FAQs

What are my dues for the 22-23 school year?

- NEA: $204.00

- IEA: Dues are now graduated as of the 2023-2024 school year. For more information please visit this website:  https://ieanea.org/graduated-dues-structure/ 

- FEA: $80.00

Dues are taken out of paychecks for 15 pay periods starting in October. If you would like to see a breakdown of where your dues dollars go contact the FEA President for more information.

WHAT DOES THE ASSOCIATION DO FOR ME?

• Negotiates your contract – improves it and fights off attempts to strip it.

• Represents you before the school board and the administration.

• Protects you from improper and illegal dismissal or suspension.

• Provides you with legal liability insurance program.

• Provides NEA-Member Benefits through the website.

• Represents you in the State Capitol in Springfield.

• Continues to fight for your retirement benefits.

• Provides full-time professional staff alerted to your professional needs in one phone call.

• Puts on an annual battle to win subsidy money for school districts.

•  Fights for public education in Washington D.C.

• Enforces your contract through your request.

• In case of trouble, pours in staff and legal assistance as appropriate.

• Analyzes your district budget to find funds that otherwise would be hidden from the negotiators of your contract.

• Trains your local leaders in such areas as: techniques of bargaining your contract and protecting it from abuse; advising you in safeguarding your job, retirement income, and teaching conditions; association leadership effectiveness training

• and on… and on… and on.

HOW ARE MY IEA DUES DOLLARS SPENT?

• The IEA portion of the dues dollars are spent according to this breakdown available at the IEA website (You may have to log in as a member to see it): https://ieanea.org/benefits/iea-dues-dollar-break-down/  

WHAT IS “IPACE?”

• IPACE, the Illinois Political Action Committee for Education, is the policy advocate for more than 120,000 members of the IEA. IPACE exists to elect individuals to the Illinois General Assembly, statewide office, and local school boards who will make a difference for quality education.

WHAT DOES THE FEA PRESIDENT DO WITH THEIR RELEASE TIME?

• The FEA President is entitled to release time per the FEA contract to conduct union business.

• The President reports his/her meetings for the previous month(s) to the FEA Representatives at their regularly scheduled meetings. Those reports are available to you through your building reps or through the president.

• In addition to meetings the President also fields phone calls and emails from members. These communications happen regularly even during the weekend, breaks, and over the summer.

I lost my contract. Where can I get another copy?

•         The contract can be electronically accessed in the event you have misplaced your hard copy.

a.       Go to www.fsd145.org

b.       Click on Departments

c.       Click on Human Resources

d.       Click on Bargaining Agreements – ours is the last one on the page.

How can I find copies of the Board Policies and Administrative Regulations?

•         Board Policies and Administrative Regulations are also available electronically should you have need.

a.       Go to www.fsd145.org

b.       Hover over Board of Education

c.       Click on Board Policies – this will take you to the Board Docs website.

d.       On Board Docs in the upper left corner click on the tab for Policies.3.       

What is a Grievance? How long do I have to file a Grievance?

•       Grievance Flow Chart – in the contract

a.       Remember a grievance is not necessarily a bad thing – it is a facilitated problem solving process.

b.       By contract “A grievance shall be filed within fifteen (15) school days of the event giving rise to the grievance. If neither the aggrieved nor the Association had knowledge of the event giving rise to the grievance then the grievance may be filed within fifteen (15) school days of the first such knowledge.”

c.       The sooner you let someone know the better!!

What should I do if I suspect I have an issue?

•        Document, document, document – if something is becoming an issue document as much as you can in writing – this can be the difference between resolving the issue and it continuing.

What are my Union Representation Rights?

•         Union Representation Rights – “If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, or affect my personal working conditions, I respectfully request that my Association representative be present at the meeting. Without representation, I choose not to answer any questions.” Administration has to honor this request.

I want to resign from the district, is there anything I should know about timelines etc.?

The FEA and district want to notify all certified staff of Illinois School Code language regarding your Professional Educator License (PEL) and how it can be affected if you resign from a district.

• 105 ILCS 5/24-14:  A teacher who has entered into contractual continued service may resign at any time by obtaining concurrence of the board or by serving at least 30 days' written notice upon the secretary of the board. However, no teacher may resign during the school term, without the concurrence of the board, in order to accept another teaching assignment. Any teacher terminating said service not in accordance with this Section is guilty of unprofessional conduct and liable to suspension of licensure for a period not to exceed 1 year, as provided in Section 21B-75 of this Code.

• Therefore, tenured teachers must provide at least 30 days’ advance written notice of resignation or receive permission from the Board of Education.  ANY teacher who resigns during the school term is in breach of contract with the District, and any teacher who resigns during the school term to accept a teaching job with another school district will be referred to ISBE with a request that the teacher’s license be suspended for one year.

Communications in general:

a.       If you have district concerns please let your building reps/president know about them. If you go straight to a School Board Member and FEA is not aware of the issue we cannot represent you to the best of our ability.

b.       Public Talk – Be aware of what you say and where. Ears are listening and mouths are talking.

c.       Computers/Social Media – Be aware of what you put on social media regarding your job, your students, and your personal life. Please try not to complain about your job on social media, and don’t ever call out administration or another teacher on social media.  You could face district discipline for what you put out there.

I would like to resign my FEA/IEA/NEA membership. What benefits would I lose?

• See the attached: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KOsajsjC7eVFmLNul7bAjAY0dnZyB0ba/view?usp=sharing

After reading the above document, I still want to resign my FEA/IEA/NEA membership. What do I do?

• You must provide a letter in writing to the FEA President or the IEA President with your signature stating that you would like to resign and that you are aware that you are giving up all membership rights, privileges and representation. This must be a physical letter with an original signature. Emails are not accepted.