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Tribal advocates keep up legal pressure for fair political maps; 12-member jury sworn in for Trump's historic criminal trial; the importance of healthcare decision planning; and a debt dilemma: poll shows how many people wrestle with college costs.

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Civil rights activists say a court ruling could end the right to protest in three southern states, a federal judge lets January 6th lawsuits proceed against former President Trump, and police arrest dozens at a Columbia University Gaza protest.

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Rural Wyoming needs more vocational teachers to sustain its workforce pipeline, Ohio environmental advocates fear harm from a proposal to open 40-thousand forest acres to fracking and rural communities build bike trail systems to promote nature, boost the economy.

No Child Left Behind Law Dominant Issue at NEA Representative Assembly

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Thursday, July 10, 2008   

Pierre, SD - The No Child Left Behind Act, and the compliance demands it imposes on schools, was the center of attention at this year's National Education Association convention, which just concluded in Washington, D.C. Donna DeKraai with the South Dakota Education Association says a major concern for South Dakota schools is simply meeting the requirements of the law.

"We're still very concerned about making sure that we meet the teacher qualification standards set by No Child Left Behind because it's very difficult for some of our districts to recruit highly qualified teachers for positions in rural areas."

DeKraai says it's a problem for plenty of other states besides South Dakota. She believes that No Child Left Behind has done very little to help English language learners, and that the testing required of special education students is falling short of what's in the best interests of those children. She says more educator input is needed to fix problems in the law.

"Professional educators know how to fix the legislation, and their voices need to be heard. The government needs to ask us for our input and expertise. I think it was a real wakeup call when all of us said that we need to stand up and talk about the needs of the students and what needs to be done for them."

DeKraai leaves office this week after six years as the association's president. The new SDEA president, Sandy Arseneault of Custer, will take over Monday. Looking back, DeKraai says helping form the South Dakota Alliance for Education to work on long-term solutions to the funding problems facing South Dakota schools was one of the most crucial things she dealt with. DeKraai also expressed optimism that South Dakota would continue to keep education a top priority.

More information on the NEA conference can be found at the SDEA website, www.sdea.org


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