Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) unveiled legislation today to create a Volunteer Teacher Advisory Committee – which will be comprised of current or former Teachers of the Year – to advise Congress and the Department of Education on the impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on students, their families, and the classroom learning environment. The Teachers at the Table Act is cosponsored by Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), and Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT), and is the Senate companion to a similar bill introduced by Representatives Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Lee Terry (R-NE) in the House of Representatives.

“Since NCLB’s enactment five years ago, I have received invaluable feedback from Wisconsin’s educators, administrators, and parents regarding the effect NCLB is having in Wisconsin’s classrooms,” Feingold said. “This advisory committee will provide nationwide feedback and will allow Congress to hear about NCLB directly from those who deal with the law and its consequences on a daily basis.”

The teachers selected for the Volunteer Teacher Advisory Committee will be present or past state or national Teachers of the Year and will be chosen through a competitive process. The Secretary of Education and the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives will each select four teachers to serve on the committee for a two year term. The legislation also specifies the selection process ensures that diverse geographic regions, multiple grade levels, and a range of specialty areas will be represented by the teachers serving on the committee.

Senator Feingold is seeking to ensure the voices of students, educators, parents, and administrators, who are on the front-lines of education reform in our country, are heard during the reauthorization of NCLB this fall. When Feingold first ran for the U.S. Senate in 1992, he made a promise to hold listening sessions in each of the state’s 72 counties every year to listen to Wisconsinites’ concerns and answer their questions. Since the enactment of NCLB in 2002, education has rated as one of the top concerns Feingold hears about at listening sessions throughout the state. Feingold’s Teachers at the Table Act is part of his effort this week to highlight initiatives aimed at helping to improve America’s education system. Yesterday, Feingold introduced his Improving Student Testing Act to reform the testing mandates of NCLB and Senator Feingold plans to introduce legislation to provide school breakfasts to low income students.

You can view a fact sheet on Feingold’s legislation at http://feingold.senate.gov/issues_teachersfact.html.