Greetings,
Many of your associations sent representatives this past weekend to
Washington, DC, for the annual NAGC State Affiliate Conference. State
leaders made visits to Congress on Tuesday, March 15 in support of new
legislation and funding for the Javits program.
I am reporting to you on those items and am asking for your assistance with
Members of Congress:
(1) bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate to amend the
Higher Education Act (HEA) to expand the current teacher quality
enhancement grants program to be used to increase pre-service teacher
familiarity with the educational needs of gifted & talented students.
This is the same bill as was introduced in the Senate last Congress.
Our goal is to get as many cosponsors on the bills as possible in the next
month so that we can show the education committees (which are working on
the HEA this year) that we have sufficient support to include the g/t
language in the committee-drafted version of the HEA.
The bills are S.493, which was introduced by Senator Charles Grassley
(Iowa); cosponsors so far are Lott (MS); Cochran (MS), Bunning (KY) Johnson
(SD), and Lugar (IN)
H.R. 1156, introduced by Rep. Paul Gillmor (OH-5), cosponsors are Gallegly
(CA-24); we¡¯ve heard back from state leaders (who walked the Hill on 3/15)
that several House offices will cosponsor
Copies of the bills (in .pdf format), and a summary of the bills are
available on the NAGC website at
(2) ¡°dear colleague¡± letters are circulating in the House and Senate asking
for House and Senate ¡°co-signers¡± on letters to the appropriations
committees requesting continued funding for the Javits program in fiscal
year 2006. (As you know, the Administration has requested $0 for the Javits
program in the 2006 budget).
The letters will be sent to the House and Senate appropriations committees
on slightly different schedules. WE NEED HOUSE co-signers BEFORE APRIL 7;
we have until April 30 for Senate co-signers.
Senator Grassley is circulating the letter in the Senate; Chris Dodd (CT)
is the lead democrat on that letter. Senator Johnson (SD) and Hutchison
(TX) are the only co-signers I know about in the Senate as of today.
Representative Elton Gallegly (CA-24) is coordinating the letter in the
House. As of today, I know of only Rep. Bobby Rush (IL-1) as a co-signer.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
(1) Ask your members to contact their Senators and Representative and urge
them to support the Javits Gifted & Talented Education program by
co-signing Senator Grassley¡¯s letter [or Representative Gallegly¡¯s letter]
to the appropriations committee asking for $12 million for the Javits
program in 2006.
The most powerful arguments regarding funding for the Javits program are:
¡¤ that the Javits program is the only federal program devoted to
researching how we identify and serve underserved gifted learners. AND, no
one else will conduct the research (because states and school districts do
not conduct research)
¡¤ that the Javits program funds the National Research Center on the Gifted
& Talented, which shares its research results with school districts so that
districts can better serve this population
¡¤ that the statewide grants awarded under the Javits program allow states
to build an infrastructure to support gifted learners (for example, by
training teachers, statewide)
If your state has a statewide grant, be sure to remind your Congressional
office that your state is currently benefiting from the Javits program. If
your state does NOT have a grant, the only way your state could get a
Javits grant is if the Congress continues funding the program. If your
school district is benefiting from research conducted by the NRC/GT, be
sure to include that in your message. That way, Congress sees that the
federal investment is making a difference.
(2) We need cosponsors for S.493 & H.R. 1156. Please ask your members to
contact their Senators and Representative asking them to cosponsor.
¡¤ The most powerful argument in favor of the legislation is that according
to the Nat¡¯l Research Center on the Gifted & Talented, more than 60% of
teachers have not been trained to meet the educational needs of gifted
students.
¡¤ If there are limited (or no) university courses for undergraduate
preservice teachers in your state, you should be sure to let your Members
of Congress know that. Include other relevant local or state stories to
personalize your message.
Requests to your Senators should be specific: ¡°please co-sponsor Senator
Grassley¡¯s bill, which amends the Higher Education Act, to increase
preservice teachers¡¯ exposure to the learning needs of gifted students.¡±
Also, ask your Senators to get back to you letting you know if they agreed
to cosponsor the bill.
Requests to your Representative should be the same message, but ask that
the Representative cosponsor Representative Gillmor¡¯s bill, H.R. 1156.
WHEN AND BY WHAT MEANS YOU SHOULD ACT:
(1) The most urgent message is to make your contacts in the House of
Representatives regarding co-signing the funding letter before April 7.
Make your contacts in the Senate before April 30.
There is more time to contact Members of Congress on S.493 and H.R. 1156,
although the sooner we get cosponsors, the better.
(2) Congress is going into the Passover / Easter recess today, so although
you should be contacting offices as soon as possible, there will likely be
a delay in a staff member¡¯s ability to tell you, definitively, whether or
not the Member of Congress can cosponsor the bill or co-sign the letter.
(don¡¯t forget to request that they do let you know)
(3) When you make your contact, be sure to be specific about what you¡¯re
requesting, and be sure to mention the Senator and Representative that is
sponsoring the bill or letter so that the staff knows what office to call
for more information.
Senator Charles Grassley¡¯s office is the office for the Javits letter in
the Senate and for S.493
Representative Elton Gallegly (CA-24) is the office for the Javits letter
in the House.
Representative Paul Gillmor (OH-5) is the office for H.R. 1156
(4) The best way to communicate your request is through a letter that you
fax to each office. The second best way is to send an email.
In both cases, be sure to include your name and U.S. mailing address so
that the office can send you a response. If you¡¯re sending an email, use
¡°gifted education¡± or ¡°attention education staff¡± in the subject line so
that the email can be quickly routed to the education staff person to handle.
(5) Visit www.senate.gov and www.house.gov for the contact information for
your Members of Congress.
Thank you for your assistance and check back on the NAGC website to see a
current list of cosponsors and co-signers.
Jane Clarenbach
