The following are National Education Association policy statements on priority issues in the NEA Legislative Program. For the question(s) following each policy statement, indicate whether you agree or disagree with NEA's position. Be sure any additional pages you attach clearly indicate the question to which you refer.

Response Code

Support NEA's position - Would support legislation that reflects NEA's position.
Oppose NEA's position - Would oppose legislation that reflects NEA's position.

1. Oppose Private School Vouchers and Tuition Tax Subsidies

   Policy Statement
   The National Education Association opposes diverting critical resources from public schools to private or religious school vouchers, tuition tax credits, K-12 education savings accounts, or other direct or indirect tax subsidies that channel public funds to K-12 private, religious, or home schools.
   
   Public schools accept and educate all students who enter them. There is no conclusive evidence that vouchers significantly or consistently improve the achievement of students who use them. Private, religious, and home schools are not subject to the same accountability or teacher quality standards as public schools. They can also limit which students they accept for admission and deny entrance to students with disabilities or other special needs.

   Question
   
   NEA opposes any federal voucher plan, including demonstration programs.
   
   Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____

   
   
2. Improve the No Child Left Behind Act

   Policy Statement
   The National Education Association believes that changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind Act, are needed to ensure successful implementation and meaningful progress toward the goals of increasing student achievement, closing the achievement gap, developing fairer school accountability, and ensuring every student the highest quality teachers.

   NEA believes that:

   1. Only those teachers who have achieved licensure/certification under state standards should be deemed highly qualified
      
      
   2. Fully licensed/certified special education teachers should be considered highly qualified
      
      
   3. States should have flexibility in measuring schools' Adequate Yearly Progress, including by incorporating into school assessments factors such as attendance and graduation rates, percentage of students taking Advanced Placement courses, and/or in-grade retention
      
      
   4. States should have flexibility in applying sanctions to schools identified as "in need of improvement" by providing needed resources and tailoring corrective actions to address specific problems in individual schools
      
      
   5. Paraprofessionals should be provided the training they need to meet new quality standards, and the training should be fully funded by states and school districts
      
      
   6. All entities receiving federal funds must comply with federal civil rights laws
      
      
   7. Additional programs should be included in ESEA/NCLB to provide schools with the resources and assistance they need to maximize achievement and close achievement gaps, including funding for class size reduction, school modernization, and quality, universal pre-kindergarten programs.

   
   Questions
   
   

   1. NEA supports limiting the definition of "highly qualified teacher" in ESEA/NCLB to those teachers who have achieved licensure/certification under state standards, and eliminating exemptions for supplemental service providers, charter schools and alternate certification programs.
      
      Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support_X-?_     Oppose_____
      Please explain (if necessary)

      I support all the bulleted points. And I would agree that charter schools, which focus on a more intense curriculum in some specific area, should not be exempt.
      
      However, I do not know what "supplemental service providers" are, and I would like to know the impact no exemption would have on "alternate certification programs" like adult GED classes, or on programs for at-risk teens, where professional counseling qualifications might be more important than teacher certification in a particular education field like science or math.

   2. NEA supports requiring states and school districts to use funds (including Title I and II funds) to help paraprofessionals meet ESEA/NCLB quality standards by fully funding testing, continuing education and training.
      
      Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____
      
      
   3. NEA supports granting states flexibility in measuring schools' Adequate Yearly Progress, such as through incorporating multiple measures of achievement in addition to tests, and allowing states to utilize a growth model that measures improvements in student achievement over time.
      
      Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____
      Please explain (if necessary)

      Penalizing schools and teachers for the poor performance of students makes no sense to me. Those kind of results should prompt MORE, not LESS, in the way of resources, curriculum development, training, new techniques.

   4. NEA supports requiring that all entities receiving ESEA/NCLB funds, including community based organizations and supplemental service providers, comply with all federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (except as otherwise permitted under the Patsy Mink Title IX Act of the Education Amendments of 1972), national origin or disability.
      
      Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____
      Please explain (if necessary)

      Also prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.

   5. NEA supports including in ESEA/NCLB a dedicated program to provide funds to states and school districts to reduce class sizes for targeted schools in order to improve student achievement.
      
      Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____
      
      
   6. NEA supports including in ESEA/NCLB a program to assist states in establishing quality, universal pre-kindergarten.
      
      Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____
      Please explain (if necessary)

      It's not clear here if this would be mandatory or optional for parents. This would be an expansion of Head Start?

   7. NEA supports including funding in ESEA/NCLB to help financially needy schools repair and modernize their facilities so that all children can learn in safe, modern and well-equipped schools.
      
      Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____
      
      

3. Increase Funding for the No Child Left Behind Act and Special Ed

   Policy Statement
   The National Education Association believes the federal government has a legitimate responsibility for the quality of public education and that it should ensure educational opportunity for all. To this end, NEA believes the federal government should assume a full partnership role with local school districts by providing significant funding for elementary and secondary education, including for meeting federal mandates imposed on states and schools.
   
   NEA strongly supports increased funding for No Child Left Behind Act programs, particularly Title I and other programs that target students and schools with the greatest needs. More than 21,000 schools did not make Adequate Yearly Progress under NCLB for the 2004-05 school year, with almost 11,000 designated as "in need of improvement." They must show improvement quickly while many face severe budget cutbacks. Most activities that schools will put in place to improve student achievement - after-school or summer school programs, enhanced and expanded professional development or smaller class sizes - all require additional resources.
   
   NEA supports the federal government fulfilling its commitment from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to pay 40 percent of the average per-pupil cost of educating students with disabilities. Yet the federal government pays less than 19 percent of the cost for the more than 6 million students with disabilities.

   Question
   
   NEA supports fully funding the authorized funding levels for No Child Left Behind programs, particularly Title I and IDEA.
   
   Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____

   
   
4. High School Reform

   Policy Statement
   The National Education Association believes that Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind testing requirements for math and reading should not be extended to additional high school grades. Current federal testing requirements for grades 3-8 and once in high school already are underfunded.
   
   NEA believes that computer literacy in gathering, organizing and sharing information is critical for success in higher education and in the world of work. To help address student achievement gaps based on race, social class and gender, every high school student should be provided a laptop computer with access to e-mail and the Internet. Computers are today's paper and pencil.

   Questions
   
   

   1. NEA opposes extending ESEA/NCLB's math and reading testing requirements to additional high school grades.
      
      Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____
      
      Please explain (if necessary)

      It is not clear whether the NEA position would change if full funding for other grades in high school became available. Is yours a funding position or a policy position?

   2. NEA supports providing federal funding through the reauthorization of ESEA/NCLB in 2007 to assist states and local school districts give every high school student a laptop computer.
      
      Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____
      
      

5. Improve and Preserve the E-Rate Program

   Policy Statement
   The National Education Association believes all students, regardless of income or where they live, can benefit from new information technologies, including distance learning, web-based homework, enriched curriculum, and increased communication between parents, students and their teachers. The E-Rate program, passed by Congress in 1996, has had tremendous success in bridging the digital divide by bringing new technologies and the power of the Internet to schools and classrooms nationwide. Before the program began, three percent of the nation's classrooms were connected to the Internet; today, 93 percent of classrooms are connected.
   
   E-Rate funds are collected from telecommunications companies and flow through the United Service Fund. NEA believes the E-Rate program must remain part of the Universal Service Fund because it is a stable and reliable funding mechanism.

   Question
   
   NEA supports federal legislation that preserves E-Rate program funding as part of the Universal Service Fund because it provides schools reliability and stability.
   
   Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X*__     Oppose_____
   Please explain (if necessary)

   The Universal Service Fund is one way to fund these programs. It may not be the best way. And with VOIP and other means of communicating over the internet, the long-term stability of this fund may be in doubt. Diversification might be wise here.

