Deep into the night, delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly in Los Angeles debated the issues.

Delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly worked deep into the night to complete business on the final day of the Association's 80th Representative Assembly, July 4-7 in Los Angeles.

From school safety and low-performing schools, to charter schools and high-stakes testing, more than 9,000 delegates took responsibility for ensuring all students receive a quality education in America's public schools, consistent with the RA theme of "Making Every Public School Great"

In his keynote address, NEA President Bob Chase challenged delegates to help students and schools of greatest need: "It is not a question of whether we can lift up low-performing schools, but whether we have the will to do so." Taking the first step, Chase said he would visit low-performing schools across the country during his final year in office. "In every city and town that I visit during my last year as NEA president, I will make it my business to visit those schools that are not showcases," Chase said. "Not to shine a spotlight of shame on these schools, but to offer a small beacon of light."
On the policy front, delegates adopted new charter school guidelines to be used by educators, policymakers and parents in evaluating state charter school laws. The policy, drafted by a special committee made up of NEA officials, educators, and charter school experts, provides principles for ensuring that taxpayer-funded charter schools are held to the same instructional standards as other mainstream public schools.

In addition, NEA delegates approved a historic partnership agreement with the American Federation of Teachers that provides a framework for regular and focused cooperation between the two unions.

At the classroom level, delegates expressed concern about the harmful effects of high-stakes tests that are imposed on students without giving them the extra support required to achieve at higher levels. With overwhelming support, delegates directed NEA to support legislation giving parents the ability to let their children opt-out of high-stakes tests.
Further, delegates embraced several new resolutions addressing teacher quality through compensation innovations. They overwhelmingly approved a resolution that endorses additional compensation to retain experienced educators in the classroom, and approved criteria for additional compensation to education employees beyond the traditional single-salary schedule.

In his first RA address as NEA executive director, John Wilson urged delegates to "wear the union label proudly" and propose solutions that improve education employees' professional standing. "That's why NEA's initiative to make low-performing schools a top priority for our nation is so important," he said.

In a commitment to creating harassment-free and discrimination-free learning environments, NEA delegates also called for the establishment of a task force to look at issues relating to policies on sexual orientation in a thorough and meaningful way. The task force will make its recommendations in February 2002.

Additionally, NEA delegates brought focus to school safety in a presentation titled, "The Strongest Links," which featured individuals taking action to create safer schools and communities.

Providing quality teaching and learning opportunities for all students filled discussions and debates.

National Teacher of the Year Michele Forman, a Vermont world history teacher, challenged delegates to speak out against emergency licenses, waivers, and other practices that lower teaching standards. "Every child deserves a fully certified, licensed teacher. No child's education should be in the hands of someone ill-equipped to meet that child's needs," she urged.

Education Support Professional of the Year Irma Valdespino urged delegates to respect the language and culture of bilingual students and fully recognize their talents and strengths.

In other action, delegates elected new leaders to the NEA Executive Committee including Michael Marks, a high school dramatic arts and debate teacher from Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Rebecca "Becky" Pringle, a physical science teacher from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Mike Billirakis, a high school social studies teacher from Mogadore (Portage County), Ohio.

Where We Stand

Each year, the NEA members elected as delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly adopt Resolutions that spell out exactly where our Association stands on the many different issues that impact education and educators.

The complete text of this year's Resolutions appears on the Web at www.nea.org/resolutions. On this Web site, you can search the Resolutions by keywords to easily find the specific Resolutions on the topics that most interest you. If you don't have Web access and would like a printed copy of the Resolutions, please mail your request to NEA Today.

The Resolutions are organized around 10 basic goals set out in the Preamble to the NEA Constitution. The index below lists these 10 goal categories and the titles of the Resolutions in each category - and indicates all the Resolutions that have been either added or revised since last year.

Beginning below and continuing on the next two pages of this special NEA Today Resolutions section, you'll find the major new added or revised Resolutions highlighted.