ABSTRACT
Lobbying and Political Action For much of the period before 1970, the NEA lobbied successfully at the state level. The transfer of control over urban school systems from ward bosses to superintendents supported by "independent" school boards was achieved mainly before 1920, as NEA leaders worked with state and local business communities. Improvements in school finance resulted from NEAsupported measures that nearly doubled the state share of school expenditures (Tyack et al., 1984:81) and cut the number of school districts in half (West, 1980: 17). State legislation increased the welfare of teachers by providing teachers with tenure, minimum salaries, retirement systems, and group insurance (Huggett and Stinnett, 1956:107-108; Stinnett, 1968:169-171). Finally, the NEA helped improve the quality of the profession by supporting certification laws that in most cases made college graduation with some education credits the minimum requirement for entering the profession (Huggett and Stinnett, 1956:420-424). The NEA's lobbying effortS were conducted by its state affiliates, with the assistance of various NEA committees and commissions that provided the affiliates with a
means to exchange information and share resources (Tyack et al., 1984:72-73,78-79).
