Washington school boards pushing for changes to No Child Left Behind

At least one hundred fifty-four local school boards across Washington state have now passed resolutions calling for changes in the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as No Child Left Behind, the Washington State School Directors’ Association said today.

The resolution urges Congress to act on the federal law promptly. It has been more than a dozen years since it has been updated.

The 154 boards represent nearly 800 elected school board members. In addition, the resolution was also support by five Educational Service Districts in Washington.

“Support for changes to ESEA is coming from virtually every part of the state,” said WSSDA President Chris Nieuwenhuis, who also serves on the board of the Riverside School District near Spokane. “In just the past few weeks, the issue has moved to the front burner and we want to help make sure it stays there until something is done.”

Washington state is also home to one of the U.S. senators who is most involved in the effort to revamp the federal law, Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Education Committee.

“This gives us the opportunity to have a line of communication to help push this legislation forward,” Nieuwenhuis said.

The WSSDA Board of Directors originally passed the resolution and then asked local boards to show similar support. The resolution says that current law is unfair, inaccurate and misrepresents the quality and improvement in the nation’s schools.

The resolution and a listing of all the boards that have taken action on it are posted at the WSSDA website and includes the Shoreline School Board.

About WSSDA — Founded in 1922, the Washington State School Directors’ Association is comprised of all 1,477 school board members from Washington’s 295 school districts. The districts they lead serve more than one million students, have a combined annual budget of more than $12 billion and employ well over 100,000 people. WSSDA’s core mission is focused on ensuring that school board members have the knowledge, tools and services they need to effectively govern their districts and improve student learning.