NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi today praised the state Legislature for passing a bill that would create a permanent School-Related Professionals Recognition Day on the state calendar, and said he was hopeful that Gov. Eliot Spitzer would sign the bill.
"Each day, thousands of School-Related Professionals from across the state work hard to ensure a safe and productive learning environment for our students," Iannuzzi said. "We know that Governor Spitzer appreciates the important contributions of New York's SRPs, and we are grateful that the Legislature has moved New York a step closer to formally acknowledging those contributions."
The bill (A274-B/S911-B), sponsored by Assemblywoman Barbara Clark, D-Queens, and Sen. James DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, would establish SRP Recognition Day as the third Tuesday in November, falling during American Education Week. Since 2003, the Legislature has passed and the governor has signed an annual resolution acknowledging SRP Recognition Day, but it lacked a permanent place on the state calendar.
"SRPs are accustomed to working behind the scenes, often without much recognition," said NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan Lubin. "The Legislature has made sure that the voices of New York's SRPs will be heard this year and every year, and we applaud the passage of this piece of legislation."
NYSUT Vice President Kathleen Donahue, who oversees much of NYSUT's programming for SRPs, added that she hopes a permanent SRP Recognition Day will foster greater awareness of the hard work of SRPs, such as bus drivers, custodians, food service workers, security personnel, secretaries, teaching assistants and aides, and many other SRP job titles.
"SRPs are an integral part of New York's educational system," Donahue said. "New Yorkers need to make it a priority to set aside time to thank these professionals for the work they do to facilitate learning in our schools."