June 25, 1999
June 21, 1999
June 11, 1999

6/25/99
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News from Capitol Hill...

YOUTH VIOLENCE, GUN SAFETY -- INTERMISSION TIME ON CAPITOL HILL

House leaders were in no hurry this week to move the House-passed juvenile justice bill (HR 1501) to Conference Committee. The House and Senate have each passed a juvenile justice bill. A House/Senate Conference Committee must reconcile the bills before a House and Senate final vote. Each bill includes some good provisions, and both have major shortcomings. Despite some support for prevention, the bills largely emphasize trying juveniles as adults and tougher mandatory sentences. The Senate bill includes NEA-supported gun safety provisions and background checks for gun show sales, measures that were defeated in the House. “We’re not ready to appoint conferees,” Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas said. For updates on juvenile justice and gun safety legislation, see http://www.nea.org/lac/safety

"STRAIGHT A's" -- OLD TUNE WITH A NEW BEAT

The news conference was colorful – a school bus as a prop and children from Colorado and suburban Washington D.C. House education committee chairman Bill Goodling (R-PA) announced the “Academic Achievement for All Act (H.R.2300), also known as Straight A’s or Super Ed Flex. Goodling, in a letter to all House Republicans, pitched the bill as a new education funding strategy that would give states absolute control over federal dollars. The “new strategy” is an old tune set to a new beat. It would essentially transform the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) into a massive block grant. ESEA was authorized for five years in 1994. This is ESEA renewal or “reauthorization” year and a window of opportunity for public education’s critics’ agenda. The House and Senate debate will almost certainly see vouchers and questionable teacher “quality” and “accountability” initiatives proposed.

Straight A’s vs. ESEA - A Clash of Visions. ESEA reauthorization is the likely Ground Zero for this congress’ debate on school policy and funding. The 34 year-old legislation is the nation’s main K-12 education support. Title I, the landmark program that provides supplementary reading and math instruction for economically disadvantaged children, is the best known ESEA program. ESEA includes, however, more than 40 programs - such as professional development, magnet schools, educational technology, bilingual education, testing, after-school programs, reading excellence, and safe and drug-free schools - that receive some $12 billion in annual funding. [http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/ESEA/]

  • ESEA targets dollars to specific programs for high needs children. The emphasis is on accountability, with standards and curriculum aligned, school report cards, paraprofessional training and teacher licensure requirements, an end to social promotion, and intervention when failing schools do not improve. Within Title I, 98.5 percent of every federal dollar goes to the local school district.

  • Straight A’s shifts control from local schools to governors and state legislatures who would determine how the funds are spent. Acceptable use would include any educational activity permitted by state law. U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley calls the proposal a threshold to vouchers since it opens the door to federal dollars subsidizing private, religious, and home schools where state law allows, as in Florida, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The bill, in essence, “charters” entire states. The concept, the Secretary said, is “anti-accountability” and an “experiment in revenue sharing.”

    The bill was developed for the Education Leaders Council (ELC) by Nina Rees, Heritage Foundation education policy analyst. Seven State Superintendents (AZ, CO, FL, GA, MI, PA, VA) broke with the national association of Chief State School Officers and formed ELC to advocate their education agenda. The bill’s supporters include Americans for Tax Reform, Christian Coalition, Family Research Council, Heritage Foundation, and the Home School Legal Defense Fund.

  • NEA on ESEA. ESEA programs play a critical role in helping states and school districts improve public schools. NEA has urged Congress to maintain ESEA integrity and reauthorize and improve the legislation, building on the standards-based direction of 1994. The Ed-Flex bill enacted earlier this year and supported by NEA carefully balances ESEA integrity and accountability with flexibility. Straight A’s would discard Ed-Flex before the ink is fully dry and before any state has had an opportunity to implement it.

The last, best word belongs to the Education Trust: “Straight Talk about Straight A’s: It’s Unnecessary and Dangerous.”

THE $5 FALLACY VS. THE $25 BILLION BETTER SCHOOL INITIATIVE

While the House Leadership was beating the drums for Straight A’s, the House Ways & Means Committee was hearing tax reduction proposals. The agenda included “education incentives,” i.e., Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) that allow families to use tax-free interest dollars for K-12 costs, such as and non-public school tuition and home schooling.

