The
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, whose most recent 2002
reauthorization is called the No Child Left Behind Act, was due
for reauthorization in 2007. An overhaul of this law is needed when
Congress reauthorizes ESEA, but as we enter 2012, Prospects Fade for Reauthorization of Federal Education Law.
January 8, 2012 was the tenth anniversary of the signing of No Child Left Behind. Many important reflections on the ramifications of the law have appeared in the news. Here are some especially interesting commentaries:
The
Department of Education has now promised to grant states unilateral
waivers from the law’s most punitive consequences, but the catch is that
to qualify, states must present accountability plans based on the
Department’s own favorite punishments for schools unable quickly to
raise scores, including merit pay for teachers based on test scores and
other punitive turnaround plans. A small group of states applied for
waivers in November, 2011; more are expected to do so in February.
Experts are tracking the waiver process carefully, because a
reauthorization continues to fade into the future.
The U.S. Department of Education, under the leadership of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, has been pushing hard for reforms in the reauthorization of ESEA that would heavily penalize the five percent of schools struggling hardest to raise test scores. The Obama Administration's proposed "Blueprint" for the reauthorization also would de-emphasize the Title I formula program—designed to to compensate (to the degree a federal program can) for massive funding inequity across the states, and increase competitive grants to reward states that comply with Administration priorities. These untested and dangerous priority programs include removing statutory caps on the authorization of new charter schools; tying teacher pay to students' test scores—a merit pay scheme; and the firing of entire staffs in so-called "failing" schools. Vying to win the Race to the Top competition, many state legislatures changed laws to comply with the Secretary's priorities. The eleven winning states and the District of Columbia, a winner, have now begun implementing programs covered by these turnaround strategies.
As Congress reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries asks Congress to:
- Address public school inequality by allocating federal resources for equity and pressing states to close opportunity gaps.
- Allocate Title I funds to support schools serving children in poverty through a fair formula, not a competition. Poor children should not lose federal support because their state loses a funding competition.
- Reduce reliance on standardized tests and test only in ways that improve instruction, measure real performance, and encourage exploration, imagination, and critical thinking.
- Support and improve, rather than punishing, the public schools in America’s poorest communities.
- Address issues outside school that affect school achievement such as racial segregation, concentrated poverty, and the need for pre-school that helps children before they fall behind.
- Reject market-based, technocratic policies and improve public education as the bedrock of our society and public schools as the anchors of communities. As a people called to love our neighbors as ourselves, we must insist that Congress balances the needs of each particular child and family with the need to ensure a strong public system that secures the rights and addresses the needs of all children.
Key Resources
The UCC Justice & Witness Ministries 2012 Message on Public Education is now posted on-line. Titled, "Why the Conventional Wisdom on School Reform is Wrong and Why the Church Should Care," this annual beginning-of-school resource is intended to help members of our congregations explore pressing concerns for public education in the United States in the coming year. Although in the past we have printed copies and mailed them to all UCC congregations, this year's resource is available only on-line due to fiscal constraints.
Fall, 2011, National Council of Churches releases a series of new short video pieces, An Alternative Vision for Public Education , created with leadership by UCC Justice & Witness Ministries, as discussion starters in congregations. Each six-seven minute film features a short introduction by Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, the Council's General Minister, followed by a focused conversation by education historian, Diane Ravitch—education historian, and Dr. John Jackson—civil rights attorney and equal opportunity advocate. The films are: Educational Opportunity for All, Public Schools and the Common Good , Public Schools, Part of the Community or Marketplace?, and Supporting Our Teachers. Here they are posted together along with a study guide produced by the Council's Committee on Public Education and Literacy.
October 2011: On the evening of October 20, 2011, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted a bill for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (currently called No Child Left Behind) out of committee. The United Church of Christ Justice & Witness Ministries weighed by sending a letter to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee during the October 20 markup. The HELP Committee did not even consider many of our priorities. Whether the bill can gain support on the Senate floor or in the House remains to be seen.
