School Board News

In just over a week, the Pledge to America’s Schoolchildren has already signed on 17 members of Congress and the number is growing. BoardBuzz told you last week about the launch of the Pledge campaign. And here are the first members of Congress from both sides of the aisle who have stepped forward to publicly commitment their support to schoolchildren:

Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY-1), Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA-9), Rep. Ben Cardin (D-MD-3), Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-PA-2), Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC-8), Rep. Michael Honda (D-CA-15),
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY-4), Rep. James McGovern (D-MA-3), Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Rep. John Mica (R-FL-7), Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA-38), Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Rep. John Peterson (R-PA-5), Rep. Todd Platts (R-PA-19), Rep. C.A. “Dutch” Ruppersberger (D-MD-2), Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA-30), Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA-7), Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL-19)

Don’t see your representative or senator? Contact them here and ask them to sign the pledge.

Just added to the Pledge Web site are press clippings, video of the kick off event, and a downloadable brochure. Stay tuned as the campaign catches on throughout the country.

In the weeks and months ahead, Members of Congress will hear a familiar phrase from school board members: “take the Pledge.” NSBA President E. Jane Gallucci, joined with leaders of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) at the Hershey Lodge and Conference Center this morning to announce the launch of a national campaign to encourage Members of Congress to demonstrate their commitment to fundamental education goals by signing a “Pledge to America’s Schoolchildren.”

At the joint conference of the PSBA and the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, Gallucci told the press that “the Pledge to America’s Schoolchildren is a nationwide, grassroots campaign designed to encourage Members of Congress to pledge their support for America’s schoolchildren by signing their name to a pledge card.”

The fundamental issues included in the Pledge are ones that NSBA and school board members will push to achieve in the upcoming 110th Congress, and the campaign will run through NSBA’s Federal Relations Network Conference in Washington, D.C. in January 2007.

What’s in the Pledge? What are Members of Congress across the country being asked to sign? It’s simple. As a Member of Congress, they’re asked to work and vote to:

“Improve the No Child Left Behind Act to give local school districts better measures for student and school performance, and the support needed to close the achievement gap.

“Help school districts meet the needs of students with disabilities by supporting the funding goals of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act.

“Support school readiness programs for children entering kindergarten.

“Help school districts attract, train and retain highly qualified and effective teachers.

“And, help school districts provide all students with 21st Century skills and knowledge, including math, science and technology.”

Go here for more details on the campaign, including news about Members of Congress who already have “taken the Pledge.” Read the complete press release here.

Amid the flurry of last minute bills being fast-tracked by Congress in its final days before adjourning for the mid-term election, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would require school districts to set forth policies adopting a Congressional definition of “reasonable and permissible” searches of students on public school grounds. The bill, “The Student and Teacher Safety Act” (H.R. 5295) introduced by Representative Geoff Davis (R-KY) would require districts to adopt these policies as a condition for receiving Safe and Drug Free School funds.

Republican leadership brought the bill to the House floor where it passed by a voice vote despite the concerns of a number of education groups (including NSBA) that felt it was unnecessary, could complicate the legality of some searches, and constituted improper federal intrusion into local and state issues.

As approved, the bill would essentially require school districts to establish search policies that reiterate the general standard set forth by the Supreme Court in its 1985 New Jersey v. T.L.O. decision. Specifically, the measure defines as reasonable “a search by a full-time teacher or school official, acting on any reasonable suspicion based on professional experience and judgment, of any minor student on the grounds of any public school, if the search is conducted to ensure that classrooms, school buildings, school property and students remain free from the threat of all weapons, dangerous materials, or illegal narcotics.” It further provides that, “The measures used to conduct any search must be reasonably related to the search’s objectives, without being excessively intrusive in light of the student’s age, sex, and the nature of the offense.”

