Coalition Press Releases
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: Susan Traiman Jacque Johnson |
Business Coalition Urges Congressional and Administration Staff to Continue Bipartisan Effort to Reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act this Year
Washington, DC – At a meeting with the Business Coalition for Student Achievement (BCSA) today, representatives from the Administration, the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee reaffirmed their commitment to working together in a bipartisan way to strengthen and reauthorize the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act this year. The coalition, a diverse group of business organizations, views NCLB as essential in helping prepare students to succeed in today’s competitive workplace.
The discussion focused on critical issues concerning the legislation, its progress in strengthening America’s public schools and its outlook for reauthorization this year.
“We are encouraged by the government’s commitment to producing a strong bill that maintains the momentum for raising student achievement in the U.S.,” said Susan Traiman, Director of Education and Workforce Policy for the Business Roundtable and spokesperson for the BCSA. ”The business community is solidly behind efforts to improve the performance of the K-12 education system and NCLB is an important step in shoring up the foundation for U.S. competitiveness.”
“We urge Congress and the Administration to reauthorize NCLB this year in order to continue to strengthen the law. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is helping us educate our students to be prepared for college, citizenship and the 21st century workplace,” said Jacque Johnson, Executive Director, Education and Workforce Development Policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and spokesperson for BCSA. “Any kind of reform takes time, but the early results are promising and we cannot afford to turn back the clock.”
In conjunction with the meeting, the BCSA released “Top Ten Myths About No Child Left Behind,” a brochure that dispels the most common myths around NCLB. To download a copy or for more information on the Business Coalition for Student Achievement, visit biz4achievement.org.
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The Business Coalition for Student Achievement – representing business leaders from every sector of the economy – is committed to supporting policies that improve the performance of the K-12 education system in the United States. The Coalition is co-chaired by Craig R. Barrett, Chairman of Intel; Arthur F. Ryan, Chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc.; and Edward B. Rust Jr., Chairman and CEO of State Farm, and is coordinated by Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
