WHEREAS:

Congress recently passed a sweeping rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that President Bush signed into law on January 8, 2002 (P.L. 107-110); and

WHEREAS:

In a victory for public education advocates, the bill did not include any version of private school vouchers. An effort to include a block grant provision giving states carte blanche to restructure federal education programs was also successfully defeated; and

WHEREAS:

While the law was heralded as a significant bipartisan achievement, it did not provide federal funds needed to build new schools or repair existing ones, and it did not include full funding for children with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); and

WHEREAS:

The law established new requirements for paraprofessionals working in Title I programs that include meeting certain education levels or passing a competency assessment within four years of passage of the Act; and

WHEREAS:

The U.S. Supreme Court will issue a decision this session on whether school voucher programs, which permit tax dollars to be used for tuition at religious schools, are constitutional; and

WHEREAS:

All school voucher programs drain much needed money away from public schools that could be better used to pay for early childhood programs, smaller class sizes, and reading improvement programs for disadvantaged public school students; and

WHEREAS:

Charter schools, both public and private, have proliferated. Charter schools often do not operate under the same standards as regular schools and are not required to serve all students.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:

That AFSCME reaffirms its strong opposition to school voucher programs including a tax subsidy proposed by President Bush in his 2003 budget plan; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME works to ensure that, where charter schools are permitted, they are publicly run and are subject to the same standards as regular schools; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:

That AFSCME lobby Congress for full funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and new federal funds for school buildings; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED:

That AFSCME and its affiliates work to ensure that mechanisms developed at the state and local level for assessing the competency of Title I paraprofessionals are reasonable and that effective and adequately funded training programs are created.

SUBMITTED BY:

JoAnn Johntony, President
Sandra Wheeler, Secretary and Delegate
OAPSE/AFSCME Local 4
Ohio