At first, the organizers of a new association for Texas teachers thought they needed 5,000 members to begin offering insurance to reimburse embattled educators for any unforeseen difficulties that come along with their high-stress jobs.
Innovative Teachers of Texas (ITT), officially founded last year as a ‘non-union’ alternative for teachers, made an announcement today that shifts the fledgling organization into high gear: Insurance for the 2020-21 academic year is now available.
While existing teachers unions in Texas provide insurance for teachers who find themselves on the wrong end of their school district’s administration — the insurance keeps teachers financially afloat while they pursue various remedies and appeals — the unions also lobby the Legislature and promote the runaway growth of the education bureaucracy. Several of the main unions even opposed a ballot measure banning a statewide income tax. The not-for-profit ITT makes it a point to refrain from such activities, though its constituency and organizational leadership leans socially and fiscally conservative.
Below is the announcement:
Insurance Now Available!
If you are one of our many members, we want to thank you for your dedication to Innovative Teachers of Texas. With that, we have some wonderful news:
We will be offering insurance beginning on June 1, 2020.
We are incredibly excited about this major step forward for Texas teachers and a major milestone for our growing organization!
Here are a few things to know:
• Membership dues, including insurance, for new members will be $120 per year
• Terms of membership with insurance will begin on June 1 and ending on May 31 each year, with a membership renewal requirement on June 1 of each year.
• Anyone eligible can go ahead and join now with membership extending through May 31, 2021, and with insurance coverage beginning on June 1, 2020.
• Insurance will cover a variety of situations that teachers may encounter on the job. See the specifics here: https://www.ittexas.org/insurance-policy
And if you haven’t joined, visit https://www.ittexas.org/join and we’ll make sure you are covered for academic year 2020-21. As always, your dues will NOT go to Austin lobbyists or growing the education bureaucracy — just for insurance and helping us better help classroom teachers.
We’re looking forward to serving you and your colleagues.
According to its website, the insurance will cover liability up to $3 million, reimbursement of attorney fees up to $1 million, bail bonds up to $1,000, private instruction up to $10,000, and assault up to $2,500. The insurance also covers a teacher for identity theft for up to $10,000.
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Other teachers associations in Texas include Association of Texas Professional Educators, Texas State Teachers Association (an extension of the NEA), American Federation of Teachers – Texas (a more union-like organization), and Texas Classroom Teachers Association, among many local and regional associations and unions.
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Disclosure: the writer of this article handles communications for Innovative Teachers of Texas on a part-time basis.
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