The voice of principals must be heard and heeded in the current national discourse about the state of education. NAESP's Advocacy and Government Relations team has taken great care to build partnerships with the Department of Education, the White House, and members of Congress based on civil discourse: We only support decisions and policy recommendations when they serve the interests of elementary and middle-level principals, and we present vigorous, but respectful, disagreement when they do not, offering instead constructive and informed alternatives.
Current NAESP Advocacy Priorities
Secure federal funding for professional development and mentoring programs that will strengthen principals' knowledge of early childhood education.
Require models of school improvement reform to judge principals based on training, expertise, and time afforded in the school building rather than simply relying on student assessment scores.
Ensure that the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) draws from the experiences of local principals and educators who know students best.
Jan. 18, 2012 - Principals to Convene for Federal Relations ConferenceNAESP federal relations coordinators will travel to Washington, D.C., for the opportunity to meet with lawmakers to discuss NAESP’s advocacy priorities, and hear from Capitol Hill insiders on efforts to update current federal education policy.
Jan. 9, 2012 - House GOP Releases Draft ESEA Bills The House of Representatives has released draft Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) bills that may be introduced in the future as formal legislation.
Dec. 17, 2011 - Don't Expect A Deal on ESEA Next Year A volley of statements between education committee leaders confirmed what NAESP has anticipated: In light of a vigorous election year on tap, Congress will not have the political will to come to consensus on a final ESEA bill next year.
Dec. 16, 2011 - Nine States Awarded Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge Grants As a strong supporter of the Obama administration’s investments in high-quality early learning, NAESP attended a White House briefing that announced the winners of the $500 million state grant competition.
Nov. 22, 2011 - Education Cuts on the Horizon for 2013 Unless Congress acts over the next year, the Super Committee's failure to reach an agreement triggers across-the-board budget cuts set to take place starting January, 2013. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that domestic discretionary spending, including the Department of Education, will be hit with cuts ranging from 7.8 percent in 2013 to 5.5 percent in 2021.
Oct. 21, 2011 - A Lot to Like and Not to Like: ESEA Moves Forward in Senate Committee The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee completed consideration of a bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA) after a 12-hour session and plenty of maneuvering on both sides of the political aisle.
Sept. 14, 2011 - Elementary Principal Testifies on Federal Accountability, Recommends Fair Measurement Principals of elementary and middle-level schools welcome high standards of accountability for school improvement and student achievement, but contend that our nation’s current all-or-nothing yardstick for measuring performance is deeply flawed.
Recommendations for the federal role in public school accountability
Sept. 12, 2011 - NAESP President Attends White House Jobs Speech, Supports Legislation NAESP President Rob Monson attended President Obama’s Sept. 12 White House speech on the American Jobs Act, which proposes to prevent hundreds of thousands of teacher layoffs and modernize schools.
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