Here is the Justice and Witness Ministries 2011 Message on Public Education. If you are wondering how public schools are being affected by programs like Race to the Top and the other huge competitive federal stimulus programs, or if you are wondering about what we still need to do to protest the test and punish impact of the lingering No Child Left Behind Act, the reflection, "New Federal Public Education Policies Undermine Justice, Eliminate Democracy, and Shatter Community," is written to address your questions and connect the dots. This year we provide two versions: a printed tabloid-sized resource and an easily printable web formatted piece. One copy of the print version was mailed to your church. If you need extra printed copies for teachers in your congregation or for a discussion group, please contact Jan Resseger, 216-736-3711 or ressegerj@ucc.org.
February 22, 2011: The
Forum on Educational Accountability (FEA), a 153 member alliance of
which the UCC's Justice & Witness Ministries is a member, released
this statement, All Children Deserve the Opportunity to Learn. The statement calls on Congress to work with states to remedy pervasive
disparities in school conditions and resources when it addresses the
long overdue reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act. FEA calls on Congress to recognize that closing opportunity gaps
is key to closing achievement gaps.
July 26, 2010: Seven prominent civil rights organizations—the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law, the NAACP, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Council for Educating Black Children, the National Urban League, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, and the Schott Foundation for Public Education—released a powerful critique of the Administration's public education policy proposals. Called the Framework for Providing All Students an Opportunity to Learn through Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the piece "offer(s) critiques of federal efforts that would: distribute resources by competition in the midst of a severe recession; advance experimental proposals dwarfed by the scope of the challenges in low-income communities; and promote ineffective approaches for turning around low-performing schools and education systems.” For more information, check out the new Opportunity to Learn Campaign website, an read this summary by Jan Resseger, the UCC's Minister for Public Education and Witness.
Federal Policy to Reauthorize Federal Education Law Follows Race to the Top Philosophy
Check out our page that traces the impact of today's federal school reform policy.
June 1, 2010: A National Council of Churches delegation met with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlyn Ali on June 1, 2010. The group addressed concerns about the policies of the U.S. Department of Education, under the leadership of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who is pushing hard for reforms in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (whose most recent 2002 reauthorizaiton is called No Child Left Behind) that would heavily penalize the five percent of schools struggling hardest to raise test scores. The Obama Administration's proposed Blueprint for the reauthorization also de-emphasizes the Title I formula program, designed to to compensate (to the degree a relatively federal program can) for massive funding inequity across the states, for competitive grants rewarding states that comply with Administration priorities: removing statutory caps on the authorization of new charter schools; tying teacher pay to students' test scores, a merit pay scheme; and the firing of entire staffs in so-called "failing" schools. Some states, vying to win the Race to the Top competition, have already begun implementing programs covered by these turnaround strategies. Duncan requested the meeting following receipt of a pastoral letter adopted unanimously by the NCC’s Governing Board at its May 2010 meeting. The group presented its concerns to the Secretary of Education: that our education system should view children as valued individuals, not products to be tested; and that market-based reforms, while they may increase educational opportunity for a few children, are likely to introduce more inequity into the system itself. The group cautioned against scapegoating principals and teachers and urged the Secretary instead to address deep structural injustices.
May 18, 2010: NCC Governing Board Says Federal Public Education Policy Has Gone Astray... The 69 member Governing Board of the National Council of Churches on May 18, 2010, unanimously adopted a pastoral letter, "An Alternative Vision for Public Education," that speaks to today’s conversation about public schools, a conversation which has lately veered into attacking public education and scapegoating public school educators. The statement prayerfully asks Congress to address the substantive matters that need to be overhauled when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is reauthorized. It explores serious issues in the Race to the Top competition including incentives to charterize and privatize public schools, incentives to tie teacher evaluations to students' test scores, and radical and untested turnaround plans like firing the principal and at least half of the staff or closing the school and moving children elsewhere.
