Title: To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to reduce class size through the use of fully qualified teachers, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep Wu, David [3] [D-OR-1] (introduced 6/11/2007)      Cosponsors (19)
Latest Major Action: 7/24/2007 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.

Highlights: Allots funds to states and local educational agencies to recruit, hire, and train additional teachers, in order to: (1) reduce class sizes nationally, in grades one through three, to an average of 18 students per classroom; and (2) improve teaching in those grades so that all students can learn to read independently and well by the end of the third grade.

ASPIRA Policy Position

ASPIRA supports class size reduction.

Title: To close the achievement gap with accountability, flexibility, and choice, so that no child is left behind.

The No Child Left Behind Act purpose is to improve student achievement by setting a goal of full grade-level proficiency in reading and mathematics by 2014. It also aims to close the achievement gap

ASPIRA's Policy Position :

ASPIRA’s concerns include:

1. standardized tests may not be properly monitored to ensure that they reflect the standards;
2. assessment results should be used for improvement and not to penalize schools/students;
3. ELL Students should take the same tests as all other students take in school regardless of proficiency to assess their progress and that of the school in serving this population;
4. assessments should measure the progress of students year over year. They should not be used to compare different cohorts to determine AYP.
5. underfunding for NCLB imposes a higher bar for students and schools to reach without the means to achieve at high levels. Lack of resources, such as highly prepared and experienced teachers and educational resources, means schools that Latino children attend are often ranked as “failing” and hence will lose further funding.

Title: A bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to ensure that no child is left behind.
Sponsor: Sen Burr, Richard [6] [R-NC] (introduced 7/12/2007)      Cosponsors (1)
Latest Major Action: 7/12/2007 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Highlights: Permits states to: (1) use alternate academic achievement standards for disabled students; (2) incorporate student academic growth into calculations of adequate yearly progress (AYP); and (3) determine AYP for limited English proficient (LEP) students by excluding new arrivals and including former LEP students. Increases funds available for teaching, and developing enhanced assessments for, disabled and LEP children.Replaces the School Dropout Prevention program with the Secondary School Graduation grant program, to identify and provide remedial education to at-risk students, prepare students for college, and offer them work-based and experiential learning experiences.

Grant eligibility: State receive the funding for the Secondary School Graduation grants, and must distribute 85% of the money as subgrants to Local Education Agencies. The subgrants will be no more than $10,000 for one year, nonrenewable.

ASPIRA Policy Position

ASPIRA opposes the measure to exclude any ELL or Special Education students from accountability testing.ASPIRA is concerned that excluding ELL students from regular assessments to ascertain the school’s yearly progress will lead to ELL students being segregated and not tested, outside of the school accountability system and therefore underserved by the school.  Other –non-accountability- measures should be used to guide services to these students.ASPIRA supports using academic growth of individual students to determine adequate yearly progress.

ASPIRA supports the Secondary School Graduation grant program, but opposes the funding and time limitations proposed in the legislation.

Title: To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to improve certain accountability and assessment provisions.
Sponsor: Rep Hooley, Darlene [8] [D-OR-5] (introduced 3/27/2007)      Cosponsors (4)
Latest Major Action: 6/27/2007 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.

Highlights: Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to alter requirements regarding state assessments of whether students are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward academic achievement standards by allowing states to: (1) track AYP on a longitudinal basis; (2) permit disabled students and students for religious reasons to opt out of the assessments; (3) reschedule assessments for students who for specified reasons cannot attend scheduled assessments; and (4) count disabled students who graduate from secondary school within reasonable periods of time in favorable AYP graduation rates. Includes students in the limited-English proficient subgroup for three school years after they attain English proficiency, when determining whether the subgroup has made AYP. Requires limited-English proficient students to be included in English proficiency assessments if they have attended U.S. schools for more than five consecutive years. (Currently, they are subject to such assessments after attending U.S. schools for three or more consecutive years.)

ASPIRA Policy Position

ASPIRA opposes flexibility in assessing limited English proficient students to determine school Adequate Yearly Progress. (See above)

Title: To establish an adolescent literacy program.
Sponsor: Rep Yarmuth, John A. [10] [D-KY-3] (introduced 5/14/2007)      Cosponsors (40)
Latest Major Action: 7/17/2007 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.Highlights: Allots funds to State Educational Agencies (SEAs) on the basis of their relative proportion of needy children aged 5 to 17 and eighth graders underachieving in reading. Requires SEAs, in addition to providing subgrants, to use grant funds to: (1) provide professional development assistance to LEAs; (2) enhance public higher education for students preparing to teach any of grades 4 through 12; (3) recommend improvements to state licensure and certification standards for reading instruction in such grades; and (4) report to the Secretary of Education on SEA and LEA progress in improving adolescent literacy.

Grant eligibility: State Education Agencies may receive grants, and may disperse subgrants to local education agencies, to address the literacy needs of children with disabilities, and students who are learning English proficient. Priority is given to LEAs serving children below the poverty level. Appropriations for this Act start at $2 million in 2008 and increase by $2 million each year thru 2012.

ASPIRA Policy Position

ASPIRA supports adolescent literacy programs.  ASPIRA supports the inclusion of non-profit organizations (in addition to LEA’s) in the program. 

ASPIRA is concerned that the size of the authorization ($2 million) is inadequate to address the growing needs of adolescent limited English proficient students.