Ensure All Students are Counted: Oppose the Lee Opt-Out Amendment #2162 to the Every Child Achieves Act, S.1177

Recipient: U.S. Senate

View the PDF of this letter here.

Dear Senator:

On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of over 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States, we urge you to oppose the Lee Opt-Out Amendment to the Every Child Achieves Act, S.1177.  Lee Amendment #2162 would essentially eviscerate the requirement that schools account for the learning of all students through the law’s participation rate requirement. 

Prior to the inclusion of the participation requirement in the current law, students were routinely excluded from the general assessment, their learning was not taken into account, and their needs were ignored.  The Leadership Conference believes that every child’s learning should matter and the law must continue to ensure that it does.  Since 1965 and over the course of multiple reauthorizations, the core purpose of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act has been to help schools, districts, and states meet the additional educational needs of low-income students, students of color, students with disabilities, English learners and Native American students.  This amendment subverts that longstanding purpose and turns back the clock on educational opportunity.

We hope that you will oppose this amendment and continue to ensure that every child is counted.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Nancy Zirkin, Leadership Conference Executive Vice President, at [email protected], or Liz King, Leadership Conference Director of Education Policy at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Wade Henderson
President & CEO

Nancy Zirkin
Executive Vice President