Nicole Stratton for OEA Vice President

Such an incredible benefit to members.

The Ohio Education Association has partnered with Ursuline College and VESi to offer members a yearly subscription to online graduate courses. The subscription allows OEA members access to up to nine graduate credit hours (three courses) for only $200. You can enroll in one course per term or two courses during the summer. ⚠️This exclusive benefit is only available to OEA members.

✏️ Choose from over 30 asynchronous online courses covering a variety of topics
✏️ Learn online at your own pace from the convenience of your home
✏️ Three graduate courses (up to nine credits) per year for $200

Learn more at ➡️ https://www.ohea.org/vesi/

❤️

"With fair legislative districts that make lawmakers accountable to the voters of our state..."

Ohio Education Association congratulates Citizens Not Politicians Campaign on 731,306 Signatures to End Gerrymandering in Ohio

[July 1, 2024] The Ohio Education Association (OEA) is celebrating the tireless work of its members and so many other Ohioans who spent the last several months educating fellow voters about the citizen-led Citizens Not Politicians initiative to end gerrymandering in Ohio and collecting the signatures needed to get the measure on the ballot in November. Citizens Not Politicians volunteers delivered more than 730,000 signatures to the Secretary of State’s office Monday, marking an enormous step forward to fix Ohio’s broken legislative redistricting system and ensure every Ohioan is truly represented in the statehouse and Congress.

“When we pass this bipartisan measure to end gerrymandering once and for all, we will finally give Ohioans a true voice in the decisions that affect our schools and communities every day,” said Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro. “From securing school funding to meet the needs of the 90 percent of Ohio children who attend public schools to the bills that attempt to dictate what and how Ohio’s trained, experienced educators can teach, the policy decisions of Ohio’s lawmakers have an enormous impact on our ability to deliver the world-class education our students deserve.”

“With fair legislative districts that make lawmakers accountable to the voters of our state, we can ensure pro-public education candidates—from both parties—have a fair shot at winning seats in our statehouse to represent us,” DiMauro said.

If voters approve the Citizens Not Politicians ballot initiative in November, a 15-member panel of citizens – five Democrats, five Republicans, and five Independents – will draw Ohio’s legislative district maps through a newly designed process emphasizing transparency and fairness.

To learn more about the Citizens Not Politicians ballot initiative and OEA’s support for this effort, listen to OEA’s recent conversation with Retired Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee Brown in the latest episode of the Public Education Matters podcast.

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/politics/ohio-politics/ohio-teachers-pension-fund-board-member-resigns-amid-controversy-archived-meeting-proves-ag-isnt-lying?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2K1tnRFLRZRPVHTnSj6mRv-l9WFlA1wk5wEF-XtcY5O9r6YwANOFgGgdw_aem_bguV1nupW0f5h_HCOtglMA

Ohio teachers’ pension fund board member resigns amid controversy, archived meeting proves AG isn't lying A member of the chaotic teachers' retirement pension fund board in Ohio has resigned amid the ongoing controversy — possibly changing power dynamics within the system.

A thought provoking beginning to OEA Summer Leadership. The answer is complex, but the truth is, we must use our collective voice.

Worth the time to listen!

Ohio's system for creating legislative districts is broken. When new maps are drawn every ten years, the party in power can manipulate the lines so they can hold onto their power by picking and choosing the voters they want to pack into their own districts, rather than letting Ohio's voters have a real voice in the statehouse or on Capitol Hill. It's time to change that. And the Citizens Not Politicians ballot initiative will change it by ending gerrymandering in Ohio once and for all, if it's approved by voters in the fall. As retired Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor and former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee Brown tell us in the Public Education Matters Season 4 finale, there's a good reason the citizen-led initiative has so much bipartisan support. We also hear from OEA President Scott DiMauro about the important role OEA members can play in this year's elections to help shape the public education landscape in our state.

Listen & share 🎧 https://publiceducationmatters.transistor.fm/s4/21
https://feeds.transistor.fm/public-education-matters

Listen to the episode online, or subscribe using the podcast app of your choice. OEA's Public Education Matters podcast can be found on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and YouTube Podcasts, among others.

This is tonight. What an important subject. Educators-it’s time to focus on you.

Educator Mental Health – It’s Okay Not To Be Okay · The National Education Association The NEA Health and Safety Program and Active Minds, a leading mental health non-profit organization, have partnered on a presentation on educators’ mental health, including approaches to discussing mental health in educational environments, how to advocate for mental health services and resources,...

I’ll be there! Members-join me. This will be a blast.

Register for the Inaugural OEA Golf Outing - June 20, 2024 ⛳️
Champions Golf Course

Join OEA Members and supporters from across the state for our first golf outing. All golfers will be eligible to participate in a friendly competition with prizes on the line. Attendees and golfers alike can enter into multiple raffle competitions and can bid on multiple prize baskets throughout the event
https://bit.ly/oeagolf2024

What an incredible event! EVERY student should see themselves represented in their books.

What comes next for Ohio's teacher pension fund? A battle is under way for the future of Ohio’s $94 billion teacher pension fund

President DiMauro hits the mark when describing the vague language of the bill: " ... the new bill is intentionally vague and is a politically motivated effort to censor material." This is yet another attack on public education through fear mongering.

Educators have 'serious concerns' over bill that OEA says will censor books in schools Youngstown, Ohio's #1 Locally owned, locally connected television news station.

There is momentum budling across the nation for the repeal of GPO-WEP thanks to Senator Brown! Will this affect you?

Senator Brown Announces Columbus Hearing on GPO-WEP Repeal

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown has announced a field hearing of the Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy for the Social Security Fairness Act (S. 597). This is vital legislation Senator Brown has sponsored that would fully repeal the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). These provisions of federal law unfairly punish public service by reducing the earned Social Security benefits of retirees who collect a public pension in states like Ohio.

The hearing will be held on Friday, June 7, 2024, at the Columbus Firefighters IAFF Local 67 Union Hall (379 W Broad St, Columbus, OH 43215). OEA is strongly encouraging members to attend the hearing, so please save the date if you can attend. We will send out exact details for the hearing once a formal hearing notice is released by the subcommittee.

In addition, OEA is asking members to submit letters in support of the legislation to repeal GPO and WEP to the subcommittee. Once an official subcommittee hearing notice is available, we will share instructions on how to submit your letter into the official committee record.

If you can make it, it is time to listen in and here how the STRS will handle the reckless behavior of the "reformers."

Board Meetings The State Teachers Retirement Board meets monthly (with the exception of January and July) at the STRS Ohio offices in Columbus.