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Teacher Battling Cancer Forced by CA Law to Pay for the Cost of a Substitute While on Sick Leave

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2 years ago

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  • A second-grade teacher at an Elementary school in San Fransisco is battling breast cancer and is on sick leave for the remainder of the year.
  • Parents were outraged when they learned that the daily cost of a substitute teacher was coming from her paycheck.
  • California laws allow for the cost of a substitute to be deducted from a teachers paycheck when the teacher takes extended sick leave.

California Teachers & Sick Leave

A second-grade teacher in San Francisco, who is battling cancer and on sick leave for the remainder of the school year, has part of her paycheck deducted to cover the cost of the substitute teacher for her class.

The school, Glen Park Elementary, allows for teachers to take ten paid sick days a year. If more days are needed after the initial ten, teachers can take a sick leave of up to 100 days, but that is when the cost of a substitute becomes their responsibility. While the amount of paid sick days vary among school districts, incurring the cost of a substitute is a statewide law.

Glen Park Elementary. Source: Google Maps

This law has been in effect since 1976 but is not well known and caused widespread outrage when the news first broke. According to the San Francisco Chronical, the cost of a substitute teacher in San Francisco can be anywhere from $174.66 to $240.26 a day.

Parents of the second-grade class started a GoFundMe to help their children’s teacher. According to local reports, the goal of the fundraiser was $10,000 to offset the cost of her medical expenses, loss of income, and the substitute teacher’s pay. The GoFundMe has since been closed and raised over $13,000.

Teachers Battle for Rights

In California, teachers are not covered by Social Security, meaning they do not pay into specific programs like state disability insurance. This, in turn, makes it legal for the state to require a deduction for the cost of a substitute, even if one is not hired to cover the absent teacher’s class.

Originally, all state employees were left out of the 1935 Social Security Act. When the act was amended in the 1950s, many states chose to extend Social Security coverage to state workers, while the rest implemented state pension plans. The pension plan was an attractive alternative years ago when states believed they could provide better care, but that is no longer the case. A 2017 study found that for a teacher’s pension to be worth more than their own contribution, they have to teach for an average of 25 years.  

“That means teachers…must wait at least two-and-a-half decades before their retirement benefit is worth more than what they’ve put in themselves,” the study showed.  

Source: Thomas B. Fordham Institute

New teachers have expressed how hard it is to become eligible for their school districts pension plans. TeacherPensions.org explains that states tend to set a required minimum of five to ten years of service before they qualify for retirement benefits. This leaves over 50 percent of teachers without a pension and adds to the years they must work for a secure future.  

There are 15 states, including California, where public employees are still not covered by Social Security. The former Governor of California, Jerry Brown, has previously stated his support for school districts to participate in the State Disability Insurance program.

Responses

The president of the California Teachers Association, Eric Heins, says that for years this has been the norm for teachers and they just accept it.

“What it really is, is a reflection of how financially strapped the system has been for so long,” Heins told the Washington Post.

However, some government officials say they did not even know of the law until the story broke.

“I just learned of this issue, and it seems kind of outrageous,” State Senator Connie Leyva told NBC LA. “Candidly, I think the times have changed, and now it’s our job to change with the times.”

In addition to the GoFundMe for the teacher in San Francisco, her students have planned to host bake sales to help with future costs.  

See what others are saying: (Business Insider) (Yahoo News) (BBC)

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New COVID-19 Variant Could Become Dominant in the U.S. by March, CDC Warns

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22 hours ago

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January 15, 2021

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  • The CDC warned Friday that a new highly transmissible COVID-19 variant could become the predominant variant in the United States by March.
  • The strain was first reported in the United Kingdom in December and is now in at least 10 states.
  • The CDC used a modeled trajectory to discover how quickly the variant could spread in the U.S. and said that this could threaten the country’s already overwhelmed healthcare system.

CDC Issues Warning

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Friday that the new COVID-19 variant could become the predominant variant in the United States by March.

While it is not known to be more deadly, it does spread at a higher rate, which is troubling considering the condition the U.S. is already in. Cases and deaths are already on the rise in nearly every state and globally, 2 million lives have been lost to the coronavirus. 

The variant was first reported in the United Kingdom in mid-December. It is now in 30 countries, including the U.S., where cases have been located in at least ten states. Right now, only 76 cases of this variant have been confirmed in the U.S., but experts believe that number is likely much higher and said it will increase significantly in the coming weeks. It is already a dominant strain in parts of the U.K.

Modeled trajectory shows that growth in the U.S. could be so fast that it dominates U.S. cases just three months into the new year. This could pose a huge threat to our already strained healthcare system.

Mitigating Spread of Variant

“I want to stress that we are deeply concerned that this strain is more transmissible and can accelerate outbreaks in the U.S. in the coming weeks,” said Dr. Jay Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the CDC told the New York Times. “We’re sounding the alarm and urging people to realize the pandemic is not over and in no way is it time to throw in the towel.”

The CDC advises that health officials use this time to limit spread and increase vaccination as much as possible in order to mitigate the impact this variant will have. Experts believe that current vaccines will protect against this strain.

“Effective public health measures, including vaccination, physical distancing, use of masks, hand hygiene, and isolation and quarantine, will be essential,” the CDC said in their report.

“Strategic testing of persons without symptoms but at higher risk of infection, such as those exposed to SARS-CoV-2 or who have frequent unavoidable contact with the public, provides another opportunity to limit ongoing spread.”

