PAA to Congress Ed Leaders: stop harmful ESSA regulations
PAA sent the following message to US House and Senate education committee members:
Parents concerned that proposed new ESSA regulations push failed NCLB practices, try to retake top-down control
The US Department of Education has published draft regulations for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA. Parents Across America has reviewed these draft rules and we are very concerned that the administration is trying to use them to reestablish policies and practices from NCLB?ESEA that were rejected by Congress and much of the general public.
For example, the draft regulations:
- over-emphasize standardized test scores in school accountability ratings,
- require states to label schools in harmful and unnecessary ways,
- continue to promote school privatization and closure over more effective improvement strategies, and
- require states to punish schools where large numbers of parents opt their children out of testing.
When the USDOE makes decisions that should be set at the state and local level in partnership with local educators, parents, and students, it takes away local voices that ESSA properly restored. Reducing federal micro-management of public education was a main goal of rewriting NCLB. We will submit comments reflecting this concern via the federal register.
What can you do?
Stand with us parents, along with educators, students and communities who want our schools back. Speak out against those aspects of the draft regulations that violate the intent of the ESSA reauthorization. Help us assure that ESSA is implemented in ways that:
- focus less on standardized testing,
- put no restrictions on families or students who opt out of or refuse high stakes standardized tests, and require no consequences for their schools or districts,
- encourage more creativity and community-centered school improvement practices rather than continue to push NCLB/ESEA’s ineffective privatization and closure strategies, and
- more strongly advocate for a robust parent role in school, district, and statewide education policy-making.PAA to Congress Ed Leaders: stop harmful ESSA regulations | Parents Across America:
Schedule of public online sessions – PAA Leadership Conference 2016 | Parents Across America:
PAA’s Leadership Conference 2016 begins in less than a week (July 18-20). We have another terrific lineup of sessions and events that will help empower parents and strengthen PAA as an organization.
For those who can’t join us in person, we will be sharing most of our sessions online with non-attending PAA chapter and affiliate leaders, and two sessions with the general public. We will also record and post some of the sessions after the conference.
In order to join the two public sessions, you will need to have downloaded the Zoom online meeting program by going to zoom.us. It’s easy and free.
Each session has a meeting ID and a passwordthat you will need to join that session.
Here’s the schedule for sessions open to the public:
Topic: Next Steps in our Race, Poverty and Education project
Time: Jul 19, 2016 1:00 PM Eastern Time
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/865532407?pwd=T4nWh9sa1vI%3D
Password: IRPEO
Or iPhone one-tap (US Toll): +16465588656,865532407# or +14086380968,865532407#
Or Telephone:
Dial: +1 646 558 8656 (US Toll) or +1 408 638 0968 (US Toll)
Meeting ID: 865 532 407
International numbers available: https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=Iq6W_YVySL5OU2-jDPPLoyNEPVcus_eF
Topic: EdTech and Data Privacy with special guest Leonie Haimson
Time: Jul 19, 2016 2:45 PM Eastern Time
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/351309524?pwd=xSIIdN1ibMg%3D
Password: EdTech
Or iPhone one-tap (US Toll): +14086380968,351309524# or +16465588656,351309524#
Or Telephone:
Dial: +1 408 638 0968 (US Toll) or +1 646 558 8656 (US Toll)
Meeting ID: 351 309 524
International numbers available: https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=-kp4oKWO1az45hcDipZLTy3m8C4HGNk4
