NSBA IDs issues for annual Washington conference 

Federal Relations Network scheduled Jan. 31–Feb. 2

With national education policy—and funding—exerting ever-greater sway over what public schools do, how they do it and how they’re held accountable, Washington, D.C., looms far larger in the plans of local governance teams than the thousands of miles separating it from California would suggest.

School board members who participate in the National School Boards Association’s annual Federal Relations Network Conference in the nation’s capital Jan. 31–Feb. 2 will have a unique opportunity not only to see how federal education policy is crafted, but to help influence the result.

“FRN members will take action and have an impact on a wide range of key issues and legislation,” promises an NSBA advisory on the conference. Previewing the federal agenda for 2010, it continues, “Congress will be grappling with issues that will profoundly affect America’s schools for years to come.”

Key federal priorities for NSBA in 2010 include:

• reauthorization of an improved and better-funded Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as the cornerstone of federal education policy was known before the advent of No Child Left Behind
• adequate funding for education programs, including full funding for mandates such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Title I
• promoting local governance and decision-making as keys to effective public education and student achievement in the 21st century
• forward-looking initiatives in prekindergarten education, teacher effectiveness and education innovation

Add the unsettled outlook for federal education policy as funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s various education programs begin to taper off—even though the regulations and accountability measures associated with them will continue to shape local governance teams’ work long into the future—and the stakes rise even higher.

But the payoff for participating in FRN is commensurate: The conference will begin Jan. 31 with presentations from noted political analyst Norman Ornstein and others, along with entertainment by the Capitol Steps, a musical comedy troupe specializing in political satire. Policy experts will brief participants on federal education issues, national politics, and advocacy strategies on the conference’s first full day Feb. 1 in preparation for meetings with congressional representatives Feb. 2.

Conference registration is $635. Lodging at the Hilton Washington Hotel is available through FRN housing at $199 per night, but reservations must be made prior to Jan. 4.

Easy link:

• More FRN information and preregistration with CSBA—a prerequisite for Californians planning to attend—is available here.