WASHINGTON — Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is presiding over the rollout of the largest competitive grant program in his department’s history, a vast expansion of the government’s direct loan program for college students and sweeping new expenditures on failing schools, teacher quality and other big initiatives.
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Times Topic: No Child Left Behind Act
Everyone agrees it is a hugely ambitious agenda.
So it was not surprising that the first question Mr. Duncan faced from lawmakers on Wednesday in an appearance before Congress was whether the Obama administration would also would try this year to rewrite, or reauthorize, the main law on federal policy on public schools, No Child Left Behind.
“Every Monday or Tuesday when we come back to Congress, my colleagues come up and ask when we’re going to reauthorize, and between us, I don’t know if we have a complete answer yet,” said Representative George Miller, Democrat of California and chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “Our position is we would really like to get this done this session of Congress.”
Is that your position? Mr. Miller then asked Mr. Duncan.
The secretary replied: “That is absolutely the goal. There is so much we can do to fix the current law.”
But questions remain. Neither the administration nor anyone in Congress has made public any new draft bill, and the ranking Republican member on the committee, Representative John Kline of Minnesota, congratulated Mr. Duncan for working with Republicans and listening to their ideas before writing one.
“Starting with a blank piece of paper is absolutely the right process,” Mr. Kline said.
Still, any effort at reauthorization beginning with a blank slate would take many months, and experts say any successful overhaul this year must culminate in August, before midterm elections gobble up the Congressional schedule. Administration officials say,