RRCNA Advocacy Update - June, 2008

Dear RRCNA Members:

Members and colleagues have asked how to contact U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy to convey best wishes. There is a place to send messages to the Senator on his homepage.

Congress is in high gear until the July 4th district work period (June 30th – July 8th), creating opportunities to advocate for Reading Recovery:

1. Descubriendo la Lectura featured in Committee for Education Funding Hotsheet distributed to all congressional offices.
    
2. RRCNA supports Educational Advisor and Contractor Integrity Act (HR 3718). HR 3718 would require the U.S. Department of Education to establish a screening process to address conflicts of interest for advisory committee members and Department contractors for programs authorized by the No Child Left Behind Act.
    
3. RRCNA supports an increase in domestic discretionary funding in the FY 2009 Budget Resolution.
    
4. RRCNA joins more than 500 organizations calling for an increase in Labor-HHS-Education appropriations for FY 2009.
    
5. Recent reports and publications:

• USDE issues “Condition of Education” report. Includes a section on Reading Performance of Students in Grades 4, 8, and 12 and a 2003 Special Analysis on Reading—Young Children's Achievement and Classroom Experiences.
• National Assn. of State Directors of Special Education issues RTI “blueprint” series.

6. Just for Fun – Congressional Quarterly creates “VP Madness Brackets” on website: Democratic VP Madness and GOP VP Madness.
    
7. Make it Great in 2008! Eight Ways Everyone Can Make a Difference.