How can the President of the United States make recess appointments when the Senate is not in recess? That’s the question many are trying to answer after President Obama made three so-called recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The appointments perpetuate fears about the NLRB’s job destroying agenda, and raise a number of constitutional questions that must be answered.... Read more »
House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans recently released two pieces of draft legislation designed to rewrite elementary and secondary education law, currently known as No Child Left Behind. The Student Success Act and the Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act are commonsense proposals that will help raise the bar on student learning and put more decisions back in the h... Read more »
Late last year, the U.S. Secretary of Education took unprecedented action and announced a plan that would allow the administration to unilaterally dictate federal education policy without Congressional input. Secretary Arne Duncan’s plan to grant waivers for certain requirements under No Child Left Behind in exchange for states adopting the administration’s preferred education agenda has been call... Read more »
Dear President Obama: We write to express our strong opposition to so-called recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). While the U.S. Constitution empowers the president to fill vacancies to federal positions when the Senate is in recess, exercising that authority when the Senate is meeting in pro forma session to install nominees who have received no public scrutiny is an ... Read more »
The teacher quality policies included in No Child Left Behind were intended to encourage better educators in schools. But in the 10 years since the law’s enactment, we’ve realized the requirements place too much emphasis on a teacher’s credentials and tenure, and pay little attention to student learning. Under current law, an educator is considered “highly qualified” if he or she has earned a bach... Read more »
This week, President Obama’s controversial recess appointments took their seats at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). A great deal of legal uncertainty is attached to these appointments and any future action the new board may take. While some question the constitutional implications of these recess appointments, many worry how the new board will affect the workplace. If history serves as a... Read more »
Despite good intentions, there is bipartisan agreement No Child Left Behind (NCLB) needs to be changed. One of the biggest failings of our nation's K-12 education law is its overly prescriptive accountability system, known as Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The federally mandated system applies a rigid metric for gauging the progress of schools around the country. All schools that fail to meet tar... Read more »
Last week, the Obama administration once again put politics ahead of the American people by announcing three recess appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) at a time when the U.S. Senate was not actually in recess. As the Wall Street Journal proclaimed: Eager to pick a fight with Congress as part of his re-election campaign, Mr. Obama did the Constitutional equivalent of sticking a... Read more »
House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans recently released two pieces of draft legislation designed to enhance school accountability, improve flexibility, and support more effective teachers in American classrooms. The bills, which build upon previous legislative efforts, signal Republicans remain staunchly committed to reforming K-12 education law. The Elementary and Secondary Educ... Read more »
Dear Secretary Solis: On December 19, 2011, the Carolina Journal reported what appears to be a potential unauthorized release of unemployment numbers gathered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The accusation was based on a review of emails between the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina and North Carolina Governor Beverly Purdue's office . The emails contain BLS statewide unem... Read more »
