Gearing Up for ESEA?
In follow up to last week's post on the House ESEA hearing and what that might mean for ESEA reauthorization, a few more items:
- There is serious momentum, in both the House and Senate, to move ESEA. Both chambers are expected to release their legislative proposals in early June, and to move through committee in the same month. Both chambers are working from the bills they respectively passed out of committee in 2011. The biggest change is that the very fragile bi-partisan support for the Senate bill has stalled; bipartisan conversations between Senators Harkin and Alexander stalled last week, in what is being called an 'amicable parting'.
- Senate: The bipartisan talks stalled, in large part, over performance targets. In a meeting with HELP staff on Friday, they indicated the legislation will be 'virtually identical' to the 2011 bill. We need to see the legislation before we can fully believe that. The waivers significantly changed the ESEA landscape, including the conversation about performance targets. AASA weighed in with the HELP committee, sending a letter expressing our concerns/priorities for ESEA reauthorization as they relate to the 2011 bill and changes the committtee may be considering.
- House: Budget Committee Chairman Ryan is digging deeper in to education policy, including ESEA, as part of a broader conversation around 'upward mobility'. The discussions are still very preliminary, and not in conjunction with ESEA reauthorization through the Education and the Workforce Committee.