House bill H.R. 5, the re-authorization of the No Child Left Behind Act

The U.S. House of Representatives could possibly vote on the re-authorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, House bill H.R. 5 this week. The bill is being called the Student Success Act. Call your U.S. Representative and ask them to keep working on the bill.

The new bill does make some positive changes. It would:

• end the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) accountability system.
• do away with a specified, restricted list of school interventions.
• prohibit the U.S. Department of Education from requiring states to implement certain programs in order to receive funding.

 It doesn't go far enough though. The pieces below are still an issue and need to removed and/or re-tooled:

• provides for less funding overall and more "local flexibility" in how funds are used; we've seen how well that works in Chicago right now.
• continues annual high-stakes testing in grades 3-8.
• requires the use of student test scores in teacher evaluations.
• emphasizes "parent choice" and expanding funding for charter schools as opposed to improving and maintaining neighborhood schools.
• removes the requirement that teachers be "highly qualified" which again favors charter schools that aren't required to have highly qualified teachers.
• reduces funding for class size reduction.

Contact your U.S. Representative today and tell them that H.R. 5 needs to be improved. Tell them you want equitable funding for neighborhood schools. You want class size reduction funding. No more high-stakes testing for our children and no test scores tied to teacher evaluations. 

Click here to find contact information for your U.S. Representative.