| Two Major Developments on NCLB
May 1, 2008
There have been two major developments on the No Child Left Behind legal front this week.
1. Today the Sixth Circuit granted the federal government’s rehearing en banc petition in the Pontiac v. Spellings (NCLB Unfunded Mandates) case. The effect of the Sixth Circuit’s decision is to vacate the prior three-judge panel decision in our favor and to reinstate the appeal on that court’s docket for a new decision by all 14 of the Sixth Circuit’s regular active duty judges. NEA can file a supplemental 25-page brief by no later than June 2, the government will have the opportunity to do the same by no later than July 2, and we will have the opportunity to file a reply by July 16. The en banc coordinator for the Sixth Circuit has indicated that the Court will hear argument en banc on the case and that that argument, at the earliest, would be held on September 10, 2008. As a practical matter, this schedule means that we are unlikely to have a new decision from the Sixth Circuit in the case until the end of 2008 at the earliest.
2. On Monday, the United States District Court for the District Of Connecticut issued its decision on the administrative appeal aspects of the state of Connecticut's NCLB suit. In short, it found that the Secretary’s decisions denying Connecticut’s requests to test ELL students only after three years and to test students with disabilities at their instructional rather than grade level, per their IEP, are consistent with the statute and regulations and thus not arbitrary and capricious. The ruling also found that Connecticut waived any claim with regard to a hearing on those requests. The Court further found that the State of Connecticut never presented to the Secretary (and thus could not be decided by the court) a claim under the Unfunded Mandates provision with regard to those requests.
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TSTA Ambassador Academy
Reminder!
The Ambassador Academy is open to members who have not held an office in our local association or region for longer than two years. There is no minimum requirement on years of experience in public education. If you are a member, especially current Association Representatives, who feels that you have leadership potential, please ask me about applying to attend this year's Ambassador Academy. As a graduate of the 2003 Ambassador Academy, I cannot sing its praises too loud or too long. I entered the academy hoping only to learn to be a good building representative. The idea of becoming a local president never entered my mind. In fact, I only agreed to run for Vice President because it was the office that was charged with working closely with the Membership Committee. As a result of the training, I believe I learned things about myself and my abilities that had been there all along, but which I had never before been challenged to explore. If you are interested in pursuing such training, please note the following requirements to see if you may qualify:
1. Completed application with references and commitment contract must be received by April 30, 2008. If not received by the deadline, the application will not be considered.
2. In order to qualify to participate in this training, you cannot have held any office in your local association higher than Association Representative at the campus or worksite level.
3. Two letters of recommendation are required. The letters of recommendation must meet the following requirements:
•The person making the recommendation should include their name (printed), title, phone and email address on the letter.
•Someone who has personal knowledge of your leadership skills and abilities.
•TSTA prefers that one letter come from your local president.
•The second reference must be from a school or TSTA employee.
•Each letter should discuss your potential leadership abilities within the district, association or the community.
4. Adhere to TSTA/NEA Ambassador Commitment Contract.
5. Ambassador/Local/Region responsible for transportation, $50.00 registration fee and incidentals. TSTA/NEA will provide 4 nights of lodging (double occupancy) and meals (breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner).
6. You should save a copy of this application for your records.
If you feel that you can meet these requirements, I would like to talk w/ you about applying. E-mail me at: chuckisner@yahoo.com, or call me at 557-5743. The local will pay for your transportation and registration if you are chosen to attend.
Click here to download the application.
Please remember to submit your applications by May 12. You may email the applications to biancae@tsta.org or mail them in to: TSTA, Attention: Bianca Prado-Espinoza, 316 W 12th Street, Austin, TX 78701.
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