Pennsylvania State Education Association

Week of 8-25-2025

Inside this issue

• Happy Labor Day, PSEA
• PSEA leaders urge lawmakers to pass a real budget, not vouchers
• How PSEA members benefit from their membership
• Don’t miss upcoming judicial elections
• PEARL & Center for Professional Learning
• Member Benefits spotlight: Identity theft protection plans

For educators across the commonwealth, this holiday is more than a well-earned day of rest. It is also a reminder of the continued importance of the labor movement that serves and is served by every PSEA member. We honor those who fought for the protection we depend on and continue to champion: fair pay, safe workplaces, and respect for every individual in our schools.

Our teachers, support staff, and school employees work long hours preparing lessons, guiding students, and ensuring safe learning environments. Yet we’re living through a time when our educators, and the labor movement that supports them, are under unprecedented assault.

Just know that no matter what the political or social conditions at any given time, PSEA always has your back, as we have for more than 170 years. Because of our union and the power of our collective voice, Pennsylvania educators have secured collective bargaining rights, health benefits, and working conditions that allow you to serve your students and communities with dignity.

But we must remember that these victories were not given, they were won. When we stand together for each other, we are unstoppable. That is the power of the labor movement. That is your power. And we’re proud to celebrate it alongside you.

At a press conference in the state Capitol on Tuesday, PSEA President Aaron Chapin stood with educators from across Pennsylvania to call on lawmakers to pass a real 2025-26 state budget that invests in public schools, not private school voucher schemes.

“Our kids are not bargaining chips,” Chapin said. “Our kids are not pawns in some grand strategy to enact a tuition voucher scheme that will shift taxpayer dollars away from our public schools and send them to private and religious schools.”

Joining Chapin were Jimbo Lamb, president-elect of PSEA’s Southern Region, and Christina Rojas, president of the Lancaster Education Association, who shared the real impact of the budget delay on their schools and students. Their stories of missed state payments, forced loans, and wasted taxpayer dollars drove home the urgency of passing a budget that supports public education.

The press conference drew significant media coverage statewide, amplifying the voices of educators and families demanding action.

PSEA is 177,000 members strong – a community of education professionals who make a difference in the lives of Pennsylvania’s students every day.

PSEA members are teachers, education support professionals, higher education staff, nurses in health care facilities, retired educators, and college students preparing to become teachers.

PSEA’s strength comes not only from our members, but from our beliefs, our values, and our passion. Every time we speak up for what we believe, we harness the power of collective action.

The 2025 retention elections will shape the future of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which has issued rulings with wide-reaching implications for the commonwealth.

Three Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices are up for retention: Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht. Together, these justices have contributed to landmark decisions that directly affect the daily lives of Pennsylvanians and educators.

These elections will determine how the court addresses issues that impact the daily lives of Pennsylvanians:

• The quality of public education
• How our elections are run
• What happens at our workplaces
• Our online privacy rights
• Even the air we breathe and the water we drink

The decisions made by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court shape the daily lives of its residents. With three justices up for retention in 2025, the outcome of these elections will have long-term implications for the rights, protections, and opportunities of everyday Pennsylvanians for years to come.

PEARL

Visit the new, improved PEARL today and choose from more than 95 asynchronous courses available for Act 48 credit and Chapter 14 verification.

You can find multiple courses that interest you in any of these tracks: 

• Book Studies
• Educational Equity
• Pedagogy
• Policy
• Pupil Services
• Special Populations
• Technology in Education
• SEL & Wellness

Webinars

• Evaluation of New & Early Career Educators
  
  • Sept. 23, 7-8 p.m.
• Ready, Set, Support: Open Chat for Special Educators
  
  • Oct. 2, 7-8 p.m.
• The PSEA AI Task Force Impact Report: Keeping Education Human with Ethical, Practical, and Professional Guidance for AI Use in Pennsylvania Schools Moving Forward
  
  • Oct. 8, 7-8:30 p.m.

Book Discussions

• Spooky Stories to Read in the Classroom
  
  • Oct. 29, 7-8 p.m.
• Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally
  
  • Nov. 5, 7-8 p.m.
• Educating for Global Competence: Preparing Our Students to Engage the World
  
  • Dec. 3, 7-8 p.m.

Postgraduate Credits

Earn postgraduate credits from PennWest University for $70 each!

More than 150 postgraduate credits are available across a wide range of teaching and learning topics.

These postgraduate credits (micro-credentials) can count toward the 24 credits required for a Level II certificate and also may count toward salary advancement.*

For support professionals, these courses may meet Chapter 14 requirements.**

*Check your contract to determine if you can apply standalone postgraduate credits for column movement.
**Seek approval from your employer prior to completing hours to apply toward Chapter 14 requirements.

PSEA has partnered with Securus ID Inc. to provide PSEA members and their families access to identity theft plans at a member-only discount of up to 60 percent (not a trial rate). Month-to-month billing, no contract. Enroll and activate in minutes. 

• Securus ID is powered by Experian
• PSEA member savings of up to 60 percent (not a trial rate)
• Three plan designs to meet your needs and budget
• Essential – simple and affordable ($3 individual/$5 family per month)
• Comprehensive – full featured, high value ($6 individual/$12 family per month)
• Elite – advanced protection - ($10 individual/$20 family per month)
• Fully managed recovery included in all plans, 100 percent success rate
• U.S. based service and support

Check out the plans now.  It’s not if, but when ... get protected today!