Before the vote, NSBA sent this letter to all House members alerting them to school boards’ opposition to the bill and warning that it could open up school districts to potential liability in cases where school personnel are misled into violating the constitutional rights of students in the errant belief that their actions must be permissible if they conform with the above definition. That’s what happened last time Congress had a great idea like this. A legal analysis of the bill provided to Education and the Workforce Committee staff by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service also reinforces many of the points highlighted in NSBA’s letter.

While the bill was fast-tracked in the House without the benefit of any committee hearings, it is not expected to move forward in the Senate at this time.

Last week we told you about NSBA’s campaign to drum up co-sponsors for Representative Don Young’s (R-Alaska) bill to improve No Child Left Behind. His legislation is consistent with NSBA recommendations on the law. A campaign toolkit is available here.

But local school leaders also are participating in an ongoing NSBA campaign to pressure Congress to restore federal funding for public education, especially Title I and IDEA, which would receive billions of dollars less than what Congress promised this year under the pending education appropriations bill. Get more details on the campaign here. As BoardBuzz previously reported, there is broad voter support (across party lines) for Congress to step up and fulfill its commitment to schoolchildren.

Lest anyone doubted that private school vouchers would be front and center in the debate to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) a leading group of senators and representatives joined U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today to announce otherwise. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and John Ensign (R-NV) and Representatives Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), who chairs the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Sam Johnson (R-TX), introduced legislation today to establish a national voucher program proposed by President Bush in his FY2007 budget request to Congress.

Although the House Appropriations Committee voted last month to provide no money for the program and the Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to do likewise this week, the introduction of legislation to establish the program is a new front in the battle to create vouchers on a broader scale. The president has requested between $50 million and $100 million for voucher programs in each budget he has sent to Congress but lawmakers have refused to go along. NSBA opposes private school vouchers.

The new legislation is linked to NCLB as it would offer vouchers worth up to $4,000 per student for students in public schools identified for “restructuring” because of not making “Adequate Yearly Progress” in NCLB. Although public school performance under NCLB would serve as the trigger for the voucher, private schools would be eligible to receive taxpayer dollars without facing equal public accountability.

Asked point blank today about the bill’s chances in a Congressional session whose days are rapidly dwindling, Chairman McKeon said he does not see the measure passing this year but that proponents are looking ahead to NCLB’s reauthorization, scheduled for next year.

New NAEP study generates talk
Meanwhile, the public release last Friday of a new U.S. Department of Education study examining public and private school students’ math and reading scores on the 2003 NAEP continues to generate heat, and reporters at today’s voucher press conference wanted to know more. The study found that after controlling for socioeconomic and demographic factors public school students perform about evenly with private school students. Specifically, public school students outperformed private school pupils by a statistically significant margin on 4th grade math, were outperformed by private school pupils by a statistically signficant margin on 8th grade reading, and performed about equally to private school students on 4th grade reading and 8th grade math. The new findings build on 2005 research showing public schools outperforming private schools when student/family characteristics are considered.

The findings also undercut an underlying argument for vouchers that private schools, simply by being private, are superior to public schools. Sensing that, and apparently quite unhappy with a Wall Street Journal article headlined “Long-Delayed Education Study Casts Doubt on Value of Vouchers,” top voucher advocates have responded swiftly, attempting to downplay the study.

Among the arguments put forth by detractors of the study is that public schools outspend private schools and that may have something to do with the difference in achievement. Seriously. Voucher advocates are actually raising the issue of spending on education possibly having an impact on student achievement. Spending on private school education anyway.

This whole flare up over NAEP scores has an eerily similar feel to it, as well as the interesting arguments by common critics of traditional public schools. Remember the great charter school NAEP brouhaha from two years ago? Refresh your memory here.

Seems to us that the bottom line is actually a pretty simple one. Schools, be they traditional public, public charter, private or religious, all come in different flavors. Some are excellent, some are good, some are just plain okay, and some are lousy. But the country’s primary responsibility is to ensure that the public schools, open to all students and which for decades have educated 90 percent of the nation’s students, are as good as they possibly can be. Divesting in them by channeling public dollars to private schools that do not accept all students and are not publicly accountable is counterproductive.

