NCLB Reauthorization is Still a Problem
by Elizabeth Ahlgren, NEA Director District 10, Morse High

haven't, why not? The House of Representatives is still considering
the Miller Pelosi draft of NCLB. As I write this article, the draft
still contains a dozen areas that need changing. We need to do all
we can to avoid the passage of an even more punitive version of NCLB
than the last.

Pay for test scores is an unacceptable concept, no matter where you
work. Involuntary transfers in order to balance the experience of the
staffs at our schools are an attack at our collective bargaining
rights. Using a single test score to define the success of a school
or a teacher is obscene but saying we are using multiple measures and
still using a single test score for 85% of that measure is deceitful.
So what are you willing to do about this? If you don't act quickly,
we may all be stuck with a reauthorized version of NLCB that is worse
than the one we've been living under.

The drama of the reauthorization is unfolding in different ways on a
daily basis. During the NEA's September board meeting, the NEA
directors went to capital hill to lobby on your behalf. This past
lobby day was totally focused on the reauthorization of ESEA/NCLB. As
the California directors met with our members of congress and/or
their legislative aides, we kept hearing "CTA and NEA aren't talking
to us. You need to be willing to talk to us." I can tell you that
both CTA and NEA are working hard on these issues. We have urged you
into action as part of that lobbying effort. We are trying to work
with Congressman George Miller's staff on this reauthorization but he
and his staff have refused meetings with our CTA leaders. While in
Washington, NEA President, Reg Weaver, was able to orchestrate an
introduction of CTA President David Sanchez with Education and Labor Committee Chairperson, George Miller. The meeting wasn't a positive one with lots of anger and harsh words. However, the next day provided an opportunity for the CTA officers to meet with Congressman Miller's staff. With our continuing actions, I am hopeful that we will have success in getting some needed changes made but that requires all of us to be in a daily watch mode and to move into action with little notice.

For those of you who are technology enabled, I am sharing a few
websites: To read the text of the ESEA/NCLB reauthorization draft,
http://edworkforce.house.gov/

To read the latest buzz on the reauthorization from NEA's
perspective, www.nea.org/esea/index.html a blog dedicated to
NCLB, nclbchange.wordpress.com/ and to view CTA's latest news
on NCLB, www.cta.org

If you do want to check out the web, start with www.sdea.net
since this Advocate article is posted there and you will be able to
click on the links instead of typing them into your browser.

I hope your school year is off to a great start. Keep on doing all
the wonderful work you do on behalf of the students in San Diego.