The Latest from VEA

The Centers for Disease Control has information here that explains what Coronavirus is, how it spreads, how you can protect yourself, and more.

The Virginia Department of Education has updated information on Coronavirus and our schools, including a list of frequently asked questions, here.

The National Education Association provides information, guidance, support, and advocacy opportunities here.

All school divisions continue to pay teachers and other school employees base wages and benefits during the closure. Let your UD know if you have questions or concerns you cannot safely perform school duties for which you continue to be paid.  He or she can help you communicate with administrators about alternative plan to work remotely, assignment to other duties, or your eligibility for new federal paid leave benefits.

We know members have lost other jobs or lost school income from extra runs,  extra hours, coaching and other school duties. Actions at local, state and federal levels extend deadlines for taxes and fees, protect families from having utilities shut off, protect renters from being evicted and homeowners from facing foreclosure, and increase unemployment benefits while waiving job search requirements.  Check NEA Member Benefit resources and advocacy.  Your Union will help you understand resources and get information to get through this hard time.

School reopening plans should offer options for remote instruction for students and remote work for school employees who are safer at home because of medical conditions. Remote duties may also be available if you’re advised to temporarily self-isolate during testing or while waiting for a diagnosis of symptoms.

If remote work is not available or isolation limits your ability to do your job, you should be eligible for 10 days of emergency paid sick leave at full pay under the Federal Families First Corona Relief Act (FFCRA). You’ll likely need supporting medical evidence.

Currently, 10 additional days of paid sick leave is the only COVID-specific benefit. No other state or federal provision protects an employee who is isolated after COVID-19 exposure or becomes ill.

Your school division will not get a check from the federal government but will pay less because of payment made to you. Consult your VEA UniServ Director for help communicating with your school employer claiming emergency paid sick leave.

Note: FFCRA expires December 31, 2020. Join lobbying campaigns and communicate with Senators and Representatives to extend the sick leave benefit and provide important funding for public schools.

Your UD can also help you review your accumulation of sick leave, access to a paid sick leave bank, ability to receive leave donation from other employees, short- and long-term disability insurance, unpaid family and medical leave, and possible workers’ compensation claims. Check with NEA Member Benefits for information on income protection coverage.

If you can’t return to school duties or work remotely, you may qualify for unpaid Family and Medical Leave. FFCRA expanded FMLA to provide partial payment of leave required to care for a child unable to attend school or childcare.

In Virginia, you cannot sue your employer for a workplace injury or illness—even if the employer was negligent. However, you could be protected by the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act.

Workers’ compensation claims for “ordinary disease of life” rather than accidental injury require different evidence and proof. You are required to prove by clear and convincing evidence (a doctor’s report) that your disease was caused by your employment.

Workers’ compensation provides three specific benefits: payment for medical treatment of accidental work injury, limited compensation for time lost from work, and some compensation if accidental work injury causes amputation or limits use of an extremity. You should not expect to get full pay for time missed, as there is a waiting period before you can receive time-loss benefit, the benefit is limited to 2/3 of your average weekly wage, and it is capped based on the average weekly wage in Virginia.

Also, the workers’ compensation “time loss” benefit does not include paying the premium for your group health insurance or the VRS contributions that are paid with sick leave.

It’s still early to judge how claims for COVID-19 exposure will be handled, or how issues of exposure and cause will be judged by the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission or the courts.  Contact your UniServ Director for further information or help.

Virginia’s students will not have to take SOL tests this fall to replace the ones cancelled this spring because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I believe the primary focus of schools whenever we can return to school should be on the wellness of students and re-establishing school communities and cultures, and not on preparing students for state tests immediately upon their return to school,” said James Lane, Virginia’s Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Orders to keep schools closed pose unprecedented challenges to public educators, and especially to educators of students with special needs. We know members are wondering how to comply with requirements for meetings, plans and reports required by federal law. Let’s share expertise and questions, and any local direction and efforts.

Here is some guidance and updated information from The United States Department of Education (USDOE) Offices for Civil Rights and Special Education and Rehabilitative Services:

• March 21, 2020 Supplemental Fact Sheet 
• March 16, 2020 Fact Sheet
• COVID information and resources for schools and school employees
• IDEA Questions and Answers
• Impact of COVID-19 on Assessments and Accountability under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
• FERPA & Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) & Frequently Asked Questions

Virginia decision to close school buildings has not stopped education services.  Virginia Governor, VDOE and State Superintendent of Public Instruction call on local school administrators to make decisions about continuing instruction while school buildings are closed, including continuing services for special needs students. Your local President and Association leaders, with support from your VEA UniServ Director, communicate with your Superintendent about continuing instruction and service during this crisis.

