Page 170 - Information and American Democracy Technology in the Evolution of Political Power

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Education Policy 18:0
combinelargemembershipswithnational,state,andlocalorganizational
structures.
Unlike environmental organizations, which are typically tightly con-
nected to policy preferences of members, the leaderships of educational
organizations sometimes operate quite independently of member views.
The lobbying activities of education groups, especially at the national
level, typically represent elite actions in pursuit of goals and strategies
set by group leaders who are comparatively insulated from the political
activities of many members. In some cases, this means groups pursue
policy that is actually at odds with member views. The leadership of the
NAACP, for instance, strongly opposes school vouchers, despite the fact
that polls typically show African-Americans favoring them. 105
Inadditiontothemajornationalorganizations,educationconstituen-
cies also include conservative and liberal groups that either advocate for
particular education policies or include positions on education issues in
their overall policy statements. The education issues include vouchers,
tax credits, private schools, charter schools, testing and standards, bilin-
gual education, and national education goals. By one count in the late
1990s, forty-five interest groups had taken official positions opposing
private school tuition tax credits alone. 106 These diverse interest groups
often align themselves with the political parties and institutional play-
ers such as school administrators and state education officials. The re-
sult is a complex and chaotic mix of organizations and interests that
do not always fall neatly into opposing camps. Ideological fault lines
generally divide those who seek a reduced federal role from those who
support a stronger federal role in education; but from issue to issue,
education policy does not have the organizational polarization of other
issues, such as gun control. These features of education politics also mean
that few national policy questions result in large-scale mobilization of
grassroots groups and memberships. Except for the influence of teach-
ers’ unions in electoral politics, national education policy is not char-
acterized by highly visible battles involving mobilization of citizens by
organizations.
The origins of E-Rate also fit this general pattern. The SREK amend-
ment was the result of traditional “inside” political advocacy by a few
organizational elites. A number of groups with a particular interest in

105
Quentin L. Quade, Financing School Education: The Struggle between Government
Monopoly and Parental Control (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Press, 1996).
106
FrederickM.WirtandMichaelW.Kirst,ThePoliticalDynamicsofAmericanEducation
(Berkeley: McCutchan Publishing, 1997).
153