AFT on Draft ‘Supplement Not Supplant’ Education Regulations

WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on the U.S. Education Department’s draft “supplement not supplant” regulations for the Every Student Succeeds Act:

“AFT members work with children who attend schools in our nation’s most vulnerable and under-resourced communities. There is no doubt that getting additional resources into disadvantaged schools—what we call ‘leveling up’—will help the students we work with every day.
 
“That is why, like the Obama administration, we believe that we have a moral obligation to equitably fund our nation’s public schools. This is the purpose of directing Title I funds to children who need it most, and, by pushing states and school districts to target their funds into schools with the most needs, it’s the aspiration behind the new draft supplement-not-supplant regulations.
 
“Our members know that investing in things like universal access to high-quality pre-K, powerful instruction, and wraparound services like school health clinics, counseling, tutoring and enrichment programs, makes a difference in our children’s lives. This is what equity means—making that investment for the kids who might not have access to these resources.
 
“There is no quick and easy accounting mechanism that can provide a real solution to funding inequities. The only real way to help disadvantaged children and achieve funding equity without taking money away from schools that are meeting their students’ needs is for states and districts to ‘level up’ funding at under-resourced schools so that their funding levels match or exceed such funding at well-resourced schools. However, as much as we agree with the intent, the proposed regulations, as drafted, are an unfunded mandate from Washington that exhorts districts to boost their investment in schools with disadvantaged children without identifying or compelling the resources to do so.
 
“To be clear, the AFT will fight to ensure that these proposed regulations are used for their intended purpose—equity—and not as a means for states and districts to make budget cuts or staffing decisions that are not in the best interest of our most vulnerable students, or as a weapon to destabilize schools, undermine educators or weaken collective bargaining agreements.

“To that end, we are glad the proposed regulations explicitly rule out forced teacher transfers and upending collective bargaining agreements. These are critical checks and balances against destabilizing schools, and the AFT fought for them.

“We also believe the proposed timeline to achieve funding equity does not give districts enough time to successfully comply. As a result, that timeline may set districts up to fail. We strongly urge a longer timeline to ensure that the intent of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is met in a meaningful way that helps children. 

“The AFT and our affiliates will submit detailed comments to improve the proposal, including urging a longer timeline for implementation, more explicit language compelling districts to level up spending rather than destabilizing schools by shifting resources, and ensuring the strongest possible staffing and collective bargaining protections. We believe these changes are in keeping with a vision of equity.”