The Virginia Department of Education’s Training and Technology Assistance Center, housed at Virginia Commonwealth University, provides a variety of virtual learning resources including resources related to autism, vision impairment and other special needs. TTAC staff also encourage you to check their website frequently or to email questions to ttacinfo@vcu.edu.

Special educators, like all school employees, need to follow local school division acceptable use policies, and specific directions regarding virtual instruction or support for students.  Your VEA UD is available to help you ask administrators questions or document concerns with how the technology works for your special needs students, or how to conduct calls or virtual meetings.

Your local school division, and your school should work to provide each special need student with education and related services.  You should understand your role on the school TEAM delivering service.  You deliver service as employee of school division not as individual.

Safety and compliance with directions to maintain social distancing may limit services like OT, PT and tactile language educational services.  Technology may not be accessible or available to some students.   Your VEA UD can help you ask and document questions about your ability to continue services while schools are closed.  Your UD can also help if you need leave because you or member of your family has medical condition, or because of family responsibilities while schools are closed.

Your school division may hold IEP or 504 meetings through virtual means or conference calls; you may need to participate. Your school division should provide the equipment and guidance needed for such meetings, including guidance on maintaining student privacy. You don’t need to share student names to ask your VEA UD for help asking administrators questions or documenting concerns with calls or virtual meetings. Ask your VEA UD for help if you cannot participate in remote or electronic meetings because of your own health, family health, or family responsibilities while schools are closed

If a meeting is postponed, or if a parent/guardian fails to participate, document the delay and reasons for it for the student record.

Please let your UD know if you have any concerns about personal health or safety as you comply with school direction or for help taking leave from duties because of your own health, family health or family responsibilities.

There are numerous online resources to help you stay on track as you navigate digital learning for your students through the COVID-19 pandemic. The links below offer practical do’s and don’ts to digital “netiquette,” privacy protections, and some digital learning tools. Please Note: Be sure to adhere to your school division’s acceptable use policy.

Video Conference Etiquette

Protecting Student Privacy on Social Media

Distance Learning Solutions

We’ve all been inspired, but not surprised, by the willingness of our members to help out during this difficult time. If you’d like to volunteer to serve students and families, we recommend joining forces with a community organization—and, of course, take precautionary measures and follow CDC guidelines. 

VEA HQ staff is continuing to provide member services as always, though many are working remotely. We’ve taken steps to ensure that all staff members, whether working from home or in the office, have phone and digital access so operations can continue.

As the state reopens, we will follow Governor Northam’s requirements on group sizes and social distancing. We are not able to serve walk-in appointments at this time. Please call us 800-552-9554 or email info@veanea.org for timely assistance.

Some UniServ offices have closed and staff are working remotely, while others remain open. All UniServ Directors are available to respond to inquiries. They can be reached via email, or by calling the number of the UniServ office. If your UniServ is working remotely, he/she will have all calls forwarded to them. For those offices that remain open, any in-person appointment must be scheduled in advance. Find contact information for your UniServ office here.

Your first line of help is always through your VEA UniServ Director. Reach out to the appropriate field office through your Local Union’s contact information here, and they will discuss the issue with you and find a resolution.

The Virginia Department of Education is offering guidance on school closure issues such as the use of school buildings during this time, along with information on topics including school finances, student assessment, instruction, special education, and teacher licensure, on its own regularly-updated page. Click here for the latest.

If license holders complete the requirement for renewal, the Virginia educational agency should submit the renewal requests as soon as practicable to avoid any administrative delays. If license holders are unable to meet renewal requirements because of closures related to COVID-19, the Superintendent of Public Instruction has established a process to allow for up to a one-year extension on meeting the requirements. Visit the Virginia Department of Education’s Teacher Licensure page to learn more about what you need to do.

Internet Providers:
COMCAST
In response to the school closings, Comcast is offering their “essentials” package to low income households for two months for free. Normally this is offered for $9.95/mo to qualifying customers.
Information about the program can be found here
There are two dedicated phone numbers as well: 1-855-846-8376 for English and 1-855-765-6995 for Spanish.