Simple ESEA/NCLB Reauthorization Resources for Distribution in Your Congregation
Talking Points: Priorities for Reform in the Upcoming Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Opportunity Gaps in Public Education Must Be Closed
Formal Statements Submitted by the Church Clarify the Direction of the Current Federal Education Debate
May 18, 2010: The National Council of Churches Governing Board unanimously adopted a pastoral letter, "An Alternative Vision for Public Education," that speaks to today’s conversation about public schools, a conversation which has lately veered into attacking on public education and scapegoating public school educators. The statement prayerfully asks Congress to address the substantive matters that need to be overhauled when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is reauthorized. It explores serious issues in the Race to the Top competition including incentives to charterize and privatize public schools, incentives to tie teacher evaluations to students' test scores, and radical and untested turnaround plans like firing the principal and at least half of the staff or closing the school and moving children elsewhere.
The United Church of Christ Justice & Witness Ministries and the National Council of Churches both submitted formal statements to the House Education and Labor Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in the spring of 2010.
Here is a Preliminary Analysis of President Obama's March 13, 2010 "Blueprint" Proposal for Reauthorization of Federal Education Law.
Here is updated information on what is happening as the reauthorization is debated and as Race to the Top is being implemented.
Important Justice & Witness Ministries Resources Address the ESEA Reauthorization
2011 Message on Public Education: If you are wondering how public schools are being affected by programs like Race to the Top and the other huge competitive federal stimulus programs, or if you are wondering about what we still need to do to protest the test and punish impact of the lingering No Child Left Behind Act, the reflection, "New Federal Public Education Policies Undermine Justice, Eliminate Democracy, and Shatter Community," is written to address your questions and connect the dots.
The 2010 Message on Public Education explores the politically charged issue of immigration as it affects public schools and children who are new to our country, their communities, and their schools. NCLB contains major problems for English Language learners.
The 2009 Message on Public Education, lifts up the importance of schools to form each whole child, created in the image of God, in contrast to the test-and-punish philosophy of the federal education law, No Child Left Behind, that has dangerously narrowed the curriculum in schools serving America's poorest children.
The 2008 Message on Public Education examines public education as a matter of faith and the common good.
The 2006 Message on Public Education reflects on NCLB as an attack on public school teachers.
The 2005 Message on Public Education examines how the NCLB Act works and how those mechanisms are unjust.
These are tabloid-sized documents.
If you would like additional printed copies for discussion in your congregation, please contact Jan Resseger (216-736-3711) or ressegerj@ucc.org.
Our Partners
The National Council of Churches Committee on Public Education and Literacy
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Speakers at the Committee's national conference on March 13, 2009, Transforming No Child Left Behind , urged participants to address the opportunity to learn and to speak for education that addresses the needs of the whole child, not standardization.
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The NCC Committee has prepared a faith-based study guide for discussion of Linda Perlstein's excellent expose of NCLB's test-and-punish strategy.
The Schott Foundation for Public Education's Opportunity to Learn Campaign is bringing together a diverse group of partners to call on Congress to address disparities in Opportunity to Learn when Congress reauthorizes the federal education law. Although the No Child Left Behind Act has documented serious achievement gaps through comparison of standardized test scores, the federal education law has been largely silent about alarming resource inequity across states, within states, and even within school districts. State school finance systems, still heavily reliant on local property taxes, only magnify disparities in family resources in an America where some children live in pockets of concentrated poverty and others in pockets of concentrated affluence.
The Forum on Educational Accountability is a an alliance of national organizations including the UCC Justice and Witness Ministries, growing from signers of the Joint Organizational Statement on the No Child Left Behind Act, a sign-on begun in 2004, now endorsed by 154 national organizations. The group recently created Empowering Schools and Improving Learning, a comprehensive 2009 blueprint for overhauling the federal education law, currently called No Child Left Behind. Over 80 national organizations have signed on this plan for improving the federal education law when the law comes up for reauthorization.