See what others are saying: (Wall Street Journal) (New York Times) (NBC News)

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Former Michigan Gov. and 8 Others Charged Over Flint Water Crisis

Published

2 days ago

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January 14, 2021

By

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. (Al Goldis/AP)

  • Ex-Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder was charged with two counts of willful neglect of duty Wednesday for his role in the Flint water crisis
  • By Thursday, eight more former state and city officials were charged with crimes ranging from involuntary manslaughter to extortion.
  • Flint residents have long awaited this news. In 2019, prosecutors dropped all criminal charges against 15 officials and said they would start the investigation from scratch, citing concerns about how the special counsel had conducted its probe.

Rick Snyder Charges

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office said Thursday that it had filed 41 charges against nine former state and city officials for their role in the Flint water crisis.

The most high-profile figure to be charged was former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. On Wednesday, he was hit with two counts of willful neglect of duty.

He was the state’s top executive when local officials decided to switch the city’s drinking water source to the Flint River in 2014.

The switch was supposed to be a temporary cost-saving measure while a pipeline was being built to Lake Huron. However, the water wasn’t treated properly for corrosion, so lead-contaminated water was released into the homes of people all over the city. Because of that, 12 people died and at least 90 were sickened with Legionnaires’ disease.

Snyder appeared in court this morning via Zoom, pleading not guilty to the two misdemeanor charges. If convicted he could face up to a year in prison and as much as a $1,000 fine.

His charges alone are significant because they make him the first governor or former governor in the state to ever be charged with a crime for alleged conduct while in office.

8 Others Charged

Along with Snyder, eight others were charged, including a former state health director Nick Lyon. Lyon received nine charges of involuntary manslaughter, among others.

Richard Baird, one of Snyder’s closes advisors was changed for extortion, perjury, and obstructions of justice. Others who were charged include:

  • Jarrod Agen, Snyder’s former chief of staff and Vice President Mike Pence’s former communications director.
  • Dr. Eden Wells, a former chief medical executive for the state Department of Health and Human Services. 
  • Darnell Earley, former Flint finance director and state-appointed emergency manager.
  • Gerald Ambrose, former state-appointed emergency manager.
  • Howard Croft, former Flint Public Works Director.
  • Nancy Peeler, the state’s director of maternal, infant and early childhood home visiting for the health department.

Flint residents have waited a long time for justice over the water contamination issue. Prosecutors previously dropped all 15 criminal charges tied to the Flint case in 2019 and said the investigation would begin again from scratch.

At the time, they cited concerns about how the special counsel had conducted its probe.

It also wasn’t until last year that the state reached a $600 million settlement with victims, establishing a fund from which residents can file for compensation.

See what others are saying: (NPR) (The Detroit News) (Detroit Free Press)

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Three Lawmakers Test Positive for COVID-19 Following Capitol Attack

Published

4 days ago

on

January 12, 2021

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  • At least three Congressmembers have tested positive for COVID-19 following Wednesday’s pro-Trump attack on the Capitol. 
  • Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) believe they contracted the virus after locking down in close quarters with numerous Republican lawmakers who refused to wear masks.
  • Jayapal and Schneider are calling for those who did not wear a mask to face consequences.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman Tests Positive

At least three members of Congress have tested positive for COVID-19 after locking down in close quarters with other House members during Wednesday’s pro-Trump attack on the Capitol. 

Congress’ attending physician, Brian Monahan, warned that members may have been exposed during the lockdown. He recommended that everyone who was isolated inside should get tested for the virus. 

On Monday Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) became the first to announce that she tested positive. Watson Coleman believes she was exposed while in the Capitol lockdown. In her statement, she cited the multiple Republicans who refused to wear masks while inside. Video footage from Punchbowl News shows a Democratic lawmaker handing out masks and a handful of Republicans declining to take one. 

Watson Coleman is a 75-year-old lung cancer survivor. While she said she is only experiencing cold-like symptoms, she tweeted that per a doctor’s suggestion, she headed to a local hospital for antibody treatment. She also encouraged those who sheltered in place to get tested. 

More Cases Follow

Later on Monday, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said she too had tested positive, also blaming a lack of mask-wearing in the Capitol. In a lengthy Twitter thread, she said Republicans created a superspreader event and demanded consequences for their actions. 

“Many Republicans still refused to take the bare minimum COVID-19 precaution and simply wear a damn mask in a crowded room during a pandemic—creating a superspreader event ON TOP of a domestic terrorist attack,” she wrote. 

“Any Member who refuses to wear a mask should be fully held accountable,” Jayapal added. 

“I’m calling for every single Member who refuses to wear a mask in the Capitol to be fined and removed from the floor by the Sergeant at Arms.”

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) echoed her frustrations on Tuesday after releasing a statement saying he has become the third House member to have tested positive following the lockdown. 

“Today, I am now in strict isolation, worried that I have risked my wife’s health and angry at the selfishness and arrogance of the anti-maskers who put their own contempt and disregard for decency ahead of the health and safety of their colleagues and our staff,” he wrote.

Like Jayapal, he is calling for sanctions against those who opted to not wear masks. 

Many health officials feared that this lockdown could lead to a surge in cases. They also worry that the mob itself could lead to a superspreader event as most of those who attacked the Capitol were not wearing masks and were crowding together both inside and outside of the building.

See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (NPR) (NBC Chicago)

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