The South Carolina Education Association (The SCEA) is a

public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

advocacy organization in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, representing both teachers and educational support professionals.

Organization and functions

It has local affiliates in each of the state's 81 public school districts. As the state affiliate of the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college stude ...

--the largest labor union in the United States-- The SCEA is the only union for educators and public school employees in South Carolina. The SCEA regularly comments on state-level educational issues and performs advocacy work. Members of The SCEA participated in the #REDforEd teacher activities. The organization stressed that events in South Carolina were not officially sanctioned and that it was not an organizer but it did offer to support its members that did participate

History

The SCEA was founded in 1881 as a teachers' advocacy organization. However, at that time membership was limited only to

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

educators. On April 1, 1967, the SCEA merged with the Palmetto Education Association, a parallel association of

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

educators founded in 1896. The merger of these two educational organizations was the largest combination of

racially segregated Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Internati ...

associations in the history of the state of South Carolina. Membership in The SCEA rose to nearly 25,000 black and white educators immediately after the merger. The SCEA was an important contributor to the development of the South Carolina Education Improvement Act (EIA) of 1984, where it participated in direct negotiations with Governor

Richard Riley Richard Wilson Riley (born January 2, 1933) is an American politician, the United States Secretary of Education under President Bill Clinton and the 111th governor of South Carolina. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Riley is the only De ...

. As a compromise for accepting a merit pay structure, it negotiated a 16% pay increase for educators in the state, bringing their salaries near or above the industry average for the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

. This legislation was considered to be the most comprehensive state-level educational reform in the United States to date.

References

{{reflist Trade unions established in 1881 Politics of South Carolina National Education Association Trade unions in South Carolina Organizations based in Columbia, South Carolina 1881 establishments in South Carolina Statewide trade unions in the United States

Organization and functions

History

See also

References