NCLB put on hold by the U.S. Senate 

For weeks, AFT members and leaders have been urging the U.S. House and Senate leadership to take the time needed to get the No Child Left Behind Act right.

Apparently, that message has been heard. In early November, the Associated Press reported that the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will not take up reauthorization of NCLB until early 2008. Committee chairman Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and ranking minority member Michael Enzi (R-Wyo) said that more time was needed to prepare a Senate bill.

The news agency reported that the House also may delay consideration of a bill; so far the House Education and Labor Committee has released a draft discussion of reauthorization, but no bill has been introduced.

AFT president Edward J. McElroy welcomed the news, saying the senators "are right to slow down reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act," and commending them for "insisting that quality, not the calendar, drive this process."
AFT members "have had a consistent message to Congress on NCLB reauthorization: Let's Get It Right," he added. "We know that it is too important to our students, teachers and communities to do otherwise."

AFT's NCLB call-in spans the states 

AFT members from 30 states participated in the union's congressional call-in week on the No Child Left Behind Act, which is up for reauthorization in Congress. Frontline educators from California to Massachusetts participated in the Oct. 15-19 event, a chance for Congress to hear about testing burdens, the narrowing of the curriculum and other NCLB problems that have become a part of daily classroom life-and to consider the changes necessary to get the law right.

Many AFT members took the time to share their own experiences with the law and to urge their legislators to provide a fair and accurate NCLB accountability system, to offer the resources and support needed to make sure children and educators have the very best to do their very best.

Members' call-in activism also attracted notice by the media. In Washington state, the AFT call-in made news when a newswire story, "Washington Teachers Sound Off About No Child Left Be-hind," was aired by 45 radio stations. AFT members are encouraged to keep up the pressure for a better law by visiting our union's NCLB site at www.aft.org/fixnclb. There, you can offer your own stories and opinions and find fast, easy tools for letting your congressional representatives know this is a top priority for members and the AFT.