Education Austin - AISD Assigns Seven Thousand New Laptops to Teachers

Education Austin

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AISD Assigns Seven Thousand New Laptops to Teachers

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Michael Houser in Consultation with Education Austin explained that the laptops are for teachers to use!! He went on to explain that the district is encouraging all teachers to use the laptops at school and to take them home to work on school tasks there as well. Mr. Houser explained that there are some preventative ways to disarm or locate a stolen laptop. He explained that the district does have a type of replacement insurance, however this does not make teachers not responsible for treating it as though they had bought and paid for it themselves.

The following are laws passed by the 80th Legislature:

SB 370- This bill states the school districts cannot hold you liable for any missing/damaged school property including textbooks, technological equipment, or even student personal property!!

SB 153- The district is prohibited from restricting you your right to speak directly to any Board of Trustee member regarding matters relating to the operation of the district. The only exception is contractual disputes. This must be done in a hearing where you address the whole board with your representative.

HB 973- If you resign at the end of the school year, you still have health insurance and benefits through the remainder of your contract, including the summer months! How sweet is that?

HB 1622- If you have a grievance against an administrator, you don't have to file a level one with that person, you file it with his/her supervisor. The House realized the stupidity in having an employee file a grievance with the offender and then having that same offender conduct the level one grievance. This allows you to bypass that person and go to the next level, which in the case of our head principal, it would be Dr. Paul Cruz, associate superintendent of middle schools or one of his designees like Debra Hester.

HB 3678- This bill deals with religious freedoms. Schools must provide a forum for students to express their religious viewpoints in their homework, artwork, and other assignments.

HB 2237- This bill deals with dropout prevention and recovery grant programs.

SB 9- This bill deals with the new fingerprinting and background checks law.

SB 1031- This bill relates to End of Course exams.

Sb 1846/SB 1039/ SB 1447- This bill deals with TRS.

Incentive Pay- Phase II- too much info., just read click on the attachment.

(The attachment was presented by Portia Bosse at the TSTA Legislative Political Action Committee, which I am an appointed member, on August 23, 2008 @ the TSTA Building).

My goal as your building representative, membership service specialist, and executive board member is to inform you periodically, as time permits, of your rights and what's going on with your union. The union is us, and it is we. I, alone, cannot make change, be we can together! Invite your colleagues to join EA and let our voices be heard. Anyone interested in becoming more politically active through the union, please contact me (i.e., block walking, phone banking, rallies, other).

If any of you have any issues, concerns, or questions that you would like to address, please email me at this address. I would suggest you use your personal email address at home. Although using school email for union business is allowable, I would suggest you use your personal account. The only thing not allowed is using your school email address to promote political issues (i.e. presidential candidates, etc.). You can send someone an email from your personal account to their school account; however, you cannot use the school's account to promote your political candidate.