When the 109 th Congress meets in January 2005, representatives from the National Education Association will be busy sharing their education priorities with policy makers. Here are a few of the NEA goals (See entire list at www.utea.org .) :

NEA Priorities — 109th Congress

Themes:

• Close achievement gaps
• Encourage respect for teachers
• Increase parental involvement

Goals:

I. Education Funding

• Maximize funding for Title I, IDEA, teacher quality, Pell Grants, E-Rate, and other critical programs.
• Block newly-proposed subsidies of private and religious K-12 education.
• Minimize further erosion of federal government's overall fiscal capacity.

II. ESEA Improvement

• Promote proactive agenda for 2007 ESEA reauthorization and high school reform efforts.
• Fix and fund No Child Left Behind.