Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/92845
Legislative Priorities up for your review "There oughta' be a law!" "Why don't they just. . .?" "You know what we really need?" "This makes no sense. There's a bet- ter way to do this." T he answers to these ques- tions are what we call our Legislative Priorities. They are discussed and voted on every two years, as each General Assembly goes in to session. By design, they are large in scope and limited in quantity. Legislators don't want to see a laundry list of wants. They consistently tell us to keep the list short, which we now do. The most recent list of legisla- tive priorities is printed here. You can also find it at www.dsea.org/ PDF/LegPriorities1112.pdf. The first step is to ask you and every other member of DSEA what you think our legislative priorities should be. Your sugges- tions will be shared with the DSEA leadership, staff and Executive Board. Then a 2013-2014 Legislative Priority document will be brought to the 2013 Representative Assembly (which convenes on March 9 in Dover) for discussion, possible amending and then final adoption. This is the document that staff and leaders use with legislators, the Governor and other policy makers to pursue bills and funding through the General Assembly. The organization does have a long list of Resolutions. These are state- ments of belief that guide the deci- sions DSEA makes and the posi- tions that we take on bills or issues and ideas that are proposed. You can find those online at www.dsea. org/PDF/DSEAResolutions2012Fin al.pdf. Share your ideas, concerns, what affects you and your students To comment on the current list of DSEA Legislative Priorities below, or to give specific examples of needs or concerns you, your local, your building and/or your students have, you may either: Email President Frederika Jenner at Frederika. Jenner@dsea.org, with "Legislative Priorities" in the subject line; or write her c/o DSEA, 136 E. Water St., Dover, DE 19901. Thank you! DSEA Legislative Program for the previous (146th) General Assembly, adopted by the 2010 DSEA Representative Assembly • Improve and sustain funding for public schools The adequate and equitable fund- ing of Delaware's public schools is required to ensure that our children --- regardless of where they live or the personal circum- stance of their individual lives --- have educational opportunities that allow each one to reach his or her full potential. • Protect and nurture children Every educator knows the heart- break and frustration of children who are too hungry, sick, or traumatized to learn well. The opportunity to learn cannot be divorced from socio-economic realities, and those realities are becoming more challenging. In 2010, more than 26% of all US children lived in poverty. DSEA will support and seek legislation, policy, and initiatives which pro- mote the welfare of children and the economic stability of their families. • Shore up charter school accountability The growth of charter schools since passage of the original law in 1995 continues without taking into consideration the effects of new charter authorizations on 4 October 2012 DSEA ACTION! existing local public school dis- tricts. With public resources scarce, it is more important than ever to regulate the charter mar- ket by making the state Department of Education the sin- gle authorizing authority with guidelines that avoid duplication of services and mitigate the impact on community schools. • Improve compensation for public education employees and state workers Compensation must be improved in order to attract and retain high quality public education staff for our schools and state agencies. DSEA's priorities include a start- ing salary for professionally certi- fied school staff of $40,000. Additionally, the salaries for instructional and service aides are shamefully low and should begin at least with the federal poverty level for a family of four. • Strengthen fringe benefit programs Public education employees have a progressive, historically well- funded package of fringe benefits that help to attract and retain a high quality work force that must be protected, particularly in times of economic stress. www.dsea.org