“We need more services for our children,” says Crystal Parker (red jacket), a veteran special education teacher with over 30 years of service.(Reuters / Rick Wood / USA Today Network)
More than 25,000 Chicago teachers are entering their fourth day of strikes today after negotiations with city officials this weekend failed to reach a deal. Their demands echo those of teachers who’ve taken to the streets over the past two years in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona, and California, calling for better pay, increases in school funding and support staff, and smaller class sizes.
Now’s the time to support public education. This week’s Take Action Now gives you three ways to fight for a real investment in our children’s futures.
Take Action Now gives you three meaningful actions you can take each week whatever your schedule. You can sign up here to get these actions and more in your inbox every Tuesday.
Recent cuts to the federal education budget have left schools across the country struggling to provide the resources that teachers need to teach. Use the National Education Association’s e-mail template to tell your senators to pass the 2020 education appropriations bill passed by the House to restore adequate school funding. Then, scroll down to tell your congressional representatives to pass the Keep Our PACT Act, which would ensure that Congress upholds its obligation to fully fund programs assisting students with disabilities.
Going into the 2020 presidential election, it’s important to know where the candidates stand on public education. Check out Education Votes’ candidate comparison and watch the candidates respond to questions from educators. If you don’t see your question being answered, submit one to the candidates.
Teachers successfully pushed several states to increase state revenue funding when they walked out of their classrooms in 2018. But in many states, this funding remains well below 2008 levels. Check out the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ report on state education funding and EdBuild’s list of states’ policies to learn how your state is doing and connect with a local education advocacy organization (or a local chapter of a national organization, like Stand for Children) to see how you can get involved in imploring your local legislators to push for renewed investment in public education.
NationActionThe Nation’s Take Action program directs readers to meaningful actions on a range of critical issues.