Delegates on the floor of the AFT Education, Healthcare, Public Services (AFT) Convention this summer threw their weight behind a proposed federal resolution that would set employment standards for classified educators nationwide.
The AFT, our national affiliate, voted to support the passage of the Paraprofessionals and School-Related Personnel (PSRP) Bill of Rights, which advocates for 15 basic rights including a living wage, access to affordable healthcare and professional development, a variety of paid leave offerings and the ability to give input on education and behavior plans.
AFT uses the term PSRP to refer to classified educators. They represent more than 350,000 school support staff in affiliate unions across the country, of which OSEA is the second largest.
OSEA President and AFT Vice President Sarah Wofford addressed convention delegates about the vital roles classified educators play in functioning schools and the value of a basic set of rights for them.
Wofford has been fighting for the PSRP Bill of Rights since its inception. She attended the official introduction of the resolution by Senator Ed Markey, D-MA, in the U.S. Senate Chamber last November. She lobbied for the bill of rights in Washington, D.C., with OSEA Zone VII Director Jeremias Martinez and OSEA member Justin Dowell of Centennial Chapter 113, and has continued to advocate for its passage as she represents OSEA at the national level.
“It’s so important for legislators at every level to understand the essential work classified educators do every day,” Wofford said. “The PSRP Bill of Rights is an absolutely necessary next step to ensuring our hardworking members are kept safe on the job, appropriately compensated and given the tools and training they need to shine.”
Zone VII Director Jeremias Martinez said sharing his personal experiences of getting hurt really resonated with legislators while lobbying for the resolution.
“I shared that we were on our fifth concussion in the room,” he said. “That was a shocker for them, and they definitely wrote that down… When we left, they looked like they had a stronger will to fight to better our education system.”
The PSRP Bill of Rights is co-sponsored in the Senate by Senators Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, and Bernie Sanders, I-VT. The resolution recognizes the rights, respect and dignity that paraprofessionals and education support staff deserve as they educate the next generation and states that all PSRP should:
- Be paid a livable, competitive wage
- Have access to high quality, affordable healthcare
- Be eligible for leave guaranteed by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- Be entitled to 16 weeks of paid family and medical leave
- Receive paid leave for school closures
- Have access to meaningful and free or affordable professional development opportunities
- Be given sufficient resources and supplies to enable classified educators to do their jobs
- Have access to training and appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Receive notification and have the ability to give input on the use of electronic monitoring and artificial intelligence (AI)
- Be given the opportunity to participate in IEP and behavioral plan team meetings
- Have a safe working environment
- Work in appropriately staffed workplaces
- Be given a process for reporting workplace issues
- Be notified about duration of employment
- Contracts should auto-renew instead of automatically expiring unless renewed