News and Developments

Improving Teacher Quality Requires an Investment, NEA Testifies

Arizona Education Association President John Wright, a classroom teacher with more than 20 years' experience, submitted testimony to a Senate subcommittee April 16 outlining what Congress can do through the education appropriations bill to ensure that every child attending public schools has a quality teacher. More >  April 2008

NEA President Says Changes to NCLB Are Overdue But Welcome

The U.S. Department of Education announced plans to address one of the major flaws of No Child Left Behind, calling on states to submit proposals to develop differentiated outcomes for schools that miss making their annual benchmarks — by a little or a lot. More >   March 2008

Why NCLB Must Be Fundamentally Overhauled

In the six years since the enactment of NCLB, its flaws, false assumptions, unintended consequences, and botched implementation have become all too apparent. More >  February 2008

NEA Testifies on School Modernization Issues

One of NEA's goals in the reauthorization of NCLB is to create a new program of federal support for school modernization and repairs, and Association member and math teacher Judi Caddick testified at a Feb. 13 hearing on Capitol Hill about the importance of physical conditions of schools. More > February 2008

Bush Digs in His Heels on Failing Education Policies

President Bush refused to make quality public schools a priority during his administration, and his final State of the Union address confirmed that his legacy on education  will be one of failed teach-to-the-test experiments, voucher schemes, and unfunded services for children and public education. More > January 2008

Appeals Court Deals NCLB Major Blow

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Jan. 7 that Education Secretary Spellings is violating the Spending Clause of the Constitution by requiring states and school districts to spend their own funds to comply with the No Child Left Behind law. More > January 2008

Documentary Exposes NCLB's Impact on Curriculum

NEA is urging members to ask their local PBS television stations to broadcast a documentary that explains the "devastating impact" the No Child Left Behind law has had on providing children with a well-rounded education. More >  December 2007

Sen. Clinton Joins NEA's 'School House to White House'

Senator Hillary Clinton visited students and school staff at the Dr. Walter Cunningham School for Excellence in Waterloo, IA, November 19 as part of NEA's "School House to the White House" initiative. More > November 2007

Critical Education Programs in Jeopardy

The House fell just two votes short of overriding President Bush's veto of an education spending bill Thursday, leaving some of the neediest students without essential programs necessary for them to succeed in school. The spending bill would have provided increases for Title I, special education, Head Start, after-school programs, Pell Grants, and other programs. More > November 2007

Sen. Clinton Joins NEA's 'School House to the White House'

Senator Hillary Clinton visited students and school staff at the Dr. Walter Cunningham School for Excellence in Waterloo, IA, on November 19 as part of NEA's "School House to the White House" initiative, designed to help presidential candidates understand the realities of teaching and learning in America's public schools. More >   November 2007

NEA Leader Urges President to 'Work with Congress'

NEA Executive Committee member Marsha Smith said at a Capitol Hill news conference that President Bush's threatened veto of an education funding bill under consideration by the Senate "undermines the public's support for investing in our children and America's future." October 2007

Most Voters Disagree with NCLB Focus on Reading, Math Test Scores

Most Voters Disagree with NCLB Focus on Reading, Math Test Scores
A new national poll suggests NCLB's prodding of education to focus narrowly on standardized reading and math scores is out of synch with the thinking of the vast majority of American voters. More >  October 2007

NEA Kicks Off 'School House to White House' Program

NEA's "School House to White House" initiative got underway in October with a visit by former Sen. John Edwards, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, to Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, New Hampshire. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson then paid a visit  to a Manchester, NH, elementary school.  October 2007

As Congress considers the House Education Committee's drafts of proposed changes for a reauthorized version of the No Child Left Behind Act, NEA is warning legislators that the "train is on the wrong track" and that they need to slow down and get it right. Read NEA's responses to the drafts. September 2007

