Update on Pending Legislation

There are several pending Bills before the legislature that would have an important impact on educators in our State.   Some of these are highlighted below.

1. Code of Conduct Bill ( S3036A /A 3837A).  This Bill is an example of overreaching by the legislature into matters best left in the hands of the Education Department and local control.  The strictures of the Bill will tie the hands of practitioners in dealing with disciplinary matters and we strongly believe that day-to-day measures such as this are not well-suited for proscriptive legislation.
2. Establishment of a Reserve Fund for TRS.  Needless to say, the viability of the TRS is of crucial importance and we support all economic safeguards such as this one.
3. Revision of the DS Salary Cap.  Artificial salary caps are untenable and we support every effort toward eliminating the cap.
4. Special Act School’s reimbursement (S 4530/A 5618).  We are in favor of measures to ensure financial stability for all Special Act Districts.

We urge our members to contact their local representatives to advocate for these measures before the legislative session ends.