The average annual benefit: $5 for families with children in public schools and $37 for families of private school students. The National Coalition for Public Education (NCPE) and Rebuild America’s School Coalition [NEA is an active member of both groups] supported tax incentives for school modernization. The House school modernization bills H.R. 1660 (Rangel, D-NY) and H.R. 1760 (Johnson, R-CT) use tax credits to leverage school construction bonds. The benefit: $25 billion for safe, modern school buildings. New math or old, ESAs vs. better schools don’t compute! The last, best word belongs to the NCPE: The $5 Fallacy vs. the $25 Billion Better School Initiative.”

    School Modernization – Do we mean what we say? The New York City Board of Education told Ways & Means Committee members: “We, as adults, lack credibility when we tell children that we have high expectations for their achievement, while at the same time, we shunt them into outdated and overcrowded classrooms. The environment in which we place our children speaks volumes about what we really expect from them. It is the children in our schools who face the real building and capacity issues every day.” The Board urged support for the meaningful federal assistance provided by H.R. 1660 and H.R. 1760. Together, the bills now have 149 co-sponsors. Is your representative among them? [www.nea.org/lac/modern]

INTERNET FILTERING IS BACK!

One of the little noted provisions of the House-passed juvenile justice bill, H.R. 1501, is a provision to require e-rate schools to install software that blocks materials “deemed harmful to minors.” Local authorities would decide what material is harmful to their students. Now a Senate measure, S. 97, also calls for denying federal Internet subsidies to schools and libraries that do not use software to block children’s access to indecent material. A similar measure proposed last year unleashed a storm of arguments ranging from censorship issues to the imperfect nature of software that filters out legitimate sites to unfunded mandate issues.

NEED AN EXPERT? ASK A TEACHER!

NEA Members on the Hill this week offered expert testimony on helping children become better learners. Congress asked teachers and heard experts!

    Lynn Winters, a Tennessee middle school teacher, addressed class size reduction before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Ms. Winters was a participant in Project Star, the Tennessee-based landmark, class size reduction study. She shared with the Committee real-life stories of her Project Star students to illustrate the success of the class size reduction program. States alone cannot finance the nationwide effort needed to insure that all children learn, she said, and urged support for a national class size reduction initiative.

    Ann Rifleman, an Arizona elementary school special education department chairperson, addressed a Congressional Briefing on preventing child abuse and its consequences. Ms. Rifleman called upon her own experiences to describe the long-term effects of abuse and neglect on learning and the critical role teachers play in identifying and helping maltreated children. Schools and communities together, she said, must begin to fashion long-term solutions to prevent abuse and neglect and to help victimized children learn and grow.

6/21/99
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News from Capitol Hill...

NEWS FLASH! GUN BILL FAILS ON FINAL PASSAGE!

In Summary - More is said than done. As of late-night Thursday, the House passed the Juvenile Offenders Bill of 1999, H.R. 1501, by a vote of 287-139. The bill’s provisions run the gamut from prevention programs, to mandatory sentences and trying juveniles as adults, to invoking religion, but do not include gun amendments. By Friday mid-afternoon, the gun bill, H.R. 2122, failed on final passage by a vote of 147 – 280. The Senate juvenile justice bill includes gun show sales background checks, child safety locks, and other gun safety measures. The House and Senate versions must be reconciled and the House and Senate agreed before a bill becomes law. The House is sharply divided across party lines (rather than along party lines). Yogi Berra’s sage observation applies. “It ain’t over till it’s over!” Details follow.

The Gun Debate –Still Smoking

Late News! House defeats gun bill, 147-280. Debate began Thursday night. In a close vote, 218-211, with bipartisan supporters and bipartisan opponents, the House approved an amendment weakening the Senate’s gun show background checks. Michigan Democrat John Dingell sponsored the amendment and teamed with Republican floor leader Tom Delay of Texas to shepherd it through. The collaboration reflects the unusual politics of the issue. The House subsequently approved a ban on imports of high capacity ammunition clips and child-safety devices. But the passions aroused by the gun show debate sealed the bill’s fate. By Friday afternoon, the sharply divided House defeated the bill on final passage.

Juvenile Justice Takes Center Stage
The House divides the question. - After weeks of delay, the House plunged into politically dangerous waters this week and called down the juvenile justice bill, H.R. 1501. With House members divided, controversy raging over proposals to curb youth violence, and polarized positions on restricting youth access to guns, the House Leadership divided the question. The original House juvenile justice bill, H.R. 1501, became a package of measures aimed at curbing youth violence. A new bill, H.R. 2122 governing gun show sales, became the vehicle for the gun debate.

