Friday, February 27, 2015

Passage of GOP-Backed NCLB Rewrite Could Be Delayed, Amid Conservative Backlash - #NOonHR5

Passage of GOP-Backed NCLB Rewrite Could Be Delayed, Amid Conservative Backlash - Politics K-12 - Education Week:

Passage of GOP-Backed NCLB Rewrite Could Be Delayed, Amid Conservative Backlash

By Lauren Camera on February 27, 2015 10:54 AM

UPDATED

By Lauren Camera and Alyson Klein

House leaders may hold off until next week on a final vote on a Republican-backed bill to rewrite the No Child Left Behind law, amid pushback from powerful GOP lobbying groups who may have succeeded in convincing enough Republicans that the measure is not conservative enough, according to several sources.

Not helping matters: House GOP conservatives are unhappy with their leadership's handling of a bill that would temporarily continue funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which administers a controversial immigration program created through executive authority by the Obama administration.

House leaders had initially hoped to have the bill over and done with Friday. But a morning notice from Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., who keeps track of how many members of his party support measures as they come to the floor, did not specify a final vote for the bill, which he normally would have if it were to occur during a series of votes scheduled for later this morning.

And while Republicans have the procedural ability to vote on bill as soon as amendment debate is over, the notice from Scalise did not specify that.

Congressional education leaders did not confirm that the vote would be delayed.

"We are moving forward and expect to continue debating the bill later today," said Brian Newell, communications director for education committee Chairman John Kline, R-Minn., the author of the bill.

But a congressional aide with knowledge of the proceedings said, for now, the final vote on the NCLB rewrite appears likely to be bumped to next week. At that point, Republican leaders will probably be able to muster the neccesary votes to get the bill through the chamber, sources say. But if not, the bid to update the NCLB law this year could be in serious trouble.

Ahead of the Thursday debate, the Club for Growth and Heritage Action, two powerful conservative lobby organizations, blasted out emails to House Republicans in opposition to the bill. They warned that if members voted in favor of the measure, it would count against them in a scoring rubric the organizations use to rate which members are most faithful to conservative principles and the GOP Party. The groups' problem with the NCLB overhaul? It's not conservative enough.

Among other things, the groups wanted to see legislation that knocks the federal government entirely out of education, which they view as strictly a state and local responsibility. They also hoped to see provisions in the bill that would have allowed federal funds for low-income students to be used at private schools.

Part of the problem here is timing, sources say. Conservative Republicans are angry at House leaderships's handling of immigration legislation—and they are taking their frustration out on what some see as a relatively moderate education bill.