The League’s Position on the Federal Role in Public Education

Statement of Position on Federal Role in Public Education as announced by the National Board in March 2012.

The League of Women Voters believes that the federal government shares with other levels of government the responsibility to provide an equitable, quality public education for all children pre-K through grade 12. A quality public education is essential for a strong, viable, and sustainable democratic society and is a civil right.

The League believes that the role of the federal government should include the following:

• Provide leadership and vision to promote a quality education for all children;
• Provide broad common standards developed by educational experts upon which states and local education agencies can build;
• Provide a suggested curricular structure or framework as a guide to state and local education agencies to develop their own curricula;
• Provide a national assessment that clearly informs teachers, parents and students about how well individual students have mastered criteria established at the national level;
• Provide a national assessment that informs districts how well their populations compare to other populations similar to theirs; and
• Provide a combination of competitive grants and non-competitive funding to states and local school districts to achieve equity among states and populations.

 The League of Women Voters believes that an equitable, quality public education is critical for students. While the League recognizes that there are instances where the federal government’s involvement is the only way to achieve universal change (desegregation, special needs population, gender equity), we also recognize that primary responsibility for public education resides with the states. In accordance with the League of Women Voters’ position on Equal Rights, the League continues to support equity in public education for all through:

• Broad guidelines for accountability, leaving implementation to the state and local education agencies;
• Adequate funding sources that support the broad goals of national standards; and
• Mechanisms for local and state funding with adequate federal support for mandates that require less burdensome, compliance-based reporting and regulations.

The League of Women Voters believes a basic role of the federal government in funding education should be to achieve equity among states and populations on the basis of identified needs. This should be done with full understanding that equity does not mean equal, given that some populations are more expensive to educate than others and some localities have specific needs.

The League believes that the federal government should be primarily responsible for funding any programs mandated by the federal government on local education agencies. Although the League recognizes equity in education depends on meeting basic human needs of children and of their families, the costs associated with providing equitable access to safe neighborhoods and secure housing do not belong in the education budget. Major programs of federal funding for public education (i.e., Elementary and Secondary Education Act) should be targeted toward children living in poverty and/or children with special needs.

The federal government has the responsibility to monitor and support access to the following:

• High quality teaching and learning, supported by quality current learning materials and well maintained educational facilities; and
• Access to health care needs (i.e., hearing, vision, dental, immunization, school-based health clinics at the secondary level, etc.) and nutritionally adequate food (i.e., school-based meals under “free and reduced meal programs”).

The League of Women Voters believes that the first five years of a child’s life are crucial in building the foundation for educational attainment and greatly impact success or failure in later life. Additionally, the League believes quality, developmentally appropriate and voluntary early learning experiences should be available to all children, with federally funded opportunities going first to children of poverty and/or with special needs. The League believes that the federal government should support the following:

• Early childhood education programs that include funding for parent education and involve child development, health, nutrition and access to other supportive services such as mental health care for all children and their families;
• Research that documents quality early childhood education programs; and
• Research that demonstrates the importance of linking state and local community partnerships with effective early childhood education programs and services.