   
   
6. Expand Access to Higher Education

   Policy Statement
   The National Education Association supports increasing Pell Grant awards to expand access to postsecondary education. Higher education is the stepping-stone out of poverty for many Americans. It is estimated that college graduates earn 50 percent more over their lifetime than persons with a high school diploma.
   
   Since their inception 40 years ago, Pell Grants have enabled millions of disadvantaged students, most of them first-generation college students, to attend postsecondary institutions and earn degrees. These individuals have gone on to make extraordinary contributions to our society.
   
   While the gap between postsecondary tuition and the cost of living continues to widen, the maximum Pell Grant remains virtually constant, forcing many qualified students to postpone or cancel their college education, or incur significant debt from loans.

   Question
   
   NEA supports increasing the maximum Pell Grant by $500 to help restore Pell Grant purchasing power and reduce students' reliance on loans.
   
   Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____
   Please explain (if necessary)

   I support free public education through the college level. Until we get there, Pell Grant levels should be increased fast enough to keep pace with rises in tuition levels at public colleges and universities. Your increase of $500 is not enough, but it's a start in the right direction.

   
   
7. Protect and Strengthen Social Security

   Policy Statement
   The National Education Association is committed to advancing the economic interests of all education employees, including by protecting and strengthening Social Security.
   
   NEA opposes privatizing Social Security, a vital anti-poverty program. Privatization carries great risk and will jeopardize the retirement of many Americans. It will drain money from the current system that is needed to pay today's retirees - at a cost of more than $1 trillion in the next decade - while subjecting retirees' financial security to the unpredictability of the market.
   
   NEA opposes mandating Social Security coverage for all public employees. Educators in 12 states (AK, CA, CO, CT, IL, KY, LA, MA, ME, MO, NV, OH) as well as selected districts in three additional states (GA, RI, TX) do not pay into Social Security. Instead, these states maintain separate retirement systems for educators. A federal mandate for public employee participation in the Social Security system would be detrimental to teachers and other public employees and would create financial burdens for states and city governments. Mandatory coverage would weaken existing state and local retirement plans, while increasing the tax burden on public-sector employers.
   
   NEA supports complete repeal of the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision, which unfairly reduce or eliminate spousal survivor benefits and Social Security benefits earned by many public employees. Educators dedicate their lives to public service, often at considerable financial sacrifice. Such commitment to serving the public good should not be penalized by unfair offsets. These offsets also act as a deterrent to those seeking to enter the teaching profession from other careers and a disincentive for talented teachers to remain in the profession.

   Questions
   
   

   1. NEA opposes allowing individuals to divert a percentage of their income subject to Social Security taxation into private accounts in exchange for a reduction in guaranteed benefits.
      
      Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____
      Please explain (if necessary)

      Social Security is the most successful government program in our nation's history. It may need to be tweaked, but it isn't broken. Privatizing even a portion of it would be devastating.

   2. NEA opposes mandatory Social Security coverage for public employees.
      
      Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support_____     Oppose__X__
      Please explain (if necessary)

      With the current crunch on state budgets, and with the devastating affects in Maine of the Pension Offset law (see my position, below), switching state plans to Social Security may be the safest and best way to secure a stable retirement income, with supplemental plans such as 40l(k) plans offered to employees. (According to my sister, a newly retired school employee in New Jersey, her state's assembly is currently threatening to under-fund their state retirement program by $1 billion as a "cost-saving" measure.)

   3. NEA supports federal legislation to eliminate the Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision.
      
      Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____
      Please explain (if necessary)

      If people qualify under state retirement plans and separately qualify under Social Security, they should receive benefits from both plans in retirement.
      
      

8. Protect Education Employee Rights

   Policy Statement
   The National Education Association promotes the cause of quality public education and advances the education profession; works to expand the rights and further the interests of public education employees; and advocate human, civil and economic rights for all. It is NEAís goal to have a qualified teacher in every classroom and qualified education support professionals in classrooms and at worksites.
   
