Coalition for Access to Educational Materials




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WHAT'S NEW?

BREAKING NEWS:

CAER National Co-Chair, Sonia Hernandez-Rodriguez, meets with Presdient George W. Bush to discuss NCLB reauthorization. Click here to see the picture.

CAER sends letter to members of Congress requesting stronger SES provisions. 29 National Education Leaders have signed the letter. Click here to see the letter and signatures.

Democratic State Senator Anthony Williams (PA) writes an Op Ed in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Click here to read the editorial.

National Farm Workers President, Arturo Rodriguez, writes a pro-SES letter to Congressman George Miller. Click here to see the letter.

WHAT IS CAER?
The Coalition for Access to Educational Resources is comprised of parents, civil rights, business and community leaders dedicated to ensuring that children and families have access to the educational opportunities that they are entitled to by law.

Our Mission: to serve as an informal, grassroots network to aid in the exchange of information and best practices to support education advocacy efforts on behalf of families and students.

What are Supplemental Education Services (SES)?
Under federal law, low income students who remain in schools that fail to meet state standards for at least three years are eligible to receive free tutoring. School districts are required to provide notice to parents of eligible children about the availability of these services, information on providers, and how to sign up.

What is the problem?
Families and students are often not adequately notified of their rights under the federal law. Where notification does occur, the registration process is often so confusing that parents do not understand what services are being offered or how to enroll their children. Many school districts and states do not allow free tutoring to occur in schools or at home, which prevents many low income parents from transporting their children to specified sites where the tutoring can occur.

Although 1.4 million students nationwide are eligible to receive free tutoring, only about 17% (or 233,000) actually took advantage of this opportunity.

At the federal level, proposed new requirements for tutors and proposals that would allow failing school districts to provide their own tutoring threaten to limit parental choice, and the types of programs that are available to children under the law.

How does CAER plan to address this problem?
CAER provides educational materials to parents and families regarding their rights, helps to mobilize grassroots support to confront access issues, and serves as a central clearinghouse for policy information on the implementation of supplemental educational services.

CAER will recruit the best and brightest to communicate with federal and state policy makers on this issue, shine light on abuses, and hold school officials accountable for the provision of services required by law.