Dear Commons Community,
The latest negotiations over revising the federal government’s signature education policy, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), is making its way through the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. As reported by the Associated Press:
“Trying to strike a bipartisan chord, the Senate worked Thursday on a major revision of the 2002 No Child Left Behind law, a day after a Republican-led rewrite just barely passed the House.
The Senate bill would narrow the federal role in the nation’s public schools by giving states and local school districts more control over assessing the performance of schools, teachers and students. It keeps the law’s requirement for annual math and reading tests but prohibits the federal government from requiring or encouraging specific sets of academic standards, such as Common Core.
As the Senate considered amendments, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., appealed to his colleagues to work together and not saddle his bipartisan bill with changes that would imperil Democratic support.
The Senate rejected a proposed amendment by Republican Steve Daines of Montana that would have allowed states to opt out of No Child requirements completely but still receive federal money in the form of block grants. It was co-sponsored by nearly a dozen other Senate Republicans, including presidential hopefuls Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida.
“This amendment is well-intentioned, unnecessary, won’t pass and undermines the bipartisan agreement that we have reached,” said Alexander, who spent months negotiating the bill in committee with Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington.
The Senate was expected to continue debating the bill next week.
Thursday’s appeal for unity was in sharp contrast to a day earlier when the House cleared a Republican-written bill by a 218-213 vote. Not one Democrat supported it, and 27 Republicans voted against it.
The House bill sponsored by Minnesota Republican Rep. John Kline is more conservative than the Alexander-Murray legislation.
It dramatically lessens the federal role in education policy by transferring more power to the states on accountability for school performance. It also allows federal money to follow low-income children to public schools of their choice — something not in the Senate bill. The White House had threatened to veto the Kline bill.”
No Child Left Behind has been up for reauthorization since 2007, and as the AP article indicates, both houses have yet to agree on a revised bill. While the vast majority of Republicans and Democrats agree that it needs to be re-worked, they differ on how to do that. Even if both houses pass a new revised version of NCLB, it has to be approved by President Obama. This is not likely in either house’s current versions.
Tony
