Coalition Issues Joint Letter Detailing Their Principles on Teacher Quality & Effectiveness in Advance of ESEA Reauthorization
A coalition of 28 advocacy groups issued this letter today to Congressional leaders detailing their principles on teacher quality. The letter comes in advance of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, or as it’s referred to in its current iteration, “No Child Left Behind”), and outlines the coalition’s legislative priorities to ensure that every child has access to an excellent teacher.
Among other things, the letter calls for redesigned teacher evaluation systems, which take into account student growth in academic subjects, including those not measured by state or national assessments, and multiple, comprehensive classroom observations. These evaluation systems should be a focal point for professional development efforts and personnel decisions, and should be monitored by states in order to ensure an equitable distribution of effective teachers. The coalition calls for the new systems to be fully implemented by the 2016-17 school year.
The coalition also puts great emphasis on remedying inequities in the distribution of effective teachers, particularly those that result in low-income and minority students getting disproportionately fewer effective teachers and teachers with subject matter knowledge in areas such as math and science. The groups want the U.S. Department of Education to require any district that has not significantly narrowed inequities in teacher assignment between schools within two years from the date of enactment, to use all professional development funds for the sole purpose of eliminating those inequities. Total professional development funds under ESEA amount to $3 billion annually.
Both the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee are expected to introduce their respective ESEA reauthorization bills in early June. While it is anticipated that House education committee chairman, Representative John Kline (R-MN), will reintroduce a previous version of the Republican-led ESEA reauthorization, the coalition will be closely watching the introduction of the Senate bill, as that chamber’s 2011 reauthorization attempt lacked language on teacher evaluation systems.
The coalition is comprised of the following organizations and advocates:
A+ Denver
Association of American Educators
Center for American Progress Action Fund
Children’s Defense Fund
Civic Builders
ConnCAN
Connecticut Parents Union
Deborah Gist, Commissioner, Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Democracy Builders
Democrats for Education Reform
Education Reform Now
Education Trust
Education Trust – West
Educators 4 Excellence
EdVoice
Foundation for Excellence in Education
Foundation for Florida’s Future
League of Education Voters
The Mind Trust
MinnCAN
National Council of La Raza
NewSchools Venture Fund
Rhode Island Mayoral Academies
Stand for Children
Students for Education Reform
Teach Plus
TNTP
50CAN
Read the full letter here.