Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/466345
February 2015 isea.org • ISEA Communiqué 6 NEW BUSINESS 15-101: Legislative Program (see below) 15-102: The ISEA president will send a letter to each Iowa district encouraging them to promote and provide a minimum of six hours of cultural competency training for staff using already established NEA and ISEA training programs. (Linda Rodrigues – Dubuque EA) 15-103: Amend 14-402 to: ISEA will educate members about groups that are trying to influence education policies in Iowa. (Mississippi Bend) 2015 2016 ISEA LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM The Iowa State Education Association, through adoption of the Legislative Program by the Delegate Assembly, sets forth the legislative goals of the organization. These goals, expressing the concerns of the ISEA membership, can be achieved only in the political arena. Iowa has long been recognized for excellence in education. The ISEA seeks to continue to assure the quality of Iowa's schools and to protect the rights of educational employees through legislative action. ISEA supports legislation which advances its commitment in these major areas: adequate support for public education; improvement in the welfare, professional status, and personal economic security of all members; protection of human and civil rights; preservation and advancement of good public policy; and provision of high quality public education for all. The legislative goals are organized in two tiers to reflect the emphasis and utilization of resources of the Iowa State Education Association. First Tier: ISEA Priority Legislative Initiatives which require continuous lobbying activity to achieve. Second Tier: State Legislative Issues originated in the Legislative or Executive Branch which require ongoing activity to achieve ISEA's objectives. Within this framework, ISEA's legislative agenda is defined by the following goals: FIRST TIER: ISEA PRIORITY LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES I. Adequate Financial Support for Public Education ISEA Supports: 1. Guaranteeing reliable, adequate funding including sufficient allowable growth supplemental state aid for Iowa's PRE-K-12 school districts/AEAs. 2. Raising adequate state and local revenues to finance the maintenance and improvement of public education programs. 3. Raising salaries for all education employees to the national average and providing for inflation. 4. Full funding of all education finance formulas including categorical roll-ins and allowing for inflationary factors unique to education. 5. Developing a funding mechanism with a greater reliance on progressive taxes rather than regressive taxes. 6. Adequate state funding for the Department of Education to provide the necessary staff assistance to Iowa schools. 7. The continuance and increase of the state educators' tax credit from $250 to $600. PRE-K-12 School finance in Iowa has been controlled by the Legislature since 1971 when the school aid formula was enacted. The Iowa Legislature decides how much budget growth will be allowed from one school year to the next and how students will be counted for purposes of funding. ISEA Supports: 1. Providing a realistic growth rate in school district budgets to improve education programs and fund the public's expectations of school performance, including a minimum growth guarantee for all school districts and area education agencies. 2. Providing adequate revenue to all school districts to maintain a competitive wage structure, including additional compensation for hiring experienced teachers and/or teachers with advanced degrees. Salary improvement funds in the formula must receive an adequate allowable state percent of growth and should be combined into the district's regular program cost per pupil. 3. Maintaining that any teacher compensation changes that involve an evaluation component be subject to Chapter 20. 4. Maintaining a two-year allowable Setting the state percent of growth rate within 30 days of the Governor's budget for the budget year (approximately 18 months in advance). 5. Ensuring that any career path/ compensation plan provides credit for the skills, knowledge, and graduate course work educators have already acquired. 6. Mandating that additional funds be provided for a competitive living wage for education support professionals. 7. Including Arts education as part of the core curriculum. 8. Allowing education support professionals to qualify for unemployment during summer breaks. 9. Increasing professional development funds in the school finance formula to address federal and state legislation. 10. Creating a funding source to address poverty low socio economic issues in our schools. 11. Expanding the use of one-cent school sales tax money for needs other than infrastructure such as extraordinary instructional uses. 12. Increased funding for class size reduction to expand the initiative to grades 4-6 and not be subject to a sunset provision. 13. Maintaining and adequately funding the program for National Board Certified teachers and creation of a similar program to encourage teachers to earn a Masters. 14. Funding for appropriate education programs for all at-risk and special needs students from birth through grade twelve. 15. Maintaining and adequately funding programs for gifted and talented students. 15 16. Allowing local school districts, on board authority, to raise additional funds to supplement inadequate state funding. 16 17. Establishing a simple majority vote for the approval of school bond issues. 17 18. Establishing a special needs appropriation to be available to the School Budget Review Committee to be used for those districts that have special needs circumstances. Criteria should include: No budget growth for two or more years, declining enrollment, open enrollment of two percent or more, special education incidence above the state average, poverty incidence above the state average, multi-ethnic population, identified at-risk population larger than the state average, completed reorganizations, previous attempts to pass the instructional support levy, demonstrated educational needs that cannot be met without supplemental funding. 18 19. Mandating licensed media, school counselors and nurses at student-to-staff ratios that allow for quality service. The state will require annual reporting of student-to-staff ratios. 19 20. Funding fully all state-mandated education programs. On the following pagers are the proposed new business items and resolutions to be considered by the 2015 Delegate Assembly. Take a moment to review them and share any concerns with your local delegates. New Business Items