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Action Alert / Contact Lawmakers NOW to oppose new DPS Package
Jun 02, 2016
URGENT: Contact lawmakers NOW to oppose new DPS package
MEA members need to make their voices heard immediately regarding a legislative compromise regarding Detroit Public Schools that removes accountability measures for charter schools, attacks the rights of educators who stand up for their students, and puts even more emphasis on standardized testing by tying it to teacher pay.
The new compromise legislation:
- Eliminates the Detroit Education Commission proposed in the bipartisan Senate bills, which would provide accountability for charter schools by controlling the opening and closing of both traditional and charter schools in Detroit.
- Increases penalties for school employees who are found to be engaged in an illegal strike activity-provisions that weren't included in the bi-partisan Senate bills. This is a move to punish the dedicated educators in Detroit who blew the whistle on the unsafe, unhealthy conditions in their schools.
- Puts greater requirements on already mandatory merit pay requirements, continuing to increase the emphasis placed on standardized tests and tie teacher pay to test scores.
Please contact your state representative and senator TODAY to urge them to vote against this compromise being pushed by Republican leaders in Lansing. Unlike the bi-partisan Senate bills passed in April, this new proposal is not a solution that will help the long term health of Detroit Public Schools-or the quality of education students in the city receive. The new strike penalties would apply statewide, and many lawmakers see this as a first step to expanding many of these bad ideas statewide, so we all have a stake in defeating this legislation.
MEA will continue to update members about the status of this legislation and distribute calls to action as things develop in Lansing.
