Teacher Rights/Union Protections
Fair Process for Termination – Ensure a fair process and binding arbitration in teacher termination proceedings.
Payroll Deduction – Protect public sector workers’ right to have union dues deducted directly from their paychecks.
Public Employee Safety – Exempt teachers’ and other public employees’ personal contact information from disclosure under FOIA.
Independent Neutral Arbitrators – Ensure neutrality and fairness in contract negotiations by allowing involved parties to select a neutral, independent arbitrator who is certified by the American Arbitration Association.
Unemployment Insurance for Striking Workers – Support unionized workers everywhere by establishing an unemployment insurance trust fund for striking workers.
Teacher Recruitment and Retention
Salary Enhancement – Increase teachers’ starting salaries and provide tiered salary enhancement so educators are compensated comparably to other similarly educated professionals.
Expanded Access – Fully fund educator diversity scholarships for students in all districts, expand the federal Equal Access Act to include grades K-6, and provide accountability for increasing educator diversity in the Aspiring Educator Action Plan.
Support for Aspiring Educators – Provide stipends for paid student teaching, reduce fees for teacher certification programs, and eliminate the cost of edTPA for teacher certification candidates.
Support for All Educators – Provide housing assistance and cap healthcare premiums for educators.
Promoting Successful School Communities
Cell Phone Policy – Require boards of education to adopt a “bell to bell” restriction on cell phones and other smart devices in the classroom.
Modernize ECS – Adjust the ECS foundation grant formula to account for inflation and disburse funds directly to school districts instead of passing education cost sharing grants through municipalities.
Special Education – Reduce or cap caseloads for special education teachers and paraeducators.
Class Size – Provide district incentives to reduce class sizes.
English Learners – Reduce or cap caseloads for EL teachers and paraeducators.
School Indoor Air Quality – Protect long-term funding for school HVAC repairs, establish indoor temperature and humidity standards, and ensure district compliance with annual and five-year inspection requirements.
Municipal Accountability
Minimum Budget Requirement – Change the minimum budget requirement to a minimum expenditure requirement.
ECS Payments – Pay school districts directly instead of passing education cost sharing grants through municipalities, and adjust the ECS formula for inflation.
Municipal Finance Transparency – Cap unallocated municipal funds.
Retirement Equity and Pension Security
Teachers’ Retirement Fund – Fully fund the annual pension contribution and continually reduce the unfunded liability.
Cost of Living Adjustment – Optimize Connecticut’s cost-of-living adjustment to better reflect true changes in the cost of living.
Teachers’ Retirement Board Elections – Allow active and retired teachers to vote in the election for the two new retiree seats on the Teachers’ Retirement Board.
TRB Disability Subsidy – Provide a double monthly health subsidy (increase from $220 to $440 per person) to members receiving a Teachers’ Retirement Board disability benefit.