PFT Update

August 22, 2024

Dear PFT Members,

Hope you’ve had a great first week back! See below to be “in the know” as we dive into the 2024-25 school year.

Reminder: Highlights from the 2024-25 PUSD/PFT Settlement Agreement, Effective July 1, 2024 

·      The Agreement preserves current salaries and current staffing ratios and class sizes.

·      It modifies Compelling Reasons Leave, so that the third day is at full pay rather than at differential pay (meaning you no longer lose $158.49 on Day 3)

·      It extends the evaluation cycle for teachers with 10 or more years of PUSD experience from 3 years to 5 years.

·      The Agreement allows teachers on the TLC prime salary column to remain there for a period of 4 years rather than 3 years before needing 40 new TLC points.

·      It extends the expiration of TLC points from 5 years to 6 years.

·      Health & Welfare

o   Considering current economic conditions, it avoids any increases in out-of-pocket amounts for health and welfare coverage for both the 2025 and 2026 insurance Plan Years. The agreement does not include any increases in out-of-pocket amounts for health and welfare coverage until insurance Plan Year 2027, and the amount of increase for 2027 has also been mitigated.

For full details, please see the attached Agreement and Q & A.

2024-25 Staffing & Class Sizes
Please see the attached Class Size MOU from 2023-24 for details on class sizes. PFT & PUSD are in the process of signing a new MOU, but there will be no major changes, as the Settlement Agreement for 2024-25 indicates, “Maintenance of current class sizes, including staffing ratios, elementary class size caps and secondary class size targets.”

Class Size Review at all Levels
Learning Support Services (LSS) is working directly with site principals to monitor class sizes and to determine any needed adjustments. The PFT/PUSD Joint Staffing Team is also regularly reviewing class sizes by teacher, content area, and school to identify any areas of concern.  Please contact the PFT if needed for specific unresolved concerns by calling (858) 674-2800.

Mandated Trainings
It has been shared with the PFT that the trainings and due dates are the same as last year, but due to new legislation, there may be additions sometime this year.  We will be meeting with the district to hear details on any changes to the mandated trainings and to see how they can be further minimized and streamlined.

Remember, time must be provided during the workday for these trainings. Each employee must log in and complete their own training. However, working in a group and discussing the questions and answers is allowable.

EmpiRx Update (Please see attached for greater details on this topic. Also, if you are covered through Kaiser, you do not use EmpiRx and this section does not apply to you).
May/June 2024 

A satisfaction survey went out to EmpiRx subscribers in all PUSD units. 

·      376 active employees and retirees responded out of 2,021 total enrollments

·      Top reported concerns: Denials and the prior authorization process, lack of prior authorization status notifications, mail order processing issues/errors, slow mail order shipping, no auto refill available, and customer service inconsistencies.

EmpiRx reported they would roll out a new platform with improvements, based on concerns in the survey results, August 1.

June 2024
After going out to bid for a new potential prescription drug carrier, analyzing the bids, and using a third-party reviewer, Keenan reported out the pros and cons of switching to the top contender, Express Scripts Insurance (ESI).
 

Pros 

·      Change in formulary could result in a lesser copay for some members.

·      There may be other pharmacy opportunities.

·      There may be more automated processes.

Cons

·      There will be member disruption.

·      Change in formulary list would negatively impact some (.1 positive and .6 negative rating for formulary change).

·      Those who have gone through step therapy or prior authorization may go through changes or be asked to do it again.

·      ESI requires subscribers to receive a call from them each month to have specialty meds sent. They will not allow specialty meds to be given in a 90-day supply.

·      Ralph’s pharmacies are not in-network for ESI.

The joint PUSD/PSEA/APSM/PFT committee discussed whether to switch to ESI. Since the cons outweigh the pros at this time, the committee was in consensus to renew EmpiRx for one year (2025) and to re-evaluate in late January/early February. Next steps: assess EmpiRx improvements and get bids from a greater number of carriers.

