July 1, 2015
ESEA-NCLB Reauthorization Update
National PTA joined nine other education organizations June 23 to urge the U.S. Senate to bring the reauthorization bill to the floor for a vote. The Washington Post featured an article about education groups who are asking Congress to reauthorize ESEA-NCLB. The Every Child Achieves Act (S. 1177) is scheduled to be considered on the Senate floor starting Tuesday, July 7.
National PTA continues to advocate for amendments to strengthen family engagement provisions in the Senate version of the reauthorization bill. Our association has been working on language to support:
- Statewide family engagement centers that would provide states and school districts the capacity and resources to implement effective family engagement strategies.
- Additional family engagement resources for Title I LEAs.
- Stronger family engagement language in the early learning portion of the bill.
The House will possibly bring up its version of the reauthorization bill, the Student Success Act (H.R. 5), for debate on the floor as early as July 8.
Appropriations in Education & Children's Programs
Recently, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees passed their respective Labor, Health and Humans Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations bills on party line votes.
The LHHS bill funds the Department of Education, Head Start and other programs of importance to National PTA. National PTA strongly opposed both bills because of the proposed cuts to education funding and sent a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.
The House LHHS Appropriations bill would eliminate 27 education programs and reduce education funding for the next year by $2.8 billion and the Senate LHHS Appropriations bill would eliminate 10 education programs and reduce funding by $1.7 billion. Both bills are expected to move to their respective floors for debate in the upcoming weeks.
Congress has cut overall spending by 4% since 2011, but overall spending on youth programs dropped by 9% during those years.
White House Pledge on Hispanic Family Engagement
National PTA—in collaboration with the Hispanic Heritage Foundation—made a pledge to the White House June 25 to engage more Hispanic families in PTA programs and initiatives through the following specific strategies:- Educate PTA leaders and school leaders about effective engagement of Hispanic families.
- Increase the number of Hispanic PTA leaders.
- Cultivate new partnerships and grow existing efforts with others serving Hispanic families.
New Co-Sponsors for the Family Engagement in Education Act!
In June, Senator Tom Udall (D-NM), Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Congressman Dave Loebsack (D-IA) and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) were added as cosponsors to the Family Engagement in Education Act.
Thank you for your continued efforts to add co-sponsors to the bill. Please continue to ask your members to co-sponsor the Family Engagement in Education Act.
Military Families and Common Core State Standards
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“The Army’s interest in soldiers’ children getting a good and consistent education, even as the family moves from location to location exceeds its ability to actually provide it,” stated a report published June 25 by the Stimson Center, an independent, nonprofit, public policy institute. The report goes on to declare that if communities where bases are located “do not offer soldiers’ children a consistently high-quality education, they risk the economic challenges that result from losing support of a major employer.” The report also describes that the inconsistent education career soldiers’ children receive can disproportionately impact them due to the amount of moves they may experience during their childhood.
National PTA supports having voluntary standards that are derived by consensus at the state and local levels. It is especially important that the children of our nation’s servicemen and women receive the consistent education they deserve.
Advocates of the Month
We're starting a new series to recognize individuals who demonstrate their advocacy skills.
Our first Advocates of the Month are Jeffery Corbett, President of Oklahoma PTA and Mindy Haas, President of Florida PTA. Both presidents successfully submitted op-eds to their daily newspapers in Florida and Oklahoma advocating for improved family engagement provisions in the ESEA reauthorization bill. Congratulations Mindy and Jeffery!
To nominate yourself or someone in your community as an Advocate of the Month, email GovtAffairs@pta.org.
National PTA Endorses Anti-Bullying and Juvenile Justice Legislation
Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA.) and Rep. Chris Gibson (D-NY) introduced a bipartisan House companion to Sen. Bob Casey’s (D-PA.) bill on bullying, the Safe Schools Improvement Act last week. National PTA is committed to addressing this issue and applauds Rep. Sanchez and Rep. Gibson for their efforts.
National PTA recently expressed its support for the reauthorization of the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2007 (S.1513). In a letter to the authors of the bill, Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Marco Rubio (R-FL), National PTA specifically endorsed the following three priorities in the bill:
- Identification and implementation of best practices in academic and vocational education for young people in juvenile justice facilities.
- Expanding award eligibility for career training grants to include nonprofit organizations and opening the program to include non-technology career training as a way to expand workforce preparation for a range of employment sectors, including those appropriate for older youth.
- Expansion of mentoring programs to consist of transitional services, including services that are key to successful youth reentry, such as education and vocational services, appropriate housing, family services, medical and behavioral health care.
Advocacy Toolkit Spotlight: Working with the Media
As Mindy and Jeffrey have shown, op-eds can be an effective tool for advocates because the message can reach a wide audience and garner the attention of powerful policymakers.
Tips for Writing a Strong Op-Ed:
- Pieces should be about 600-900 words.
- The subject of the piece should be timely and newsworthy.
- Pieces should express a single, clear point of view and be supported by facts and statistics.
- Writing should be powerful and appeal to a general audience.
- Pieces should end leaving a lasting impression with a clear call to action.
Find more information about how to work with the media and be a successful advocate by visiting our website.
Got ideas? Email us at GovtAffairs@pta.org and share your feedback and suggestions on topics we should address.
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