News and Advocacy

The Promise of a New School Year

A message from CPAA President Banks

Pam Farrell: Championing the Arts and Her Members

Pam says of AFSA, "As soon as we met the team, we knew we had found a home. They have been so instrumental as a resource and a feeling that we are not alone. As AFSA 151, we are part of a larger union family, and that means a lot when you are doing this work.”

NYC Council to Take Up AFSA’s Call for National School Safety Task Force

Resolution to be introduced Sept. 10 calls on Congress and the President to act as new research highlights threats facing school leaders responsible for keeping students and staff safe.

New Law: NY Teachers Can't Carry Guns in Schools

NY educational institutions can't issue written authorization to carry a gun to any teacher or administrator.

School Panic Button Legislation Introduced in Congress

In New Jersey, AFSA members helped push school panic buttons in the state legislature. Now the idea is moving toward federal legislation.

AFSA Member Robert Motley Selected President-elect of NASSP

Maryland Principal Motley of Atholton High School and Local 36, Howard County Administrators Association, is the first union member to be elected to the position.

House Approves Minimum Wage Hike

Workers across the nation cheered as the Democratic-run U.S. House voted to raise the U.S. minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025.

The 231–199 vote, virtually along party lines, presages a tougher struggle in the GOP-run Senate, where Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is completely hostile to raising the wage—or supporting any other progressive legislation the House sends him.

Eugene Scalia—Late Justice's Son—Named to Head DOL

GOP President Donald Trump has nominated right-wing lawyer Antonin—whoops, Eugene—Scalia to be secretary of labor. If confirmed, he would succeed Alexander Acosta, who was forced to resign.

Eugene Scalia is best identified as a son of the late and conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. But Eugene Scalia has spent his career advocating big business causes and cases, both before and after a brief temporary stint as DOL’s solicitor, its top attorney.

How Federal Policy Can Better Support Teachers and School Leaders

Is Title II effective? The debate is going on.