ATA Weekly
May 30th, 2025
President's Message
As we conclude another school year, I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations to each of you for your remarkable ability to navigate the challenges and uncertainties we encountered with such grace, patience, and determination.
At this juncture, it is important to turn our attention to personal well-being. I encourage you all to take the necessary time to rest, recharge, and invest in self-care. This is not just a luxury; it is a fundamental aspect of sustaining the vital work we do together.
Looking ahead to the next school year, your voices and strengths will be more crucial than ever. I urge you to stay connected and informed, and to continue taking pride in the exceptional efforts you put forth.
Thank you for your unwavering dedication and commitment. Wishing you a safe, restful, and restorative summer.
In solidarity,
Ralph Hernandez
Enriching Experiences at the CTA New Educator Conference
Attending the CTA New Educator conference was an amazing experience! First of all, being able to meet and talk with other new educators was nice and reaffirming as we were able to relate in many different ways. Additionally, the workshops were also very enriching and informative especially the workshops that dealt with AI and backwards planning in particular as that’s a strategy I began practicing this year with our instructional coach. I am confident that what I have learned through professional developments like these will help me support my students in even greater ways. I highly encourage ATA members to take advantage of these enriching opportunities provided to us !
Thanks again for your continued support!
Jessica Bañuelos
Summer Benefit for CTA Members Enrolled in CTA-endorsed Disability Insurance
This exclusive benefit gives CTA members enrolled in CTA-endorsed Disability insurance extra protection during the months of June and July - even if they're not scheduled to work! It pays $500 a week to members enrolled in CTA-endorsed Voluntary Disability who become or continue to become Disabled during those months.
Summer Benefit Highlights
- Included at no additional cost for CTA members enrolled in
- CTA-endorsed Disability insurance.
- Members must meet the definition of Disability any time between June 1 and July 31 of any benefit year for Disabilities occurring on or after September 1, 2022.
- No benefit waiting period.
- That's it! It's summer and things should be easy!
Treasurer’s Report
The financial reports for the period ending March 31, 2025, are attached. The reports are unaudited but represent all transactions processed through March 31. Comments regarding the specific reports follow.
Active Membership and FDE – FDE (full dues equivalents) are 274,752 as of March 31, 2025. While the Active Members & FDE graphs on page 2 display a downward trend post-Janus and during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a slow uptick in membership. We continue to cautiously monitor our FDE and dues funding.
Note: The increase/decrease in members in any month may not correlate (one-to-one) with the FDE increase/decrease due to the impact of full-time and various part-time categories in calculating FDE.
Statement of Financial Position – CTA’s financial condition remains strong. Prudently managing our finances would prepare us for the challenges facing our students, our members, and public education.
Summary of Income/Expense – CTA is operating within budgeted guidelines for the seven months ending March 31, 2025.
Informational Financial Topic – CTA Annual Budget Process The CTA budget process creates a financial roadmap that takes CTA’s goals and objectives into consideration.
CTA’s Budget Committee is advisory to the Board of Directors and comprises of members from each of the directorial districts. The Committee is charged with developing the annual budget, holding forums and hearings, providing a survey for membership participation in the budget process, making recommendations, reviewing policy matters referred by the Board, and reviewing the Association’s fiscal status.
The Budget Committee meets at each State Council meeting and has three subcommittees:
Budget Tracking is responsible for monitoring actual expenses to budget.
Interim Issues is responsible for reviewing policy issues, such as NBIs, and other matters.
Procedures and Format is responsible for committee logistics (e.g., budget calendar, forums, member survey, and committee orientation).
Each year, the budget cycle begins with budget forums for sharing information and receiving feedback from members. Budget forums are held at the Presidents Conference in July and at certain statewide events and Service Center Council meetings. Budget hearings are also held at the October and January State Council meetings wherein members can share their requests with the Budget Committee. The member survey is another channel for members to provide input to the budget committee. The 2026-2027 budget survey will have soft launches at the NEA RA and Summer Institute and will officially launch at the 2025 Presidents Conference.
In January, the Budget Committee holds a Managers Budget hearing wherein CTA department budget proposals are presented to the Budget Committee and the CTA Executive Director. The hearing provides background information regarding departmental goals and objectives for the year ahead. Managers evaluate their areas of responsibility and propose their budget, considering the economic environment and allocation of resources available, to maximize member benefit. Budget Committee members ask questions of the managers to assist with their effort toward understanding and balancing the budget.
