Contact: Will Potter  (202) 822-7823 

January 25, 2007

New Administration Plan for NCLB Embraces
Harmful School Voucher and Teacher Quality Proposals

Administration Reveals Some Room for Common-Ground Reforms

WASHINGTON -- The Education Department released a 20-page document Wednesday that spells out the administration's proposed changes to No Child Left Behind. "Building on Results: A Blueprint for Strengthening the No Child Left Behind Act" reveals some room for bipartisan reforms to the law, as the president indicated in his State of the Union address Tuesday. But it also includes partisan proposals and harmful policies that would jeopardize any gains made by positive reforms.

The following can be attributed to Reg Weaver, NEA president:

"In terms of give and take on Capitol Hill, this plan takes more than it gives back to public schools. It's promising that the administration recognizes the need for increased funding and flexibility, so the law doesn't hurt more than it helps. But while acknowledging bipartisan calls for reforms, the plan also includes a wish list of anti-public education and anti-labor proposals that some interest groups have been pushing, to no avail, for years.

"This plan calls them 'opportunity scholarships' and 'promise scholarships,' but let's call it what it is: a voucher. School vouchers, by any name, divert limited resources from underfunded public schools. The plan would also allow uncertified teachers in classrooms as part of an 'adjunct teacher corps,' create even more mandates for tests and undermine the collective bargaining rights of educators in some schools. This is giving with one hand and taking with the other. We look forward to working with members of Congress on bipartisan, positive reforms that provide educators with the tools and resources needed to help all students succeed."

More information about NEA's NCLB proposals is available online. Read NEA members' stories about the impact of NCLB in "Voices from the Classroom."

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The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators
and students preparing to become teachers.