ISEA Legislative Conference

 
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Saturday, January 18 at the Sheraton West Des Moines Hotel in West Des Moines, IA.

4 CANDIDATES: Biden, Booker, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Warren.*
*Booker ended his campaign on January 13.

Background:  The ISEA 2020 Legislative Conference is a meeting for ISEA members only. It is a private event. Only ISEA members and credentialed press are allowed entry.  Presidential candidates will begin speaking at 9:05 a.m. ISEA president, Mike Beranek will be introducing the candidates. Each candidate is given 15 minutes to speak. There is a timer for speakers to follow. The microphone will be turned-off at 10 seconds past 15 minutes. There will be no Q&A.

Candidates who participated in the NEA recommendation process were invited to speak...

The conference will welcome more than 300 ISEA members and will be live streamed on the ISEA, Nevada Education Association and National Education Association Education Votes Facebook pages reaching more than 3 million members across the country.
   

Notes:  Bennet and Sanders were also eligible to participate.  The event was part of the ISEA legislative conference.  Friday, the day before this event, there was a sizable snowstorm in Iowa, but roads were passable by the morning of the 18th.
 
In addition to this event there have also been two other forums to engage NEA members: the NEA Strong Public Schools 2020 Presidential Forum in Houston on July 5 and the Public Education Forum 2020: Equity and Justice for All forum in Pittsburgh on Dec. 14.

The ISEA does not endorse in the presidential race, but the NEA does.  (They refer to it as a recommendation rather than an endorsement).   The NEA process started with a questionnaire sent out to the candidates.  Candidates who returned the questionnaire then did sit-down recorded interviews with NEA President Lily Eskelsen García (>).   If and when NEA leadership decides it is time to make an recommendation, they will present that to the PAC council.  Following votes by the PAC council and then by the full board of directors (>), the recommendation would be official.  In the last cycle NEA announced its recommendation of Hillary Clinton on Oct 3, 2015 (+).