Post by Arwen on Sept 19, 2008 16:36:37 GMT -5
A friend of mine who is part of the IPPC forwarded this to me. It was from Leah Keane, IPPC Second VP, Legislation and Policy Committee Chair. They indicated it could/should be shared.
LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY COMMITTEE
Report: Sept. 18, 2008 IPPC Meeting
Sept. 2 Meeting with Judy Finn, new IPSD Title I Director
IPPC President Robin Church and I met with Judy Finn to discuss how parents might find out about getting involved with the Title I services provided at their schools. This year, eight of our elementary schools qualify: Brooks, Brookdale, Cowlishaw, Gombert, Georgetown,Longwood, McCarty, and Welch. Of these eight, four have been targeted for special attention by Judy to close the academic gaps between disadvantaged groups and the general population: Gombert, Georgetown, Longwood and McCarty. The first step is a letter inviting parents to an initial meeting run by the principal and attended by the interventionists and support teachers explaining:
• the Title I Program, and requirements for eligibility
• how parents can work with their children at home, distribute pamphlets
• how parents can seek help for their children
Here are the details for the four targeted schools:
• Longwood – Have scheduled the Title I meeting for November, but looks like it will be moved to December. Regarding limited English proficiency: ESL has already had a meeting in Spanish. Same will be done with scheduled Title I meeting and Title I brochures will be handed out in English and Spanish.
• Gombert – Has scheduled Title I meeting for October 7th. Will send home Aims Web and ISAT Data and invite parents to Reading/Writing Curriculum night. ESL teachers will be present to accommodate parents in translation. Title I brochures will be handed out in both Spanish and English.
• McCarty – Curriculum night was held on September 11th where Title I was addressed. Pamphlets were handed out in English and Spanish. Three additional nights will be held throughout the year that will also address Title I.
• Georgetown – Title I will be addressed at October 7th PTA meeting. It will also be addressed at Curriculum night meetings (Spanish/Math) and (Kindergarten/ Reading) meeting. Irene, Student Service Coordinator will be responsible for handing out brochures in both English and Spanish with translation as needed.
Lunchroom Recycling Pilot at Nancy Young Elementary School:
Patterson and Young are two schools in the district that have been especially enthusiastic and effective about “going green.” When they raised the question of shifting to recyclable lunch materials, especially for high-volume waste disposables such as milk cartons and food trays, I arranged for a meeting between them and Karla Zozulia, District Director of Support Services, and Lori McMahon, our Sodexo General Manger. In attendance at that meeting from Young were PTA President Sue Rasmus, Recycling Chair Sandra Coyner, Corresponding Secretary and IPPC First VP Sharon Sugas, and myself. Sue then set up a second meeting last Thursday with Young Principal Adrienne Morgan and Service Committee Chair Carolyn Fichte to hear Lori’s proposal. The end result is a pilot program that will replace single serve ketchup, mustard, and BBQ packets with squirt bottles and phase out straws starting next Monday, Sept. 22. On Oct. 1, styrofoam trays will be replaced with plastic reusable baskets. Sodexho will continue to look into replacing non-recyclable sporks and recycling milk cartons. The district will also be considering recycling when they begin to look at vendor bids in the late winter or early spring, as our contract with Sodexho expires after next year.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATES
Local/Municipal
EJ&E Railroad Acquisition by Canadian National
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was released by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Friday, July 25, 2008. The draft EIS evaluates the potential environmental impacts such as impacts to wetlands and wildlife, noise and future traffic operations that could result from the proposed acquisition of the EJ&E Railroad by the CN. Fifteen roads were identified in the report as needing improvements. Ogden Ave is mentioned for an underpass or overpass. Montgomery Road and Liberty are also mentioned. (See the IPPC website for a link to the document.)
The STB hosted 8 open houses and public hearings to accept public comments on the Draft EIS throughout the Chicagoland area. In attendance at the Aurora meeting on Sept. 9 were IPPC President Robin Church, District Superintendent Stephen Daeschner, District Coordinator of Community Relations Jason Altenbern, Naperville Council and TRAC Naperville Representative Darlene Senger, PTA District 36 Director Jean Donovan, and myself.
Comments on the EIS may be submitted until Sept. 30. Please check the IPPC website for details and addresses under Committee Work, then Legislative.
