Clay Teacher Union May Not Survive New Recertification Law

The Clay County Education Association claims to represent all teachers in Clay County. A new law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis will put that notion to the test.

Senate Bill 1296 (SB 1296) requires that public-sector unions re-certify by a vote, and that a majority of all employees they claim to represent must vote to keep the union. Prior to this law, unions were required to re-certify by a majority vote of their dues-paying members to remain in existence.

The proposal passed through the Florida legislature earlier this year. Since then, Clay’s local teachers’ union, the Clay County Education Association (CCEA), has mounted an email, text message, and social media campaign urging its members to recruit new members and get non-members to vote in favor of the union.

A sense of urgency pervades the Union’s posts, as many inside and outside the organization believe it will not survive the new recertification process.

CCEA has been struggling to survive in recent years. Clay County is a majority-Republican county, and the school district reflects that political reality. The majority of teachers and staff in our local schools are Republicans.

The leadership of CCEA is overwhelmingly Democratic. Additionally, a large portion of the union dues paid by local teachers is sent to the Florida Education Association (FEA) and the National Education Association (NEA).

The FEA and NEA are notoriously progressive organizations, and the money they raise through union dues is funneled into advocacy and activism for a wide range of leftist initiatives.

Here’s a list of just a few times the FEA and NEA have advocated for leftist ideas, candidates, or policies:

• FEA endorsed Charlie Crist for Governor in 2014

• Opposition to laws prohibiting sexually inappropriate education in elementary schools

• DEI & LGBT Advocacy

• Supporting school candidates who oppose education reform efforts

The money the Unions spend is overwhelmingly on progressive causes. A Defending Education report found that the NEA and AFT, combined, have given over $669 million to left-wing political entities, far-left nonprofits, school board campaigns, and opponents of school choice since 2015.

According to InfluenceWatch, the NEA’s PACs contributed nearly $143.5 million to federal candidates and committees — 97% of which supported Democrats and liberals — from 1990 through 2019.

But the issues with the union aren’t just at the state and federal levels. CCEA itself has exhibited biased behavior both towards school board candidates it opposed and teachers within local schools.

Clay News & Views (CNV) spoke with teachers throughout the county over the past two years, who recounted instances in which union stewards in schools failed to fully support teachers whom the stewards knew to be Republicans or conservatives.

Several teachers had similar experiences with CCEA President Vicki Kidwell, including one who accused Kidwell of harassing teachers in a school breakroom who refused to sign up for the union.

Caught Between Progressives And Bad Leadership

The issues with the local, state, and federal unions raise the question: Why would any Republican or conservative teachers in Clay County join the union?

The answer is simple: the toxic leadership and environments that teachers face in Clay County Schools. If nothing else, union dues come with guaranteed legal advice and support for teachers if they are falsely accused of wrongdoing by their administrators or the school district.

Clay County Superintendent David Broskie and the School Board have put on a full-court press to craft an image of a school district that is thriving in every capacity.

Graduation rates, survey results, school events, and more are featured on the district's and its associated schools' social media feeds. A carefully crafted veneer of perfection is presented to the public, all the while, many teachers inside the schools paint a different picture.

Per the teachers in the county, the main issue they face is a lack of support when facing disruptive, disrespectful, and sometimes violent behavior in the classroom and on campuses.

In 2017, the Clay County School District implemented a system called Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). The system is advertised as a simple, positive way for schools to help students behave better and feel happier at school.

Instead of mostly punishing kids when they do something wrong, PBIS focuses on teaching everyone the right behaviors from the start. Teachers clearly explain what they expect—such as being respectful, responsible, and safe—and then notice and reward students when they do so well.

This is supposed to create a kinder, calmer school environment where students know what’s expected and feel supported.

In practice, the system often fails to live up to these promises. PBIS has consistently failed to reduce suspensions and instances of violence in schools, failed to sustain improvements in behavior and academic performance over time, and led to unfair outcomes and manipulation.

All of those things and more are happening in Clay County schools. The reality of the PBIS system is an environment that becomes soft on bad behaviors and overlooks students who follow the rules and behave properly.

While supporting students who struggle to behave and adapt to the rules, PBIS ends up creating excuses for the behavior. Rather than teach students to strive to meet expectations despite their circumstances, students are able to avoid consequences for negative choices.

One local junior high recently faced mounting behavior issues with incoming 6th graders. All the students whose behavior was out of control came from the same elementary school. Leaders at the junior high called a meeting with the elementary school’s administrators to determine why their students couldn’t follow basic rules and were struggling to adapt to the junior high's structure.

This elementary school is just one example of the PBIS system run amok in Clay County Schools. The failed incentive structure, coupled with the Superintendent’s emphasis on positive optics, has led to schools where unruly students and parents dominate the school’s time, attention, and resources at the expense of the other students who actually want to learn.

And while there are schools wherein the administrators support teachers and unruly behaviors are managed properly, there are enough toxic environments within the schools to push teachers with conservative political leanings into the open arms of a leftist union.

What The Future Holds

Constitutional concerns were raised at SB 1296 during the legislative process. A Florida Senate staff analysis warned that the bill poses several constitutional concerns.

Specifically, it could infringe on workers' collective bargaining rights enshrined in the state Constitution, run afoul of the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause, and implicate free speech rights.

One Democratic senator described it as an "unconstitutional trainwreck." The analysis also flagged a possible violation of Florida's single-subject rule.

While a legal challenge to the law is likely, no suit has been filed yet. This leaves CCEA in full panic mode to remain in existence, and teachers are left to wonder where to turn for support if the union is decertified.