If we had a teacher lobby

Technically, we already have a teacher lobby. It’s called the teachers’ union. 

News outlets will often write headlines saying things like, “Arizona teachers call for raises for all school employees,” when the subject of the story is the Arizona Education Association (AEA), the largest teachers’ union in the state.

The problem is that the AEA doesn’t strictly focus on what’s good for classroom teachers. Their perspective is much broader. According to their self-description:

The Arizona Education Association (AEA) is more than 20,000 people—educators, students, activists, workers, parents, neighbors, friends—who believe in opportunity for all students and in the power of public education to transform lives and create a more just and inclusive society.

Politically, the AEA is aligned with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. In a state where the legislature is historically dominated by Republicans, this puts the teacher lobby at a disadvantage. There is a pattern where the AEA reflexively opposes Republican ideas for increasing teacher pay, the rationale being that, because the entire school system needs more funding, any targeted salary improvements would be putting a band-aid on the real problem. The best solution for what teachers need, according to AEA, is for Democrats to control state government.

The union represents only a fraction of classroom teachers in Arizona. A representative and nonpartisan teacher lobby would hold a different set of priorities.

In 2018, a grassroots, teacher-led movement called #RedforEd caught fire in Arizona. The hype was that this group was organizing independently of the teachers’ union, and was therefore a more authentic representation of ordinary teachers.

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In the beginning, I took part in the #RedforEd movement by helping to organize charter school educators. After movement leaders reacted bitterly to Gov. Ducey’s proposal for 20% teacher raises and launched a walkout without endgame, I became a critic of the movement’s partisan politics.

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The problem was that the leaders of #RedforEd were not operating independently of the teachers’ union. The political strategy was directed in tandem with AEA.

A lot of people forget that #RedforEd leaders initiated the walkout in response to Governor Ducey proposing 20% teacher raises. The momentum of the movement did cause the governor to propose the raises, that’s true. But the walkout itself — which closed down 1,000 schools at its peak and lasted six days — didn’t accomplish anything additional to what the governor had already proposed. Movement leaders framed the walkout as being a rejection of Ducey’s plan. They wanted a plan that would raise more tax revenue and spend more on overall school funding. 

Ordinary teachers had nothing to do with the “Invest in Ed” ballot initiative. The progressive tax initiative was unveiled like magic during the 2018 walkout. 

Today, the hashtag #RedforEd is a trademarked slogan for the national teachers’ union. The Facebook pages where teachers once communicated have gone dormant. The political influence of ordinary teachers is nothing but a vague memory. 

So anyway, I don’t think we have an authentic teacher lobby in Arizona. If we did, here is how I think it would advocate:

Applaud proposals to boost teacher pay

Even if the proposal is made by a Republican. Representative Matt Gress (R), who previously worked as the budget director for Gov. Ducey, has developed a “pay teachers first” plan that would give teachers a $10,000 raise. This would be a good thing for teachers. At the very least, Gress should be thanked for his efforts, and we should take him at his word that he wants to increase teacher pay. Of course, the details matter, we want to consider the overall structure of school funding, and we want competitive pay for all school employees. But teachers should applaud the fact that there is bipartisan agreement that our profession should be well-paid.

Advocate for deregulation 

If we have universal school choice in Arizona, can’t we agree to stop stacking mandates onto public school teachers? We already have state standards and required courses in the public schools. We have a system that grades public schools on a scale of A-F. On top of that, we have a requirement to administer a particular civics test. And we have multiple state laws that require specific topics to be taught, even though the specific topics are already included in the state standards. (In practice, these duplicative mandates simply require school employees to fill out more paperwork.) Here’s a proposal: any future mandates on public schools should apply equally to private schools receiving vouchers for funding. If this stipulation would put an end to a regulation, what does that tell you about the regulation? 

Push for standardized testing reform 

I read an article in the newspaper the other day about our system of standardized testing here in Arizona. The ACT is the state test for high schoolers. The current debate is whether to make “passing” the ACT a requirement for high school graduation. Here’s the thing, though. Everyone admits that the ACT does not measure how well students are learning the state standards. Let me repeat that: The test we are currently using to grade public school performance in Arizona does not measure the state standards. This is ridiculous. Teachers are supposed to be focused on a test that nobody even pretends is an assessment of the subjects they teach? Really? The ACT is a college aptitude test. It doesn't measure the state standards. This basic reality should cause us to ditch the test. Instead, we are going to get a bunch of politicians this summer talking about how poorly our public schools are doing because half the students scored below average on a normed college aptitude test.

 Ok, the teachers’ union is on the mark with this one:

Talk about school culture and student discipline

One of the main disconnects between progressive Democrats and ordinary teachers is that most teachers want their schools to consistently enforce student discipline. There is a Republican bill S.B. 1459 that would penalize schools two letter grades if disciplinary action is implemented in fewer than 75% of the school’s disciplinary referrals. I don’t think micromanagement is the best solution to this issue, but some Democrats act like the whole concern is a non-issue. In reality, I bet this is one of the biggest factors causing teachers to become demoralized and quit. It's also important to note that students would similarly benefit from safer, more disciplined, and more predictable schools. This is not an easy fix. Teachers, administrators, and parents all play a role. We can frame the issue positively by talking about building positive school culture. We can brainstorm solutions and best practices at the local level. But a productive conversation starts with admitting that this is a real concern for teachers and students across the state.  

Stay neutral on school choice

Not because the issue doesn’t matter, but because there are already strong advocacy groups fighting over ESAs. The constant debate about school choice sucks the oxygen out of important issues that affect the quality of teaching and learning in Arizona. A teacher lobby would be focused on these issues.

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