Delegate Assembly sets NSBA’s advocacy course
NSBA’s Delegate Assembly passed resolutions that reaffirm the association’s opposition to school vouchers and urge Congress to reauthorize No Child Left Behind with the improvements pushed by the association for the past two years.
The NCLB resolution also expresses support for a bill in Congress that would increase federal funding for the law’s mandates, provide districts with more flexibility in student assessment (including alternative assessments for English language learners and students with significant cognitive disabilities), and permit more flexibility in determining whether schools are making adequate yearly progress.
“The design of NCLB should offer rewards or incentives for schools and districts to innovate, rather than penalizing them for failing to perform,” says a supporting statement.
If Congress fails to reauthorize NCLB in 2008, the resolution urges Congress to “suspend implementation of the relevant aspects of the law until the changes are made.”
The Delegate Assembly also passed a resolution urging Congress to adequately fund the needs of English language learners. And it approved a resolution urging state legislatures to offer in-state college tuition to high school graduates, regardless of immigration status.
Advocacy -- both legal and legislative -- is one of the prime missions of NSBA, said Executive Director Anne L. Bryant. She said the other top mission is serving and collaborating with state associations to improve -- and enhance public support for -- the public schools.
“You told us that this is the most important work that we do,” Bryant said. “And this work will continue.”
The resolution that drew the most discussion involved NSBA’s opposition to mandatory national standards and assessments. As first proposed, the NSBA’s Board of Directors would have been allowed to amend the resolution based on discussion of the issue at regional meetings this summer and fall. Several delegates said that any discussion of national standards -- even voluntary ones -- could weaken NSBA’s strong opposition to what many consider a federal intrusion.
The resolution approved by the delegates states that NSBA opposes federal legislation that “mandates or coerces” states to adopt specific national standards or assessments or penalizes states that do not comply.
The delegates amended NSBA’s “Beliefs and Policies” to add a policy urging Congress to support “Native American language instruction.”
In speaking out in favor of the resolution, Jeff Sanders, a member of the Wasco tribe of Oregon, said many Native American languages are dying out.
“It’s part of our religion, it’s part of our history,” said Sanders, a member of the Jefferson County, Ore., school board. “It is part of who we are as a people of the United States.”
The delegates also amended NSBA’s beliefs and policies to:
• Encourage school board members to promote “productive dialogue about race, culture, and diversity.”
• Ensure public schools provide equitable access to all students regardless of immigration status.
• Urge school boards to adopt comprehensive tobacco-free school policies that include all school-sponsored events and school visitors.
• Encourage school boards to promote service learning within the K-12 curriculum.
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