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Monday, November 19, 2012

Loose ends, recurring partisan tensions to drive education agenda in Obama’s second term - The Washington Post

Loose ends, recurring partisan tensions to drive education agenda in Obama’s second term - The Washington Post:


Loose ends, recurring partisan tensions to drive education agenda in Obama’s second term

(Carolyn Kaster, File/ Associated Press ) - FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2011 file photo, President Barack Obama, accompanied by American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, gestures while speaking in a building under construction in Washington. Loose ends and thorny partisan tensions on education await the next Congress and President Barack Obama’s second term. First up is the fiscal cliff, which will slash billions from the Department of Education’s budget if lawmakers don’t act this year.
WASHINGTON — Loose ends and thorny partisan issues that have long dogged attempts to move forward on education await the next Congress as President Barack Obama’s second term begins.
Soaring campaign-year aspirations to close the achievement gap and boost college graduation rates to the highest in the world may have to fall back to earth — at least temporarily — as lawmakers and Obama tackle a number of gritty funding-related issues that just can’t wait.
First up is sequestration, the automatic, government-wide spending cuts set to knock out 8.2 percent of the funding to almost all of the Education Department’s programs — unless Congress acts before the end of the year to avert the cuts.
Programs intended to reduce educational inequities will take a hit of $1.3 billion, according