Coalition Urges Major ESEA Changes

The so-called "No Child Left Behind" law’s goals of strong academic progress for all children and closing the achievement gap are laudable. But Congress must make substantial changes in the law to meet those goals, more than 20 national education, civil rights, disability, children’s and citizens' groups said in a joint statement Friday (October 22, 2004).

NEA is a partner in the coalition, which is aligned to refocus the federal law on positive measurements and solutions. The law is officially known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

The joint statement to Congress was followed by a media conference call. Representatives from the NAACP, Children’s Defense Fund as well as educators and children's advocates detailed specific principles for reforms that lawmakers should adopt next year and that cannot wait until the current law expires in 2007.

"We have a firm commitment here both to preserving a strong accountability system and to ensuring a strong federal role in improving student achievement," said Jill Morningstar, co-director of Education and Youth Development for the Children’s Defense Fund.

"We must shift the focus from imposing sanctions toward building the capacity of schools to meet the needs of all children," said Monty Neil, executive director of FairTest: The National Center for Fair & Open Testing. "This will include increased training for educators, making schools more engaging for students, and strengthening ties among families and communities and their schools."

The statement includes recommendations that Congress change the law to:

Ensure a more comprehensive picture of school and student performance by shifting from an overwhelming reliance on standardized tests to the use of other student achievement measures in addition to testing.
Give states and local governments the funding and support they need to meet the objectives of the law without reducing expenditures for other education programs.
Provide resources that will strengthen the knowledge and skills of school and district staff, and supporting programs that help parents and communities actively participate in their children’s education.
Replace sanctions that neither have a consistent record of success nor allow schools to continue successful reform efforts.

"In order for all children to meet the standards in the No Child Left Behind Act, the federal government must take the lead, by example, on efforts to address funding disparities at the state and local level," said John Jackson, national director of education for the NAACP.

The undersigned of the joint statement will work for the adoption of these recommendations as central structural changes needed to NCLB:

Advancement Project
American Association of School Administrators
American Association of University Women
ASPIRA
Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO)
Campaign for Fiscal Equity/ACCESS
Children's Defense Fund
Citizens for Effective Schools
Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders
Council for Exceptional Children
Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform
Division for Learning Disabilities of the Council for Exceptional Children (DLD/CEC)
FairTest: The National Center for Fair & Open Testing
Forum for Education and Democracy
International Reading Association
Learning Disabilities Association of America
National Alliance of Black School Educators
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Social Workers
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE)
National Down Syndrome Congress
National Education Association
National School Boards Association
National Urban League
Service Employees International Union
School Social Work Association of America