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Neira speaks at congressional conference November 4, 2004 The federal No Child Left Behind Act is underfunded and unfairly portrays schools with high immigrant student populations, NYSUT Second Vice President Maria Neira told lawmakers at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's 2004 Issues Conference. Neira participated in the education summit, which focused on improving academic achievement among Hispanics. "Many so-called failing schools are classified as such for statistical rather than educational reasons," she explained. Often, districts with large immigrant student populations make good academic progress, but are unfairly classified because their students start further behind, she said. Neira called on lawmakers to require that states develop native language and linguistically modified tests, and provide guidelines for appropriate accommodations for students with limited English proficiency. Also participating at the September conference was Maria Portalatin, chapter leader for New York City 's more than 17,000 classroom paraprofessionals represented by the United Federation of Teachers. Portalatin is also a member of the New York State United Teachers Board of Directors. |
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