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| • YOUR REWARD•
No
increase in deductibles and co-pays next year!
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March 20, 2008 • YOUR
VOTE •
March 30 is the deadline to change from Republican or Independent to vote in the Democratic State Primary If you want to maximize the power of your vote, you must be a registered Democrat in order to vote in Delaware's September 9 Democratic Primary Election between John Carney and Jack Markell. (After September 9, you can change back to Republican or Independent if you wish.) Delaware will choose a new Governor in the November 4th General Election, but the Governor may actually be chosen on September 9th in the primary. If you are a resident of Delaware,not yet registered, or want to switch party affiliation, click here and then click on "Online Voter Registration for Delaware Voters" to download the form. Send it to your county Dept. of Elections by U.S. mail, as indicated. It must be mailed by the deadline of March 30. You can also make this change in person at your county election office. Those office addresses are on the same web page. Sign up for our Education Forum among the candidates vying for Governor, April 12 On Saturday April 12 we are sponsoring our first-ever Gubernatorial Forum featuring candidates John Carney – Democrat, Jack Markell – Democrat and Mike Protack – Republican. WHEN: Saturday, April 12, 9:00am-10:30 am WHERE: Rollins Conference Center at Dover Downs This debate is open to members and invited guests only. We have 300 seats, half of which will be taken up by those of you who are delegates to the Representative Assembly. There are two ways to get in: your RA delegate credentials, or prior registration. If you are not a delegate and would like to attend, you must first register to guarantee your seat. Seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Click here to register. It’s easy! We are inviting legislators, state board members and other VIPs, as well as the reporters who are covering this critical race. We have three good candidates, all of whom consider their views on education and your vote critical to their success on November 4. RA delegates: Watch for your packet next week. Look for the red, white and blue card that asks you to submit a question for the Forum. Comcast and NEA Broadcast Services are helping us film the proceeding. If you’re n ot an RA delegate, don’t miss this event. Log in to www.dsea.org and sign up now! • YOUR
VOICE •
Tell Congress: No more voucher programs! President Bush’s fiscal year 2009 budget request asks Congress to: Create a $300 million national voucher program with the misleading name "Pell Grants for Kids." · Convert a successful community grant program to an individual voucher program called "21st Century Opportunity Scholarships." · Extend the expensive, unproven District of Columbia "Opportunity Scholarship Program" scheduled to end this September. Urge your elected representatives to reject all three of the President’s voucher proposals. Cont act your representatives in Congress TODAY! Tell Congress to end voucher programs, not expand them as the President has proposed. • YOUR
UNION •
Binding arbitration for contracts bill passes House and Senate On its way to Governor Minner for signing is HB283, a collective bargaining bill which now provides what is called "binding interest arbitration" for contract disputes. It allows public education unions to utilize binding interest arbitration to settle contract negotiations that have reached impasse. The vote was 19 in favor, one opposed, and one absent. Sen. Colin Bonini (R-Camden) was the sole "no" vote in the entire Delaware General Assembly. DSEA wishes to offer profuse thanks to the sponsors of the bill: House Speaker Terry Spence (R- New Castle), Rep. Michael Mulrooney ( D- New Castle), Sen. Bob Marshall (D- Wilmington), and Sen. Dori Connor (R- New Castle) for their leadership and advocacy. A total of 40 members of the General Assembly (out of a total of 62) --- 29 Democrats and 11 Republicans --- served as either prime or co-sponsors of the legislation. The bill goes into effect as soon as the Governor signs it, which could be within the next week or so. If your local is in mediation at that time, both you and your administration must agree to use the process defined in the bill or it will not be available to you. To see the exact wording of the bill, click here.
Right now, if you are a teacher or specialist, and your district moves to revoke your license, the Secretary of Education has only two choices: revoke or not revoke. A new bill recently introduced, HB259, gives him/her a third option: suspend. If suspended, the license may not be suspended for more than five years and you have the right to apply for license renewal if all the requirements have been satisfied. This bill also allows the Secretary to deny an application for licensure on the same grounds as for revocation. License holders are entitled to notice and hearing before the Professional Standards Board. DSEA worked on this bill in order to clarify the law regarding grounds for suspension, revocation and reinstatement; give the Secretary some leniency where warranted; and to make sure that due process righ ts are protected. To read the entire bill, click here. It is sponsored by Representatives Miro and Lofink; and Senator Dave Sokola. It is now in the House Education Committee. Click here to see the status of all of the education and labor bills that DSEA tracks, 24/7. Single
Charter School bill goes to Governor for signature
The State Senate voted on Wednesday evening (3/19) to approve a change in the state’s charter school law to allow single gender schools. House Bill 285 passed by a 16-5 margin after lengthy debate, paving the way for the opening of the boys-only Prestige Academy Middle School in Wilmington. The five senators voting against the bill were: Sen. Patricia Blevins (D), Sen. Nancy Cook (D), Sen. Karen Peterson (D), Sen. George Bunting (D), and Sen. David Sokola (D). All eight Republican senators voted for the bill. DSEA took no position on the bill after securing five amendments to the original bill during its debate and ultimate passage in the House of Representatives. To see a description of the bill and its amendments, go to the DSEA web page, and then click on Political Action. Opposition to the bill centered on concerns about the re-creation of gender stereotyping in education as well as whether the bill, once enacted into Delaware law, would violate either Title IX of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act or the U.S. Constitution. Sen. Sokola also referenced the supposed deadlines that Prestige Academy founders claimed to be facing back in January. With legislators subsequently learning that this was not the case, Sokola mentioned that this "…left a poor taste in peoples’ mouths." Despite his own stated misgivings about the bill, Sen. Sokola noted that he worked to release it from the Senate Education Committee because it was "…an important issue and important issues should come to the floor and be debated." Both Sen. Blevins and Sen. Peterson expressed their deep misgivings about the bill’s effect on girls, particularly in light of the absence of academic literature establishing the proven efficacy of single gender educational environments. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans consistently
offered the rationale that "parental choice" should be the
overriding governing principle in the Senate’s decision to change
the law, with Sen. Colin Bonini (R) bellowing: "Discrimination is
telling families that they must go to the failed public schools
where they live. … Stop discriminating against them by forcing them
into the failed public schools."
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