NSBA on NCLB: Fix, Fund, Reauthorize
##AUTHORSPLIT##<--->
Following President George W. Bush's State of the Union address last night, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) released a statement applauding efforts to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act but calling on legislators and the executive branch to fix flaws that have become apparent over the last six years of implementation and to increase federal investment in public schools.
Anne L. Bryant, executive director of NSBA, said that the NSBA favors reauthorizing NCLB in 2008 but that changes need to be made to the law in order to make it more effective. Chief among these fixes: increases in federal funding.
Said Bryant: "In his State of the Union address, President Bush called on Congress to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act in 2008. After six years of working to implement the law in their districts, school board members are all too familiar with the law's flaws and its need for immediate substantive changes. NSBA is pleased that President Bush, as well as Chairman Kennedy and Chairman Miller, has expressed his support for completing reauthorization this year.
"NSBA believes that it will take leadership not just from Congress, but also the administration, in order to achieve the much needed changes to the law. Increasing federal funding is a crucial first step toward that goal, and NSBA is hopeful that President Bush's upcoming budget proposal will support that end."
She also added that NSBA remains concerned about the President's continued support for "using taxpayer dollars to fund private school vouchers," saying that such programs "divert critical resources from public schools and weaken public accountability."
NSBA is a not for profit group representing state school board associations from around the United States. Further information, including a complete statement about the State of the Union address, can be found at NSBA's home page, below.
More Information:
Get daily news from THE Journal's RSS News Feed
About the author: David Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's online education technology publications, including THE Journal and Campus Technology. He can be reached at [email protected].
Proposals for articles and tips for news stories, as well as questions and comments about this publication, should be submitted to David Nagel, executive editor, at [email protected].