As the Haverford School Board in Pennsylvania approved a $74.7 million budget for the coming school year, board member Larry Feinberg cited NSBA‘s recent poll on federal education funding. He noted that while voters believe that 20 percent of the federal budget is spent on K-12 public education, “the reality is the federal government spends only 1.5 percent on K-12 public education.”

The recent national poll is just one component of a brand new NSBA advocacy toolkit for school board members to use as they press Congress to fulfill its commitment to fund education mandates. Information on NSBA‘s funding campaign can be found here. Complete toolkit here (note: big pdf file). Or browse through the toolkit here.

The House Appropriations Committee will mark-up the education appropriations bill next Tuesday. More details on that important vote to come.

And speaking of polls, if you haven’t taken BoardBuzz‘s quickie online poll, why not do so now? Click here.

Wake up Congress. A national poll released this morning by NSBA finds a large majority of likely voters want Congress to restore federal funding for major education programs to the levels it authorized, and believe K-12 education should receive a much greater share of the federal budget than it currently does.

Seven in 10 likely voters say that Congress should restore funding for NCLB/Title I and special education in the FY07 budget to the levels it authorized ($42 billion) instead of the current budget proposal of just $23 billion. Republican voters support restoring funding to the authorized levels by a 2-to-1 margin (62 percent-to-29 percent) and undecided voters back it 72 percent to 16 percent.

Further, voters say they will be considering Congressional members’ voting record on education funding when they go to the polls in November.

“This poll clearly shows that the American public is fed up with Congress’s inability to deliver on its continued promises of federal education funding,” said Anne L. Bryant, NSBA executive director. “In fact, nearly 85 percent of voters in this poll believe that Congress is cheating our children and is jeopardizing our country’s economic future if it leaves education programs unfunded or underfunded. If that’s not a mandate from the public, then I don’t know what is.”

NSBA press release is here, key findings here (pdf), and complete survey with results here (pdf).

Adding even more credibility to the poll is the fact that it was conducted by leading GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio of Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates.

Well, we said earlier that House leadership was hoping today was the day to try to pass a controversial budget resolution that shortchanges America’s public schools. Turns out it isn’t. Too much opposition remains and no vote will be held today. As mentioned before, NSBA has urged a no vote on the budget unless $7 billion is restored to help fund education.

We should say possibly today. For weeks now, U.S. House leadership has attempted to bring the Fiscal Year 2007 budget resolution to the floor for a vote but hasn’t because it lacks the votes to pass it. Several reasons why but a big one is the opposition of many members from both parties to the paltry budget for education and healthcare, which of course, was cut last year. Leadership hopes today is the day to pass the budget.

School board members nationwide have been contacting their representatives for weeks urging them to oppose the budget resolution (H. Con Res. 376) unless it includes an additional $7 billion for education. That would simply restore funding to the FY2005 levels. More details on how you can join them and NSBA here.

Education advocates got a big win in March when the Senate overwhelmingly approved an amendment boosting education and healthcare funding by $7 billion.

An astonishing 785 organizations across the education and healthcare sphere have rallied for the restoration of crucial funding.

Like we said yesterday, the clock on Florida’s legislative session and on vouchers hasn’t struck midnight yet. A procedural move has kept the proposed constitutional amendment alive, but the real game may not be changing the constitution but rather a bill to redirect the vouchers into the state’s existing corporate tuition tax credit program. Details from the St. Pete Times and the Miami Herald. Session ends Friday.

Meantime, great coverage from the Miami Herald on the ousting of the Senate’s majority leader who bucked the governor and party leadership (along with three other GOP senators) in opposing the constitutional amendment. Stories here and here.

Money quote by Sen. Alex Villalobos: “My legacy, whatever it is, was not going to be that I helped bring down public education in the state of Florida. And if I have to lose my position in the Senate because of that, then that’s fine. And if I don’t get to come back as a senator, then that’s fine, too. I will not sell my soul or sell my vote.”