On Sept. 8, the STB denied CN’s petition that the Board serve a final decision by October 15, 2008, effective November 14, 2008, that would allow CN and EJ&E to complete the stock purchase by December 31, 2008. Instead, STB set a timetable with a final EIS due to be released by the end of January, with a final decision to follow as soon as possible.
This morning, Darlene Senger is attending a meeting with Metra officials who are opposed to the acquisition because of interference with the projected STAR line that would use the same tracks.
State Legislation
Several pieces of legislation are continued from last session. A complete list can be seen on the Illinois PTA website (http://www.illinoispta.org/Legislation.html) or on the State Legislature’s website (ilga.gov).
The state budget has passed, even though the experts do not believe it is really balanced. The state of Illinois is badly in need of increased revenues to pay its bills. In an effort to avoid the obvious (raising taxes), state legislators have been considering expanding the Illinois lottery. A capital bill for Illinois roads, bridges, etc. is also badly needed, and there is talk of leasing the Illinois lottery to a private company to raise funds for the bill. However, this could mean less money for the state in the long-run because it will no longer be entitled to lottery revenues.
Senate Bill 2288 and House Bill 750
These bills will be most likely reconsidered this fall. They both increase state funding for schools, reducing the need to rely on local property taxes. The goal is to make funding more equitable across school districts in Illinois. Both bills achieve this by increasing the Illinois income tax for individuals and corporations while reducing property taxes. Efforts are being made to offer amendments that would make SB 2288 pass after the November election. The state PTA strongly supports both bills, although locally some oppose having more of our school funds under the state’s control. Talk to your state legislators, Joe Dunn and Randy Hultgren, if you want your opinion heard.
HB 4232 is still the Senate Rules Committee. Many in Springfield believe the Governor has the State Board in his pocket, and want the Board to be more independent from the Governor. This bill would reorganize the Illinois State Board of Education, terminating the terms of all the sitting ISBE board members and calling for new appointments.
Sept. 11 IPSD Budget Meeting with Dave Holm, Asst. Superintendent of Business
In response to questions raised in the IPPC survey from last spring, the Legislation and Policy committee met with Dave Holm to inform themselves better about the district budget. The tentative budget for 2008-09 was discussed at the August 25 Board of Education meeting. (You can access a video of the budget presentation and a copy of the tentative $272 million budget at mms://media.ipsd.org/ipsd_ondemand/board_misc/Budget_Presentation_082508.wsx and ipsdweb.ipsd.org/Documents/0809/09StateBudgetForm.pdf ). The next step in the budget approval process is a public hearing set for September 22 during the Board of Ed meeting.
Below is a summary of the meeting’s highlights:
• Fiscal year is 7/1 – 6/30
• If you are comparing last year to this year using the form submitted to the state, you may notice some changes. These were made by the state of Illinois. This doesn’t change the number of dollars reported, just what column or row they reside. An example is Torte was added as a column to breakout dollars carried by the district to cover possible lawsuits.
• District 204 changed accounting methods from cash to accrual basis. This will more accurately report dollars in the year they are budgeted.
• OPEB is a new item for the district. It is an acronym for Other Than Pension Benefits. The district, using actuarial valuation to forecast the amount, will begin carrying a line item in the budget for benefits to retired personnel. With 15 years of service, personnel can receive benefits to age 65. This will become a large dollar amount. This is the first year the district will begin to recognize the future cost of this benefit.
• As you may recall from a report by Dave Holm last spring, the district has received an increase in state aid per student of $225. The district is using this increased cash flow to pay for new initiatives in technology, staff development and facilities. A note on the facilities portion, this is for renovations. After 10 years of focusing on new construction, there is a shift toward upkeep and renovations.
• This year’s budget reports a deficit of $2.2M. Dave explained this was due to the increased cost of all day kindergarten. The district will not collect the additional state aid for these full-time students until next year. There would be a budget surplus of $2M without the all day kindergarten costs.
• In cooperation with District 203, the district purchased a new financial reporting system called Lawson. As phase II of this system is implemented this year, it will bring a new level of transparency to the district finances. The community will be able to see how the district is performing financially by viewing benchmarks online.
• The food service contract will go out to bid this year in late winter. Year 08-09 is the last year of Sodexho’s contract. The district will be investigating the option of joining the National School Lunch program. Pat Decker, the former administrator overseeing the school lunch program, was not in favor of this program. The district would be placed in the position of taking surplus food generated by the federal government’s subsidy programs. For example, the federal government subsidizes the dairy industry and consequently owns large amounts of cheese. What do they do with this cheese they purchased from farmers? Send it to any food service programs they subsidize, in this case, the hot lunch program. The district would be notified monthly of the incoming surplus whether it is cheese or peanut butter or whatever.