In March, the CTA Executive Director makes a budget recommendation to the Budget Committee after evaluating budget proposals from the Managers Budget hearing. The Budget Committee balances the budget and makes a recommendation to the CTA Board for approval, which is subsequently presented to State Council for adoption.
At their April meeting, the CTA Board approved a balanced budget for 2025-2026 based on the Committee’s recommendation. The budget will be presented to CTA State Council for a vote in June. The proposed dues increase is $42 for 2025-2026. The dues increase is based on the change in average statewide teacher salary for the three years preceding the budget adoption year.
Institute for Teaching Report
2025 Grant Application Cycle : What’s Next?
The work of evaluating this year’s record-breaking IFT Grant applications has officially begun. The grant selection process follows a structured timeline to ensure fairness and transparency:
May 9–27, 2025: The IFT Grant Selection Committee, made up of past IFT grant recipients, will thoroughly review all submitted applications and prepare their funding recommendations for the IFT Board.
June 18, 2025: The IFT Board will convene to vote on the committee’s recommendations and finalize the funding decisions.
July 2025: Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their applications.
August 2025: Approved grants will be officially disbursed to recipients.
IFT K-12 Funding Research Underway
With support from a grant by the Hewlett Foundation, IFT has launched a research and stakeholder engagement initiative to identify practical policy solutions for improving public education funding in California. As part of this effort, IFT regranted a portion of the grant funding to the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive, union-aligned think tank known for its work on labor and economic justice, to serve as a research partner.
This collaboration began with a small initial focus group of union representatives and will expand over time to include local member leaders, rank-and-file educators, principals, parents, school board members, and other key actors in the education space.
Working with EPI and Hewlett not only brings credibility and influence to the project but also strengthens IFT’s position for future fundraising and development efforts—which will be in addition to the critical funding IFT receives from the CTA Foundation. This work aligns with Hewlett’s goal of transforming education systems to better serve all students.
The final research report is slated for release in spring 2026.
Advocacy on Education and Supporting Local Chapters
Local Chapter Highlights
Bayshore TA Picketed school board in negotiations fight for higher compensation.
Fremont Unified District TA continued to organize their members and community in conjunction with their strike build up and settlement. A community letter campaign sent out over 750 letters to each school board member and the superintendent in less than 72 hours. After a two-hour rally at the district office with over 500 members, a disappointed FUDTA leadership announced that a settlement had been reached. FUDTA increased their social media reach by 200 Instagram followers, and multiple posts reaching thousands of viewers during the last two months of their campaign.
Middletown TA overwhelmingly voted to authorize a potential strike if necessary, for the first time in the history of their local.
Natomas TA held May Day pickets at every school to amplify their current contract campaign.
Grossmont EA is fighting back against layoffs and program cuts. Hundreds of members and community supporters mobilized for a school board action on April 24.
Plumas County TA has worked on developing internal messaging with their members to combat layoffs and a potential state receivership. After the chapter did some internal work on messaging, the district announced their decision.
San Diego Education Association (SDEA) launched city-wide rallies to demand a fair contract and for more state funding as part of the We Can’t Wait campaign.
Santa Ana Educators Association (SAEA) continued to fight against layoffs and to organize to apply pressure to SAUSD at their RIF hearing during the week of April 14.
Southwestern Teachers Association (SWTA) is fighting for a fair contract and against cuts and closures. Members held a rally on April 30 to pressure the district to settle and stop its harmful school closure plan.
Twin Rivers United Educators held May Day events at every school, leafleting the community about their We Can’t Wait contract campaign.
United Teachers of Pasadena is mobilizing for the May 22 PUSD Board of Education meeting and will be circulating this petition to membership and the public, as well as presenting it at the meeting.
Legal Report
CASES OF CTA AND ITS LOCALS
1. The California Supreme Court Declines to Take Up Lower Court Decision Holding that Alliance Was Engaged in Government Speech When It Deterred and Discouraged Its Employees from Unionizing with UTLA. Alliance Marc & Eva Stern Math & Science High School, et al. v. Public Employment Relations Board (Court of Appeal published decision, December 26, 2024, Case No. B316745). The California Supreme Court has declined to review a Court of Appeal decision finding that the Alliance charter schools had violated Government Code Section 3550, also known as the Prohibition on Public Employers Deterring or Discouraging Union Membership (PEDD).
