Political Action Works
Once again, we’re very happy to bring you evidence of positive change that came about via political action. We’ve reported on it numerous time over the past few years, and of course we saw it first hand during contract negotiations last Spring. The latest example concerns the Regents rules on opt-outing out of state tests.
Earlier this year, the Regents proposed new regulations that would have severely penalized districts with opt-out rates higher than 5%. NYSUT asked members to respond, and we did. As a result of this pressure, the “Regents rejected regulations that would have wrongly diverted federal Title I funds from students attending schools with a less than 95 percent participation rate… [and] significantly improved upon the draft regulations and will now allow schools with high opt-out numbers to ‘leave’ state accountability lists if they are otherwise high-performing.”
Huge thanks to everyone who took the time to call or write a letter.
Grant Opportunity
RC22 (the local NYSUT Retirement Council) is offering grants of up to $500 for “the implementation of educational projects for which funding is not available through normal school districts channels.” More information, along with an application, can be found by clicking here.
Fall Get Together
Every new school year is a reason to celebrate – but having a contract (and knowing we won’t be needing to picket) makes this year especially sweet. So let’s all celebrate together at Buffalo Wild Wings in Miller Place on Friday, October 5th. Appetizers are included, so it helps to get a head-count in advance. Please RSVP by clicking this link.
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