ACSA leaders traveled to Washington, D.C. Sept. 21-25 to make congressional leaders and the administration aware of the impact federal issues have on educators and students in California.
Participating in the annual trip were ACSA President Chuck Weis; Region 2 President Darrien Johnson; Jane Russo, superintendent of Santa Ana USD; ACSA Legislative Advocate Sherry Skelly Griffith; and Kevin Gordon of School Innovations and Advocacy.
During the trip, ACSA shared its federal education priorities for 2009-10. These include the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; Race to the Top; the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; special education, Workforce Investment Act, adult education and career technical education; charter schools and early childhood education.
The team met with members of President Obama’s staff, including Assistant Secretary of Education Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana and California Congressional representatives.
The group was also invited to a stakeholders meeting at the U.S. Department of Education, during which Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that work would begin immediately on the reauthorization of ESEA.
It was clear that while Duncan is calling for quick reauthorization of ESEA, members of Congress have many priorities to tackle, including health care reform and finishing work on higher education reforms.
While hearings may begin early in 2010, congressional members and their staffs felt that ESEA reauthorization will take some time.
Weis testified during the stakeholders meeting, applauding Duncan’s sense of urgency on ESEA’s reauthorization. He also said that No Child Left Behind served to identify the hazards of low expectations, and educators should continue to work in that area.
During the hearing, Weis also said that it is important to ensure the assessment system focuses on much more than reading and math to ensure the curriculum does not continue to narrow.
“We must think about sciences, history, the arts, creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking, as part of our assessment system, because what we know is what gets assessed, is what gets taught,” Weis said.
Weis discussed ACSA’s Assessment and Accountability Task Force, and said members are looking at international standards, best practices for assessment and accountability in the world.
“We will have a report ready for you in the next three months, and we hope that you will take a look at that and incorporate some of the work (in deliberations on ESEA),” Weis said.
The ACSA delegation also met with staff for Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who is the new chair for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Harkin shares ACSA’s priority to see the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act fully funded, and he is carrying legislation this year to call for the federal government to fully fund IDEA.
Another new leader is Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., ranking minority member for the House Committee on Education and Labor, replacing California Republican Buck McKeon.
The ACSA delegation learned upon meeting with his staff that he is committed to greater local control by states and school districts regarding ESEA.
Other issues ACSA is focusing on with regard to the reauthorization of ESEA include implementing a growth model to determine Adequate Yearly Progress, allowing states to determine if teachers are highly qualified, providing funding to create statewide longitudinal data systems, and flexibility for corrective actions for struggling schools.
ACSA will continue to be involved in conversations relating to the reauthorization of ESEA and will keep members informed of any developments.
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