This important case has had a long history. When United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) was deep in its efforts to organize a union at Alliance charter schools, Alliance agents sent various anti-UTLA communications to employees. UTLA filed charges against Alliance at PERB, seeking to hold Alliance liable for violating the PEDD. UTLA prevailed at PERB. Alliance then appealed to the California Court of Appeal. The Second District Court of Appeal initially dismissed the Alliance schools’ appeal from the PERB decision finding that their anti-union communications violated Section 3550. That decision was brief and did not give a detailed rationale. When Alliance then appealed to the California Supreme Court, the California Supreme Court directed the Court of Appeal to issue a detailed decision. On remand, the Court of Appeal did issue a detailed decision. First, the court held that public charter schools are not public school districts for all purposes, and that nothing in the statutory scheme indicates that they are prohibited from asserting constitutional claims against the state. In doing so, the Court noted that for taxation purposes and for the purposes of “public immunities,” charter schools are generally not treated as “political subdivisions” of the state. Even though the schools were not political subdivisions of the state, the Court of Appeal determined that they were engaged in government speech when deterring and discouraging unionization because the Alliance schools had declared themselves the “public school employer,” and therefore are bound to convey the state’s message regarding labor relations and to comply with the PEDD. The Court thus held that Alliance’s free speech claims failed, as they did not involve private speech. Alliance also argued that the principals’ emails were sent in their capacity as individuals, not in their role as agents of the schools. This distinction was also used by Alliance to claim that Government Code Section 3550 infringes on administrators’ ability to speak as private citizens, and on the charter management organization’s (CMO) right to speak as a private corporation.
The Court of Appeal dismissed these related claims, noting that the emails’ content related to things like employee retention and administering the school under a union contract, which are or would be part of a principal’s official duties. The court also analyzed the management service agreements between the CMO and the school, finding that the CMOs are contracted to provide human resources and employee relations services. The CMOs’ communications were therefore within their role as agents for the schools.
The Court of Appeal’s decision is the first published state court case to uphold PERB’s interpretation of Government Code Section 3550, which prohibits public school employers from deterring or discouraging employees from becoming union members, authorizing union representation, or signing up for dues deduction. PERB has held that any employer action that "tends to influence" employees in making decisions on those topics is not permitted unless the employer has a legitimate business justification for its action. Alliance, unhappy with yet another court loss, then petitioned the California Supreme Court to take up the case on the merits. UTLA opposed the petition on the grounds that PERB’s interpretation of the PEDD is reasonable and correct, and that the Court of Appeal correctly applied existing government speech caselaw. On April 18, 2025, the California Supreme Court denied Alliance’s petition for review. That ended this long-running case. UTLA was represented in the case by Michael Plank and Ira Gottlieb of Bush Gottlieb LLP. CTA and other unions submitted an amicus brief in the case in support of ULTA and PERB.
CASES OF INTEREST
1. New Hampshire Federal Court Grants Preliminary Injunction Blocking Enforcement of U.S. Department of Education’s DEI Restrictions. National Education Association, et al. v. U.S. Department of Education, et al., No. 1:25-cv-00091 (U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire, filed Mar. 5, 2025, Preliminary Injunction Order issued April 24, 2025). On April 24, 2025, Chief District Judge Landya B. McCafferty granted a preliminary injunction in NEA v. U.S. Department of Education, blocking the Department of Education from enforcing its February 2025 “Dear Colleague Letter,” related FAQ guidance, and associated EndDEI.Ed.Govportal and certification mandate. The ruling halts efforts to curtail DEI programs in federally funded schools pending resolution of the case on the merits.
2. Maryland Federal Court Reaches Similar Conclusion in AFT Lawsuit. American Federation of Teachers v. U.S. Department of Education, No. 1:25-cv-00628 (U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland filed Feb. 25, 2025, amended on March 5, 2025, Preliminary Injunction Order issued on April 24, 2025). Also on April 24, 2025, a federal judge in Maryland ruled in a similar lawsuit brought by the American Federation of Teachers, halting enforcement of the Department’s “Dear Colleague Letter” on DEI programs. The court found that the Department likely violated federal administrative law by issuing new, binding rules—particularly those affecting how race-related topics can be taught—without going through the legally required notice-and-comment process. The court emphasized that while the federal government has broad authority to enforce civil rights laws, it must do so through lawful procedures and cannot unilaterally redefine schools’ obligations. However, the court declined to block the Department’s separate certification requirement because the plaintiffs had not included that issue in their formal complaint. The ruling reinforces that the Department’s recent DEI guidance is on hold while both cases proceed through the courts.