   NEA is committed to advancing the economic interests, protecting the job security, improving the terms and conditions of employment, and securing the right to bargain collectively for all education employees. NEA believes that attaining and exercising collective bargaining rights are essential to the promotion of the needs of students and education employees.
   
   NEA believes that any public employee benefit, statutory right or protection should not be impeded or weakened by federal action. NEA opposes any denial or reduction in collective bargaining rights, or any infringement upon due process or established grievance procedures through federal action.

   Question
   
   NEA opposes any federal action that diminishes the rights, benefits or protections granted public employees through collective bargaining or state legislation.
   
   Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____

   
   
9. Tax Incentives for Teachers

   Policy Statement
   The National Education Association supports tax incentives to ensure a highly qualified teacher in every classroom. Often those schools with the greatest needs, and consequently the most challenging working conditions, have the most difficulty retaining talented teachers, particularly given the resources and benefits available in more affluent areas.

   Question
   
   NEA supports federal legislation to provide tax incentives for teachers working in high-need, high-poverty schools.
   
   Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____

   
   
10. Allow Importation of Prescription Drugs, Negotiation of Prices

    Policy Statement
    The National Education Association believes that the federal government must address the current health care crisis. Current federal law prohibits consumers from taking advantage of the global marketplace to purchase affordable prescription drugs. Too often, seniors and individuals with disabilities must pay for medication at the expense of food or other necessities.
    
    The Medicare law passed in 2003 prohibits the federal government from negotiating prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. By way of contrast, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is permitted to negotiate prescription drug prices and use its collective purchasing power to pass along discounts to veterans.

    Questions
    
    

    1. NEA supports federal legislation allowing importation, reimportation of safe, affordable prescription medications from Canada and other industrialized nations.
       
       Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____
       Please explain (if necessary)

       I support national single-payer health care, which, if implemented, would make this issue moot.

    2. NEA supports federal legislation allowing the federal government to negotiate prescription drug prices for Medicare recipients.
       
       Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____
       Please explain (if necessary)

       The fact that this "no negotiation" clause was in the Medicare Part D legislation is an outrage.
       
       

11. Provide Universal Health Care

    Policy Statement
    The National Education Association believes that the federal government must address the current health care crisis. Nearly 45 million Americans, many of them the children of the working poor, lack basic health insurance and therefore suffer needlessly from chronic illnesses that affect their ability to learn. In addition, the rapidly escalating cost of health care and prescription drugs are forcing many individuals to switch to barebones coverage, placing even more children at risk.
    
    Millions of seniors and individuals with disabilities, many of them retired educators and education support professionals living on fixed incomes, face escalating medication costs. Too often, seniors and individuals with disabilities must pay for medication at the expense of food or other necessities.

    Question
    
    NEA supports a national health care policy that will mandate universal coverage with the highest quality health care at the lowest possible cost.
    
    Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____
    Please explain (if necessary)

    National single-payer health care is a key component of my campaign platform.

    
    
12. Ensure Non-Discrimination in Employment

    Policy Statement
    The National Education Association believes that employment statutes, policies and practices must guarantee that no person is denied a job based on sexual orientation or gender identification, factors that have no relationship to an individualís abilities or performance.
    
    NEA supports the passage of federal legislation that provides basic protections from employment discrimination in the private and public sectors on the basis of sexual orientation. Currently, there is no federal law protecting individuals from this kind of discrimination. In 34 states, it is legal to fire someone solely based on sexual orientation. In 44 states, it is legal to do so based on gender identity. Those who face job discrimination based on sexual orientation usually have no legal recourse, in either state or federal courts.

    Question
    
    NEA supports federal legislation that provides protections from employment discrimination in the private and public sectors on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
    
    Do you support or oppose NEA's position?     Support__X__     Oppose_____
    Please explain (if necessary)

    This is a long-standing position of mine, and I am pleased that we finally have this on the books in Maine.