• The student transportation contract will be out to bid in late winter, and gas will be separated out. Darlene suggested pooling purchasing power for gas with 203 and local municipalities.
• Returning to the new initiative above on facility renovation, the district will be assessing all their facilities and preparing a schedule for regular maintenance and repair.
• Banking services will be out to bid this year. Current provider is Harris Bank.
• A Citizens Financial Advisory Committee is used by the district to give an outside point of view on their financial decisions. The committee is comprised of business executives.
• Notables concerning revenue for fiscal year 2009: interest was down by 0.5%, general state aid up $225, changes in property tax assessment not a factor at this time because of the tax cap.
• Notes about expenditures for fiscal year 2009: staff and benefits are 80% of the budget; switch to BC/BS on 1/1/007 has created a projected savings of $7.4M for 2007 and 2008.
• Referendum information: typical cycle of 8 years for an operating referendum. The district originally projected 2009 for an operating referendum increase request, that date has been pushed back to 2012. Savings with health care costs, etc.
When we inquired about how parents might learn how budget decisions about education are made, we were referred to Kathy Birkett, Deputy Superintendent. We will be meeting with her in early October to discuss how budget line items related to educational programs are set, and to inquire whether there is a process by which parents can find out and give input ahead of time before decisions are made.
Federal Issues (Tasha Heidenrich)
EJ&E Railroad Acquisition by Canadian National
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is the regulatory group that will make the final decision to approve or disapprove the acquisition. Aurora and Naperville have joined twenty-two other communities and agencies to form The Regional Answer to Canadian National (TRAC). TRAC asserts that neither the Board nor CNR is addressing all of the negative impacts this acquisition could have. TRAC requested that Congress become involved, by asking it to issue a moratorium on further STB proceedings until Congressional oversight hearings could be conducted. Out of this response came a federal bill, H.R. 6707, the "Taking Responsible Action for Community Safety" Act, which would require the Surface Transportation Board to more thoroughly consider the impacts of a transaction on the surrounding communities and reinforces the STB's ability to include mitigation requirements. The bill changes rail law to explicitly tell the Board that "it shall not approve a transaction" if the adverse impacts on safety and affected communities "outweigh the transportation benefits."
On Monday, September 8 our Members of Congress returned to Washington D.C. from a month-long District Work period. With a targeted adjournment of September 26, they have very little time to act on H.R. 6707. We need to move this bill to the front of the line for their consideration, so we urge you to pass on this information to your units, asking them to flood congressional offices in the coming week with e-mails and calls. Refer people to www.fightrailcongestion.com if they need more information.
FY2008 Budget
Though the budget process is moving forward, it is expected to soon stall still again--just as it did last year. It had begun to move in that Congress passed a budget resolution last week, which is an overall spending limit set by Congress for its appropriation bills.
The limit set this year is $24.5B over that of the White House Administration. Thus, another battle is expected—Bush has indicated he will not approve such an amount, and the Democratic leadership has indicated that they would be willing to wait until the next President comes into office to fully deal with those spending bills. Nevertheless, if none of the spending bills are passed this year, the process that began with the budget resolution will form the framework for spending in FY09 with a new Administration.
Reauthorization of NCLB
Congress is still at a standstill in its work to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act. This is due not only to the difficulties in agreeing on proposed changes to the Act during an election year, but also due to provisions in the proposed bill that are being opposed by teachers’ unions.
The National Education Association strongly supports the stated goals of the law -- to raise student learning, close achievement gaps, and ensure qualified teachers. But, the NEA is asking Congress to make three fundamental changes in the law:
1. Use more than test scores to measure student learning and school performance;
2. Reduce class size to help students learn;
3. Increase the number of highly qualified teachers in our schools. The National Education Association currently supports 131 bills introduced in Congress to revise NCLB.
NEA also calls for adequate funding of NCLB. NEA state-by-state data shows how current funding falls far below the level set in the law. Go to www.nea.org/lac/esea/index.html to find out more.
Other Issues
The NEA has also taken a position in support of the School Safety Enhancements Act (HR 2352), which would increase federal grants to update school security and create safety hotlines to report dangerous situations. The NEA also supports the No Child Left Inside Act (HR 3036). The Act would provide grants to ensure that teachers have the have the necessary knowledge and skills to teach “green” (environmental) education. However, the House Committee on Rules decided to defer a vote on the bill.
LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY COMMITTEE
Report: Sept. 18, 2008 IPPC Meeting
Sept. 2 Meeting with Judy Finn, new IPSD Title I Director
IPPC President Robin Church and I met with Judy Finn to discuss how parents might find out about getting involved with the Title I services provided at their schools. This year, eight of our elementary schools qualify: Brooks, Brookdale, Cowlishaw, Gombert, Georgetown,Longwood, McCarty, and Welch. Of these eight, four have been targeted for special attention by Judy to close the academic gaps between disadvantaged groups and the general population: Gombert, Georgetown, Longwood and McCarty. The first step is a letter inviting parents to an initial meeting run by the principal and attended by the interventionists and support teachers explaining:
• the Title I Program, and requirements for eligibility
• how parents can work with their children at home, distribute pamphlets
• how parents can seek help for their children
Here are the details for the four targeted schools:
• Longwood – Have scheduled the Title I meeting for November, but looks like it will be moved to December. Regarding limited English proficiency: ESL has already had a meeting in Spanish. Same will be done with scheduled Title I meeting and Title I brochures will be handed out in English and Spanish.
• Gombert – Has scheduled Title I meeting for October 7th. Will send home Aims Web and ISAT Data and invite parents to Reading/Writing Curriculum night. ESL teachers will be present to accommodate parents in translation. Title I brochures will be handed out in both Spanish and English.
• McCarty – Curriculum night was held on September 11th where Title I was addressed. Pamphlets were handed out in English and Spanish. Three additional nights will be held throughout the year that will also address Title I.
• Georgetown – Title I will be addressed at October 7th PTA meeting. It will also be addressed at Curriculum night meetings (Spanish/Math) and (Kindergarten/ Reading) meeting. Irene, Student Service Coordinator will be responsible for handing out brochures in both English and Spanish with translation as needed.
Lunchroom Recycling Pilot at Nancy Young Elementary School:
Patterson and Young are two schools in the district that have been especially enthusiastic and effective about “going green.” When they raised the question of shifting to recyclable lunch materials, especially for high-volume waste disposables such as milk cartons and food trays, I arranged for a meeting between them and Karla Zozulia, District Director of Support Services, and Lori McMahon, our Sodexo General Manger. In attendance at that meeting from Young were PTA President Sue Rasmus, Recycling Chair Sandra Coyner, Corresponding Secretary and IPPC First VP Sharon Sugas, and myself. Sue then set up a second meeting last Thursday with Young Principal Adrienne Morgan and Service Committee Chair Carolyn Fichte to hear Lori’s proposal. The end result is a pilot program that will replace single serve ketchup, mustard, and BBQ packets with squirt bottles and phase out straws starting next Monday, Sept. 22. On Oct. 1, styrofoam trays will be replaced with plastic reusable baskets. Sodexho will continue to look into replacing non-recyclable sporks and recycling milk cartons. The district will also be considering recycling when they begin to look at vendor bids in the late winter or early spring, as our contract with Sodexho expires after next year.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATES
Local/Municipal
EJ&E Railroad Acquisition by Canadian National
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was released by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) on Friday, July 25, 2008. The draft EIS evaluates the potential environmental impacts such as impacts to wetlands and wildlife, noise and future traffic operations that could result from the proposed acquisition of the EJ&E Railroad by the CN. Fifteen roads were identified in the report as needing improvements. Ogden Ave is mentioned for an underpass or overpass. Montgomery Road and Liberty are also mentioned. (See the IPPC website for a link to the document.)
The STB hosted 8 open houses and public hearings to accept public comments on the Draft EIS throughout the Chicagoland area. In attendance at the Aurora meeting on Sept. 9 were IPPC President Robin Church, District Superintendent Stephen Daeschner, District Coordinator of Community Relations Jason Altenbern, Naperville Council and TRAC Naperville Representative Darlene Senger, PTA District 36 Director Jean Donovan, and myself.
Comments on the EIS may be submitted until Sept. 30. Please check the IPPC website for details and addresses under Committee Work, then Legislative.
On Sept. 8, the STB denied CN’s petition that the Board serve a final decision by October 15, 2008, effective November 14, 2008, that would allow CN and EJ&E to complete the stock purchase by December 31, 2008. Instead, STB set a timetable with a final EIS due to be released by the end of January, with a final decision to follow as soon as possible.
