Newsroom
Food service workers whip up millions of Grab & Go meals
Classified employees essential to feeding kids during pandemic
The coronavirus crisis has forced school districts of all sizes to come to grips with the food insecurity their students face.
“In my entire life, I have never seen a medical crisis taken as seriously as this one,” said Carl Williams, head of the Lawndale Classified Employees Federation. “We’re now implementing options we have never discussed before, like shutting down classrooms and teaching online.”
Health clerk looks back on early signs of pandemic
Veteran clerk teaches and practices good habits
For months, health clerk Cathy Pierce said, she and other school district staff heard about the coronavirus “like everyone else — bits of news and gossip.”
Pierce began to receive more credible information about COVID-19 and changes coming at all levels of government and education the week before Lawndale’s Mitchell Elementary shut in March. She has since come up the coronavirus learning curve, and now sees her work in a different light.
More members join Classified Summer Assistance Program
AFT locals work successfully with districts to implement program
Tens of thousands of classified staff in K-12 school districts across California have signed up for the third year of an innovative state program to support some of the lowest paid employees on campus.
The Classified School Employee Summer Assistance Program (CSESAP) allows eligible staff to withhold up to 10 percent of their monthly salary during the school year, and receive that money — matched by the state up to a dollar for a dollar — in one or two payments the following summer.
Nearly 300 classified employees have become teachers, 2000 in pipeline
Update: Classified Employee Teacher Credentialing Program
An innovative state program has helped transform nearly 300 classified employees into credentialed teachers, with about 2,000 more staff in the pipeline, according to a report from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
CFT advances bill for classified staff to close part-time loophole
Legislature's emergency recess delays action
Update: Due to the pandemic and the Legislature’s rearranging of priorities, most union-sponsored bills were not taken up.
State legislators left Sacramento March 20 after passing emergency legislation to help K-12 schools, individuals, small businesses and non-profits weather the coronavirus pandemic. Significant for classified employees, the legislation — Senate Bill 117 — includes $100 million dollars to purchase personal protective equipment, to pay for supplies and labor related to cleaning schools sites, or both.
The changeover at Allan Hancock College
Challenges and rewards of teaching online
By Mark James Miller
Even before Gov. Gavin Newsom’s shelter-at-home order, Allan Hancock College was gearing up to meet the challenges the COVID-19 virus presents to an institution of higher learning.
For faculty and students, this new normal brings with it many issues regarding how best to continue the mission of education — providing the students with the highest quality of instruction — while trying to remain free of the virus and maintain social distancing.
The CARES Act — federal stimulus becomes law
What you need to know about COVID-19 pandemic relief
The new bipartisan federal stimulus legislation, known as the CARES Act, was signed yesterday. The $2.2 trillion bill — the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act — is the third piece of federal coronavirus response legislation passed in recent days and contains significant new resources to assist in COVID-19 recovery.
The coronavirus, the CFT, and you
By Jeffery M. Freitas, CFT President
Over the past few days, our lives have changed significantly. There have been many fast moving coronavirus-related developments.
We will continue to work with decision-makers to protect you, your students, and your communities. With the situation continuing to develop quickly, we are doing our best to stay on top of it.
We want to provide as much information to our members as possible, but we hope not to overwhelm you with too much.
Legislature passes three emergency coronavirus bills
Legislative Update
The California Legislature took emergency action yesterday and passed Senate Bill 117 to address several of the issues confronting schools and their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. SB 17 and two other emergency bills passed by the Legislature will take effect immediately.
The CFT will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates from the California Legislature.
CFT introduces new bills, emergency legislative recess delays action
Legislative Update
The CFT was successful in introducing sponsored legislation for 2020. Our new bills address priority issues for the CFT, including providing affordable housing for public school employees, ensuring that school employees who are on extended medical leave receive full pay, requiring charter schools to participate in CalSTRS and CalPERS, and providing support for community college and University of California faculty.
However, due to the coronavirus outbreak and the recent emergency passage of Assembly Concurrent Resolution 189, which enacted a joint legislative recess from March 20 until April 13, it’s unclear when these bills will be heard.
What does the overnight transition to “remote learning” mean?
For classroom faculty with traditionally scheduled on-campus classes
Note: This helpful article was written for a local community college audience, but many of the principles apply to all of higher education as well as K-12 education.
By Jim Mahler, President, AFT Guild, Local 1931, San Diego and Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community Colleges
COVID-19: Union toolkit for California educators and staff
Your health, your workplace rights, and collective bargaining
Our union toolkit is packed with guidance bulletins and other resources from AFT. Topics range from guidance for your personal health, to your division of education, to collective bargaining for union leaders. Click on the topics below to find the information you need.
- What you need to know about the novel coronavirus - English
- What you need to know about the novel coronavirus - Spanish
- Symptoms of COVID-2019
- What to do if you are sick with COVID-19
- California Department of Public Health — Guidance for PreK-12 Schools
- Guidance for Institutions of Higher Education
- CalSTRS Circular
- CalPERS Circular
- Temporary Suspension of Student Withdrawal Regulations to Address the Continuity of Education in Community Colleges During the C
- Preliminary Guidance for Hard-to-Convert Courses
- Guidance – BRN Requirements for Nursing Clinical Hours
- Guidance - Clarification on Apportionments, Withdrawals and Student Fee Refunds
- Guidance - Attendance Accounting Implications and Approved Exceptions
- Temporary Suspension of Various Specified Grade-Related Regulations to Address the Continuity of Education in Community Colleges
- Grading Policies and Term Extension Guidance Due to Covid-19 Pandemic
- Guidance Memo - Emergency Technology Resources Available
- Thurmond's Letter to Superintendents
- CalPERS Circular
- Labor-Management Framework
- AFT Summary of CARES Act — California
- CalPERS Stakeholder Letter
- Read the Education Coalition statement here
- Read more