Education Support Professional Council consists of thirteen (13) members all of whom are ESP school employees and members of the Illinois Education Association. The ESP council's goal is to represent and support ESP's throughout Illinois.
We could see a vote from state senators this week on SB1799. Take action for ESPs TODAY! Write your state senators and ask them to VOTE YES on SB 1799 to protect Education Support Professionals from third-party contracting. Senate Bill 1799 will Increase the accountability of third-party contractors, Reduce wasteful spending, and Ensure school districts are hiring district employees for long-term services.
1100 Delegates from across the state came together to discuss, debate, and direct the next year of our Illinois Education Association. We had several guest speakers who attended. One of the extremely important goals of our union is to ensure that every student has a high quality public education and as you can imagine that was an important topic of discussion.
NEA will be hosting a series of virtual town hall meetings for food service members across the country, starting on Thursday, March 6, 2025., at 5:30pm EDT, 4:30pm CST, 3:30 MST, and 2:30pm PST. We invite all members and staff who care about our students to join in this important conversation! Please view this flyer for more information, including how to register for the town hall.
Contact IEA Connect to update your email. IEA Connect can help with a WIDE variety of questions and issues you may have.
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Thank you to locals DUEA (Distruct U-46 Educational Assistance) and DUSA (District U-46 Secretarial Association) located in Elgin for inviting Debra Ward Mitchell and myself to come present at your locals professional development day on Friday February 28th. We started our morning at Bartlett High School for Parapalooza and a great keynote speaker who spoke on the connection between the mind and the ability for relationships and learning….so relevant for staff self reflection and interpersonal relationships with students and colleagues. Also, a huge shoutout to IEA President Al Lorens who spoke and presented. DUEA, thank you for allowing us to spend the morning with you all!
After our morning, Deb and I traveled to the U-46 District Welcome Center for an amazing afternoon of professional development with DUSA. Thank you for allowing us to share about the rESPect Campaign, how the Illinois Education Association is advocating for members, and how their voice and talents are essential to grow our organization to advocate and make the changes we need. We are Stronger United!
It is always a productive and heart filling time to spend it with my union brothers and sisters! This is definitely an interesting time…we have to organize to protect our students, families, and public education as a whole!!
IEA ESP Council members bringing their advocacy and voice to IEA.
This past Thursday, February 13th, an amazing group of ESPs and ESP allies came together to collaborate on ESP issues and planned for growing rESPect at the upcoming Illinois Education Association Representative Assembly, where elected member delegates will come together from all across the state to advocate and drive the goals of IEA.
Thank you to everyone who came and shared their time, ideas, and talents to grow this campaign. We couldn’t do it without you!
Reminder, NO steering meeting in March due to the IEA RA. Next meeting is April 10th 5:30-7:00pm.
The 2025 Representative Assembly will meet in Portland, OR, July 2-6, 2025.
Nominations for 2025 NEA RA state, retired, and aspiring educator delegate elections and elections for statewide positions
Additional information regarding the spring elections
Closes February 12, 2025 @ 4pm
2nd Thursday of each month 5:30-7:00pm. Next meeting this Thursday, February 13th.
All ESPs and ESP allies are invited to attend. Please join us for our monthly planning / strategy meetings as we work to make the changes we need.
“Just because things are the way they are, doesn’t mean they are the way they are supposed to be.” NEA President Becky Pringle
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IEA Education Support Professional Council 