Amplifying AACTE’s Voice in the Corridors of Power

To effectively amplify the voice of members to policy makers to better help them understand what is happening in the field and offer sound policy recommendations, AACTE partners with other organizations to highlight the importance of certain issues.  

For example, AACTE is a member of the Committee for Education Funding (CEF). CEF was founded in 1969 with the goal of achieving adequate federal financial support for our nation’s educational system. The coalition is a voluntary, nonprofit, and nonpartisan group. AACTE is one of more than 100 member organizations that represent the full spectrum of education—early childhood education, elementary and secondary education, higher education, adult and career education, and educational enhancements such as libraries and museums. CEF’s current campaign is “5 Cents Makes Sense,” which calls for 5 cents of every federal dollar to be spent on education. The campaign’s official hashtag is #5Cents4EdFunding. 

AACTE is also a member of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ Education Task Force. The Education Task Force works to ensure children in grades K-12 and students in higher education experience positive school climates, are safe in their academic environment, and have equitable access to high-quality educational services. Together, the members of the task force developed a comprehensive list of priority legislative initiatives that strive to protect and expand students’ civil rights, as well as remove barriers to education for historically marginalized students.

Another important coalition is United We Dream, which is the largest immigrant youth-led community in the country. They partner with organizations like AACTE to support legislation and policies that allow DREAMers, undocumented individuals who were brought to the United States as children, to pursue their education and/or work legally in the United States. 

These are just a few examples of the nearly 20 coalitions AACTE is a part of. Each of these organizations play an important role in advancing AACTE’s legislative agenda and, by participating in them, we ensure that our voice—and yours—is at the table when important decisions are made.