News Releases
Heald, CCSF show it’s time to reform ACCJC
ACCJC broke laws pursuing City College, asleep at wheel
for Heald College
Oakland—One day after Assemblymember Phil Ting’s accreditation
reform bills, AB 1397 and AB 1385, passed the state Assembly with
overwhelming bipartisan support, students, faculty, and community
supporters rallied outside the biannual Accrediting Commission
for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) three-day meeting at an
Oakland airport hotel.
Catholic High School Teachers Face New Assault by Administration
Move to get rid of employment stability adds to unfair
demands on teachers
Teachers for the San Francisco Archdiocese, represented by the
American Federation of Teachers, Local 2240, face the growing
prospect, for the first time since the union was formed in 1972,
of entering the summer without a new contract.
UC Contingent Faculty Agree to Temporarily Extend Labor Contract
Lecturers mark contract extension with meetings,
action
CALIFORNIA – UC AFT-represented faculty in the University of
California system held meetings and rallies on most of the
undergraduate campuses today (terms have ended on semester
campuses) after accepting a short-term extension of their
collective bargaining agreement late last week. The contract was
set to expire June 1.
CFT Statement on the May Revision of the State Budget
Building on Prop 30 for a brighter future
Governor Brown is moving in the right direction with this proposal to direct more resources toward schools and to the most needy Californians through the Earned Income Tax Credit. But despite gains for some in the state, economic inequality, as the Governor noted, has continued to grow. The state budget should represent an effort to level the playing field for all Californians.
Educators Appeal Deeply Flawed Vergara Ruling
Educators Appeal Deeply Flawed Vergara Ruling Decision hurts students and hurts teachers
LOS ANGELES — The California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers filed opening briefs today in their appeal of Judge Rolf Treu’s deeply flawed decision in Vergara v. California, a baseless lawsuit brought by corporate privatizers seeking to strike down statutes protecting teachers from arbitrary firings, providing transparency in layoff decisions, and supporting due process rights, all of which contribute to student success.
College Students, Educators Voice Support for Accreditation Reform
Bill passes committee, to benefit colleges across the state
SACRAMENTO – On Tuesday community college students and educators from across the state gathered in Sacramento to urge passage of Assembly Bill 1397, which will reform statewide community college accreditation, impacting 112 schools and more than 2 million students.
Students & Educators Rally Behind Community College Reforms
Accreditation legislation would help 112 schools, 2 million students
SACRAMENTO – Students and teachers from across California rallied at the State Capitol to urge the State Assembly Committee on Higher Education to pass legislation authored by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) to reform the accreditation process affecting California’s 112 community colleges serving 2.1 million students.
ACCJC Loses in Court—Again
It was good news last week for the nearly 80,000 students who attend City College of San Francisco (CCSF)
On Friday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow rejected the request of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) to narrow the scope of the judge’s current injunction, the result of a trial that ended with the judge ruling that the ACCJC had broken four laws in its decision to terminate CCSF’s accreditation.
CFT Convention Delegates Re-elect Pechthalt President and Freitas Secretary Treasurer
Meeting spotlights education funding, divesting STRS from gun manufacturers, education reform, state of labor movement
March 20-22, 2015, Manhattan Beach—More than five hundred teachers and school support staff gathered at the Manhattan Beach Marriott over the past weekend for the 73rd annual California Federation of Teachers convention. This year’s theme of “Organize, Fight Back, Win the Future” laid out the challenges facing public education and how the CFT plans to respond to the anti-teacher, anti-union education reform agenda driven by corporate interests. Featured speakers included State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, Controller Betty Yee, professor and author Jeff Duncan-Andrade, and CFT president Joshua Pechthalt, who delivered his annual State of the Union address.
Statement from the San Francisco Archdiocesan Federation of Teachers, AFT Local 2240
Archbishop Cordileone’s recommendations for changes to the faculty handbook and collective bargaining agreement have been the subject of great controversy over the past few weeks among faculty, students, parents and the broader community. On Monday, March 2, the Union Executive Board met with the Archbishop.
