A majority of the 8,200 delegates at the National Education Association’s July 2-5 annual convention overwhelmingly approved a plan that would push for aggressive changes to the federal No Child Left Behind law, which is up for reauthorization next year.
The nation’s largest union, whose leaders have often complained they were not allowed to participate in the crafting of the country’s chief education law, approved a plan that calls on NEA members to lobby Congress for reforms to bring the law more in line with the views of the 2.8 million-member union.
The changes proposed include establishing an accountability system that no longer relies on testing alone as the measure of success or failure. The plan also calls for smaller class sizes, more funding for schools, and revisions to the definition of “highly qualified” teacher.
Are there legitimate reasons to overhaul NCLB? Should the nation’s largest union have input into the drafting of federal law?
