Rep. Frank Kratovil given early endorsement by MSEA and NEA
Since winning a tough election in Maryland Congressional District 1 Representative Frank Kratovil has cosponsored bills supporting public education, volunteerism, affordable college tuition, collective bargaining, and enhancing civil rights with regard to pay discrimination.
That’s why MSEA and NEA are endorsing Rep. Kratovil for re-election early in the 2010 election game for the 1st congressional district representing the Eastern Shore, parts of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, and Harford counties.
Kratovil supports early childhood education through SAFRA
You may have heard that U.S. Representative Frank Kratovil (MD-D) and the House voted to approve the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA).
You also may have heard that the bill would make a landmark investment in higher education to ensure that college loans are more affordable for families and more students graduate from institutions of higher learning.
Would you like to speak directly with Representative Kratovil?
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It’s true. Under the bill approved in the House last month, SAFRA would invest $1 billion each year—over the next eight years—to build what lawmakers call “comprehensive, high quality, early learning systems” for children from birth to age five.
“Today’s students will be the foundation of tomorrow’s economy; we need to make sure they have the necessary tools--and that starts with early childhood education,” said Rep. Kratovil.
“The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will ensure that students from Pre-K to college have access to resources and assistance by reforming state standards and practices for birth-to-five early learning programs, creating an Early Learning Challenge Fund to award competitive grants to states and building an effective early childhood workforce. These needed reforms will not only benefit students but it protects the American taxpayer by eliminating billions in waste from the current system.”
NEA supports the House version of the bill—especially the provisions of the legislation that would do the following:
- Build an effective, qualified, and well-compensated early childhood workforce by supporting providers with degrees in early education and providing ongoing professional development opportunities; and
- Promote parent and family involvement by developing effective outreach strategies.
The Association also likes that the bill rejects any assessments of young children as a means of evaluating program effectiveness.
You can view how your representative voted by using the following link: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll719.xml.
Call your representative, if they voted for the bill, and thank them for passing SAFRA and urge them to include these reforms in the final version of the bill.
