October 2008 NASSP Advocacy Update

This quarterly update includes information on legislative activities in the following areas:
Striving Readers Act
Success in the Middle Act
FY 2009 Education Funding
Higher Education Act
Medicaid
School Safety
Environmental Education
Nonacademic Support for Students
News from the U.S. Department of Education
Other Issues
NASSP Board Position Statements
NASSP Federal Grassroots Network

NASSP Advocacy Update – October 2008

Striving Readers Act
NASSP had hoped that the House would approve the Striving Readers Act (H.R. 2289/S. 958) this year as a stand-alone bill, but bipartisan negotiations with House Education and Labor Committee Ranking Member Buck McKeon (R-CA) collapsed after the House Appropriations Committee zeroed out funding for Reading First.

The Striving Readers Act has 25 Senate cosponsors (in addition to sponsor Sen. Jeff Sessions [R-AL]) and 52 House cosponsors (in addition to sponsor Rep. John Yarmuth [D-KY]).

Success in the Middle Act
NASSP is one of the lead organizations in the Middle Grades Coalition on NCLB, which is actively advocating for the Success in the Middle Act (H.R. 3406/S. 2227). Although NCLB reauthorization has been postponed, the coalition continues to meet with the bill’s House and Senate sponsors and to seek additional cosponsors.

The Success in the Middle Act has 31 House cosponsors (in addition to sponsor Rep. Raul Grijalva [D-AZ]) and 6 Senate cosponsors (in addition to sponsor Sen. Barack Obama [D-IL]).

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