by Armando Manzanares
Janet Murguía
Civil rights advocates and educators are urging the federal government to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act so long as improvements—such as full funding—are part of the deal.
The White House, a strong advocate for the law’s reauthorization’ met with leading civil rights activists and educators Oct. 9 to discuss the matter and confirm that education is the leading civil rights issue for the next 100 years.
Proponents of the law are also pushing for better assessment systems’ better inclusion of English Language Learners and students with disabilities in the accountability systems, and more training and support for teachers and parents, respectively. Rep.
Rubén Hinojosa (D-Texas) said progress is being made on the reauthorization and that key improvements have been added to ensure that more students have the opportunity to learn and excel in school.
Janet Murguía, president of the National Council of La Raza, said it is essential that current ELL provisions remain protected, but also “make sure we are able to stave off any other anti-immigrant provisions that could be proposed.”
“We got a commitment from the president that he would help us address those issues,” she said.
Members of the Conference on Civil Rights, the National Urban League and the Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights also took part in the meeting with the President.
Other ELL advocates, however, are more critical of NCLE3 as it stands.
“It is killing bilingual education, It is a step backward for equal education opportunity,” James Crawford, president for the Institute for Language and Education Policy, told Weekly Report.
Crawford added it is shocking to see certain organizations supporting a law of this kind and that NCLB must be “thoroughly reformed to eliminate excessive high-stakes testing – which is one of the major factors in the Latino dropout crisis.”
Supporters of the law’s reauthorization say it is crucial that it happens this year as next year is an election year.
Hispanic Link.
