Contracts negotiated at the district level often dictate what teachers can and can't do to the point that it can threaten the quality of your child's education. For instance, rather than matching a class with the most qualified teacher, placement is usually based on seniority. And, contracts can hinder teacher evaluation and make it difficult to fire incompetent teachers.

In some states, such as California, curriculum, testing and standards are creeping into collective bargaining negotiations. This could further tie the hands of policy makers trying to advocate for reform.

"Parents have very little idea about exactly how overarching and restrictive these contracts are," says Lance Izumi, director of the Center for School Reform at Pacific Research Institute in San Francisco. Unfortunately, key issues laid out in teacher contracts can make a difference in a school board's ability to act in the best interest of children.

Last year, PRI conducted a comprehensive study, Contract for Failure, which examined the impact of 25 years of collective bargaining on the effectiveness of California's schools. Collective bargaining is the process by which teacher unions negotiate pay and benefits for their members, typically district by district. Of the 460 districts studied, the report revealed that almost 75 percent of the teacher unions had too much power over curriculum, professional development, the scope of academic freedom, accountability, rewards based on performance, and teacher self-governance.

When issues of curriculum, standards - even course content and textbook selection - start to be put into a union contract, the public loses its influence because those negotiations take place behind closed doors. Instead, education policy should be debated in public hearings where parents can weigh in, suggests Izumi.

While many unions want to portray themselves as professional organizations concerned with protecting the occupation of teaching, they often operate as power brokers defending special interests and fueling a bloated bureaucracy. And in California, the results have been devastating. Despite record spending levels, student achievement in the state has plummeted in large part because of the power of unions, according to the Contract for Failure.

What's happening in California is not unique. Most states have teacher unions and are impacted by collective bargaining agreements, adds Izumi.

Charter schools are not immune to the issues surrounding teacher contracts. While many charters are freed from such contracts, some have the option of hiring teachers who are subject to collective bargaining and others voluntarily adhere to union contracts.

For the influence of unions to change, parents need to get involved and educate themselves about their district's contract, says Izumi. If there is a problem area, speak up at a school board meeting and encourage that those issues be negotiated in the next contract round. Too often, teacher unions with large war chests pump money into school board races and try to exert pressure on members to side with unions, says Izumi. School boards need to hear opinions from all sides.

"If you look at a basic democratic level - people can express their policy wishes through electing people to school boards, but if there are these union contracts that blunt the ability of school boards to implement the vision of the voters - that blocks the potential for school reform," says Izumi.

For more information on the Contract for Failure, look at www.pacificresearch.org

"It was becoming a political machine and was involved in things that weren't related to education. It was not a professional organization," says the Olympia, Washington, guidance counselor.

Amidon had joined the Washington Education Association, an affiliate of the National Education Association, in the late 1970s when she was a middle school teacher. Over the years, she questioned how her $800 in annual dues was being used and was never satisfied with the answer.

"One of my gripes when I was a union member was that they never asked our opinion on political items of great importance," says Amidon. "They never surveyed us, yet they represented teachers as having one position." And, oftentimes, that position was at odds with Amidon's beliefs.

"There is an astounding number of non-education related topics that the union believes in," Amidon says. "Reading the resolutions blew me out of the water. I got out my magnifying glass to read them and I was just so surprised."

She objects to her money supporting the work of the state and national unions that portray themselves as speaking with one voice for all teachers. Amidon objects to her union dues being used to support political candidates and issues that she opposes.

So in 1991, Amidon discontinued her membership with the WEA. She has asked to be a religious objector and have the money she is required to pay in union dues instead be allocated to a charity of her choice, the American Red Cross.

Amidon adds that many teachers appreciate the work that unions do on a local level with bargaining, but it's the requirement to join the state and national layers of union bureaucracy that some oppose.

In 2001, Amidon became a founding member of Northwest Professional Educators. This non-profit, non-partisan, professional organization is for current, retired and future educators. About half of all states have an independent professional teacher association. By joining NWPE, teachers also become members of the Association of American Educators (AAE). Amidon is also a board member of the NWPE.

The NWPE is not a union. Rather, it is an alternative for educators looking for a professional organization that expands the education dialogue, without funding politics that violate their beliefs.

"We really believe in the communities that we serve and we want to partner with parents to support kids," says Amidon.

The NWPE surveys its members before representing teachers as taking a position on education-related topics in Washington State. Additionally, there must be a supermajority in favor of a position before NWPE represents that as the voice of teachers. "I like the fact that we are allowed to have a real voice - that's crucial," says Amidon.

With about 300 members statewide, NWPE has a long way to go to catch up with the membership of the WEA, but the new organization is gaining momentum, says Amidon. "We are fighting an uphill battle and the union is mischaracterizing who we are," she says. "But we are responding professionally."

The NWPE advocates for higher standards, accountability, and education policies that reflect local community standards established by parents, teachers and school boards. It's another voice for teachers - and one that parents will likely hear more about as the movement gains momentum.