Updated 11/8/19

The Giles County Board of Education selected two professional employees with an equal number of board members to represent Professional Educators Collaborative Conferencing Act or PECCA during a monthly meeting last night (Thursday).

Teachers selected were Christy Simpson and Charlotte Stevenson along with board members Jim Stewart and Debra Tillman.

PECCA replaced the Education Professional Negotiation Act (EPNA) and does not make collaborative conferencing mandatory, but if the process is initiated by the professional employees of a district the local board of education is legally obligated to engage in such conferencing, and both parties are bound to use the principles of interest-based collaborative problem solving

Collaborative Conferencing is the process by which local boards of education and their professional employees meet, either directly or through representatives designated by the respective parties, to confer, consult, and discuss matters relating to certain terms and conditions of professional service as specified by the passing of the PECCA. The process of collaborative conferencing includes the exchange of information, opinions, and proposals among the conferencing parties, as well as the use of the principles and techniques of interest based collaborative problem solving .