FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2006
CONTACT: Lindsey Mask or Steve Forde
Telephone: (202) 225-4527

House Education Chair Highlights Report of Invisible Money Campaign Launched by Washington-Based NEA Lobbyists Against

No Child Left Behind Act

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. House Education & the Workforce Committee Chairman Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA) today called attention to an independent report released this morning by the non-partisan education research and policy think tank, Education Sector.  The report uncovered an invisible campaign launched by the National Education Association (NEA) against the landmark 2002 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) education reform law. 

 

According to the report, the NEA has been “pouring money into organizations that echo the union's criticisms of NCLB but often leaving the public unaware of the organizations' financial ties to the union,” with at least $8 million quietly going from the NEA to organizations that oppose the reforms made under NCLB.

 

“On top of lawsuits and high-profile political stunts of their own, this shadowy money campaign is just the latest attempt by the Washington leadership of the NEA to thwart our efforts to demand accountability for results in our nation’s schools,” said McKeon.  “It comes as no surprise that the D.C. leadership would do this, but I can’t help but wonder what the rank-and-file, dues-paying members of the teachers union think about this kind of activity.”

 

Meanwhile, the Education & the Workforce Committee currently is hosting a series of bipartisan hearings to lay the groundwork for next year’s reauthorization of NCLB.  The hearings are examining many key aspects of the law, and during the hearings, the Committee has heard testimony from teachers, administrators, and others who play a role in the success of the education reforms.

 

“In spite of quiet attempts to slow our progress and reverse the progress we’ve made under NCLB, our Committee will fulfill its obligation to review the law in a responsible and open manner,” concluded McKeon.  “Secret campaigns by opponents of reform simply won’t derail our efforts to raise student achievement nationwide.”

 

The No Child Left Behind Act, signed into law on January 8, 2002, represents the first ever bipartisan effort to bring true accountability and flexibility to federal education programs.  The law reflects four essential pillars of education reform: accountability, flexibility and local control, funding for what works, and expanded parental options.  NCLB is a comprehensive overhaul of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which was enacted in 1965 and is the principal federal law affecting K-12 education.  

 

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