Issues & Action
Featured Issues
ESEA - No Child Left Behind
For years, educators have been dealing with the harmful consequences of No Child Left Behind - the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act - which judges schools and students solely on standardized test scores.
The Truth about Teachers' Retirement
All Californians should have a safe and secure retirement. The real problem is not that teachers, firefighters and other public servants have defined benefit plans, the problem is that private sector workers do not.
Latest
Jobs Act will help prevent 37,000 educator layoffs
Email your lawmakerMake Students Our Priority
Tell the Senate where you stand on No Child Left BehindTake Action
State Budget 2011-2012
Read the latest on how the State Budget affects public educationAB 114 – the Education Budget Trailer Bill – attempts to stabilize school funding for 2011-12 and stop the hemorrhaging of state budget cuts. However, the approved state budget also “triggers” budget cuts if projected revenues don’t materialize.
Education Reform
Learn more about where CTA stands on the issues that matterRecently there has been a great deal of discussion about education "reform" in the media. Everyone seems to have an idea about how we should improve our public education system.
Ongoing Issues
Inherent in the concept of charter schools is the belief that meaningful educational reform must be developed at the local site level and with the full participation of all “stakeholders”. More
3 CommentsCTA believes that small class sizes, particularly in grades pre-kindergarten through 12, allows for the optimum development of a student’s potential and ensures individual attention to each student. More
1 CommentsThe intent of the Human Rights Department is to promote positive human relations and improve the education of all students with a focus on equitable access to public education. More
0 CommentsAt last, historic health care reform legislation that will provide access to quality, affordable health insurance to an estimated 30 million Americans was passed. More
3 CommentsQEIA is helping schools that are serving a higher percentage of low income, minority and English learners to close the achievement gap. More
1 CommentsThe Race to the Top regulations are more of the same one-size-fits-all approach of No Child Left Behind that has failed California students and schools for the last several years. More
0 CommentsCTA believes that discipline, order, and safety are essential for an environment conducive to learning. More
0 CommentsAs a result of Proposition 13, more than 80% of school funding comes from the state. Having lost access to most local funding, it is incumbent on the state to uphold the California Constitution that states that public education has first call on state moneys. More
2 CommentsCTA believes that teacher quality is a result of pre-service preparation, professional development, and the occupational environment in which teaching occurs. More
2 CommentsWith about 1/3 of the teachers nearing retirement, the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning estimates that CA will need an 100,000 more teachers over the next decade. More
3 CommentsCTA responds to a controversial series of articles promoting the use of student test scores to measure an individual teacher's effectiveness. More
0 CommentsStudies continue to show there have been no significant improvements in student achievement in voucher schools. More
0 CommentsCurrent Legislation
Monitoring the legislative process and advocating for laws that achieve gains for students, teachers and public education are among the cornerstones of CTA's mission.