FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, December 3, 2007

CONTACT
Laura Rodriguez
(202) 331-4323
lrodriguez@vancomm.com [1]

Media Advisory

Leading Civil Rights Groups to U.S. Senate:
Reauthorize and Strengthen No Child Left Behind Act

Coalition to Show How High School Accountability Narrows the Education Gap for Underserved Students

WASHINGTON, December 3 — As the Senate stalls debate on the future of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the Campaign for High School Equity, a coalition of high-profile civil rights organizations, will present a case for protecting and strengthening the accountability contained in NCLB through a series of briefings and roundtables titled, “A Stronger NCLB in 2008: Critical for High Schools and Students of Color.” The first briefing in this series, “High School Accountability and Equity in NCLB,” will propose strategies for ensuring that high schools are held accountable for preparing students of color for success in college and work.

African-American, Hispanic, American Indian and Native Alaskan students have less than a 58 percent chance of graduating high school with a regular diploma — a statistic that the Campaign says can be reversed by improving NCLB’s high school component and increasing the accountability of states and school districts to adhere to standards that promote positive student outcomes, including graduation and college.

WHAT:       Policy Briefing: “High School Accountability and Equity in NCLB”

WHO:         Wade Henderson, President and CEO, Leadership Council on Civil Rights
                  Peter Zamora, Washington, D.C., Regional Counsel, Mexican American
                  Legal Defense and Educational Fund
                  Bethany Little, Vice President of Federal Advocacy and Policy                   Development, Alliance for Excellent Education

WHEN:       Thursday, December 6, 2007
                  10 – 11:30 a.m.

WHERE:     Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 430

The Campaign for High School Equity roundtable and briefing series will address additional topics related to NCLB and underserved students, including “Testing, Multiple Indicators and Other Accountability Measures,” “Graduation Rate Accountability and Data Disaggregation” and “NCLB and English Language Learners.”

# # #

The Campaign for High School Equity is a diverse coalition of national civil rights organizations representing communities of color that believe high schools should have the capacity and motivation to prepare every student for graduation, college, work, and life. The Campaign was formed to address the unequal public education system that fails to provide high-quality education to students of color and youth from low-income neighborhoods. Members of the Campaign include the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, the National Council of La Raza, the National Indian Education Association, the National Urban League, and the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center. The Alliance for Excellent Education serves as the Campaign’s convener and coordinator.