This morning, Darlene Senger is attending a meeting with Metra officials who are opposed to the acquisition because of interference with the projected STAR line that would use the same tracks.
State Legislation
Several pieces of legislation are continued from last session. A complete list can be seen on the Illinois PTA website (http://www.illinoispta.org/Legislation.html) or on the State Legislature’s website (ilga.gov).
The state budget has passed, even though the experts do not believe it is really balanced. The state of Illinois is badly in need of increased revenues to pay its bills. In an effort to avoid the obvious (raising taxes), state legislators have been considering expanding the Illinois lottery. A capital bill for Illinois roads, bridges, etc. is also badly needed, and there is talk of leasing the Illinois lottery to a private company to raise funds for the bill. However, this could mean less money for the state in the long-run because it will no longer be entitled to lottery revenues.
Senate Bill 2288 and House Bill 750
These bills will be most likely reconsidered this fall. They both increase state funding for schools, reducing the need to rely on local property taxes. The goal is to make funding more equitable across school districts in Illinois. Both bills achieve this by increasing the Illinois income tax for individuals and corporations while reducing property taxes. Efforts are being made to offer amendments that would make SB 2288 pass after the November election. The state PTA strongly supports both bills, although locally some oppose having more of our school funds under the state’s control. Talk to your state legislators, Joe Dunn and Randy Hultgren, if you want your opinion heard.
HB 4232 is still the Senate Rules Committee. Many in Springfield believe the Governor has the State Board in his pocket, and want the Board to be more independent from the Governor. This bill would reorganize the Illinois State Board of Education, terminating the terms of all the sitting ISBE board members and calling for new appointments.
Sept. 11 IPSD Budget Meeting with Dave Holm, Asst. Superintendent of Business
In response to questions raised in the IPPC survey from last spring, the Legislation and Policy committee met with Dave Holm to inform themselves better about the district budget. The tentative budget for 2008-09 was discussed at the August 25 Board of Education meeting. (You can access a video of the budget presentation and a copy of the tentative $272 million budget at mms://media.ipsd.org/ipsd_ondemand/board_misc/Budget_Presentation_082508.wsx and ipsdweb.ipsd.org/Documents/0809/09StateBudgetForm.pdf ). The next step in the budget approval process is a public hearing set for September 22 during the Board of Ed meeting.
Below is a summary of the meeting’s highlights:
• Fiscal year is 7/1 – 6/30
• If you are comparing last year to this year using the form submitted to the state, you may notice some changes. These were made by the state of Illinois. This doesn’t change the number of dollars reported, just what column or row they reside. An example is Torte was added as a column to breakout dollars carried by the district to cover possible lawsuits.
• District 204 changed accounting methods from cash to accrual basis. This will more accurately report dollars in the year they are budgeted.
• OPEB is a new item for the district. It is an acronym for Other Than Pension Benefits. The district, using actuarial valuation to forecast the amount, will begin carrying a line item in the budget for benefits to retired personnel. With 15 years of service, personnel can receive benefits to age 65. This will become a large dollar amount. This is the first year the district will begin to recognize the future cost of this benefit.
• As you may recall from a report by Dave Holm last spring, the district has received an increase in state aid per student of $225. The district is using this increased cash flow to pay for new initiatives in technology, staff development and facilities. A note on the facilities portion, this is for renovations. After 10 years of focusing on new construction, there is a shift toward upkeep and renovations.
• This year’s budget reports a deficit of $2.2M. Dave explained this was due to the increased cost of all day kindergarten. The district will not collect the additional state aid for these full-time students until next year. There would be a budget surplus of $2M without the all day kindergarten costs.
• In cooperation with District 203, the district purchased a new financial reporting system called Lawson. As phase II of this system is implemented this year, it will bring a new level of transparency to the district finances. The community will be able to see how the district is performing financially by viewing benchmarks online.
• The food service contract will go out to bid this year in late winter. Year 08-09 is the last year of Sodexho’s contract. The district will be investigating the option of joining the National School Lunch program. Pat Decker, the former administrator overseeing the school lunch program, was not in favor of this program. The district would be placed in the position of taking surplus food generated by the federal government’s subsidy programs. For example, the federal government subsidizes the dairy industry and consequently owns large amounts of cheese. What do they do with this cheese they purchased from farmers? Send it to any food service programs they subsidize, in this case, the hot lunch program. The district would be notified monthly of the incoming surplus whether it is cheese or peanut butter or whatever.
