| SEARCH OnWEAC |
|---|
Update: The Senate on Wednesday (March 12, 2008) was set to take up SB 251, as amended. View the WEAC testimony in favor of the amended bill.
Education Support Professionals Lily Ramos, Sandra Nemec and Elaine Hoffer testified in favor of a bill that affords authority and respect to ESPs statewide.
Education support professionals are relied upon daily to keep schools safe, and they should be afforded the authority and respect they deserve, three ESPs testified Thursday (February 21, 2008) at a state Senate Education Committee hearing in Madison.
Current law gives a teacher the authority to remove a pupil from the classroom if the pupil violates a locally developed code of conduct; is dangerous, unruly or disruptive; or exhibits behavior that interferes with the teacher's ability to teach effectively. Senate Bill 251 would extend the same authority to teacher aides in the school setting and at school-sponsored activities held on school grounds.
“Educational Support Professionals are becoming more important in the learning environment as budgets get cut and the educational process needs to be maintained,” said Sandra Nemec, an ESP in the Somerset School District for 21 years and president of the Somerset support staff local. “Support professionals are able to supervise students so that teachers can teach and also help students by giving students individualized attention.”
Lily Ramos, a teaching assistant in the Racine Unified School District for 18 years and president of the Racine Education Assistant Association, urged the committee to support the bill. “By saying only teachers have the authority to send students to the office for not complying with the student conduct rules, a message is sent that the students only have to listen to teachers when told to follow the rules,” she said. “Students need to know that the rules apply everywhere on school grounds no matter who is watching them.”
Elaine Hoffer, a para-educator in the Middleton Cross Plains School District and past president of the Middleton Educational Support Association, agreed. “There was a time when most para-educators spent their day making copies or putting up bulletin boards for the teachers. This is not the case anymore,” she said. “We are expected to deal with unruly children, discipline and intervene in delicate situations. We now do before- and after-school supervision with no teacher assistance.
“We need to know that we will be supported by the school district when situations arise in which we are needed to keep school safe and orderly,” Hoffer continued. “We need to know that we can send a disruptive or dangerous student to the principal and be supported in that decision.”
Committee Chairman John Lehman said he supports the bill. “For students to succeed, our schools must first and foremost be safe and secure,” he said. “It sends a clear message that all school personnel are working together to help our schools run smoothly.”
In other business, the committee accepted testimony on bills:
The committee also supported the appointment of James Juergensen of Mequon as a member of the Professional Standards Council for Teachers, to serve for the term ending June 30, 2010.
Related link
Giving ESP authority to remove students makes schools safer, Assembly committee told [9/25/07]
Posted February 22, 2008