NEA Disclaims NCLB “Dismantling” Petition

Mike Antonucci’s Education Intelligence Agency reports:

When it comes to the No Child Left Behind Act, NEA will happily embrace arguments made by states’ rights proponents, but it’s uncomfortable with the public discussion of one possible outcome of its efforts: the dismantling of the law.

An organization called the Educator Roundtable has posted “a petition calling for the dismantling of the No Child Left Behind Act.” NEA headquarters was prompted to distribute an internal memo about it.

“Information about the petition and calls for signing it have been circulating on many email lists,” reads the memo from NEA President Reg Weaver and Executive Director John Wilson. “Affiliates, NEA staff, and others are asking questions about the petition and whether or not NEA endorses it. The short answer? Absolutely not.”

NEA says the petition “does not propose any positive changes or alternatives” and that “some of the petition’s initiators have been critical of NEA and our efforts around NCLB.”

The petition website is registered to Philip Kovacs, but it appears to bear the stamp of the second signature on the petition – Susan Ohanian.

Indeed, NEA’s reaction is the subject of not one, but two, “NCLB Outrages” on Ohanian’s web site.

“What is the NEA leadership afraid of?” Ohanian asks. “That its members might think for themselves?”

Those are two short questions deserving of one long answer, but it will be more fun watching NEA and Ohanian thrash it out for themselves.

To sign the petition go to:
A Petition Calling for the Dismantling of the No Child Left Behind Act

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