FRN: 3 days of lobbying and education set in D.C. Feb. 1–3
Published: December 8, 2008
Last month’s elections set the stage for the National School Boards Association’s Federal Relations Network, an annual conference that brings local school board members to Washington, D.C., for three days of in-depth briefings and lobbying on education issues.
Occurring Feb. 1–3 in 2009, FRN will be less than two weeks after President Barack Obama’s inauguration, giving conferees an inside look at the shaping of federal education policy in the new administration and the new Congress.
“With all of the immense challenges facing the nation, it’s crucial that education issues receive the attention they deserve,” CSBA President Paul H. Chatman said in urging participation in FRN.
“This is the crux of what we do,” Chatman said, “to have those courageous conversations with [policymakers] as a group, not just as an individual. We can paint the picture of what it’s really like in our schools. We have to let them know exactly what it’s like on the ground—right now.”
Federal education issues
Conditions on the ground—in classrooms and school boardrooms—are greatly affected by the No Child Left Behind Act, the controversial education legislation championed by the outgoing Bush administration and passed by large, bipartisan majorities in the U.S. House and Senate in 2001. Obama has called for reform and greater funding for NCLB.
“No Child Left Behind left the money behind,” his campaign Web site charges. “The goal of the law was the right one, but unfulfilled funding promises, inadequate implementation by the [U.S.] Education Department and shortcomings in the design of the law itself have limited its effectiveness and undercut its support. As a result, the law has failed to provide high-quality teachers in every classroom and failed to adequately support and pay those teachers.”
Other education planks in the Obama campaign platform ranged from greater access to early childhood education and college to greater funding for charter schools and recruitment and retention of effective teachers. The task of turning those campaign positions into administration policy will fall to Obama’s Education Department. Stanford University education professor Linda Darling-Hammond is co-chair of the transition team for education, and she’s reportedly leading the policymaking efforts. She’s been mentioned as a potential choice for secretary of Education, as has fellow Californian Christopher Edley Jr., dean of the law school at the University of California, Berkeley.
The legislative proposals that emerge from the Obama White House will face a new Congress with its own priorities, and they will have to compete with other urgent needs for attention and scarce dollars, as CSBA’s president pointed out.
“Other groups are already at the doorstep,” pressing for support for their issues, Chatman noted. “We [in the education community] should voice our concerns.”
The upcoming FRN Conference is a prominent stage for voicing those concerns, Chatman added. He led California’s delegation of more than 30 participants to last year’s event, which attracted nearly 900 school board members from around the nation, and he said he’ll be part of this year’s delegation that will be led by 2008–09 CSBA President Paula S. Campbell.
Events for early arrivals are scheduled as early as Jan. 31, but FRN officially begins at 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 1, with welcoming remarks from NSBA leaders and insights from noted political analyst Norman J. Ornstein and other speakers, capped by a presentation from the renowned musical comedy troupe the Capitol Steps. Tuesday will be a full day of legislative seminars and presentations, including a Congressional Awards Luncheon. Wednesday is “A Day on the Hill,” when participants will engage their congressional representatives and staffs, followed by a congressional reception.
Registration for FRN costs $605; participants must pre-register with CSBA. The Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel, United Airlines and American Airlines and Association Travel Concepts are offering special conference rates.
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