July, 2008
Volume 16, Issue 11
MCALLEN AFT NEWS
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
MCALLEN ISD EMPLOYEES CHOOSE MCALLEN AFT
Teachers, librarians, counselors, nurses, paraprofessionals, clerks, secretaries, bus drivers, and all school related personnel are choosing McAllen AFT to voice the need for change in public education. McAllen AFT together with Texas AFT and AFT (national) is leading the fight to stop excessive testing in the classroom, protecting the rights under the Safe Schools Act, attacking school voucher attempts, advocating for better salaries, benefits and working conditions.
When educators choose McAllen AFT as their professional organization, their ability to produce change on the local, state and national level is amplified. When we join collectively together, a unified voice is greater than one.
Texas AFT members are leading the fight to pass the federal Social Security Fairness Act because we believe if employees have earned benefits, then they should receive 100 percent of those benefits. Other teacher organizations are already selling out for pennies on the dollar—and our members will not settle for anything less than what is fair for all.
Finally, Congress is beginning to take the first steps in listening to its constituents as committee meetings for the Social Security Fairness Act are underway. Even though the legislative process has just begun, some Texas teacher organizations are endorsing efforts to undercut the Fairness Act and are surrendering to low percentage compromises before the full Congress has yet to debate a 100% solution.
McAllen AFT and Texas AFT—Where we stand: We fully and completely endorse the federal “Social Security Fairness Act”, H. R. 82. The cosponsor count in the U.S. House is 338 and in the U.S. Senate 36.
AFT CONVENTION, JULY 9-14, 2008
At the 2008 AFT convention in Chicago, delegates elected Randi Weingarten as president, Antonia Cortese as secretary-treasurer, and Lorretta Johnson as executive vice president. Weingarten has served 10 years as president of the United Federation of Teachers. Cortese has served the past four years as AFT executive vice president. Johnson, president of AFT-Maryland, also serves as president of Baltimore Teachers Union’s paraprofessional chapter. They are ready to work!
DUTY-FREE LUNCH AND PLANNING PERIOD
Throughout the school year many activities do come up unexpectedly. In some cases, unexpected interruptions in the day become continuous, and as a result, diminish the time educators are to spend having a duty-free lunch and a minimum 45-minute conference period each day. Please review this information, and if you believe your rights have been violated, or if you have further questions about these provisions, please call McAllen AFT at 682-1143.
Duty-Free Lunch
Each classroom teacher or full-time librarian is entitled to at least a 30-minute lunch period free from all duties and responsibilities connected with the instruction and supervision of students (Education Code 21.405).
If necessary because of a personnel shortage, extreme economic conditions, or unavoidable or unforeseen circumstances, and in accordance with commissioner rules, the District may require a classroom teacher or librarian to supervise students during lunch no more than one day in any school week (Education Code 21.405).
In determining whether an exceptional circumstance exists, the District shall use the following guidelines:
* A personnel shortage exists When, despite reasonable efforts to use non-teaching personnel or the assistance of community volunteers to supervise students during lunch, no other personnel are available.
- Extreme economic conditions exist when the percentage of a local tax increase, including the cost of implementing duty-free lunch requirements, would place the District in jeopardy of a potential roll-back election. Unavoidable or unforeseen circumstances exist when, because of illness, epidemic, or natural or man-made disaster, the District is unable to find individuals to supervise students during lunch.
Nothing in these provisions allows for walking children to the cafeteria or collecting them after lunch to count as part of the duty-free period. The teacher is entitled to 30-minutes duty-free without other duties.
Planning and Preparation Period
The Texas Education Code, section 21.404 reads as follows:
“Each classroom teacher is entitled to at least 450 minutes within each two-week period for instructional preparation, including parent-teacher conferences, evaluating students’ work, and planning. A planning and preparation period under this section may not be less than 45 minutes within the instructional day. During a planning and preparation period, a classroom teacher may not be required to participate in any other activity.”
It is important to note, that this is not a free time when employees could leave campus or engage in non-school related activities. This period of time is to be used at the discretion of the teacher and may not be hijacked by administrators without the consent of the teacher. The Attorney General of Texas ruled that during the preparation and planning period it is unlawful to mandate attendance at group sessions. The Commissioner went on to say that this law does not prohibit a teacher from volunteering to participate in a meeting or planning session during their planning period.
Because your planning and preparation period must consist of 450 minutes delivered every 10 days, it is also important to understand a few more facets of time allocation. You must have at least 45 minutes consecutively on any day you are given a prep period; it cannot be divided up throughout the day. In addition, if you receive more than 450 minutes of planning and preparation per two week period, you may be required to attend a group planning meeting or a departmental meeting. E.G. if your preparation period is 50 minutes every day, over the course of two weeks you have 500 minutes of prep period and could therefore be required to attend a staff meeting of some kind every two weeks.