NEA Responds to Draft of Changes
to NCLB/ESEA Titles II-XI

NEA has filed a letter responding to the U.S. House Education Committee's reauthorization draft of Titles II-XI of NCLB/ESEA, expressing opposition to proposed provisions regarding "performance pay" and removal of the High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation and commenting on a number of other proposed changes. Read the letter. September 2007

Wisconsin Lawmakers Follow Congress in Discussing Future of NCLB

At a Wisconsin Senate Education Committee hearing September 13 on the impact of NCLB, national and local experts called the congressional draft reauthorization bill "too prescriptive." Witness Becky Pringle, chair of NEA's ESEA Advisory Committee, said NCLB reauthorization must be a collaborative effort between the federal government and local lawmakers, educators, and parents. Read more. September 2007

NEA Urges House Committee to Reject
Draft Language for NCLB Reauthorization

NEA President Reg Weaver, testifying before the House Education and Labor Committee September 10, urged committee members not to miss an opportunity to make a meaningful and major course correction in reauthorizing NCLB.   Read more. September 2007

NEA Offers Praise and Concerns in Response to Title I Draft

NEA had some praise for -- and a number of reservations about -- the reauthorization draft of Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act (ESEA) that was released for comment by the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor. Read more.  September 2007

2008 Presidential Candidates on Education

Education consistently tops voters' domestic priorities and is an important part of the 2008 Presidential candidates' platforms. Find out what the six candidates who spoke at NEA's Annual Meeting had to say about No Child Left Behind and other education issues. Read More. September 2007

Support Grows for 'Multiple Measures' in NCLB

The need for a better measure of student achievement than a standardized test score, as now required by the No Child Left Behind act, gets its latest boost from 117 influential educators, scholars, researchers, and reformers. Read More.  August 2007

Democratic Candidates Reject Merit Pay for Teachers

During Sunday's Democratic debate in Iowa, candidates running for President rejected any mandatory pay-for-performance schemes as part of NCLB reauthorization, as well as any plan to tie teacher pay to student test scores. The candidates also called for universal preschool and an overhaul of NCLB. Read more.  August 2007

Groups Call for Better Ways to Measure Student Progress

Nearly two dozen major civil rights and disability advocacy groups are calling on Congress to include "multiple forms of assessment" and "multiple measures or indicators of student progress" in the No Child Left Behind Act, which is currently being considered for reauthorization. August 2007

Key Lawmaker Calls for 'Serious Changes' to NCLB

Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education Committee, said that "there are no votes in the U.S. House of Representatives for continuing the No Child Left Behind Act without making serious changes to it." In remarks at the National Press Club, Miller for the first time laid out major changes he says should be included in a reauthorized version of the No Child Left Behind Act. Most of the changes are consistent with NEA's priorities for changing the federal education law.  July 2007

Student Achievement Gains Have Slowed Since NCLB

New research shows that states were making more progress in raising student test scores in the 1990s than they have since enactment of the federal No Child Left Behind Act in 2002. July 2007

Study Finds NCLB Pressures Schools to Narrow Curriculum

A study released by the Center on Education Policy finds what teachers have known and have been warning about for several years now: the federal No Child Left Behind Act's testing requirements are narrowing the curriculum being taught in the nation's public schools.  July 2007

Voters Force National Spotlight on Education During Debate

No Child Left Behind finally got a full airing on commercial television as Democratic candidates for president squared off in Charleston, South Carolina. NEA President Reg Weaver said fielding questions from real voters made all the difference in focusing the debate on critical issues such as America's public schools. View videotaped questions by NEA members.  July 2007

NEA Pleased Presidential Debates Finally Focus on Public Education

The critical issues facing America's public schools finally made an appearance in a national debate between Democratic presidential candidates in Washington, D.C., on Thursday night (June 28, 2007). Over half of the debate, moderated by Tavis Smiley and broadcast nationally by PBS, was given over to education issues.  June 2007