COX
Offering two months free for low income families and $9.95/month thereafter. Click here

SPECTRUM (Bristol, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk)
$17.99/month. Click here.

CONNECTALL (Cellular hotspot, unlimited data)
$120 initial payment, $11.95/mo, no contract. (Need Sprint coverage)
Phone Number: (206) 633-1517 ext. 114 / ext. 118 (Spanish)
Click here.

FREE WIFI HOTSPOTS
Staying mindful of health safety and social distancing, public wifi hotspots may be an option. Comcast, for example, has opened all of their Xfinity wifi network (normally available only to Xfinity customers) to everyone for the foreseeable future. Details here.  A map of Xfinity wifi hotspots can be found here.

Companies like Starbucks and McDonalds (and many others) offer free wifi that often extends beyond the building walls. If you don’t already know where these free hotspots are, there’s an app for that. The Facebook app, for example has a ‘Find Wifi’ feature. WifiMapper, Wefi and WiMan are few dedicated apps that can help find free wifi near you.

If you are and AT&T wireless customer, you can sign into their wifi hotspots offered at many hotels and businesses. They do not offer a map of these locations but can be recognized by seeing att-wifi or attwifi in one of the apps above or from your list of available wireless networks. Click here.

The Virginia Retirement System continues processing retirement applications and responding to VRS members who call 1-888-827-3847 or visit their website. The VRS counselling center is not holding in-person appointments or walk-ins until further notice. Use this VRS link for updates. The performance of the stock market does not affect defined-benefit retirement benefit amounts, such as your VRS pension, and retirees will continue to receive monthly benefit payments.

If you feel that some students, families, or educators are being discriminated against during COVID-19, you can share your concerns here. 

We must call out equity and justice challenges exacerbated due to COVID-19, and fight policies and practices that perpetuate injustice and marginalize under-represented communities (e.g. educators or students of color, students with disabilities, rural students, LGBTQ students and staff, lowest-paid workers). VEA supports mandating the equity of resources, access, services, safety, and care for the most vulnerable populations. If you are interested in organizing local campaigns to ensure no one in your community is left out, contact Naila Holmes, VEA Director of Human and Civil Rights, at nholmes@veanea.org

The Commonwealth Institute summarizes steps that have been taken on the state and federal level in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to halt the spread of the illness and help families and businesses stay afloat financially. This includes temporary changes like wider accessibility to unemployment insurance, Medicaid, and school meals for students, and deadline extensions for payment of income taxes.

Read about these resources here.

The VDOE  has communicated with deans and directors of educator preparation programs to address concerns that candidates currently enrolled in student teaching may not be able to complete the following Board of Education 10-week student teaching requirement due to school closings. Any modification request from deans or directors of educator preparation programs will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

The National Board is working to be a professional resource for all teachers—National Board Certified Teachers, candidates pursuing certification and any other educators, too.

The Board announced several deadline extensions and adjustments to its process, including:

For Candidates Pursuing National Board Certification
• If you are completing Components 2, 3, and/or 4, we have extended the ePortfolio submission deadline to June 12. We will open the submission window on April 1 as planned.
• If you are completing Component 1: Content Knowledge and have an appointment scheduled, no additional action is required of you at this time and you may test as planned. If your appointment was cancelled due to a testing site closure and you have been unable to schedule a new appointment or were unable to schedule an appointment prior to the site closures, we are working to provide additional testing capacity. Please continue to monitor emails for updates.

For National Board Renewal Candidates
• The ePortfolio submission window will open on April 1 as planned and has been extended to June 12, 2020.
• We understand there are circumstances that may make it impossible for you to meet the extended deadline. Deferral options will be available for any candidate who needs one. More information about deferral options for completing the 10-year Renewal process will be shared as soon as possible, including how to take action if you need to request a deferral.

For complete details, go to this COVID-19 page on the National Board website.

The Virginia Department of Education’s Training and Technology Assistance Center, housed at Virginia Commonwealth University, provides a variety of virtual learning resources. In an attempt to help organize some of the resources being shared, TTAC has compiled a document you can find here. Resources related to autism, vision impairment, and a host of other topics are included. TTAC staff also encourage you to check their website frequently or to email questions to ttacinfo@vcu.edu.