NEA BAT Caucus NBI Update
What is an NBI? NBI stands for New Business Item. An NBI is what caucuses and state/local unions can do to set the course of NEA for the coming year.
The NEA RA was held in DC this past summer. BATs has a strong NEA BAT Caucus that did amazing work at the NEA RA this summer. To read more about that work from NEA BAT Caucus Chair Becca Ritchie go here. http://badassteachers.blogspot.com/2016/07/reflection-by-becca-ritchie-chair-nea.html
This is an approximate list of action taken by NEA on NBI’s that the NEA BAT Caucus got passed. Some are missing due to the fact that they may have been bundled, referred, and/or tabled. Some of the missing were policy amendments. We will list them below this article.
If you think you are going to be a delegate to NEA RA this year, you can join the NEA BAT Caucus here http://www.badassteacher.org/nea-bat-caucus/
Please celebrate the amazing work of the NEA BAT Caucus. Here is an update from the NEA on the NBI's that they worked on and got passed.
12. Monitoring Water Quality
The NEA will encourage its membership through existing media to advocate for annual monitoring of their school district’s water quality. NEA Government Relations will work actively with the EPA to develop national environmental regulations requiring annual monitoring of water quality in all U.S.
public school districts, with follow-up remediation plans where needed. NEA will lobby the Environmental Protection Agency and Members of Congress to develop regulations
for monitoring school districts’ water quality. We will encourage members to advocate for water
quality monitoring and any proposed legislation using NEA social media platforms, the Legislative
Action Center, the Education Insider and www.edvotes.org.
33. Complaints against States that Limit Educator Opinions
Using the successful complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in New Mexico as a model, NEA will collaborate with the ACLU and state member organizations to file complaints against states that limit or prevent educators from openly and freely voicing their opinions on Common Core State Standards (CCSS), Next Generation Science Standards, or other state standards, and/or district/state mandated assessments as these laws/regulations/codes violate the First Amendment rights of educators. NEA has reviewed the complaint filed by the ACLU in the New Mexico case and will alert state and local affiliate counsel about the case through the quarterly NEA E-Letter to lawyers who represent NEA affiliates and/or members. In that alert, NEA will also offer to partner with state affiliates on Badass Teachers Association: