[AAACE-NLA] Shall we resort to litigation?

[Debbie Yoho]

It does not appear to me that there are any changes in the wind regarding
the NRS that will help programs serving the hardest-to-serve or lowest-level
learners.  In fact, it appears that the changes under discussion will
actually make the process more cumbersome, adding specific requirements
regarding learner goals. It appears the goal of improving academics would no
longer be considered valid unless tied to an employment goal.

In tracking some of the activity related to WIA reauthorization, I see a
similar drive to refine adult education and literacy programs into a feeder
system for employment.  I have no problem with this provided that
educational services are available for adults who are not and will not be in
the workforce.  I am speaking of older adults who have retired, who may even
be in a nursing home, adults who are on disability, perhaps recovering from
mental illness or addiction and not ready to work;  adults who have
prohibitive medical problems such as cancer, adults who are at home
full-time with young children, adults who are chronically homeless or
incarcerated for the long-term, adults whose beginning skill level combined
with learning disabilities means it will be years before they can fill out a
job application, etc.

I am afraid many are getting tired of this litany begging to maintain
programs that sensitively and effectively serve adults who do not contribute
to the tax base through employment. The world has turned, and I find that it
all falls more and more on deaf ears.  I knew in 1998, when the WIA
highjacked adult education and combined an academic mission with job
training, that a day would come when a sizeable segment of the adult
population would be left behind in the dust with no one to care whether they
have a good quality of life or not. All this time I have continued to remind
anyone who will listen that workforce development is critical, but so are
opportunities for ALL adults. The WIA and the NRS are NOT designed to serve
ALL adults, but only to serve the economy.

Where is the conscience, and the voice, of educators, policy-makers,
researchers and academics who continue to ride the wave of globalization to
contribute to the nation's adjustment to changing times, but also strive for
simple principles such as justice and equity? I hear that voice here from
time to time, but it is absent from OVAE newsletters, WIA reauthorization
proposals, NRS revision discussions, efforts to form "career pathways",
meetings of state directors, and media news and analysis.
So now I seriously ask:  Is the only avenue left for these adults
litigation? It seems to me if current trends continue, someone somewhere may
be able to make a case for discrimination.  If public funds are to be spent
on education for any particular category of adults (such as
job-seekers), funds should be available for any adult who wants to learn. As
a former special education teacher, I know parents had to resort to the
courts to obtain services for special-needs kids.  It appears to me the
handwriting is on the wall again.  According to Dreams from My Father, the
president reached the conclusion that real change sometimes comes about only
when the courts force it, so he enrolled in law school.


Debbie Yoho
Executive Director
Turning Pages Adult Literacy
www.literacycolumbia.org
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