Looking Ahead: 2024-25 is a PUSD School Board election year & a Catastrophic Leave Drive year
We will share more information on these topics soon. Please let us know if you have questions or need support. We wish you a wonderful school year! 

In Solidarity,
Kelly

Attachments - 2024-25 PUSD & PFT Tentative Agreement, PUSD & PFT Tentative Agreement Q & A, EmpiRx Update, Pre-K-12 Class Size 2023-24

August 29, 2024

PFT Update: Epipen & Diastat

1. Teachers often ask the PFT, “Do I have to be Epipen trained?”
Answer:  Teachers may volunteer to be Epipen trained (Ed Code 49414 (d)).  It cannot be required.  Staff no longer need to be CPR certified to receive Epi-pen training.  PUSD still highly encourages staff to maintain CPR certification as this is best practice, but any staff member willing and able to be trained can receive Epi-pen training.

Everyone understands the desire to care for our students who may require the administration of an Epipen for a field trip.  Collaborating as a staff is an effective way to decide how this will be accomplished.   Here are some options other staffs have used and shared with PFT (in no particular order):
 

1.  Willing teachers can be Epipen trained

2.  Parents can be encouraged to come on the field trip (parent cannot be forced; child cannot be denied access to field trip, nor can teacher/other children in grade level be denied access to the trip due to the teacher not being trained)

3.  A sub can be hired for the health tech so he/she (a trained person) can go on the field trip

4.  The principal can go on the field trip (if trained)

5.  Another trained teacher in the grade level can "cover" for that child if the child’s teacher is not trained

Information that has been shared with us about covering costs:  Teachers can pay to be CPR trained if they wish; however, they cannot be required to pay, as they are not required to be trained at all.  Site funds may be used to pay for any of the above that incur costs.  Possible funding sources:  PTA, Foundation, or other site funds.   Sites may choose to pass the cost of a sub on to all parents in the total field trip cost, to allow trained personnel to attend the field trip.

2. Educators often ask the PFT, “Do I have to administer Diastat for students who suffer from seizures?”

Answer:  Senate Bill 161 authorizes a school district, in the absence of a credentialed school nurse or other licensed nurse onsite at the school, to provide school employees with voluntary emergency medical training to provide emergency medical assistance to pupils with epilepsy suffering from seizures. Specifically, SB 161 prohibits a school employee from being required to provide emergency medical assistance unless that employee volunteers and has been trained pursuant to this bill.

We recognize that it is critically important to be able to administer appropriate emergency care quickly to anyone suffering an epileptic seizure.  It is our understanding that our district obtains volunteers by emailing all school site personnel asking for volunteers.  Receiving an email to volunteer does not mean it's a requirement.

If you have questions, you can contact the PFT or if you want more information on Diastat, any one of our district nurses will be able to help you.

In Solidarity,
Kelly

 PFT Updates Archive 

 Congratulations to our 2024 PUSD

Teachers of the Year!

Ross Kallen, Elise Milling and Nicole Stowell
Receive School District Honors

The Poway Unified School District (PUSD) is proud to announce that Ross Kallen, Visual/Technical Arts Teacher at Rancho Bernardo High School; Elise Milling, 8th Grade Humanities and Performing Arts Teacher at Mesa Verde Middle School; and Nicole Stowell, Education Specialist at Sunset Hills Elementary School have been chosen as the PUSD Teachers of the Year for 2024.

Read more

Congratulations to Christina Bass who was named
2023-24 San Diego County Teacher of the Year!

Painted Rock Elementary School Teacher Honored at "Salute to Teachers" Reception

(San Diego, CA) - The Poway Unified School District is proud to announce that Christina Bass, ASB Advisor and 2nd/3rd-grade teacher at Painted Rock Elementary School, has been named as a 2023-24 San Diego County Teacher of the Year. Christina's exceptional commitment to her students, innovative teaching methods, and impactful community involvement have earned her this prestigious recognition.

