At AACTE’s Washington Week 2023, being held June 4 – 7, we have gathered a diverse lineup of speakers — policy leaders and experts from Congress, the Biden Administration, the media, and national organizations — to share insights and experiences on attracting, preparing, and retaining educators. Take a look at the full schedule of sessions and events.
The “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.
Last week, the Texas State Senate approved a bill that would largely restrict how the state’s public universities can promote equitable access to higher education and cultivate diversity among students, faculty and staff. The bill, SB17, would require universities to close their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices; ban any mandatory training surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion; and eliminate the completion of diversity statements as part of the hiring process.
The “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.
Earlier this month, the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Chicago Mayoral races garnered national attention with some analysts suggesting the results could offer a gauge on voter issues heading into the 2024 Presidential election. However, across both states a slate of races that fell relatively under the radar were the highly contested and politicized school board seats. Roughly 30,000 school board elections will occur in more than two dozen states across the nation this year. National, conservative education groups have backed a number of candidates and have highly emphasized issues surrounding critical race theory, parental choice, and transgender students. Yet, following the April 4 election GOP backed candidates did not fare as well as their supporters had hoped. As reported in Politico, Ryan Girdusky, founder of the conservative 1776 Project political action committee said, “We lost more than we won.”
The “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, employees at Rutgers University went on strike for the first time in the institution’s nearly 260-year-old history. As reported by Politico, three unions — AAUP-AFT, Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, and AAUP-BHSNJ — which collectively represent 9,000 workers are striking after working without a new contract since last summer. In a statement, Todd Wolfson, general vice president of Rutgers AAUP-AFT said: “The strikes that are happening right here in New Jersey and in other parts of the country right now are building on a historic strike wave in higher education.”
In the last year there has been an uptick in the number of faculty and staff from institutions of higher education who have gone on strike. Generally, the move comes following a breakdown in contract negotiations over low wagers and poor benefits. Just in November, there was a historic strike at the University of California with 48,000 employees taking to the picket line, in Philadelphia hundreds of graduate students at Temple University walked off the job to fight for a living wage.
In addition to low wages and poor benefits, educational gag orders are targeting higher education more frequently. According to PEN America, in 2022, 39% of legislation introduced across the United States targeted higher education as compared to 30% in 2021. In several states, including Florida, South Dakota, Mississippi, and Tennessee these bills have been signed into law.
The “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.
Recently published data shows that the Commonwealth of Virginia is relying more heavily on provisionally licensed teachers than ever before. As reported, Virginia issued a total of 8,434 provisional licenses in 2021–22 compared to an average of 6,787 in the years prior to the pandemic.
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 Thursday, lawmakers in the Florida state Legislature sent Governor Ron DeSantis a landmark education bill, FL HB1 (23R), that guarantees vouchers to any family regardless of income. The legislation comes as Republican lawmakers in Florida and the nation more broadly have led an effort to expand parental rights in education. Democrats argue that the bill is essentially a giveaway to millionaires and billionaires across the state who send their children to choice options. Currently, the vouchers are available to students whose families earn no more than 400 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $120,000 for a family of four.
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.
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.
Last week, a massive education bill started to move its way through the Arkansas state legislature. It is likely that the bill will pass through the state Senate this week before heading to Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders desk for signature. The robust legislative package, SB294, otherwise known as Arkansas LEARNS has been touted by the governor as addressing a vast array of education issues ranging from school choice to increasing the starting salary for teachers across the state. While many school choice advocates are supporting the bill, going so far as to provide the financial backing for an extensive public relations campaign that includes television and Facebook ads, the legislation does not come without criticism. Arkansas minority whip, Democrat Rep. Vivian Flowers expressed her concern, saying:
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.
Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Rules State Education Funding System is Unconstitutional
Nearly a decade after a lawsuit was first introduced by advocacy groups, several parents, and six school districts, a Commonwealth Court judge ruled that Pennsylvania schools do not have the resources to adequately educate all students, and the gaps between the high poverty schools and well-resourced schools render the system unconstitutional. The 786-page ruling issued by Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer directs lawmakers and the Governor’s office to ensure that Pennsylvania schools provide all students with an education that meets constitutional standards. How the state will respond remains unclear.
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.
SHEEO Releases Top Policy Priorities
Last month, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) released a report detailing the top policy priorities for state higher education leaders across the country. Economic and workforce development, along with the K-12 teacher workforce, tied for the top two state policy priorities of SHEEOs. Rounding out the top five priorities are (3) state funding for financial aid programs, (4) state operating support for public colleges and universities, and (5) higher education’s value proposition. Other issues include declining enrollment and college affordability, tied for sixth, (8) public perception of higher education, (9) addressing equity gaps, and (10) college completion/student success. Rising issues outlined in the report include a focus on student health and safety and student basic needs, like food, housing, and childcare.
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 Thursday, Republican leaders in the Florida state House unveiled new legislation that would significantly expand eligibility for the state’s programs offering students vouchers to attend private schools. The proposed changes to the voucher program would allow any student to be eligible for state-funded tuition at a private school of their choice regardless of income. It would also pay parents who homeschool children. The legislation would also expand the voucher’s usages, allowing families to use the funds for private tutoring and specialized testing such as Advanced Placement exams, among other expenses.
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.
In a recent survey of school superintendents across the state of Indiana, 95% of respondents say they are contending with a shortage of qualified candidates to fill vacant teaching positions. School district leadership identified the greatest shortage areas continue to be special education, science, math, English, foreign language, and elementary education. The survey was sent to all 291 traditional public school superintendents in Indiana, which resulted in 176 responses, or a 60.5% response rate.
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.
OCR Enters Resolution Agreement with Virginia’s Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs (SECEP) Regarding the use of Restraint and Seclusion
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced that the Southeastern Cooperative Educational Programs (SECEP) in Virginia entered into a resolution agreement regarding the use of restraint and seclusion and the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities. OCR identified concerns that SECEP may have denied FAPE to students with disabilities when it did not reevaluate students after multiple incidents of restraint and seclusion and when students missed significant instructional time.
As we review the accomplishments of 2022 and look toward a New Year, AACTE is honored to have been one of the national organizations to have contributed to the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact (ITMC), recently finalized and ready for enactment by states.
Especially in the era of extraordinary teacher shortages, the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact (ITMC) creates the opportunity for classrooms across our country to have a profession-ready teacher guiding and supporting student’s academic growth.
