NSBA President: Education takes center stage as national priority

11/11/03 -- In the past few years, education has been elevated to a higher level of priority among the public and among all levels of government.

Policymakers and educators are engaging in a major debate on how public education should be defined, how it should be governed, how it should be held accountable, and who should provide the actual services.

Congress, meanwhile, is expected to adjourn within the next few weeks, and so far has not completed action on several important education bills, including the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Child Nutrition Act, and the Higher Education Act.

And while school districts across the nation are struggling to meet the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the funding measure Congress is working on is not expected to provide sufficient money for the Title I program to help districts and states carry out its demands.

As this session of Congress is coming to a close, there are disturbing warning signs on the horizon that NCLB could be joining IDEA as another huge, underfunded mandate. Congress has never met its obligation to fully fund IDEA since that legislation was first enacted 28 years ago.

The funding amount in the omnibus appropriations bill before Congress would not come close to providing the funding for NCLB that Congress had authorized when it enacted the law in 2001.

And even the authorized amount is insufficient when one thinks of all the extra efforts it will take -- smaller classes, more qualified teachers, more tutoring, more after-school programs, for example -- for school districts to raise student achievement each year to meet the goals of the law.

Meanwhile, Congress is expected to approve a voucher program for the District of Columbia, which would not only drain money from the rest of the federal education budget but undermines the D.C. public education system. If enacted, this would be the first-ever, federally funded voucher program in the nation, and it would encourage more voucher activity at the federal and state levels.

The good new is that education has risen in importance as a top national priority -- and so has the politics that drives it. And that could translate into more resources for our public schools, as long as national policymakers ensure that education stays in the forefront of the nation's priorities.

In order for public education to receive the support that it needs and deserves in a democratic society, local school boards must keep up the pressure.

You can become a part of this process by participating in the Federal Relations Network, NSBA's longstanding vehicle to ensure that Congress makes decisions in the best interests of local school board governance.

The FRN works at the grassroots level to make sure that Congress serves the needs of its constituents, in terms of supporting a greater investment in education and more flexibility and local control for school districts.

This advocacy effort is more important than ever. The passage of NCLB and the D.C. voucher bill shows how far federal lawmakers are willing to go to control the direction of American education. Clearly, the game of "beltway politics" is expected to take a greater hold on education policy as the race for the presidency heats up.

This fall, each state school boards association is going through the process of selecting local school board members to serve on the FRN. The dedicated school board members who agree to be a part of this network will be invited to attend NSBA's Federal Relations Network Conference Feb. 1-3 in Washington, D.C., and will carry out grassroots advocacy efforts throughout the year.

We encourage local board members to become involved in the crucial arena of school board advocacy. Contact your state association and volunteer to be a part of the FRN. We need you, and the nation's schoolchildren need you.