A Message from NSBA President, Barbara Bolas, and NSBA Executive Director, Anne Bryant
Dear Education Advocate:
As we gear up for a Presidential election year, many of the conversations inside Washington’s beltway are about delaying decisions and deferring debate on key issues until after the election year. However, your school district has some important issues that require Congress’s attention now—like adequately funding federal mandates under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). As you know, these programs are already underfunded by the federal government, and as communities are impacted by the economic downturn, it will be increasingly more difficult and costly for schools to maintain current services.
Congress’s inability to act on major education issues is clearly seen by the lack of Congressional action to complete the NCLB reauthorization, which was due December 2007. Before the end of the year, Congress also needs to pass legislation for the following federal programs:
- Moratorium on CMS Rule to Prohibit School-based Medicaid Reimbursement
- FY 2009 Funding for Education
- ADA Exemption for the E-Rate program
School districts cannot wait until next year for Congress to correct their mistakes—particularly to continue to let NCLB operate with so many flaws. The focus on the Presidential election is a prominent excuse for Congress’s inadequate yearly progress on behalf of federal education programs. Meanwhile, Congress still continues to fund the Washington, D.C. Voucher Program.
NSBA needs your help to send an important message to Congress that public education does not pause for Presidential elections and our public schools cannot wait another year for Congressional action.
Please hang onto this toolkit until the November election. In this toolkit and online at
www.nsba.org/advocacy/actionplan, you will find resources for shaping your message to your members of Congress and an action plan to help you follow up with your members over the next few months and impress upon them the importance of taking up key education issues this summer and into the fall.
NSBA will hold two call-in days for school board members across the country to talk with their members of Congress about acting on key education issues both before and after the August Congressional recess. You will receive more information about the status of legislation and your talking points throughout the summer and fall as we continue this ongoing campaign to urge Congressional action before the November elections.
With your help, and the help of school board members across the country, we can send the message that public education does not deserve to be put on hold—our public schoolchildren deserve attention now.
Thank you in advance for your advocacy efforts!
Sincerely,
Barbara L. Bolas Anne L. Bryant
President Executive Director