Will you vote against reauthorization? Yes or no?

["Horn, James" <jhorn@monmouth.edu>]

Friday, July 28, 2006
No Child Left Behind: Questions for Congressional Candidates

It is time to find out what your Congressional candidates are thinking
about NCLB. Don't be surprised if they haven't given it any thought at
all. The importance, then, of beginning the questioning process is
crucial, since the candidates who win this Fall will be voting on the
future of public education some time in the next year. Questions for
Congressional candidates running this Fall:

For incumbents who voted for the Bill (House vote here and Senate vote
here):

    You supported No Child Left Behind when it passed Congress with
flying colors in 2001. At that time, supporters of the Bill promised
that NCLB would close the achievement gap, create world-class public
schools, and make sure that every child had a highly-qualified teacher.

    Now we know that the achievement gap has not been closed and that
student achievement has not changed substantially, that millions of
children have been left behind as labeled failures, that public schools
are threatened by flimsy evidence gathered from bad tests offered as a
result of impossible NCLB mandates, and that many of the best veteran
teachers are leaving the profession, which is now jeopardized by canned
curriculums and behavioral control measures that are being pushed by the
Education Department.

    Regardless of strong criticism of the Department's impossible
performance goals that most schools will find impossible to attain by
2014, the Education Department has remained unwavering in its position
and has sent strong signals that they, in fact, would heavily favor
education privatization through the use of privately-managed charter
schools and voucher programs.

    Given these effects and these facts, will you vote against
reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act? Yes or no?


Feel free to cut and paste this message into an email to incumbents, or
call your local campaign offices and ask to speak to an aide to your
candidate.