This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Gwinnett School Representatives to Meet with U.S. Elected Officials

No Child Left Behind will be one of the topics discussed at Federal Relations Network Conference next month.

 

Washington, D.C. will be the site of the February 2012 Federal Relations Network Conference drawing school board members from the 50 states to the nation’s capital.

I will be among the elected school board members who will participate in our Georgia delegation.  After attending a two-day conference where education issues will be highlighted, our assignments will be to meet with our elected House members and then as a group with our two elected U.S. Senators.

Find out what's happening in Peachtree Cornerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Federal Relations Network is part of the National School Boards Association’s annual advocacy meetings in the nation’s capital.  My representation will be two-fold.  First, I have been elected as representative to the Conferences from the Gwinnett County Board of Education.  Also, I am an elected Board member of the Georgia School Boards Association, one of the sponsors of the conference and network.

The Federal government’s role in funding K-12 public education will be discussed.  For the nation as a whole, the Federal funding of public education is approximately 7 percent of the K-12 budget, with local governments and states providing the bulk of support for elementary, middle and high school students.  Few states fund public kindergarten or pre-school education.

Find out what's happening in Peachtree Cornerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Our national economy is in flux and State governments across the nation are caught in the economic downturn.   The 112th Congress is weighing its role in making changes to education policy during 2012, an election year for the President, for all members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and for more than 30 members of the U.S. Senate.

One of the major items for discussion at the Federal Relations Network Conference will be Congress’s reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind legislation, also known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  Advocates for and against this initiative will pursue legislators, advocating action to extend or to end the initiative introduced in 2002 by President George W. Bush and in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

In advance of the Federal Relations Network Conference, the Council of Urban Basic Education (CUBE) will hold a one-day conference.  Representing the nation’s large, urban public school districts, the CUBE conference will address many of the same topics that the NSBA Conference addresses, including reauthorization of No Child Left Behind as well as waivers granted to several states from the mandates required by the NCLB legislation.

Part of our work at the conference will be to spend one day on Capitol Hill visiting with our elected legislators or their staff members.  I look forward to meeting with U.S. Congressman Rob Woodall of Georgia’s 7th District as well as with Georgia’s two senators--U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss.

Among the issues facing Georgia and other states in the nation that we anticipate discussing with our elected representatives include full funding (up to 40 percent) for the IDEA program (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) as well as increased support for Early Childhood Education or other such programs.

As the District III School Board member, I look forward to representing the Gwinnett County Board of Education and the Georgia School Boards Association at the 2012 Federal Relations Network Conference and visit to Capitol Hill. 

I will report back to our constituents the highlights of the meetings with our Congressional delegation and work to represent the views of our community and school system—the largest in Georgia where we educate one of every 10 students enrolled in public education in our State.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Peachtree Corners