

The 2023 Annual Meeting has passed, and AACTE would like to thank attendees for sharing their experiences on social media platforms like TwitterInstagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, using the #AACTE23 hashtag during the 3-day conference.  

Thanks to attendees who went viral with their posts and photos, the 75th Annual Meeting gained a significant amount of awareness across social media with more than 1200 conversations taking place. In addition, these numerous posts, reposts, likes, and comments, brought increased attention to the many ways members are revolutionizing education, advocating for educator preparation and elevating the teaching profession.