We started in the Senate Education Committee. SB82: Equal Access for Education Employee Association Amendments was discussed. There was a room full of UEA members and a handful of other groups in attendance. The majority of those who testified, including me, were against this bill; however, the committee voted to move the bill out favorably. The membership lady from AAE (American Association of Educators) testified about how she has not been given equal access by various districts. One of the reasons she has given for teachers to join AAE is that they are not political. Testifying to a legislative committee is political.
The other controversial bill addressed by the committee was SB67: Teacher Effectiveness and Outcomes Based Compensation. This is an education reform bill that is the opposite of SB64: Public Education Employment Reform by Senator Aaron Osmond. SB64 is the bill that UEA and other education groups helped write. SB67 goes to 100% pay for performance by 2020. Please contact your senator by letter, e-mail, and/or phone call about supporting SB64 by Osmond.
We then spent time trying to talk to legislators. We were able to visit with Senator Thatcher and Senator Morgan. We watched Senate debate and heard from U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch until lunch. At lunch we met with all the other UEA members and talked about what we learned. We also heard from Represenatives Marie Poulsen and Joel Briscoe. We watched House debate after lunch.
There is one more Educator Day on the Hill, Friday, March 2. If you would like to attend, please contact me.
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