NEA on School Modernization

NEA supports the America's Better Classroom Act.

• America's schools are in desperate need of repair and renovation.
  
  
• Across the country, students learn in overcrowded classrooms with peeling paint, leaking roofs, and faulty wiring. Some schools hold classes in "temporary" trailers, converted closets, and hallways.
  
  
• Too many students attend schools that lack basic electrical and telecommunications equipment necessary for connection to the Internet or the use of new education technologies.
  
  
• Students attending public schools in less than adequate condition face not only direct impacts on their academic achievement, but also significant dangers to their personal health and safety.
  
  
• A growing body of research shows a clear relationship between the condition of a school's facilities and student achievement.
  
  
• A recent study (The Walls Speak: The Interplay of Quality Facilities, School Climate, and Student Achievement, 2006) found a positive correlation between a school facility's condition, school climate, and student achievement.
  
  
• Another study (The Impact of School Environments, 2005) analyzed 25 years of research and found that the majority supported the relationship between school quality and student performance. Conversely, a study of Houston schools (The Wise Man Builds His House Upon the Rock, 2004) demonstrated how poor school conditions related to poor school performance.
  
  
• Unsafe and inadequate school facilities also impact classroom order and discipline. Modern, safe environments encourage learning and discourage disruptive behavior, while overcrowded classrooms make it more difficult to maintain classroom order.
  
  
• The America's Better Classroom Act will provide for the issuance of more than $25 billion in bonds for school modernization and new construction projects nationwide.
  
  
• Under the bill, the federal government would provide tax credits to bond holders in lieu of interest payments, and the state or school district would only be responsible for repaying the principal. This would save millions of dollars in interest payments for states and districts and help communities stretch limited resources to pay for school repair and renovation.

I'm ready to take action:

I need more information:

• Issue Overview: School Modernization
• Statement of NEA Member Judi Caddick on Modern Public School Facilities before the House Education and Labor Committee, 2/13/08