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January Update
The Jefferson Parish School Board recently implemented a Biometrics finger-swipe sign-in/sign-out process for employees to monitor employee attendance. Several JFT members have asked whether this is legal and have raised questions concerning privacy rights and possible data breaches.
Only four states that have passed laws governing use of biometrics in employment: Illinois, Texas and Washington. One additional state (New Hampshire) has passed a law governing biometrics used by their Department of Motor Vehicles. Louisiana has passed a law but it only applies to biometric data gathered from students, not employees.
Notice of Special Election
Kesler Camese-Jones retired on December 9, 2022. In accordance with Article VII, Section F of the JFT Constitution, the position of President will be declared vacant and an election will be held to fill the position of President for the remainder of Kesler’s term, which expires in June of 2024. Sandra Hauer (Executive Vice-President) will become Acting President.
IEP Data Entry Deadline Extended
Due to the outcry from hundreds of special education teachers, administrators, and parents the deadline to enter IEP data into the eSER system will be extended until the third week of January. This was announced by State Superintendent Cade Brumley during this morning's Senate Education Committee meeting. This is the second time that this deadline has been extended due to issues with the eSER system.
End of the Year Update
As the end of year draws near, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the JFT members for your ongoing support during this trying year. The success of JFT is based on the relationships we have built with our members over the years. Over this past year we have added new staff, Karen Riggleman (karen@jft.org) to represent our PSRPs. We have received overwhelming, positive feedback from our PSRPs in terms of having their own representative on staff at the office. JFT Staff is grateful for the opportunity to work with all members.
The Special Education Reporting System was Down Today
In September, LDOE extended the deadline for inputing data into the eSER system until December 16th because of glitches in the rollout of the new system. It has been over two months since these issues were raised with LDOE, BESE, and the Senate Education Committee, but the problems have only gotten worse. Three days before the deadline to enter data, the entire system went down.
Happy Holidays from your LFT Family!
As we approach the end of the year, with winter break right around the corner, we want to take a moment to thank you for your tireless devotion to your students. Louisiana’s teachers and school employees, our members, are some of the most hard working and selfless people on the planet, but you shouldn’t have to sacrifice your well-being to be an effective educator. That is why we come together to fight for dignity and professionalism for teachers and support staff in schools. We want to make sure that your love for your students isn’t overshadowed by the day-to-day minutia of tiresome meetings, paperwork, and uninspiring curriculum. You are a creative and dynamic educator and you should be treated as such. Thank you for coming together with your colleagues so that together we can fight for this profession and our students.
Whether you are counting down the days until break, or you can’t believe how much you still need to do before the end of the year (or both), now is a time to look back at some of our collective highlights.