EdAction in Congress May 16, 2021 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress May 16, 2021 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress May 16, 2021

House to vote on anti-Asian hate crime bill this week

The House is scheduled to vote this week on the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act (S. 937/H.R. 1843), which passed the Senate by an overwhelming vote of 94-1 on April 22. Introduced by Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), it would strengthen federal efforts to address hate crimes targeting Asian-Americans in several ways: designate a Department of Justice employee to expedite the review of COVID-19 hate crimes, provide guidance for state and local officials for online reporting of such crimes, and require the department to issue guidance to mitigate racially discriminatory language in describing the pandemic. TAKE ACTION

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For the People Act advances

After adopting a handful of amendments, the Senate Rules and Administration Committee deadlocked 9-9 in a party-line vote on the For the People Act (S. 1). Nevertheless, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vows to bring it to the floor. The need for action is clear: More than 360 bills introduced in 47 state legislatures include provisions to make voting more difficult—for example, by shortening the time for absentee and early voting, requiring voters show an ID at the polls, and purging voter rolls.

The For the People Act rests on three pillars: reaffirming and expanding voting rights, strengthening oversight to end big money in politics, and ensuring an ethical government. It would, among other things, institute automatic voter registration, place new limits on partisan practices like gerrymandering and purging voter rolls, and require candidates for president and vice president to release their tax returns. TAKE ACTION

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Educators call on Congress to ensure healthy school meals for all students

Susan Jones, a nutrition services professional in Colonial School District, New Castle, Delaware, has seen far too many students skip lunch because they were afraid they couldn’t afford it or were embarrassed to hand the cashier the card announcing that they qualified for free meals.

“The best possible use of my tax dollar would be to feed a kid,” Jones says, who dreads seeing hungry kids avoid the line and the stigma of the “free lunch” label. “Universal school meals would make a huge difference at the register. Everyone’s going to get lunch, no questions asked. I hope it’s forever.”

If lawmakers are successful, it will be.

Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Gwen Moore of Wisconsin introduced the Universal School Meals Program Act of 2021, which would permanently provide free breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a snack to all school children regardless of income while eliminating school meal debt. READ MORE TAKE ACTION

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Victory! NEA’s push to equip students for remote learning gets results

President Biden’s first legislative package, the American Rescue Plan, created a $7.2 billion emergency fund to equip students for remote learning via the Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate program, as NEA advocated. On May 11, the FCC announced that the program has launched. “The FCC’s action shows the power of the voices of educators advocating for our students,” said NEA President Becky Pringle. “In today’s world, access to the internet is essential for learning. It is critical for conducting research, doing homework, and, when school buildings are closed, attending class. This was true before the COVID-19, and is even more important now coming out of this pandemic.”

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Cheers and Jeers

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) delivered a powerful speech about “freedom and our constitutional duty to protect it” before Republicans stripped her of her leadership position,  number three Republican in the House of Representatives, for refusing to spread Donald Trump’s lies. “I will not sit back and watch in silence while others lead our party down a path that abandons the rule of law and joins the former president’s crusade to undermine our democracy,” she said. 

Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) is introducing the CARE for Kids Act, which would expand free school meal eligibility for the many children living with grandparents or other caregivers due to crises like the opioid epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona finalized a new regulation that allows colleges to distribute tens of billions in federal pandemic relief grants to all students, regardless of their immigration status or whether they qualify for federal student aid.

Republican Sens. Roy Blunt (MO), Richard Burr (NC), Susan Collins (ME), Chuck  Grassley (IA), Lisa Murkowski (AK), and Rob Portman (OH) joined their Democratic colleagues in a 54-44  vote to confirm NEA member Cindy Marten as Deputy Secretary of Education.

EdAction in Congress May 16, 2021 - Education Votes

Important: Let's Thank Those House Members Who Support Charter Reform - Network For Public Education

Important: Let's Thank Those House Members Who Support Charter Reform - Network For Public Education

Important: Let’s Thank Those House Members Who Support Charter Reform

Good news. Fifteen members of the House of Representatives led by Mark Pocan and Jamaal Bowman signed a letter to Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies House Appropriations Committee, Rosa DeLauro, and the subcommittee’s Ranking Member, Tom Cole. 

