This week at its Annual Convention and Expo, the Council for Exceptional Children unveiled to its members a comprehensive series of recommendations calling on Congress to revamp the Elementary and Secondary Education (ESEA), recently known as No Child Left Behind. In the eight years since ESEA/NCLB was signed into law, CEC – with the input and feedback of its members – has been sharing with Congress changes that are necessary to fully address the unique needs of students with disabilities and/or gifts and talents and the professionals who work on their behalf.
“CEC’s recommendations offer proactive solutions to complicated issues. As Congress rewrites ESEA, CEC will advocate for policies which positively impact students with exceptionalities and educators,” stated Deborah Ziegler, CEC’s Associate Executive Director for Policy and Advocacy.
CEC’s ESEA Reauthorization Guiding Principles:
· Supporting a well prepared successful educational workforce.
· Meaningful systems that encourage collaborative and supportive measurement, evaluation and reward of professional performance.
· Strengthening assessment and accountability for all children.
· Meeting the unique needs of gifted learners.
· Improving outcomes for all children through the collaboration of all educators.
· Developing improved strategies that create positive school reform.
· Providing full funding to execute the goals and provisions of ESEA.
· Systems that are carefully coordinated and balanced between ESEA and IDEA to recognize and enhance the system for assessment and accountability for a diverse population of children, including those with disabilities and/or gifts and talents.
CEC encourages all of its members to contact Congress to support revamping ESEA to better meet the needs students with disabilities and/or gifts and talents. CEC’s Legislative Action Center provides a draft email (please personalize!) that can be sent directly to members of Congress in only minutes!
In 2001, Congress passed and then-President Bush signed into law amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which became known as No Child Left Behind. While Congress was due to reauthorize – rewrite – NCLB in 2008, unresolved issues prevented it from completing the legislative process. Now, Congress and the Obama Administration have signaled that it is time to rewrite this legislation. Both the House and Senate have been holding hearings and the Administration has released its recommendations. However, whether ESEA will pass this year remains unknown. A shortened legislative calendar because of the 2010 elections and outstanding unresolved issues present challenges to completing the legislative process.
CEC will continue to provide regular updates on ESEA reauthorization.
Read CEC’s ESEA Reauthorization Recommendations.
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