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CEA - State Legislative Policy Survey

CEA continually works with state legislators to secure state funding for schools, preserve the teachers’ retirement system, promote public education, and protect your rights to collectively bargaining for salary, wages, and working conditions.

In addition to these core areas, CEA is seeking your opinion in this survey about other potential legislative issues to address.  Your participation is anonymous and voluntary.  We thank you for your participation.
1.District(Required.)
2.Primary Grades Taught(Required.)
3.Subject Taught
4.Number of years teaching in public schools as of July 1, 2019.(Required.)
Issue Ratings - On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most important, how important is it for CEA to seek passage of statewide legislation on the following issues:
5.Prep-Time – Ensuring self-directed and duty-free prep time.
Least Important
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Most Important
6.School Indoor Air Quality – Requiring districts to receive and address reports of mold, temperature extremes, and other unhealthy building conditions.
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Most Important
7.Kindergarten Start Age – Increasing the minimum school start age from 5 years of age by January 1 of the school year to September 1.
Least Important
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Most Important
8.Common Core State Standards – Requiring the state to review and revise the common core standards for developmental appropriateness.
Least Important
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Most Important
9.Student Recess and Undirected Play - Increasing the minimum amount of time available for student undirected play and physical activity.
Least Important
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Most Important
10.Trauma and Social Emotional Learning – Providing state funding for school districts to promote training in trauma-informed instruction and social-emotional learning.
Least Important
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Most Important
11.Community Schools – Providing start-up funding to high-poverty schools seeking to enhance collaboration among teachers, parents, and community members in identifying students’ needs and community resources to serve them.
Least Important
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Most Important
12.Teacher Diversity, Recruitment, and Retention – Requiring all principals, and candidates for administrator certification, to be trained on improving school climate, preventing and addressing incidents of student violence, and eliminating biases in recruitment, hiring, and other practices, to promote teacher diversity.
Least Important
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Most Important
13.Lockbox for State K-12 Education Funds:  Establishing a special state education budget "lockbox" with a designated tax revenue, to increase funds and protect them from being used for non-education purposes.
Least Important
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Most Important
14.Local Board of Education and School Funding:  Strengthen prohibition that would prevent towns from using state education dollars for non-educational purposes.
Least Important
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Most Important
15.English Learner Funding – Ensuring more equitable resources for English Learners and bilingual education.
Least Important
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Most Important
16.DCF – Reform the DCF investigation process to reduce the over identification of incidents that do not constitute a violation.
Least Important
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Most Important
17.Strengthening Collective Bargaining – Ensuring unions have a clear right to meet with new employees and hold orientations for them at the beginning of the school year.
Least Important
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Most Important
18.Health Insurance – Requiring that all school districts participate in a single state health insurance plan to improve negotiating power and control upward trends in costs.
Least Important
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Most Important
19.Teachers’ Student Loan Assistance – Providing income tax break for early career teachers based on the amount they pay in student loans.
Least Important
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Most Important
20.Charter Enrollment – Prohibiting charter schools from expelling students back into local schools.
Least Important
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Most Important
21.Are there other issues not listed above that you think should be considered part of CEA’s Legislative Agenda?  (1 per box please).
Ongoing Issues – Now we’d like to ask you about specific issues that require a little more background.

Classroom Safety: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most important, please rank policies to address classroom safety (students in all grades who act violently and pose danger to other students and staff).
22.Establish the rights of teachers to have a say in the resources and interventions violent students should receive to address and prevent negative behaviors.
Least Important
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Most Important
23.Increase funding for resources to address student needs, such as added school counselors and social workers, and other services and programs related to trauma and other factors influencing student behaviors.
Least Important
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Most Important
24.Require data on the number of violent incidents and resulting interventions be reported to the local board of education (in a way that preserves the privacy of students involved).
Least Important
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Most Important
25.Student Testing - Federal law requires students in Grades 3 - 8, and HS to take a uniform standardized test (CT uses SBAC and SAT).  The state legislature can't change this federal requirement, but it can address key issues.  On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most important, please rate the importance of each to you as an educator.
Least Important
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Most Important
Pass a law that would reduce the weight of test results in determining each school's quality rating.
Require the state to conduct an audit of the amount of assessments conducted on students and the impact on them.
26.English Learners:  Do you believe that students who do not speak English are being incorrectly identified for special education services due to their English language deficiency?
27.Student Mobility:  Children who move frequently or experience homelessness face challenges at school.  Is this a persistent problem facing your school?
28.Breastfeeding Rights:  Teachers' class schedules make finding a suitable time and place for expressing milk difficult.  Is this an issue facing you or other teachers in your school?
29.Guaranteed Salary Schedule Step Movement – Some are advocating for a state law to guarantee salary step increases.  Here are some considerations:

Pros:  Would prevent step freezes and guarantee teachers move year to year through the salary schedule.

Cons:  May mean less money for general wage increases and/or may cause elimination of positions.

Given this background, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most important, how important is it for CEA to seek legislation guaranteeing annual step movement?
 Least Important
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Most Important
 
30.Minimum Statewide Starting Salary -- Requiring school districts to pay first-year teachers a minimum salary that is no less than an amount set by the state.

Pros -- Would raise beginning salaries in many districts. 

Cons -- Could result in less funds being available for other purposes. 




Least Important
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Most Important