Contact: Brian Washington   (202) 822-7823

July 23, 2007

Voters Force National Spotlight on Education During Democratic Presidential Debate

Candidates Assert No Child Left Behind Needs to be "Scrapped" or "Remedied"

WASHINGTON--No Child Left Behind finally got a full airing on commercial television tonight as Democratic candidates for president squared off in Charleston, South Carolina. What was the difference between this and previous debates? According to National Education Association President Reg Weaver, fielding questions from real voters made all the difference in focusing the debate on critical issues such as America's public schools. The general consensus among the candidates was that the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act - more commonly known as No Child Left Behind - presents an opportunity to make the law more responsive to the real needs of students and educators.

The following statement can be attributed to NEA President Reg Weaver:

"There was more than the YouTube technology that was unique in tonight's debate. When real voters had a chance to ask the questions, education was finally on the agenda. And when it came to public education, the Democratic candidates got it right tonight.

"They understand that the No Child Left Behind Act is not working. Their views ranged from 'scrapping' it all together to reauthorizing it with major changes. The latter is consistent with what NEA would like to see happen with this flawed federal law.

"NEA's 3.2 million members believe the law should be changed to provide smaller class sizes, highly qualified teachers in every classroom and accountability measures that better track student progress. Any teacher will tell you it takes more than a test to educate a child.

"Tonight's debate proves what America's public school employees have known for a long time-the American people want to see the candidates running for the highest elected office in the nation address how to create great public schools as a basic right for every child."

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Dozens of delegates to the NEA Representative Assembly this summer videotaped their questions for presidential candidates, many of which were submitted to the CNN/YouTube event. View samples here.

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.