Contact:  Miguel A. Gonzalez  202-822-7823

September 10, 2007

Nation’s Largest Education Association Urges House Committee to Reject Draft Language for Reauthorization of No Child Left Behind Law

NEA President Reg Weaver urges lawmakers not to miss opportunity to make major course correction

WASHINGTON—NEA President Reg Weaver called on members of the House Education and Labor Committee to reject draft language currently under discussion for the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act while testifying to the Committee today.

Weaver asked the Committee to slow the legislative process down in order to make a truly meaningful and major course correction in how the federal government supports state and local education initiatives. In his testimony, Weaver told the Committee, “We are not able to support the discussion draft as currently written. We are hopeful that the Committee will take the time to make meaningful changes.”

Speaking about his comments to the Committee, Weaver added, “The draft that has been provided for discussion makes only minor tweaks in the divisive and dysfunctional law that parents, teachers, and public schools have been saddled with these past five years. If they’re not going to make meaningful changes that truly address the needs of America’s public school students, a major opportunity will have been missed.

“The draft language is still too focused on high stakes testing, punishments, labeling of children, and unfunded federal mandates,” added Weaver. “It fails to adequately address the issues that parents and teachers know best provide a positive impact on student success such as reducing class size, increasing the training and retention of highly qualified teachers, expanding access to early childhood education, and providing adequate funding for improved school facilities and materials.

“We know that in the existing law,” said Weaver, “there have been countless places where the language was unclear, where the provisions of one section directly contradicted those of another section, and where the act was in conflict with other existing federal education laws. The children of America deserve more than being the victims of a process that allows politicians to pad their scorecard for passing legislation while the end result of that legislation is actually detrimental to teaching, learning, and providing great public schools as a basic right for every child.”

Speaking on behalf of NEA’s 3.2 million members, the NEA President cautioned the Committee that rushing to get a bill passed before some arbitrary deadline could lead to a new set of unintended and negative consequences. “We do not believe the Committee’s first discussion draft adequately remedies the problematic provisions of current law,” said Weaver.

Related Material:

>>Watch Weaver's testimony  (5:06, Windows Media Player). Also available on YouTube.

>>Read Weaver's Full Testimony Submitted to the Committee on Education and Labor, U.S. House of Representatives

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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.