EdAction
Maple River Education Coalition PAC
105 Peavey Rd, St 116 
Chaska, MN  55318 
952-361-4931
http://www.EdAction.org
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May 2,  2001

— Phone Congress
HR1 introduced in US House Ed Committee

The new "bipartisan" reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) has been introduced today in the U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee. The bill is coming under heavy attack by education activists across the country.

In response, many on the committee are now blaming the White House for the bill they have released. This is just not the case! HR1 no longer represents what President Bush campaigned on. Congressman Hoekstra is quoted in the New York Times saying just that.

Promises have been made that our concerns would be addressed. They have not been!

See our critique of HR1.

Please call the Education Committee members. Ask why the committee is saying that we are not voicing enough concern!  That is all we and other groups have been doing!! We need to show them we do not like the bill as they have presented it!!! They also need to know that we hold them responsible for the bill and they shouldn't be blaming it on the White House!! The language included in HR1 is essentially the same as last year (HR2) and in 1994 (HR6) under the Clinton administration, when the Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate in Congress.

Mandating one single statewide assessment that must be aligned with state content standards is mandating that educational performance in every state be measured, not by academic achievement, but by how well Goals 2000 is being implemented in that state.

Congressional staff is saying we don't know what we are talking about. We do know, because, in Minnesota, the federal Department of Education has officially informed local independent school districts that unless they comply with specific curriculum (the Profile of Learning standards, temporarily not required by state law), they would lose Title I federal money!!! (See the correspondence.) Minnesota has felt the sting as perhaps no other state has, and this mandate continues in the new reauthorization!

A few specifics:

Goals 2000 language was put back in Title VII (page 9). (The language is from ACHIEVE, the old Goals 2000/STW bill.)

• (1) The Secretary shall make funds available to enable the states to pay the cost of "standards, including the costs of working in voluntary partnerships with other states in developing such assessments and standards if a state chooses to do so."
• (2)(D) refining state assessments to ensure CONTENT ALIGNMENT with the state's academic content standards and to improve alignment of curricula and instruction materials ("Academic" is not even defined. The committee said they were leaving that up to the states.)
• (F) strengthen capacity "to provide all students with the "opportunity to increase educational achievement." (nice way to put School-to-Work)

Parental rights language was weakened. We have no opt-out for assessments.

Private and homeschoolers did not get the protection they requested. Homeschoolers got the least of their requests.

We still have a conflicting message on National Standards and tests. HR1 states that funds provided under this act may not be used to "develop, test, implement, administer any federally sponsored national test in reading, mathematics, or any other subject." However, HR1 also mandates the NAEP Test (National Assessment of Educational Progress), essentially creating a national test!

Call the Education Committee and try to speak to a person! Ask for Sally Lovejoy, Kent Talbert, Paula Nowakowski, or Maria Miller, - 202 225-4527 (202-225-9571 fax) (Leave a voicemail if you get it ... with your name and address.) Let's Flood those lines!! Cong. John Boehner (R-OH) (personal office) 202-225-6205 (202-225-6205 fax)

Please give us feedback ... so we can pass that information on. We need to know who has been getting phone calls.

Please encourage members to follow the lead of Representatives Schaffer, Hoekstra, and Tancredo. Majority Leader Armey and Majority Whip DeLay need encouragement to fight for this. Thank them!

We need your influence now!

Copies of HR1 are available by calling 1-202-226-5200. However, most of the work is being done at this time.

EdAction - 105 Peavey Rd, Ste 116, Chaska, MN  55318 
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