The nation’s largest teachers’ union—the National Education Association—has gone on record with reservations about the Obama Administration’s education reforms. “After a protracted and contentious debate, NEA delegates narrowly passed a ‘no confidence’ vote on the Department of Education’s Race to the Top (RTT) grant competition guidelines, and on the use of competitive grants in the upcoming Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization,” The Education Reporter
reports. “The measure was a symbolic swing at the Obama administration’s policies, but stopped short of naming or criticizing President Obama, whom the union spent tens of millions of dollars to elect.”
“Union leaders say competitive grants like RTT ‘force local and state agencies to compete against each other for precious funding and resources,’ as compared to grants that disburse funds based on formulas.” The Education Reporter is published by the Eagle Forum, founded by attorney, author and activist Phyllis Schlafly.
The RTT resolution hardly represents a turn to the right for the NEA which went on record in support of gay marriage and opposition to Arizona’s crackdown on illegal aliens. As reported by The Education Reporter, The NEA resolved that, ‘‘Discrimination and stereotyping based on such factors as race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identification, disability, ethnicity, immigration status, occupation, and religion must be eliminated.’’
‘‘The Association also believes that these factors should not affect the legal rights and obligations of the partners in a legally recognized domestic partnership, civil union, or marriage in regard to matters involving the other partner, such as medical decisions, taxes, inheritance, adoption, and immigration.’’
Similarly, “The Association opposes any immigration policy that denies educational opportunities to immigrants and their children regardless of their immigration status.”
Malcolm A. Kline is the Executive Director of Accuracy in Academia.
If you would like to comment on this article, e-mail mal.kline@academia.org