3. Federal District Court Dismisses Challenge to SAFETY Act’s Privacy Protections for LGBTQ Students. Chino Valley Unified School District, et. al. v. Newsom, et al. (Eastern Dist. of Cal.). Case No. 2:24-cv-01941. Three Local Educational Agencies (Chino Valley USD, Anderson UHSD, and Orange County BOE) and several parents sought to invalidate the provision in California’s SAFETY Act (AB 1955) that prohibits LEA’s from adopting policies requiring educators to share information regarding a student’s LGBTQ status without the student’s permission. The plaintiffs asserted that the law unlawfully restricts a parent’s right to information about their child’s gender identity or gender expression in violation of the First Amendment.
4. State Trial Court Rules that West Contra Costa Unified School District Does Not Need to Fix Williams Act Violations. Cleare, et al., v. West Contra Costa Unified School District, et al., Case No. N24-1353, Contra Costa County Superior Court (April 15, 2025 Order). During the 2024-25 school year, parents, teachers, and community members pushed the West Contra Costa Unified School District to address unsafe facilities and the district’s long-term filling of staff vacancies with holders of only 30-day substitute permits. The district failed even to respond to Williams Act complaints that were filed with the help of Public Advocates, the civil rights organization that was involved with the landmark case Williams v. California and has extensive expertise in filing Williams Act complaints against districts.
Community Schools
As the 2024-2025 comes to a close, chapters are completing the Spring Action Assessments and attending their last regional Strategy Sessions. These assessments have been open since April 21 -May 23.
Summer Institute Community Schools registration is underway, with chapters bringing teams to develop campaigns and prepare for the 2025-2026 school year.
In the latest NEW Cohort 4:
53 New Locals with Districts receiving Implementation Grants for the first time
28 Locals with Districts with existing Implementation Grants receiving additional Implementation Grants again
2,101 Total school sites with CTA Members with a CCSPP Implementation Grant
REGION 1 426 school sites
REGION 2 711 school sites
REGION 3 493 school sites
REGION 4 471 school sites
Anaheim Secondary Teachers Association Community Schools Learning The Anaheim Community School Lab continues to support our locals as community school models are implemented. The dates for the 25-26 labs have been selected and recruitment of locals will begin soon.
There will be an additional lab next year for a total of 5.
The dates are
September 23-24, 2025
October 21-22, 2025
February 24-25, 2026
March 17-18, 2026
April 21-22, 2026
Legislative Report
April 9-10, 2025 – CTA Member Engagement at the Capitol
CTA State Council Lobby Teams, Capitol & Delta Service Centers
CTA members demonstrated powerful advocacy during two days of lobbying at the State Capitol, engaging with lawmakers to advance key legislation that supports educators, students, and democratic participation.
Legislative Highlights:
With Senators:
SB 478 (Co-Sponsor) – School Library Lead — PASSED
SB 249 (Support) – Increase Voter Turnout — PASSED
With Assembly Members:
AB 917 (Co-Sponsor) – Permanent Status in Small Districts — On Assembly Floor
AB 477 (Co-Sponsor) – 50% Salary Increase — PASSED
AB 49 (Support) – Protect Students from ICE — PASSED
Thank you to all the CTA members who showed up, spoke out, and made a difference!
CRD Report (Lead Story)
FIGHT FOR SCHOOLS
Our Fight for Schools
Turnout for May 17 Day of Action CTA has collected dozens of videos of educators planning to attend an action near them on May 17th, and has sent thousands of messages to members via text and email to amplify planned actions. View the videos on Soapboxx here.
Delegations Visits
Educators in five targeted congressional districts in Regions 2, 3 and 4 met with their members of congress to demand they support students, protect federal funding, and protect the Department of Education.
Media coverage of one of those visits to Representative Obernolte can be found here.
Home is Here Resources
There are many resources available on our website to support our immigrant and LGBTQ+ members, students, and communities.
Mark Your Calendars
May 30
- Last Day of School
August 5
- Board of Education (6 pm, Marengo West)
August 18
- Grievance (4:00 pm, ATA office)
August 19
- ATA Board of Directors (4:00 pm, ATA office)
August 26
- ATA Rep Council (4:00 pm, ATA office)
- Board of Education (6 pm, Marengo West)
Contact Us
The Alhambra Teachers Association (ATA) exists to protect and promote the well-being of its members; to improve the conditions of teaching and learning; to advance the cause of free, universal, and quality public education; to ensure that the human dignity and civil rights of all children and youth are protected; and to secure a more just equitable and democratic society.
Email: ataoffice3030@gmail.com
Website: www.alhambrateachers.org
Location: 3030 West Main Street, Alhambra, CA, USA
Phone: (626)289-1933
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlhambraTeachersAssociation/