ESEA reauthorization passed by Senate!

It's time to celebrate! The bipartisan action (both parties worked to create this legislation) of the new ESEA legislation was passed by the senate! This will deemphasize standardized testing and provide more opportunity for all students. 

"Every student in America will be better off under this legislation than the generation of students wronged by 'No Child Left Untested.' Educators enter their schoolhouses every morning with one desire foremost in their minds: that every student they encounter that day will know an educator cares for them and is dedicated to reaching, teaching, and inspiring them to reach their full potential. The unmitigated failure of the test and punish culture shackled educators, and we are now one step closer to ending that woeful chapter in American education policy."

Continue to this URL to read more!


http://educationvotes.nea.org/2015/07/16/breaking-senate-votes-to-overhaul-esea-no-child-left-behind/

ESEA Action

Hi Everyone!

Now is an important time for education legislature, namely the reauthorization of the ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act), which in the past basically meant No Child Left Behind. Now, there's a good chance you've been taught all about the pitfalls of No Child Left Behind, but the reauthorization of the ESEA actually makes a lot of much needed improvements like moving away from a focus on testing.


Here's some information about the bipartisan efforts to update the ESEA from the Department of Education:

It's time for you to take action! The vote happens tomorrow, and it's our last chance to email our senators to tell them to vote yes on this important legislation!

http://educationvotes.nea.org/get-esea-right/?source=150715_em&utm_source=150715_em%20&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ESEA%202015-4 --- This link will take you to a website that facilitates emailing your senators this message:

"As an educator and a constituent, I urge you to vote YES this week on The Every Child Achieves Act (S. 1177), which is the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

S. 1177 is a significant improvement over current law. It shifts the focus away from testing and punishing schools, so educators can get back to helping students learn.

S. 1177 moves decision-making to the professionals who know the names of the students.

It includes multiple measures and indicators to determine student and school success, not just one test. This will help states identify and begin to close opportunity gaps.

Our students, especially those most in need, have suffered from a broken No Child Left Behind Act for more than 13 years. The time is now to replace it with a law that provides more opportunity and time to learn.

I urge you to vote YES on S. 1177 this week."

***We would suggest changing the first line to saying "As a future educator..." - but it's up to you!

Make a difference and let your representatives properly represent you and your future as an educator!

Would you like some more information? Check out the department of education's website: http://www.ed.gov/blog/topic/esea-reauthorization/

Budget Update

One of the biggest issues in Illinois government today is the budget. Governor Rauner has written a budget that suggests slashing funding for higher education by 31.5%. Although his budget does support higher funding for K-12 education, he also seeks to reduce funding for Special Education. This along with many other issues has caused much unrest in Springfield as our legislators try to work with our governor to compromise. On June 25th, Governor Rauner vetoed the state budget. The following is the official statement by the IEA concerning this veto:

"Today’s veto announcement places the state budget debate in a new light.

By vetoing the budget, the governor is making it clear that Illinois must have additional revenue as part of any final budget “fix.” The veto proves that we cannot cut our way to a budget that meets the needs of Illinois citizens.

This is a serious moment for Illinois requiring the full attention of the governor and the members of the General Assembly.

Issues unrelated to the budget should be pushed to the side until a spending plan is signed that adequately funds higher education and countless other important state programs that Illinoisans count on."

Retrieved from: http://www.ieanea.org/2015/06/25/iea-statement-on-governors-budget-veto/


Although the Governor has finalized and signed the pre-K through 12 part of the budget, there is still more to work out even now that the deadline of August 1st has passed. If the governor and the Illinois congress do not come to an agreement on the budget soon, government workers and the people they serve especially in healthcare and transportation will suffer.

For more information about how the lack of budget affects our state, see this article from the Chicago Sun Times: http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/7/71/738489/illinois-shutdown-looms-means