July 18, 2007: Letter to the House Committee on Education and Labor
July 18, 2007
Member
Committee on Education and Labor
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Re: Local School Boards Pass Resolutions Seeking Congressional Support to Reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)/No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act
Dear Representative:
The National School Boards Association (NSBA), representing over 95,000 local school board members across the nation, is very much committed to the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education (ESEA)/No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. In support of that commitment, we are pleased to advise you that nearly 400 local school boards from rural, urban, and suburban communities have passed resolutions supporting the reauthorization of NCLB now, not later; and to urge you to include the provisions of H.R. 648 in the final House bill. For an updated listing of local school districts that have passed resolutions, go to http://files.nsba.org/advocacy/Resolutions.doc.
Since the enactment of NCLB, local school boards have expressed concern over many of the provisions contained in the law, and over the barriers that were created as a result of many of the new federal requirements. Although the sponsors of the No Child left Behind Act of 2001 hoped to establish a rigorous accountability system for the nation’s public schools, many local school board members believe that what has evolved in the name of accountability is a measurement framework that bases its assessment of school quality on a student’s performance on a single assessment. They also believe that the law mandates a series of overbroad sanctions not always targeted to the students needing the services. While the law has many positive provisions, the law has resulted in unintended consequences contrary to the original goals and objectives of the law – and must be addressed without any further delays.
Based on input from local school board members, educators, administrators, and other local stakeholders, NSBA developed over 40 recommendations to improve the law through common sense changes in the areas of accountability, assessments, school improvement, and State and local flexibility. More importantly, local school boards believe that these recommendations may be characterized as improving our public schools not abandoning them.
As a result of these recommendations, many bills were introduced in the House of Representatives. However, the most comprehensive legislation, the No Child Left Behind Improvements Act of 2007, H.R. 648, was introduced by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska). Co-sponsors of the bill include three Democrats and three Republicans: Representatives Mike Ross (D-AR-4th), Charlie Melancon (D-LA-3rd), Steven Rothman (D-NJ-9th), Jo Bonner (R-AL-1st), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI-11), and Todd Platts (R-PA-19th).
By reauthorizing NCLB during this 110th Congress, and including the provisions contained in H.R. 648, Congress would:
• Ensure significant improvements in the validity and reliability of assessments for all students, particularly those students with disabilities and those not proficient in English;
• Foster increased accuracy and fairness in public reporting of student, school, and school district performance;
• Allow schools and school districts to target resources to those students who need the most attention;
• Eliminate the overbroad negative labeling of schools and school districts; and,
• Establish federal funding levels commensurate with the federal mandates.
Therefore, as you prepare to reauthorize this federal law and fully consider the importance of nearly 400 local school boards across the nation unified for a common goal, we urge you to address our priority concerns by incorporating the legislative language already drafted as H.R. 648, and to reauthorize NCLB during this 110th Congress.
Questions concerning the resolutions and our recommendations may be directed to Reginald M. Felton, director of federal relations at 703-838-6782, or by e-mail, rfelton@nsba.org.
Sincerely,
Michael A. Resnick
Associate Executive Director