The Juvenile Offenders Bill – mandatory sentences to the Ten Commandments. Late Thursday night, the House approved H.R. 1501 by a vote of 287-139, after two long days of big emotions and a march through 44 amendments ranging from increasing mandatory sentences for juvenile offenders to posting the Ten Commandments in public buildings. Before the Columbine tragedy, the bill was taking shape as a bipartisan effort to address youth violence, focusing on prevention and prosecution. The basic bill remains intact and includes: a) an extra $1.5 billion for communities to spend on after-school programs, anti-gang initiatives, conflict resolution, counseling, drug courts, and other prevention efforts; and b) tougher sentences for juvenile crimes, provisions for trying more juvenile offenders as adults, and funding for full-time federal gun crimes prosecutors.

After Columbine, the bill became an ideological battleground, the magnet for 44 amendments, the field for 48 hours of impassioned rhetoric that some House members described as “overblown rhetoric metastasizing into ill-considered legislation.” Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank said simply, “This is not a serious conversation about youth violence. This is politics.”

The Media and Violence. While members of both parties appeared eager to get tough with juvenile offenders, an even larger bipartisan majority was unwilling to accept Illinois Representative Henry Hyde’s proposals to crack down on the entertainment media and depictions of violence and sex. Opponents applauded the sentiment, but declared the vehicle raised First Amendment issues and was impossible to enforce. The House then approved a non-binding resolution condemning the media’s depiction of violence.

Religion in the Debate - The Ten Commandments. The House did approve language permitting posting the Ten Commandments in public buildings. The Supreme Court in 1980 struck down a Kentucky Law that mandated posting the Ten Commandments. Supporters argue that permissive language will pass a Constitutional test. Opponents say no.

As amended, the bill’s provisions include --

  • tough terms for youth gun crime. For example, an increased maximum penalty to one year for juveniles illegally possessing a firearm and five years for juveniles convicted of possessing a firearm with the intent of bringing it to school; permitting juveniles as young as 13 to be tried as adults;

  • making it a federal crime to transfer a gun to a juvenile “if the transferor knows or has reason to believe that the firearm will be used in a school zone;

  • allowing schools to discipline disabled students found to have weapons in the same way as they discipline others;

  • supporting anonymous “school safety hotlines” for reporting troubled students;

  • recruiting a Surgeon General study on “how to combat the sickness of violence and to rebuild our national spirit;”and

  • recruiting a study of the gun industry’s marketing practices.

THE RALLY ON THE HILL!

“Be smart! Invest in Education” was the message when the Committee for Education Funding (CEF) staged a rally on Capitol Hill this week. NEA Vice President Reg Weaver challenged rally participants to yield no ground in opposing the projected cuts in education funding – the largest in history. “Some say money is the root of all evil. Not so,” Weaver said. It is the LACK of money, Weaver told the standing-room only audience, that denies children remedial services; that creates overcrowded classrooms, that denies teachers professional development opportunities; that closes down children’s library services and summer reading programs, that fails our children.

CEF is a nonpartisan coalition founded in 1969 to advocate for education funding. It is the largest coalition of education associations in existence with over ninety member organizations whose interests range from pre-school to graduate education, both public and private. NEA is a founding organization and a continuing active member of the coalition. Coalition members named NEA lobbyist Joel Packer as 1999 president.

Bipartisan House and Senate education leaders welcomed the rally and appealed for help in sending Congress the message that America’s schools cannot do more with less. Senators Jim Jeffords (R-VT), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and Representative John Porter (R-IL) described what’s at stake, the everyday impact of a projected 10 – 12 percent cut in education funding on real students in real schools. House and Senate – Democrat and Republican – the message was the same: “We need HELP to make education funding a priority. Speak out. Be Heard!”

ADVOCACY ACTION!

Speak out from NEA’s web page: www.nea.org/lac. Who should get your message? Your U.S. representative and your state’s U.S. senators. Just follow the prompts to identify your representative. What should you say? Describe the impact of 10-12 percent less of everything on students in your school. The message: Don’t cut education funds. Grow them with a 15 percent increased investment in our schools.

Advocacy Wins!!

Senate Vote Opens Work World to Students with Disabilities
NEA applauds the Senate vote Wednesday that extends federal health benefits for people who leave the disability rolls to return to work. Senators approved S. 331 by a vote of 99-0. NEA worked with a broad-based coalition of supporters to win for disabled Americans the opportunity to join the workforce in their community and for our students with disabilities, a brighter future. The unanimous vote belies the hard work to win support. A bipartisan effort by Vermont Republican Jim Jeffords, Chairman of the Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions Committee, and Massachusetts Democrat Ted Kennedy broke the logjam and moved the bill. The House Ways and Means Committee has yet to act, but Chairman Bill Archer of Texas is optimistic. Under current law, when the disabled return to work, they risk losing health coverage, which many cannot buy on the open market. Jeffords described the current law as “an insane barrier that makes no sense.” “I can’t tell you how thrilled I am,” he said.