Read more

Updated COVID-19 Guidance

January 24, 2024

Dear PUSD staff,

On January 9, 2024, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released updated COVID-19 testing and isolation guidance. Subsequently, the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) and the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency collaborated and updated the COVID-19 Decision Table for K-12 schools on January 22, 2024. The updated guidance will allow individuals to follow a more symptom-based approach as they usually do for other illnesses.

Poway Unified’s COVID-19 policy is now aligned with the updated guidance from the California Department of Public Health and SDCOE. Students and staff who test positive and are asymptomatic may remain in school or at work. Students and staff who test positive and are experiencing symptoms may return to work or school when they start to feel better, their symptoms are mild and improving, and they have not had a fever for 24 hours without fever reducing medications. There is no longer a '5-day' rule to stay home following a COVID-19 positive test if the individual is asymptomatic or feeling better.

Read more

TPLES - Teacher Professional Learning and Effectiveness System

Dear Colleagues,

The demands on a teacher's time are endless, and the school year seems to go so quickly from this point on. The below link Teacher Professional Learning and Effectiveness System (TPLES) reminder sheet is intended to provide support and suggestions for teachers in the evaluation cycle this year, as they monitor and document progress on their SLO/PLO.  It can also help make the final evaluation conference, for both traditional and alternative evaluations, more meaningful for the teacher and administrator.

Teacher Professional Learning and Effectiveness System (TPLES) reminder sheet - click here

In Unity,
Kelly

Classroom Supplies using Online Donation Site

What teachers need to do first to be eligible for donations: Go to www.pusddonate.org. Click your grade level (elementary, middle, high), click your “Site”, click “Teachers”. Please be sure your name is listed. The website is linked to the district’s payroll system.  Therefore, the donation website uses the same name you are using for payroll purposes (legal name).  Unfortunately, we cannot change that name.

What the Online Donation website provides:
1. Parents have the option of donating directly to their child’s teacher(s), program, department, grade level, program, or the school site’s general fund using this online donation website. The website is designed to provide parents with an easy and convenient way to help fund our instructional supply needs. Teachers and schools have received more than $100,000.00 in donations using this website. It works.

2. Parents may access the donation website by going to www.pusddonate.org.  Parents receive a tax deduction and email confirmation when donating. The website also includes a “Matching Gift Program” if a parent’s employer provides that benefit.

3. Teachers receive an automatic email confirmation stating the amount of the donation, donor’s name and email, and student’s name, if provided by the parent. Our District uses a spam filter. Therefore, to receive confirmation emails from the donation site you must check your spam folder. When you see the link, pusdonline@firstlinemerchant.com that’s the Online Donation secure banking (when using a credit card) email address. Please “whitelist” this email address. For accounting purposes, your site finance clerk or site secretary receives a monthly report of all donations. If you have not received an email confirmation but think you have received a donation, check with your site secretary or finance clerk.

Donation: Teachers access these donations the same way they would their regular supply budget/s at the site.

COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES: Teachers may communicate this website to parents via their MyConnect site, newsletter, and/or during Back-to-School Night (see Common Message on Q&A attached). To promote greater equity among all our classrooms, we suggest grade-level teams or departments come together to identify their “collective” supply needs and request donations be made to the grade-level or department, rather than individual teachers.

Please note: Donations to this account may only be used for instructional supplies (e.g. school supplies, software, workbooks, art and science materials…). If requesting donations for technology, check with your principal. The primary function of your site Foundation is to purchase software and technology and teachers should be coordinating their efforts.

Field Trip Fees: The Classroom Supplies ~ Online Donations website now offers the option of collecting Field Trip fees. More information and directions for teachers will be coming soon in a separate email.

I've attached an FAQ and a handout you may wish to provide to parents.  

Attachments:

FAQ Classroom Supplies
CSOLD Parent Handout

In Unity,
Kelly