House Poised to Direct More Funding to Education Programs

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to give significantly more funding to schools with higher proportions of low-income children, and to direct more resources to students with special needs and those requiring financial assistance for higher education. With nearly $2 billion slated for NCLB, NEA President Reg Weaver called it a "good start"  toward providing quality education for all students. June 2007

Study Finds Test Scores Up Since NCLB, But Cause Is Unclear

A study by the Center on Education Policy shows there have been improvements in math and reading testing results since passage of the No Child Left Behind Act, but also says the cause of the gains is not entirely clear. June 2007

NEA Members Promote Education at Presidential Debates

NEA members were on hand to promote public education  as a national priority as the Democratic and Republican presidential contenders debated the issues in New Hampshire. The Democrats debated on Sunday, June 3, and Republicans the following Tuesday. June 2007

Republican Presidential Debate Fails to Focus on NCLB

Tuesday marked the third time a nationally televised debate involving Republican presidential candidates ended without any substantive discussion regarding America's public schools and NCLB. June 2007

Federal Preschool Reading Program Gets Mixed Results

The Early Reading First Program created by the No Child Left Behind Act for preschool children has achieved mixed results, according to a federal study of the program. June 2007

Most Americans Favor Changing or Abolishing NCLB

Nearly two-thirds of American adults want Congress to re-write or outright abolish the federal No Child Left Behind Act that up for reauthorization by Congress, according to a survey by the Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University. June 2007

Six National Education Groups Call for Changes to Education Law

NEA and five of the nation's top education groups, representing school board members, superintendents, principals, teachers, and other school staff, have agreed to join together to push Congress for significant changes to NCLB. Find out more and read the joint statement. May 2007

Two More States Get Nod to Use 'Growth Models' for AYP

Iowa and Ohio will join a handful of other states allowed to use "growth models" to measure student academic achievement for Adequate Yearly Progress purposes under NCLB, according to an announcement by the Department of Education. May 2007

Key Part of NCLB Lacks Research Support

There isn't enough research to know whether or not third-party tutoring and other "Supplemental Education Services" required by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act do any good. Find out more. May 2007

Teachers of the Year Call for Changes to NCLB

One day after meeting with President Bush at the White House to celebrate their selections as state Teachers of the Year, 50 of the winners called for significant changes to NCLB. Watch the video (Windows Media Player) and find out more. May 2007

Rules for Students with Disabilities Fall Short

Final regulations from the Department of Education for testing students with disabilities do allow for alternatives supported by NEA. However, the new rules still don't give states and schools enough flexibility to truly meet these students' needs, says NEA. Go here for the details.  April 2007

Celebrating an Alternative to All Those Tests

May will be "National Exhibitions Month," a time to focus on what many educators consider to be a far better way to measure what students know and can do than using standardized tests. Find out more.  April 2007

Michigan Teacher Shares Views
on NCLB at Congressional Hearing

"If the NCLB accountability system were applied to other professions, eventually lawyers would have to win every case and doctors would have to cure every patient," says Flint, Mich. teacher Steve Burroughs, who testified this week at a congressional hearing on the No Child Left Behind Act. Find out more. April 2007

NEA Sets Top Priorities
for NCLB/ESEA Reauthorization

NEA's Top Legislative Priorities for ESEA sets out seven top tier priority issues we will focus our efforts on as Congress considers reauthorization of No Child Left Behind/ESEA Act. It also spells out five issues - all non-starters -- that would cause NEA to oppose the reauthorization if any one of them were included in the bill. The legislative priorities are concisely summarized in three main messages NEA will take to Congress. March 2007

NEA President Testifies Before
NCLB Joint Congressional Hearing

Reg Weaver on behalf of 3.2 million educators spoke March 13 to House and Senate education committees about a positive agenda of reforms to No Child Left Behind. His recommendations for improving the law included strategies for closing achievement gaps and retaining qualified educators. March 2007

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