6/11/99
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News from Capitol Hill...

ADVOCACY ACTION! HOUSE VOTE THIS WEEK.

House Members will cast key votes this week on the House juvenile justice bill (H.R. 1501) and gun-safety amendments. Votes can come as early as Tuesday, June 15. Students deserve a safe school environment. Urge your representative to restrict juvenile access to firearms and fund comprehensive prevention efforts. Visit NEA’s Legislative Action Center and send your representative a message. Our students are depending on us!

Gun Legislation and Juvenile Justice. NEA and twenty organizations representing educators, pediatricians, mental health providers, and religious groups have submitted a joint letter to every House Member. They urged investments in crime prevention and regulation of youth access to guns, as critical pieces of a school safety agenda. The House juvenile justice bill should include, they said, provisions that would

  • Require child safety locks on all new guns sold;
  • Outlaw possession by or transfer to juveniles of semiautomatic assault rifles;
  • Outlaw importing high capacity ammunition magazines;
  • Require mandatory background checks at gun shows and pawn shops;
  • Outlaw providing bomb-making information, especially via the Internet, with knowledge that such information will be used to commit a federal crime;
  • Raise the legal age of handgun purchase or possession from 18 to 21; and
  • Establish anonymous tip lines for students to alert adults to potential problems.

They urged support and adequate funding for

  • Training teachers and school personnel to recognize early warning signs;
  • Developing comprehensive community and school-based safety programs and enhanced school security;
  • Increasing school counselors and related student services personnel;
  • Making effective school-based mental health and counseling services and programs accessible to all students, and increasing children’s access to mental health services in the community.

The Debate. - A juvenile justice bill with gun safety amendments passed the Senate last month. NEA applauds the emphasis on blocking youth access to firearms. The basic bill, however, fails to provide a comprehensive approach to preventing youth violence. House proposals also fail to provide comprehensive prevention. Further, a sharply divided House threatens to weaken the common sense gun measures narrowly approved by the Senate. NEA is working to insure that any legislation enacted includes measures to prevent violence and enhance school safety.

Take It Personally! -“It is time for every adult in America to start taking it personally that children are killing children,” NEA President Bob Chase told the nation. As the House prepares to vote next week, it’s time for each of us to take personal responsibility for making our voice heard. We owe that to our children. Send your representative a message today.

Safe Schools – Money Matters. Education cuts projected for the upcoming fiscal year threaten school safety efforts. Effective prevention programs – for example, Safe and Drug-free Schools, increased school counselors, smaller classes, alternative programs for disruptive students, links to community mental health services, after-school programs, mentoring, and conflict resolution - require resources. A number of members of Congress have gone on record in favor of increased education funding. The dollars, however, do not match the rhetoric. This week, House leaders proposed a new budget strategy that would reduce projected education cuts from a whopping 12 percent to a whopping 10 percent. That is not enough! The Committee for Education Funding, a coalition of 92 education groups, is staging a rally on Capitol Hill this week to demonstrate the education community’s concern. NEA Vice President Reg Weaver will join several senators in urging Congress to make education funding a priority.

Safe Schools and School Construction. - Growing enrollments are stretching school facilities. Schools need more classrooms to relieve the overcrowding that brings anonymity and discipline problems and to reduce class sizes. Aging buildings are casualties of deferred maintenance and obsolescence. Refurbished schools have a positive influence on student behavior and achievement. H.R. 1660 (Rangel, D-NY) and H.R. 1760 (Johnson, R-CT) offer real help by giving states and local schools access to $25 billion in interest-free bonds for renovation and construction: Thanks to members’ direct contacts, 140 plus representatives are now cosponsoring one or both bills. Visit NEA’s Legislative Action Center (Issues and Legislation) to learn if your representative is a cosponsor (or encourage your representative to become a cosponsor!) and for updates on the school modernization bills.

NEWS UPDATE: NEA URGES CONTINUATION OF TITLE I PROGRAM

NEA President Bob Chase yesterday urged the House Committee on Education and Workforce to support the continuation of Title I. The 1994 standards-based reforms are working, Chase told the committee, and should be built on. The $8.2 billion Title I Program is the centerpiece of federal efforts to improve the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged children. See the full text of President Chase’s testimony and NEA’s recommendations on NEA’s Web site.

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