You can read that letter here. The letter not only asks for a reduction in Charter School Program (CSP) funds in the next budget, it also asks for real CSP reform. In addition to more oversight, members ask that any charter school run by a for-profit management company be ineligible to receive CSP funds. 

Now is the time we show our thanks. Click on the four tweets below to send that message of thanks. It takes seconds to do!

Teacher Appreciation Week

It is Teacher Appreciation Week! Please be sure to thank all of the teachers you know. This year, more than ever, they deserve our appreciation for all that they do. NPE loves America’s teachers. I bet you do too!

Are you following our new NPE blog? You should be! Every day, we can deliver important blogs and news right to your email inbox. You will also receive a notice any time we put new content on our website. To subscribe, go here.

Our new Privatization Toolkit is out! Visit our updated toolkit page. Read and share what we know about charters, vouchers, micro-schools, and other forms of privatization. Each two-page fact-based sheet answers a different critical question about the attempt to privatize and commercialize public schools.

EdAction in Congress May 2, 2021 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress May 2, 2021 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress May 2, 2021

In his first 100 days, President Biden has made the single largest investment in students and public education ever. Scroll through this timeline to see what this administration is doing for students, educators, and communities across the nation.

Biden unveils American Families Plan in historic address to Congress

As President Joe Biden delivered his first address to Congress, two women—Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi—sat on the dais behind the presidential podium for the first time in U.S. history. In another first, Biden unveiled a $1.8 trillion American Families Plan to fund critical programs and services for students, families, and communities—part of a series of what he calls “once in a generation” investments in our nation’s infrastructure, human as well as physical.

“We applaud President Joe Biden and his administration for prioritizing students and public education by proposing timely and necessary once-in-a-generation funding for services that help families and communities,” said NEA President Becky Pringle.

The American Families Plan includes universal prekindergarten for three- and four- year-olds; two years of tuition-free community college for all students, including Dreamers; bigger Pell Grants; and lower tuition at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). It would also address teacher shortages and the need to diversify the teacher pipeline—for example, by recruiting educators of color and supporting grow-your-own, teacher leadership, and residency programs.

The plan also aims to make health care and child care more affordable, capping the cost of child care at seven percent of income for low- and middle-income families. In addition, it would create a national program to provide paid sick leave and paid time off to care for family members.

To pay for these historic investments in America’s human infrastructure, Biden would reverse the biggest giveaways in the GOP’s 2017 tax bill, increase funding for the Internal Revenue Service, and eliminate long-standing loopholes that include taxing capital gains and stock dividends at much lower rates than the wages of working families.

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May 2-8 is Teacher Appreciation Week

Now more than ever, it is fitting that we celebrate educators—teachers and ESPs—and their unwavering fortitude, optimism, creativity, and love for students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bipartisan resolutions, introduced in both the Senate and the House, designate May 2-8 Teacher Appreciation Week. The resolutions note that educators have stepped up in new ways to support their students and communities during the pandemic, including by coordinating remote learning, supporting students’ mental health, providing meals to students in need, and distributing technology to students. In the Senate, they were introduced by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Susan Collins (R-ME); in the House, they were introduced by Reps. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and  Sam Graves (R-MO).

Throughout Teacher Appreciation Week, NEA will gather messages from across the country and pass them on. Text CELEBRATE to 48744 to get periodic texts celebrating teachers!

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Cheers and Jeers

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI) reintroduced the America’s College Promise Act (S.1396/H.R.2861), which would provide wo years of tuition-free access to community or technical college programs.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the Pandemic Electric Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program, which was begun last year to provide payments to children when schools were closed, will be continued over the summer and is expected to reach more than 30 million children.

Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI), John Katko (R-NY), Andy Levin (D-MI), and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) reintroduced the Improving Training for School Food Service Workers Act (H.R. 2897), which would help make training available that maximizes hands-on opportunities during regular, paid working hours.

EdAction in Congress May 2, 2021 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress April 25, 2021 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress April 25, 2021 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress April 25, 2021

Chauvin’s conviction reinvigorates push for systemic change

Derek Chauvin’s conviction is raising hopes that George Floyd will be remembered not just for his tragic death, but for reinvigorating the fight for desperately needed systemic change. “While the jury reached the right decision and did in fact convict former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin of George Floyd’s murder, we are again joining together to make sure all of us feel safe in our schools, neighborhoods and communities,” said NEA President Becky Pringle.

Going to school or returning home from an after-school job or visiting friends should not put students’ lives at risk. But sadly, in communities of color, this is the reality. A 2019 study published in a National Academy of Sciences journal found that 1 in every 1,000 Black men can expect to be killed by police.

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act takes initial steps to end police brutality, protect civil rights and liberties, and change the culture of law enforcement agencies. These steps include ending racial and religious profiling and no-knock warrants, mandatory de-escalation training for police, prohibiting chokeholds and other potentially fatal maneuvers, and requiring police to use dashboard and body cameras. Justice for Black Lives, issued by NEA’s executive committee earlier this year, calls for many of the same steps. TAKE ACTION

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Make the District of Columbia the 51st state

Taxation without representation was the rallying cry for the American Revolution, yet 245 years later it endures in our nation’s capital. On April 22, the House voted 216-208 to correct this historic injustice and make the District of Columbia the 51st state. The denial of full representation in Congress—and therefore, full citizenship—in a city nearly half Black is egregious given our nation’s history of suppressing the Black vote. No other democracy denies its citizens equal representation because of where they live.

Denying residents of our nation’s capital full representation in Congress is unjust as well as dangerous. With over 700,000 residents, the District of Columbia has a larger population than Vermont and Wyoming. District residents pay the highest per-capita federal income taxes in the nation and in total, pay more in taxes than residents of 21 other states. Violent marauders roamed the halls of Congress for hours on January 6, yet the District of Columbia could not deploy the National Guard because it is not a state.

The Washington, D.C. Admission Act (S. 51/H.R. 51) preserves the constitutionally required district that houses the federal government, our monuments, and the National Mall. The neighborhoods and commercial areas where the people of the District of Columbia live and raise their families would comprise the 51st state. TAKE ACTION

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NEA members urge senators to support the Equality Act

Educators across the country shared their stories with members of Congress during a virtual lobbying day for the Equality Act, sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign. “We teach our students to treat each other how we want to be treated ourselves,” said NEA member Brian Kerekes, a high school math teacher from Florida. “Passage of the Equality Act puts that into practice. We are at our best when we respect, value and celebrate each other’s perspectives and what makes us unique.”

The Equality Act has already passed the House, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has promised his chamber will vote on it as well. The bill would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act, and other federal laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity, giving LGBTQ Americans explicit protection from discrimination in key areas of life: employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service.

The current patchwork of laws—most states lack non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation and gender identity—leaves many students and educators vulnerable to discrimination and sends the message LGBTQ Americans are second-class citizens. The Equality Act would help cultivate nurturing and supportive school environments for LGBTQ students while safeguarding LGBTQ educators, often key sources of support and encouragement for LGBTQ students. TAKE ACTION

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Cheers and Jeers

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) introduced the Families Belong Together Act to provide a path to citizenship for children and families forcibly separated at the U.S. border.

Sens. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) reintroduced legislation (S. 1267) to extend two key statutory deadlines for the 2020 Census to help ensure an accurate count of the population, especially in Native, minority, and rural communities.

Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the Summer Meals Act of 2021 (S. 1170) to ensure children maintain access to school meals when school is out.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack approved the extension of pandemic waivers and flexibilities through June 2022 to allow schools to continue serving free, healthy meals to all students.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) joined Democrats in voting to confirm Vanita Gupta’s nomination as Associate Attorney General heading the Civil Rights division at the Department of Justice.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) reintroduced the College for All Act (S. 1188) to make college tuition-free and debt-free for working families.

Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-MA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) reintroduced the Social Security Fairness Act (S. 1302), which would fully repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) that deprive 2.5 million educators and other dedicated public servants of Social Security benefits they have earned.

The Senate voted 94-1 to pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act (S. 937). ”The overwhelming bipartisan support to address hate crimes targeting Asian-Americans is proof that when we come together across race and place, we can make our country safer for all of us,” said NEA President Becky Pringle.

Josh Hawley (R-MO) was the only senator to oppose the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act (S. 937).

EdAction in Congress April 25, 2021 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress April 18, 2021 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress April 18, 2021 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress April 18, 2021

Senate advances bill to address hate crimes targeting Asian-Americans

The COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act (S. 937) will soon come to the Senate floor following an overwhelming, bipartisan 92-6 vote in favor of advancing it. Introduced by Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), the bill would strengthen federal efforts to address hate crimes targeting Asian-Americans in several ways: designate a Department of Justice employee to expedite the review of COVID-19 hate crimes, provide guidance for state and local officials for online reporting of such crimes, and require the department to issue guidance to mitigate racially discriminatory language in describing the pandemic.

Stop AAPI Hate reported 3,795 incidents from March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021. The organization estimates that these are only a fraction of the actual incidents that occurred, which included physical assault, verbal harassment, online harassment, and civil rights violations such as refusal of service and workplace discrimination. Elderly Asian Americans have been knocked to the ground and pummeled. Some citizens have been spat on. A woman in Marietta, Ga. was confronted in a pharmacy by someone who sprayed her with Lysol and yelled “You’re the infection! Go home! We don’t want you here!”

In our current climate, words can easily incite violent—even deadly—acts. Such xenophobia must be condemned, especially during this unprecedented public health crisis. We must stand together to affirm that these words and actions do not represent who we are. TAKE ACTION 

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Paycheck Fairness Act heads to the Senate

After passing the House by a vote of 217-210, the Paycheck Fairness Act of 2021 is heading for the Senate. To address the persistent gender pay gap in the United States, the bill would require employers to demonstrate that gender is not the reason they pay employees different wages, strengthen enforcement of equal pay laws, and put in place robust remedies for discrimination.

Women earn just 82 cents for every dollar White men earn—and the pay disparity is worse for Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous women. This gender gap exists across nearly all occupations, including female-dominated professions such as education. The Paycheck Fairness Act will help end these disparities and show our students that we believe in equal pay for equal work. TAKE ACTION

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Tell Congress to repeal unfair Social Security penalties

More than 2.5 million people dedicated to public service, including many educators, have their Social Security benefits reduced—or lose them entirely—due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO).

The Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), reintroduced in January of this year by Reps. Rodney Davis (R-IL) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), would fully repeal both the GPO and WEP; Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Susan Collins (R-ME) will introduce the bill in the Senate this week. The Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act (H.R. 2337), introduced by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richie Neal (D-MA) in April, starts to fix problems caused by the WEP—a step in the right direction toward full GPO/WEP repeal.

The WEP reduces the Social Security retirement, disability, spousal, or survivor benefits of people who work in jobs in which they pay Social Security taxes and jobs in which they do NOT pay Social Security taxes—for example, educators who take part-time or summer jobs to make ends meet. The GPO reduces the Social Security spousal or survivor benefits of people who get a government pension (federal, state or local) but did NOT pay Social Security taxes themselves.

TAKE ACTION:

• Urge your  representative in the House to support the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82) to fully repeal both the GPO and WEP.
• Urge your representative in the House to support the Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act (H.R. 2337) to start fixing problems caused by the WEP.

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Cheers and Jeers

92 senators voted to advance the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act.

 

Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) voted against advancing the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act.

EdAction in Congress April 18, 2021 - Education Votes