KENTUCKY EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

In response to yesterday's unprecedented acts by the EPSB, KEA President Stephanie
Winkler issued this statement.

Information about the Commonwealth of Kentucky's budget and tax reform can be found here.

NEA MemberBenefits wants to help educators during this tax season. Read this article before you file your tax return. We’ll help you claim your educator deductions so you can get back as much money as possible. Visit NEA MemberBenefits for more membership savings.

TRS retirees are currently paid a 1.5% cost of living allowance (COLA) each year.  If you are a TRS participant and want to see how much a COLA freeze could cost you, use this calculator.  If you don’t like what you see, call your legislators NOW at 1-800-372-7181 and let them know that they should find funding first and not pay for their own past-due obligations to the pension system by depriving retirees of the benefits they earned

KEA President Stephanie Winkler welcomes members to the new school year and offers words of encouragement. Welcome to an exciting new school year! 

(Frankfort, KY)  Late this afternoon, the Kentucky Education Association filed a Motion to Intervene in Civil Action 17-CI-00673 currently pending in Franklin Circuit Court.  That original action, filed by Attorney General Andy Beshear on behalf of the citizens of the Commonwealth, challenges the legality of Governor Bevin’s recent Executive Order no. 2017-364, which purports to reorganize the Education Professional Standards Board and other education-related boards.  KEA seeks to intervene in order to protect the rights of certified educators.

NEA's Annual Meeting takes place during the final week of June and the first week of July. Various committees, constituencies, caucuses, leadership groups, and delegates from state and local affiliates gather to set policy and chart the direction of NEA business. The 2017 annual meeting will take place in Boston, MA.  The Kentucky Delegate Caucus begins on June 30, 2017 at 11:00 a.m.  First-time delegates have a short meeting at 10:30 a.m. that day. More information is available here.

The lead story of the March 2017 issue of KEA News covers the 2017 TELL Kentucky Survey, which is live from March 1- 31 and through which Kentucky public school teachers and other certified staff have another chance to tell administrators and education policy makers about the conditions in their schools and classrooms. View the March 2017 issue here.

On tonight's edition of Kentucky Tonight, host Renee Shaw and members of the Kentucky General Assembly will discuss K-12 education (including Senate Bill 1).  Kentucky Tonight airs on KET Tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern/7:00 p.m. Central, and streams live at KET.org/live

In December of 2015 the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law by President Obama.  This was a replacement for No Child Left Behind (NCLB).  With this new law comes new opportunities for states and districts to have a voice in the opportunities our students have. For resources and information, click here.

KEA is sponsoring a Student Empowerment Essay and Visual Art Contest for preschool through 12th Grade. Students in the Commonweath of Kentucky are invited to create an original essay and/or piece of artwork that embodies the statement "I love my public school because..." Deadline for submission is Friday, January 13, 2017.  Contest rules, entry form and submission guidelines can be found here.

For teachers who are impacted, expect to be impacted, or want to learn more about the GPO/WEP, which penalizes retired public servants by taking away their own and spousal benefits they earned throughout their careers a GPO/WEP seminar will be held at Turkey Foot Middle School, Wednesday, October 19. Registration begins at 4:30; seminar is 5 to 7 pm. Seating is limited. Register by email to cgossett@kea.org or call 859.331.2488 before noon Wednesday, October 12. Download a flyer with more details here.

KEA and NKEA are sponsoring "What Every Intern Should Know about KTIP!" Tuesday, September 20 at Receptions Conference Center in Erlanger from 5:30 - 7:30 pm.  Registration begins at 4:30; meal at 5:00 pm. Registration deadline is 12 noon Monday, September 12. Free to members of KEA, the cost to non-members is $50. Additional information and the registration form is available here.

KEA President Stephanie Winkler welcomes back KEA members and their colleagues to Kentucky's public schools for the 2016-2017 school year. Please take three minutes and watch!

More than 300 Kentucky public school educators gathered on Monday and Tuesday, June 13 and 14, for the fourth annual TALK Conference, Kentucky’s only professional learning conference about teaching, by teachers, for teachers. See us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KEAmembers/

The second annual KEA RESPECT conference, the only professional learning conference for education support professionals in Kentucky public schools, was held Saturday, June 11 at Athens-Chilesburg Elementary School in Lexington. We have posted an album of pictures from KEA RESPECT 2016 on our Facebook page. Click this link to check them out: https://www.facebook.com/KEAmembers/

May issue of KEA News (Volume 52, Issue 4) is available here: https://issuu.com/kea_communication/docs/kea_news_volume_52_issue_4_for_issu/1

All active Fayette County ESP members are eligible to vote for Fayette County ESP officers. The election will be active at 11 am May 2 and end at 5 pm May 8, 2016. To vote, visit https://election4.kea.org

Nominations are now open for the 2017 Kentucky Teacher Awards, sponsored by the Kentucky Department of Education and Valvoline, a business unit of Ashland Inc. To apply, click here. Deadline for nominations is May 15, 2016.

Results of the KEA Officer elections are:

President - Stephanie Winkler

Vice President - Eddie Campbell

NEA Board of Director - Jo McKim

Constitutional Amendments 1 and 2 both passed.  

Applications for the 2016-2017 NEA ESP Leaders for Tomorrow (LFT) program are now available and can be found here.  The LFT program is open to any K-12 or higher education NEA ESP member who meets the application criteria. Deadline for application is April 8, 2016.

The 2016 NEA Joint Conference on Concerns of Minorities and Women will be held at the Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. on June 30, 2016.  Individuals interested in presenting at the conference are required to submit their proposals using the online portal at 2016 JC Call for Proposals. Interested individuals may also use the link located on the NEA Joint Conference on Minorities and Women’s site.

Any member of the KEA Student Program who wishes to represent Kentucky as a delegate to the Representative Assembly and Student Leadership Conference must complete and submit the official nomination form to KEA Headquarters by 5:00 p.m. (EST) on Friday, March 25, 2016. The form is available here.

Gov. Bevin's 2016-2018 Budget Proposal is linked here.

We're looking for the best of the best to present at the Let's TALK: Conversations about Effective Teaching and Learning Conference in June.  Details and application process can be found in the Call for Conference Proposals.