Educators, Supporters Turn Out for National Adjunct Action Day
Rallies across San Diego area colleges highlight the struggle against ‘adjunctification’
SAN DIEGO – At events held today across the region, San Diego area adjunct faculty and their supporters spoke out against the marginalization of contingent faculty in higher education as part of National Adjunct Walkout Day.
Superior Court Issues Final Injunction in Favor of the People v. the ACCJC
Judge reinforces ruling that the commission broke the law in dealing with CCSF
Statement from Jeff Freitas, Secretary Treasurer, California
Federation of Teachers:
Yesterday, Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow issued his final
ruling in the People v. the Accrediting Commission for Community
and Junior Colleges, reinforcing his earlier tentative decision
that the Commission broke the law in attempting to revoke City
College of San Francisco’s accreditation.
Another Setback for the ACCJC
Community College Board of Governors repeals commission’s accreditation monopoly
On January 20, 2015, the California Community College Board of Governors deleted language from Title 5 regulations that gave the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) sole authority over accreditation of the state’s community colleges.
Judge rules accreditor acted illegally in terminating City College of San Francisco’s accreditation
Today the California Federation of Teachers hosted a press teleconference call to discuss Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow’s ruling in “The People vs. ACCJC.” Participating were CFT president Joshua Pechthalt, Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), AFT Local 2121 president Tim Killikelly, and Shanell Williams, Student Trustee at City College of San Francisco. Here are highlights.
ACCJC grants City College of San Francisco deceptive “Restoration Status”
Today the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) announced it has granted the application by City College of San Francisco for its so-called “Restoration Status” policy. The agency, responding to growing critical scrutiny of its arbitrary, inconsistent and illegal actions after it sanctioned CCSF and pulled its accreditation, devised the new policy last year, and basically forced CCSF to apply for it.
CFT statement on the Governor’s proposed budget
“Time to restore programs lost to the Great Recession”
Governor Brown’s proposed budget for 2015-16 includes increased funding for public education at all levels. But the governor’s observation that this budget’s Proposition 98 funding represents a 39% increase over four years needs context. In 2011, California school funding had hit bottom, due to a decade of disinvestment through cuts and the Great Recession. At that point $20 billion had been cut from K-14 funding.
Accreditation agency to meet behind closed doors, decide fate of CCSF’s “Restoration Status” application
The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) will meet in Sacramento at its biannual meeting Jan. 7 - 9 to decide on the fate of City College of San Francisco (CCSF), which applied under duress for “Restoration Status” last summer. The Commission’s deliberations and decisions will occur, as usual, behind closed doors. Public comment will be allowed for a total of 15 minutes during the three days.
On Governor Brown’s State of the State address
Statement by CFT president Joshua Pechthalt
While Governor Jerry Brown’s inaugural address on Monday rightly celebrated California’s climb back from its $26 billion deficit four years ago to a balanced state budget today, he made but a brief reference to the main reason why this has happened, which was the passage of Prop 30 in 2012.
Judge hears closing arguments in ACCJC trial
City Attorney asks court to vacate “show cause,” closure decisions due to unfair and unlawful actions by agency
San Francisco, December 10—Yesterday San Francisco Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow heard closing arguments in the trial between the City of San Francisco and the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC). San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed suit against the ACCJC to stop the commission’s disaccreditation order against City College of San Francisco.
Statement by CFT president Joshua Pechthalt
A grand jury’s decision on Monday not to indict police officer Darren Wilson for the August killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown adds one more layer of evidence that the justice system in this country does not serve communities of color or poor people. Fifty years after the historic Civil Rights Act was passed, the police continue to act as judge, jury and executioner when it comes to people of color, and the courts seem either slow or altogether incapable of delivering justice.