Education and Workforce Development

Policy Priorities for 2008

The Chamber will pursue strategic education and workforce policies at the federal level and programs to ensure that people have access to education and training that will teach them the necessary skills to enter and advance in the workplace. The Chamber believes education and workforce systems must be viewed as a continuum. The Chamber's Education and Workforce initiative is developing a framework that positions the organization to be proactive in advancing policies that help the education and workforce systems - from early childhood education to the retraining needs of the baby boomers. As such, we will work to identify the key policy issues within the four pillars outlined below:

Preparing the Foundation: Early Childhood and Pre-K activities
Building the Framework and Providing the Path: Public Elementary and Secondary Education
Producing the Product: Post-Secondary Education
Maintaining Competitiveness: Lifelong Learning

In addition, the Chamber will:

Continue efforts to strengthen and reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) as well as reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act (TAA), and the Higher Education Act (HEA).
Continue to build and strengthen two diverse education improvement coalitions: the Chamber-managed Business Coalition for Student Achievement (BCSA), a broad-based business coalition established to sustain and improve NCLB during its anticipated reauthorization and NCLB Works!, an umbrella organization made up of diverse education, disability, and civil rights groups.
Leverage the influence of state and local chambers and member companies to help shape critical state and federal education and workforce policies, public debates, proven practices, and public-private partnerships.
Endorse education improvements in K?12 and enhanced access to postsecondary education.
Underscore the need to generate more U.S. graduates well versed in math and science.
Highlight the need to connect businesses with educators and communities.
Advocate proposals that create a more rigorous curriculum in middle schools and high schools, advance lifelong learning and teacher quality initiatives, and address worker shortage issues.

Return to the index of priorities

Advancing human progress through an economic, political and social system based on individual freedom, incentive, initiative, opportunity, and responsibility.