Prominent Education Groups: Republicans Leaving Children Behind
Speaker Boehner and House Republicans are at it again causing more dysfunction, obstruction and distraction. This time, taking it to America's most vulnerable children, educators, and schools with their extremist anti-education bill and its morally disturbing amendments that devastate our nation's commitment to lifelong learning. Instead of rewriting No Child Left Behind laws, the House GOP is leaving abandoning every child with this legislation that is strongly opposed by prominent education groups and organizations from across the country:
From National Education Association:
On behalf of the three million members of the National Education Association (NEA), and the students they serve, we urge you to VOTE NO on the Student Success Act (H.R. 5)…
…we are deeply troubled that the bill falls short in several areas…
From American Federation of Teachers:
On behalf of the 1.6 million members of the American Federation of Teachers, I write to strongly urge you to oppose the Student Success Act (H.R. 5).
H.R. 5 walks away from our nation's commitment to provide federal education resources to public schools to help level the playing field for targeted populations of disadvantaged students—resources it has been providing for more than 50 years.
From The National Coalition for Public Education, coalition of over 50 organizations:
The undersigned organizations write to express our strong opposition to the inclusion of any provision in the Student Success Act that would create or lead to a private school voucher. Specifically, we oppose the incorporation of the A-PLUS Act or any version of an amendment that would allow Title I dollars to flow to private school institutions.
The Student Success Act should ensure that public dollars remain invested in public schools for the benefit of all students.
The Student Success Act…falls short in several key areas. We are especially worried about the accountability section. Without much-needed changes, parents across America will not be able to be confident that their child's school will actively partner with them in getting their child to state standards and graduation regardless of background or disability.
From Hispanic Education Coalition and National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of the nation's 39 prominent Latino organizations:
…we write to urge you to vote against H.R. 5, the Student Success Act.
From The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights:
On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the 51 undersigned organizations, we urge you to oppose H.R. 5, the Student Success Act. H.R. 5 undermines important federal protection for our nation's students, particularly children of color; children living in poverty; children with disabilities; homeless, foster, and migrant children; children in the juvenile justice system; children still learning English; and Native children. This bill is not a much needed update to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Rather, it is a rollback to a time when the needs of students in underserved communities were ignored.
From Easter Seals:
…H.R. 5, bill includes policies that present barriers to success for students with disabilities…[it] puts students with disabilities at risk of being denied meaningful access to the general education curriculum.
From Consortium For Citizens With Disabilities (CCD), a coalition of 42 organizations fighting for 54 million children and adults with disabilities:
The undersigned organization of (CCD)…urge you not to support the bill…
As advocates for the six million students with disabilities attending public school across the U.S., CCD strongly urges the House of Representatives to work in a bipartisan fashion to craft legislation that continues to provide meaningful access to rigorous standards for all students and to fully include students with disabilities in every local school.
From National Disabilities Rights Network (NRN):
…(NRN) writes to ask you to oppose Salmon Amendment #129 to H.R. 5, the Student Success Act.
Adoption of this amendment would send the signal that Congress is fine with actions to systemically discriminate, and coordinate efforts to counsel certain students, including students with disabilities, out of the state accountability system…
More groups throughout the nation oppose the GOP latest and callous stunt, including NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). Republicans should be ashamed of their radical attack on our country's children and missed opportunity, and work with Democrats to build and bolster the much-needed investments in public education to ensure our nation succeeds in the 21st century.