New Ad Campaign Urges Senators to Protect All Students’ Right to Quality Education

WASHINGTON – A radio ad campaign starting this week calls on U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Richard Burr (R-NC) to stand for educational equity in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

The radio ads, broadcast in Tennessee and North Carolina, address proposals currently pending in Congress that would strip federal protections for vulnerable students from ESEA. The Senate bill is currently being negotiated by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, which Alexander chairs and Burr sits on.

Since its passage in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education, ESEA has been our nation’s driving force for educational equity, ensuring that school districts across the country provide a quality education to all students, including students of color, students with disabilities, English-language learners, and low-income students.

It’s imperative that the Senate reauthorization preserve protections and resources for students and parents to help them hold their schools accountable for equitable funding and outcomes. Should these be stripped, the result for these groups of students and for our nation would be devastating.

Because of their leadership roles on the Senate HELP Committee, Senators Alexander and Burr have key roles to play in this debate. The ads, which will air in Memphis and Charlotte, call on citizens to contact their local Senate offices and urge their senators to ensure that the ESEA gives students the education they’re entitled to.

To listen to the ads, click here for English and click here for Spanish.  

Text of the ads:

Right now, lawmakers in Washington are threatening to turn back the clock on the progress we’ve made in educating minority students.

For 50 years, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act has been our country’s most effective tool for seeing that our children get a quality education. But some in Congress want to weaken it—and make it harder for parents to know whether their children are getting the education they deserve.

Our Senator, Richard Burr/Lamar Alexander, can make a difference in helping preserve the gains we’ve made—but only if we make our voices heard.

Call Senator Burr/Alexander today and urge him to ensure that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act gives our children the education they’re entitled to.

Paid for by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

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