This summer, both the House and the Senate voted on separate bills to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) in an attempt to provide a much needed update to the bill.
The Senate effort, led by our own Lamar Alexander, and the house bill agree on many points. However, there are some major points of difference that, if unresolved, threaten to derail the bill.
Accountability – The Senate and house versions of the bill is targeted towards giving more power back to states. While both bills end the practice of federal test-based accountability established under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the senate version requires states include annual test results in school accountability measures. The House bill does not. The House bill also devolves authority to local governments and states regarding how to spend federal dollars, while the Senate bill gives more direction.
Resources – the House bill would allow for federal funds to follow low-income students if they switch public schools or attend charter schools, called “portability.” The senate does not. The house bill only requires that states ensure resource equity when it comes to equity in access to quality teachers.
Teacher Development – The Senate bill includes an amendment that lets states use federal dollars to pay for teacher-led Professional development as well as additional leadership positions. The house bill does not.
So how does this play out? It is going to be a balancing act primarily between federal vs state accountability. Democrats will most likely push for more accountability, while republicans, presumably led by those in the house, are going to go for all the state and local control they can get. And then there’s the president to consider, who has indicated his opposition to the House bill with a threatened veto.
What happens next? The bill goes to a conference committee where key legislators from each chamber will sit down and try to craft compromises on these key issues in such a way that they create a passable bill. If there was every a time to call your federal elected officials, this is it.
What do I want to see? Definitely a requirement that states have to continue reporting data on student populations grades 3-8, especially sub groups. I’d also like to see provisions that require states to take action on behalf of any deficiencies, though I’m in favor of giving states more freedom to decide what that looks like. But we simply can’t go back to a time when it was “every state for itself” and there was no accountability for results.
Equitable education isn’t just a civil rights issue – I personally believe it should be viewed as a national security issue that requires the involvement of the federal government. The last thing America can afford is to allow its population to fall behind that of other rising world powers. To do so can threaten our national security. And I believe that this necessitates a healthy role taken on by the federal government in providing guidelines for states to ensure they are held accountable for all students.
In summary, these are some major differences and they need to be worked out. In the words of Sen. Alexander, “fifty million children and 3.5 million teachers deserve to get a result. We should be able to achieve that.” This is definitely something to watch in the coming months as it will likely dictate the direction of our nation’s education policy for years, and perhaps decades, to come.
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