Latest News and Comment from Education

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Republicans' No Child Left Behind Bill Passes House Committee, Moving Away From Bush's Vision

Republicans' No Child Left Behind Bill Passes House Committee, Moving Away From Bush's Vision:

Republicans' No Child Left Behind Bill Passes House Committee, Moving Away From Bush's Vision

The House Education and the Workforce Committee on Wednesday passed the Student Success Act, chairman Rep. John Kline's (R-Minn.) rewrite of the No Child Left Behind Act with a 23-16 vote along party lines.

"Our students deserve more than a short-term fix," Kline said. "They deserve a better law."

Kline's bill goes further than any No Child Left Behind reauthorization attempt in recent years, moving far afield from George W. Bush's 2001 education brainchild by dramatically reducing the federal government's role in America's schools. Kline has eschewed federally prescribed performance goals, a shift for which groups ranging from education advocates to the Chamber of Commerce have attacked him. Kline says preserving the requirement that states must report student test scores by ethnicity, language ability and socioeconomic status is accountability enough, since it empowers parents.

Kline said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has told him to expect a floor vote in July. While it's possible the bill could pass the House, it is unclear how it would be conferenced with a competing Senate bill.

The Senate voted last week to advance a wildly different version of the reauthorization, written by Sen. Tom