In advocating for the return of members’ money in the 3% case, lawyers from MEA and AFT Michigan have filed a motion to disqualify new Justice Elizabeth Clement from ruling on the case heard by the Michigan Supreme Court earlier this month. Until recently, Clement served as Gov. Rick Snyder’s chief legal counsel.
Michigan has won approval from the U.S. Department of Education (USED) for the state’s plan to comply with the federal law known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
By Brenda Ortega
MEA Editor
I’m appalled, angry and saddened by recent news stories and editorials about teacher absences – bashing educators again – based on one nakedly faulty and politicized “study.”
Where do I begin? By pointing out the falsehoods and misrepresentations? Explaining why teachers need sick days? Shouting from the rooftops how the public must demand an end to political attacks that continue to drive dedicated educators out of the classroom?
In my last job as an English teacher, I asked my senior honors students to grapple with Jonathan Swift, the 18th-century political satirist who combined sharp wit and intellectual courage to challenge political corruption and dishonesty among the wealthy ruling class. Think Jon Stewart in 1700s Europe.
