Team NEA--Speaking Up!

NEA President Reg Weaver

Over the past year--my first year as your president--I have visited numerous public schools and listened to NEA members express pride in their service and accomplishments as public educators. Unfortunately, I have also heard confusion, frustration, and, yes, anger. Why? Because at a time when many public schools are realizing great successes--high standards and major strides in student achievement--our political leaders have put into place a formula for failure by promising classroom miracles while slashing school budgets, increasing class sizes, shortening the school year, and laying off teachers and support professionals.

But what I love and respect about our NEA members is that we refuse to be silent in the face of threats to a quality public education for every child. We are organizing, mobilizing--and speaking up.

NEA is also speaking up at the national level. Specifically, we have launched a major campaign to rescue the newly reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)--also called the No Child Left Behind Act--from all but certain failure due to chronic under-funding and utterly impractical implementation requirements.

I am certainly not alone in my strong support for the goals of this amazingly ambitious new law. We are all in favor of raising student achievement, guaranteeing a "highly qualified" teacher in every classroom, and leaving no child behind. For us as public educators--and for NEA as an Association--these goals are a dream come true. They are the culmination of decades of passionate advocacy. And it is because of our support for these goals that we cannot stand silent as the bold promises of ESEA are watered down and broken.

We are working to ensure that the goals are realized and the promises kept. Our Association is preparing a lawsuit to challenge the unfunded mandates in ESEA. The basis for the lawsuit would be Section 9527(a) of the law, which states that "nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize an officer or employee of the Federal Government to...mandate a State or any subdivision thereof to spend any funds or incur any costs not paid for under this Act." Unfunded mandates will lead to unkept promises. And we refuse to accept this formula for failure. The American Association of School Administrators supports our proposed lawsuit, and many other major organizations and policy makers, including the U.S. Conference of Mayors, have called on the Administration to keep its promises regarding ESEA funding.

At the same time, our Association has proposed a number of amendments designed to fix and fund ESEA, and to grant more flexibility to states. For example, under the law's "adequate yearly progress" provision, all children are expected to learn at the same ambitious level and at the same rate, with 100 percent of children achieving at the proficient level within a fixed number of years. As it now stands, the law virtually guarantees that even our highest quality public schools will be branded with a negative label. This is unacceptable and must be corrected.

Again and again, our political leaders say that they intend to hold public schools accountable. As professionals, we are all in favor of accountability--shared accountability--with parents and communities. But, it is equally important that public educators hold political leaders accountable for their own "adequate yearly progress" in supporting and fully funding the promises set forth in ESEA. Indeed, we would be professionally remiss if we failed to insist that our political leaders keep the important promises of this law.

As we begin a new school year, my friends, I am proud to report that the reunited, refocused, and re-energized NEA is on the move. We are speaking up for the children of America. We are speaking out on the broken promises of ESEA. We are Team NEA, taking the lead, dedicated to making great public schools for every child. And, as the song says, "There ain't no stopping us now!"

NEA President
Reg Weaver