JANUARY 2022 ALABAMA SCHOOL JOURNAL
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The time is now to champion Alabama's educators
The 2022 Alabama Legislative Regular Session is underway. Recently, Governor Kay Ivey proposed during her State of the State Address a 4% pay raise for public education employees. As always, we welcome and support any pay increase for Alabama's
educators - however, we also know there is more than enough money available to not only give educators more, but to also give a robust bonus for retirees. I cannot stress enough that it will take all of us, especially you - our members - to work to make those things a reality. The effort has been underway for months. On the front cover of this
Journal
, there are photos from a few of our legislative roundtables and dinners, where members just like you met with our elected leaders to give them a first-person report about what is going in our schools and with our students. As educators continue to navigate through another "pandemic" school year, it is important legislators hear from you - their constituents. I encourage you to talk to them
at church, at the grocery store, at a local event, or
wherever you may find them back home. Tell them your story and why it is critical to invest in you. AEA's legislative team reviews each and every bill that is filed in the Legislature to see what impact it can have on public education. Already, there have been bills filed for tax exemptions and tax breaks at the expense of your local school and, frankly, your pocketbook. Every dollar that is diverted out of the Education Trust Fund (ETF) is one less dollar to support our
students and educators. We are the champions of
the ETF - a role that we take solemnly and proudly. Remember, AEA is always stronger at the state house when legislators' ears are filled with the voices of the people who vote for them, rather than special interest lobbyists in Montgomery.
In addition to the bills already filed and
monitored by AEA, there are rumblings from certain corners of an effort to divert even more money out of community schools and into well-funded private schools. If a bill is filed, expect a full report in the
Journal
. However, it never hurts to get ahead of
issues. Let your legislators know that private schools can raise money whenever they want by raising their tuition. They don't need taxpayer money intended for our community schools where the vast majority of Alabama children are educated.
AEA is also working to help in other areas that matter to you. The teacher shortage is real and is
getting worse. AEA is currently working with other education groups, including the Teacher Retirement System (TRS), to find solutions to retain educators
and recruit more - especially where the shortages
are most pressing: classroom teachers and school bus drivers.
AEA is also working to address mental health challenges affecting our students and educators.
While bills have been introduced to deal with these challenges faced by our students, AEwA is adamant
to assess what can be done to assist our members charged with educating them. COVID has been a
fixture in our lives for over two years and it has taken a toll on all of us -AEA will explore how we can try to ease some of the burden. In closing, please continue to read each issue of your Journal to stay informed, follow AEA on social media to get up-to-the-minute updates, and talk to your colleagues about the importance of engaging
with your legislators. Each Friday, AEA members
with an accurate email address on file will receive the Capital Pulse. The Pulse is a digital recap of what has happened each week in the Legislature and provides an outlook of what lies in the week ahead.
With an election approaching, this is the
legislative session when legislators are most engaged and receptive to input from their constituents. Pages
6-9 of this
Alabama School Journal
contains contact information of your local legislators. Please keep
this information handy in order to heed our call to action when needed in Montgomery. Let's use this election season to our advantage and work together to advance public education in Alabama.
AEA Executive Director Amy Marlowe
You have probably heard before AEA membership has its benefits. There are too many to name and would fill this space,
and more. Instead, in this column
I'd like to focus on the legal
benefits of being an AEA member.
The most well-known legal
benefit is liability insurance. If an AEA member is sued by someone
because of an "educational employment activity" the AEA's liability insurance carrier will
assign an attorney to defend that
member at no cost beyond monthly membership.
The coverage limit for the insurance is $1,000,000 per sued member with a $3,000,000 aggregate limit
on coverage where multiple members have been
sued. These cases do not usually get anywhere near
the limits, and, thankfully, most of these cases are dismissed against our members. However, if they
aren't dismissed, they could cost educators thousands of dollars. If an educator is a member though, they do not have to worry about that cost thanks to the insurance.
Another legal benefit of membership is the
Referral Attorney Program. Members get two free, 30-minute consultations per membership year and a discount on legal services when they have a personal legal matter. Services under this program range from
wills to family law to traffic law. Attorneys are not
cheap and this discount has saved countless members a large amount of money over the years. Should a member have a legal matter arise that is related to their job and not arising out of a lawsuit, they can obtain legal representation from the AEA
Legal Department. The Legal Department assigns attorneys to members everyday who need legal
assistance because of something that happened to
them or because of something they were accused of at work. Any time a member is proposed for termination, suspension, or involuntary transfer
they can contact their UniServ Director to ask about
obtaining legal assistance, and, if the proposed
action entitles them to a hearing, the member will
be assigned an attorney by AEA. Sometimes these
actions lead to certificate or license revocation. If a revocation action is proposed against a member, I will assign that member an attorney, too. We have a network of attorneys throughout the
state of Alabama dedicated to representing and defending our members when they need legal assistance. These attorneys are equipped and trained to represent our members because they are the experts in the confusing and complicated field that is Alabama education law. The other
attorneys in Alabama do not have the training and knowledge that AEA's network of attorneys do. The
only cost for this expertise and knowledge is your
monthly membership dues. Educators who are not
AEA members pay up to thousands of dollars to
less-experienced and less-knowledgeable attorneys
who are more of a liability than an asset. Our
members are blessed with this invaluable resource and benefit no other association can offer. The last benefit is one I will not belabor because I discussed it in a recent column, but it is so important that I wanted to mention it again. We assign attorneys
to represent members when they are injured at
work and need assistance with the Alabama Board of Adjustment process. If Alabama education law is confusing and complicated, the Board of Adjustment process is "Advanced Placement Alabama Education Law." As I have mentioned before, this process leaves little room for error and is entirely too complicated
for anyone to deal with on their own. As an AEA member, you are entitled to an attorney who will help you through this process many others have
attempted, and failed, on their own. If you get hurt at work, do not ignore this critical benefit and call
your UniServ Director ASAP after you suffer an
on-the-job injury.
I pray that you will never need any of the aforementioned benefits. But, if you do, now you know what AEA's legal benefits are and how we in the Legal Department can help you. After all,
membership has its benefits.
AEA Associate Executive Director Theron Stokes
The benefits of AEA membership
Should a member have a legal matter arise that is related to their job and not arising out of a lawsuit, they can obtain legal representation from the AEA Legal Department.
ALABASTER CITY Amanda Harvie, assistant principal at Meadow View Elementary, is in need of donated sick days due to the early arrival of her daughter. To donate days, contact Renee Cofer at renee.cofer@acsboe.org. HARTSELLE CITY Holly Douglas, a CNP worker, is in need of donated sick days in order to stay by her husbands side as he is recovering from critical injuries caused by a recent car accident. To donate days, contact Brenda Byrd at 256.773.5419. MOBILE COUNTY Rasla McCreary, a teacher at Pillans Middle, is in need of donated sick days to care for her father who is battling a catastrophic critical illness and other health complications. DeAntonio Reed, a parts clerk in the transportation department of the Mobile County Public School System, has been hospitalized due to kidney failure and has exhausted all of his sick leave. To donate days, to either Rasla McCreary or DeAntonio Reed, contact Angel Young at ahyoung@mcpss. If you are in need of sick leave, please go to myAEA.org to ill out a sick leave request form or contact your UniServ Director. Please make certain you provide the name and contact information of the Central Office staff who handles sick leave donations in your school system.
Members in need of sick leave
AEA is always stronger at the state house when legislators' ears are filled with the voices of the people who vote for them...
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