The U.S. House of Representatives just overwhelmingly passed a bill to honor paraprofessionals and school-related personnel!
In fact, our own AFT members came to Washington, D.C., to lobby members of Congress to support the Recognizing Achievement in Classified School Employees Act.
If the bill passes in the Senate, it will establish an award program within the U.S. Department of Education to recognize the outstanding work of classified school employees who support students in prekindergarten through high school. Professionals considered “classified school employees” include paraprofessionals, instructional aides, bus drivers, clerical staff, food service workers, maintenance workers and custodians, among others.
The House has sent a strong signal of support to our PSRPs and classified school employees. The Senate should follow and show how much it too values the role PSRPs play in the lives of our students and in our schools.
In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President
AFT President