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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 5, 2000
News Release
NEA Bestows Friend of Education Award On Sen. Edward M. Kennedy
Association's highest honor cites four decades of educational
leadership
Chicago, IL - The 2.5 million-member National Education Association
(NEA) today gave its highest honor - its annual Friend of Education
Award - to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts. The award recognizes
individuals whose leadership, acts, and support have raised the level of
excellence in American public education.
NEA President Bob Chase announced the award to the more than 9,000
delegates to the 79th NEA Representative Assembly at Chicago's McCormick
Place convention center.
Chase noted that every major education law passed since the 1960s has
borne Kennedy's imprint, including Head Start, the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act, Native American Education, Federal Aid to
Higher Education, the Goals 2000 Educate America Act, and the Class Size
Reduction Act.
"What is most impressive is not just the individual bills he
sponsored, but his sustained commitment - the sheer persistence of this
man's service to children and public education," Chase told the
delegates. "Americans have so much affection for the Kennedy family, and
they often fail to see past the legend and the celebrity. But let us be
clear: The award we present this afternoon is not about Camelot. It is
about concrete accomplishment. It is about four decades of tenacious,
hard-fought, hard-won victories for children and public education.
"We are deeply grateful for all that this man has done to advance the
causes we hold dear," Chase said. "In battle after battle on Capitol
Hill, Senator Kennedy has always been there for children and public
education - always."
While Kennedy was unable to accept the award in person due to a
long-standing family commitment in Massachusetts, he thanked the
delegates for the award in a brief videotaped appearance.
He was nominated by the Massachusetts Teachers Association, which
cited a lengthy list of legislative achievements, including:
- Native American Education - In 1970-71, Sen. Kennedy played
a central role in passage of the Indian Education Act, which improved
educational opportunity for Native American students and adults.
- Bilingual Education - He introduced the Bilingual Education
Reform Act of 1973, which expanded existing law and increased the
number of trained bilingual educators.
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act - In 1975, Sen.
Kennedy served on the committee that approved the original IDEA, the
federal special education law.
- Student Loan Reform - In 1979, he championed the National
Student Loan Reform Act which ensured the availability of loans to all
students in need, and made payback mechanisms more flexible.
- Early Childhood Education - In 1989-90, Sen. Kennedy
introduced Smart Start legislation, to help create education programs
for children prior to kindergarten.
- Head Start - He introduced the Head Start Entitlement Act
of 1991, to provide specific funding for the 1990 Head Start
reauthorization; in 1994, he led the cause to reauthorize the program,
which provides early childhood development, educational, health,
nutritional, social, and other services to primarily low-income
preschool children and their families.
- Goals 2000: Educate America Act - Sen. Kennedy was
instrumental in the passage of this act in 1993-94, which provides
federal support for local school reform based on high standards for
student achievement.
- School-to-Work Opportunities Act - He helped pass this
legislation in 1993-94, which encourages high schools, vocational
schools, and colleges to collaborate to create locally designed
programs that integrate learning in school with learning on the job.
- School Modernization - In 1997-98, he gave strong support
to an amendment that would have provided $5 billion for improving
school facilities.
- Class Size Reduction - Sen. Kennedy gave crucial support
toward the 1998 passage of President Clinton's legislation to hire
100,000 new teachers to reduce class sizes in grades K-3 nationwide.
- Reading Excellence Act - He fought vigorously for this
legislation in 1998, to strengthen state and local literacy
initiatives.
- E-Rate - Sen. Kennedy fought efforts to eliminate the
E-Rate in 1999, and urged funding in the amount of $2.25 billion. The
FCC concurred, and maintained full funding for the program to ensure
that schools and libraries across the country could afford access to
the information superhighway.
- Teacher Excellence Act of 1999 - He introduced this
legislation, which calls for an investment of $1.2 billion in FY2000
to improve the recruitment, retention, and on-going professional
development of the nation's teachers.
- Pell Grant Increases - Sen. Kennedy backed legislation in
1999-2000 to set a new minimum Pell grant allowance of $3,525, which
more accurately reflects the true cost of most community and state
four-year colleges.
- After-School Care - In 1999, he sponsored the America After
School Act to provide $7.25 billion over five years for states to
expand after-school care for summer and weekend activities.
NEA's Friend of Education Award has been given annually since 1972.
Prior recipients include President Lyndon B. Johnson (1972); former
NAACP Executive Secretary Roy Wilkins (1976); U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall (1979); the late Christa McAuliffe (1986); education
writer and reformer Jonathan Kozol (1992); U.S. Education Secretary
Richard Riley (1995); and former Georgia Governor Zell Miller (1998).
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The National Education
Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization,
representing more than 2.5 million elementary and secondary teachers,
higher education faculty, education support personnel, school
administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become
teachers.