League of Women Voters to tackle federal education laws

Members of the League of Women Voters of Glendale/Burbank are taking part in a national study on education, weighing in with their opinions on issues such as funding, teacher evaluations and pre-kindergarten education.

The project is sponsored by the national League of Women Voters to help develop its position on education policy, said Joan Hardie, president of the local league.

The national group realized it didn’t have a point of advocacy on federal funding for education after members of the league in Santa Clara took the Bush administration’s “No Child Left Behind” legislation to task.

The local club has already formed a 10-member committee made up of teachers, parents and school board members, all of whom belong to the league, Hardie said.

Club members will hold public meetings about the study next month to get input that will be used to help the committee answer 15 questions contained in the study. Committee members must reach a consensus on each question, Hardie said.

The study is broken into two parts — one section deals with funding, while the other examines core standards, teacher evaluations and pre-kindergarten education.

The first question: “The current role of the federal government in public education is…”

The possible answers range from “much too small” to “much too large.”

Committee members have been told to think about the first question, reach a consensus on the rest of the questions, then return to the first for a final consensus, Hardie said.

They are currently reading materials provided by the national organization, as well as articles they’ve chosen to prepare.

The local league must return the completed study by Nov. 30, Hardie said.