Federal Issues Council: Learning and lobbying in Washington, D.C.
CSBA’s Federal Issues Council was in Washington, D.C., for an intensive round of learning and lobbying on national education policy when U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released the Obama administration’s “blueprint” for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act March 15.
The timing was coincidental, but it helped the CSBA delegation focus attention on education issues at a time the nation’s capital was embroiled in the health care debate and politics as usual. The payoff from the grueling, three-day schedule of face-to-face meetings with government officials and private groups seeking to influence federal education policy is worth the effort, according to CSBA President Frank Pugh.
“All of these meetings were valuable, because they allowed us to advocate positions and build alliances that will pay off as Washington’s role in local education continues to grow,” Pugh said afterward.
He and CSBA Executive Director Scott P. Plotkin also briefed journalists for National Public Radio, Education Week and the Washington Post in interviews that yielded some immediate coverage and gave the reporters background for future stories.
“These meetings allowed us to share the perspective of California school board members on a number of key education topics, and we are hopeful that they will help to inform the education coverage in each of those media outlets,” Pugh said.