Tagged: Alabama Education Association

The Alabama Legislature has passed a bill to remove the executive secretary of the Alabama Education Association from the board that oversees the state pension system for education employees.

   The House voted 61-42 Thursday and the Senate voted 17-14 to pass the bill sponsored by Republican Sen. Gerald Allen of Tuscaloosa.

The Alabama Education Association was once the unquestioned power in the Alabama statehouse. But that's changed since Republicans won a supermajority in the House and Senate in 2010.

Lawmakers around the country have made significant changes to teacher tenure, expanded charter schools and introduced different versions of voucher programs. But in Alabama, these kinds of changes have been part of a political upheaval not seen in most states.

Several hundred members of the Alabama Education Association filled the Capitol steps to push for better working conditions and the repeal of new state tax credits for private school students.

The rally Tuesday was one of the biggest by any group during this year's legislative session.

The Alabama Supreme Court has cleared the way for the governor to sign a bill to provide tax credits to some parents who send their children to private schools.

The Alabama Education Association sued over the legislation, and Montgomery County Circuit Judge Charles Price temporarily blocked the governor from signing the bill.

A state Senate committee has voted to remove the executive secretary of the Alabama Education Association from the board that oversees the state pension system for education employees.

The Alabama Supreme Court has given the Alabama Education Association until Monday to respond to an effort by Republican legislators to get a private school tax credit legislation signed.

AEA got a Montgomery judge to issue a temporary restraining order barring the governor from signing the bill into law. Attorneys for Republican legislative leaders appealed to the Supreme Court and asked the court to lift the judge's order. The Supreme Court on Friday gave AEA's lawyers until Monday to respond.

A judge plans to rule Wednesday on whether the governor can sign into law a bill providing private school tax credits.

Gov. Robert Bentley had planned to sign the bill Tuesday afternoon, but Montgomery Circuit Court Judge Charles Price temporarily put that on hold while he considers a lawsuit filed by the Alabama Education Association.

Price heard arguments Tuesday afternoon on whether the Legislature violated Alabama's open meeting law and its own operating rules in passing the bill in a series of quick votes Thursday night.