Just got this pretty signfiicant list of education-related legislative accomplishments in the first two years of the Obama adminsitration in an e-mail from the National Education Association:
- Dramatically increased education funding— the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act doubled pre-K to 12 spending, provided a $250 tax credit in GPO/WEP states, preserved jobs, and more.
- Improved learning conditions — secured $4 billion to modernize public schools.
- Kept more than 550,000 educators working and millions of students learning— the Recovery Act saved 400,000 jobs and the Education Jobs Fund an additional 150,000 to prevent ballooning class sizes, cuts in after-school programs, and shorter school weeks.
- Helped make higher education affordable— invested an unprecedented $2 billion in community colleges, increased Pell Grants, streamlined student loans, and more.
- Addressed the needs of the whole child — expanded the school lunch program, set new standards to improve the quality of school meals with more fruits and vegetables, and provided professional development for food service workers.
- Expanded access to health care for children and adults— added 4 million poor children to current programs, created new programs for 32 million uninsured Americans, enabled children to stay on a parent’s policy until age 26, ended abuses such as lifetime coverage limits and dropping people when they get sick, and more.
- Stopped multiple efforts to fund voucher programs— in the District of Columbia and as part of the Department of Defense appropriation.
- Fought for social justice — passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and won extended benefits for unemployed parents to ensure they can provide food, shelter, and clothing for their children.
