Weekly News Round-Up for July 6th

posted by: Melissa | July 06, 2018, 05:27 PM

Each week, KANAAE brings its members a round-up of what’s happening in education. From big, eye-catching headlines to the stories most papers overlook, we find the news our members really want to see. This week, union news abounds!

1 Dead in Kansas Shooting: A shooting near a Kansas elementary school left one worker dead and another in critical condition. The shooting happened Tuesday morning while the two workers were making improvements to the school’s playground. A 32 year old man was charged with premeditated murder in relation to the shooting. How to best prevent school shootings continues to be a matter of debate, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying this week that there is not much the federal government can do in the matter. He had previously urged state and local governments to take action.

NY Lawmaker Proposes Janus Work Around: The fight over a teacher’s right to withdraw from the union is heating up in New York State. One group has recently taken action to help teachers navigate the often byzantine steps that it takes to withdraw from the union. At the same time, New York State Assemblyman Richard Gottfried wants to avoid Janus’s fallout completely. In a new bill he introduced, unions would be able to include collective bargaining costs in their contracts with government agencies instead of charging the workers for them directly.

Florida Schools Sue Over New Union Law: In Florida, a completely different fight over teachers’ unions is emerging. Last Sunday, a new state law took effect that would immediately decertify any local teachers’ union if membership fell below 50% of the teachers they are supposed to represent. In response, the Florida Education Association and several local teachers’ unions filed suit against the state. They allege that the state improperly injected the law’s wording into a bill about teacher assignments and also unfairly singled out teachers over other public employees.

Happening Elsewhere:

Bice: Teacher revocations spike under Tony Evers after GOP accuses him of being tardy on issue

Study: Future Teachers Are Already Biased Against Black Children

Teachers, school staff confront ‘shooter’ training drills

Gov. Hutchinson appoints 2 to Arkansas Board of Education

Invest in Education submits nearly twice the signatures needed for tax initiative

Ohio Department of Education working to determine status of former ECOT students

New York, Virginia become first to require mental health education in schools

Commissioner to FL lawmakers: No evidence school districts violated law

School Safety Grants Awarded to Wisconsin School Districts

New Michigan law removes basic skills test for teachers

Group drops effort to repeal tax hikes for Oklahoma teachers