Washington Education Association
SPECIAL ELECTION RESULTS:
Congratulations to Freedom Johnson, our newly elected Executive Board Middle School Representative for the 2020-2021 school year!
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At the June 11th, 2020 Representative Council meeting, BEA Representatives voted unanimously to issue a statement of solidarity and support for today’s Statewide Day of Action. We stand and march in solidarity with our Black students, staff, and families and embrace the call to end institutionalized racism.
The Representative Council also debated and approved the Resolution copied below. This resolution endorses the demands issued by fellow unions in Seattle and Tacoma to end the placement of SROs in our schools, reallocate city and district resources from the SRO program to wrap-around services for students, and to repeal legislation and policy allowing the interrogation of students by police in our schools. It also encourages teachers to participate in the STATEWIDE AND GENERAL STRIKE ON FRIDAY, JUNE 12TH, 2020, 2:00 PM at Judkins Park organized by Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County. If members cannot participate in the march or strike, they should participate in other actions to affirm that Black lives matter.
I encourage all our members to engage in conversations with colleagues, BEA Reps, and fellow community members as we work to address the racism that can no longer be tolerated in our institutions. We are stronger when we listen to each other, particularly when we listen to different viewpoints and seek to understand, as we continue to work for equitable treatment of all students. There is plenty of work to be done, and I am excited to work with you as part of an association committed to equity, advocacy, and empowerment.
In solidarity,
Allison Snow
BEA President
Resolution – Adopted by the Representative Council June 11th, 2020
AS Black citizens are taking to the streets in cities throughout the United States to address the long history of anti-Blackness in policing and calling for resources to be re-allocated to support the health and safety of their communities, and
WHEREAS we recognize that we participate in and perpetuate the school-to-prison pipeline and other expressions of institutional racism through our biases, our curriculum, our pedagogy, and our discipline policies, and that we continue to harm Black students and families when we do not act to dismantle institutional racism, and
WHEREAS the BEA Representative Council adopted an Equity Resolution on November 15, 2018 that outlines our commitment to educators and students of color, and
WHEREAS the BEA Representative Council adopted a Resolution to Support the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, as well as the goals of the national Black Lives Matter at School movement, specifically, to "Prioritize placement of counselors, not cops in K-12 schools",
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the BEA Representative Council follows the lead of unions in Seattle and Tacoma and endorses the demands to end the placement of SROs in our schools, reallocate city and district resources from the SRO program to wrap-around services for students, and to repeal legislation and policy allowing the interrogation of students by police in our schools. BEA will issue a statement announcing these demands and communicate these demands to all BEA members through email, text, social media, and the BEA website.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the BEA Representative Council endorses, and encourages teachers to participate in, the STATEWIDE AND GENERAL STRIKE ON FRIDAY, JUNE 12TH, 2020, 2:00 PM at Judkins Park organized by Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County. If members cannot participate in the march or strike, they should participate in other actions to affirm that Black lives matter.
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The Bellevue Education Association is a professional association and union that serves as an advocate for its members and empowers the individuals it represents. It promotes positive educational working environments, safeguards members' rights, informs and works with the extended community, provides representation on educational issues and acts to obtain the resources necessary to insure excellence in public education.
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