• The student transportation contract will be out to bid in late winter, and gas will be separated out. Darlene suggested pooling purchasing power for gas with 203 and local municipalities.
• Returning to the new initiative above on facility renovation, the district will be assessing all their facilities and preparing a schedule for regular maintenance and repair.
• Banking services will be out to bid this year. Current provider is Harris Bank.
• A Citizens Financial Advisory Committee is used by the district to give an outside point of view on their financial decisions. The committee is comprised of business executives.
• Notables concerning revenue for fiscal year 2009: interest was down by 0.5%, general state aid up $225, changes in property tax assessment not a factor at this time because of the tax cap.
• Notes about expenditures for fiscal year 2009: staff and benefits are 80% of the budget; switch to BC/BS on 1/1/007 has created a projected savings of $7.4M for 2007 and 2008.
• Referendum information: typical cycle of 8 years for an operating referendum. The district originally projected 2009 for an operating referendum increase request, that date has been pushed back to 2012. Savings with health care costs, etc.
When we inquired about how parents might learn how budget decisions about education are made, we were referred to Kathy Birkett, Deputy Superintendent. We will be meeting with her in early October to discuss how budget line items related to educational programs are set, and to inquire whether there is a process by which parents can find out and give input ahead of time before decisions are made.
Federal Issues (Tasha Heidenrich)
EJ&E Railroad Acquisition by Canadian National
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) is the regulatory group that will make the final decision to approve or disapprove the acquisition. Aurora and Naperville have joined twenty-two other communities and agencies to form The Regional Answer to Canadian National (TRAC). TRAC asserts that neither the Board nor CNR is addressing all of the negative impacts this acquisition could have. TRAC requested that Congress become involved, by asking it to issue a moratorium on further STB proceedings until Congressional oversight hearings could be conducted. Out of this response came a federal bill, H.R. 6707, the "Taking Responsible Action for Community Safety" Act, which would require the Surface Transportation Board to more thoroughly consider the impacts of a transaction on the surrounding communities and reinforces the STB's ability to include mitigation requirements. The bill changes rail law to explicitly tell the Board that "it shall not approve a transaction" if the adverse impacts on safety and affected communities "outweigh the transportation benefits."
On Monday, September 8 our Members of Congress returned to Washington D.C. from a month-long District Work period. With a targeted adjournment of September 26, they have very little time to act on H.R. 6707. We need to move this bill to the front of the line for their consideration, so we urge you to pass on this information to your units, asking them to flood congressional offices in the coming week with e-mails and calls. Refer people to www.fightrailcongestion.com if they need more information.
FY2008 Budget
Though the budget process is moving forward, it is expected to soon stall still again--just as it did last year. It had begun to move in that Congress passed a budget resolution last week, which is an overall spending limit set by Congress for its appropriation bills.
The limit set this year is $24.5B over that of the White House Administration. Thus, another battle is expected—Bush has indicated he will not approve such an amount, and the Democratic leadership has indicated that they would be willing to wait until the next President comes into office to fully deal with those spending bills. Nevertheless, if none of the spending bills are passed this year, the process that began with the budget resolution will form the framework for spending in FY09 with a new Administration.
Reauthorization of NCLB
Congress is still at a standstill in its work to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act. This is due not only to the difficulties in agreeing on proposed changes to the Act during an election year, but also due to provisions in the proposed bill that are being opposed by teachers’ unions.
The National Education Association strongly supports the stated goals of the law -- to raise student learning, close achievement gaps, and ensure qualified teachers. But, the NEA is asking Congress to make three fundamental changes in the law:
1. Use more than test scores to measure student learning and school performance;
2. Reduce class size to help students learn;
3. Increase the number of highly qualified teachers in our schools. The National Education Association currently supports 131 bills introduced in Congress to revise NCLB.
NEA also calls for adequate funding of NCLB. NEA state-by-state data shows how current funding falls far below the level set in the law. Go to www.nea.org/lac/esea/index.html to find out more.
Other Issues
The NEA has also taken a position in support of the School Safety Enhancements Act (HR 2352), which would increase federal grants to update school security and create safety hotlines to report dangerous situations. The NEA also supports the No Child Left Inside Act (HR 3036). The Act would provide grants to ensure that teachers have the have the necessary knowledge and skills to teach “green” (environmental) education. However, the House Committee on Rules decided to defer a vote on the bill.