#ESEA Update: Harkin-Enzi Makes It Out Of Committee

Wow.  Late on Thursday Senator Harkin sent out a press release touting the passage of the #ESEA rewrite by the Senate education committee stating that "Tonight is a victory – both for our nation’s children and for bipartisanship."  

We'll see about that.  Meantime, here are some of the early writeups:  Senate Panel Approves ESEA Overhaul EdWeek:  Harkin hopes to move the bill to the floor of the Senate before Thanksgiving, and he believes it's "possible" that Congress could approve a rewritten version of the nation's main education law before Christmas.Senate committee votes to update education law AP:  A committee forwarded to the Senate Thursday evening a bill that rewrites the education law No Child Left Behind.  ESEA mark-up: Bill moved from committee, 15-7 Ed Sector: Here’s highlights of approved amendments from the afternoon, in the order they were considered (with some fun tidbits, when applicable).

There'll be lots more coverage and analysis but meantime inside are some blog posts and commentary from Thursday afternoon (along with the full Harkin press release touting the legislation):

Harkin-Enzi’s Hodgepodge Michael Petrilli:  Here are the Harkin-Enzi bill’s major offenses: An expansive new reach into high schools. Maintaining the onerous “highly qualified teachers” mandate. Rather than eliminating or consolidating wasteful programs, it adds new ones. 

Don't Let Congress Turn Back the Clock on Teacher Quality John Affeldt: Let's hope Congress corrects the mistake it made last year and finally fulfills the promise to provide all students with qualified and effective teachers. 

Report Cards in the Harkin/Enzi ESEA Bill New America:  Strangely missing from the Harkin-Enzi bill is any mention of teacher quality or qualifications in the proposed new report card.

Tweet Crazy #ESEA EdSector: At one point, tweeters said #ESEA was trending. We didn’t see it, but there were certainly plenty of folks following along in the Hart Senate Office Building or via webcast online. Here’s some funniest.

How Could A Rewrite Of NCLB Scrap Teacher Evaluations? Washington Post:  Politics make strange bedfellows, but Senate Republicans doing the bidding of teachers’ unions is particularly unexpected. 

HELP Committee Approves Bipartisan Bill to Fix No Child Left Behind

WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, announced that the bipartisan Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act passed out of committee by a bipartisan vote of 15 to 7.  The legislation, which overhauls the No Child Left Behind Act, will now be sent to the full Senate for consideration.

“Tonight is a victory – both for our nation’s children and for bipartisanship.  After more than two years of hearings, debate, and negotiations, the HELP Committee has come together in a bipartisan way to approve comprehensive legislation to improve education for our nation’s children.  This bill will ensure that students graduate from school ready for college and careers and focus federal resources where they will be most effective. It will replace punitive sanctions and labels with supports for teaching and learning, increase flexibility for innovation on the local level, and distribute resources equitably to ensure a top-notch education for every American student,” said Senator Harkin.

“Like any major piece of legislation, this bill is not perfect, but it is an important step forward for America’s children.  I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and education experts to build on this strong foundation and improve this bill when it is considered by the Full Senate.”

The Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act will:

Fix the one-size-fits-all approach created by the No Child Left Behind Act.

• Eliminate policies like the “adequate yearly progress” requirements and mandated federal sanctions for all schools that create pressure to “teach to the test.”
• Support state-designed accountability systems consistent with principles supported by the Council of Chief State School Officers.
• Make schools accountable to the communities they serve by ensuring that all parents, families, and community members have access to disaggregated information about how effectively their schools are educating all students.

Help ensure that every student graduates from high school ready for college and a career.

• Support states as they develop and implement college and career ready academic standards with high-quality assessments that will help make our young people the most skilled citizens in the world.
• Fix America’s dropout factories, the 12 percent of high schools that produce 50 percent of our dropouts.
• Foster collaboration between early childhood programs and school systems to ensure that children start school ready to succeed.

Support great teachers and principals, and ensure that all children receive the best instruction.

• Help ensure there are great teachers and principals in every school through improved support and evaluation systems.
• Recruit and prepare teachers for high-need subjects like math and science.
• Help more schools provide a well-rounded education with time for the arts and physical activity.
• Support student success by promoting safe and healthy schools.
• Prepare more teachers to teach the diverse learners in America’s schools including students with disabilities and English learners.

Focus the federal government’s role on the things it does best, while giving states and communities the flexibility they need to address the unique needs of their students and schools.

• Direct federal resources to turn around chronically struggling schools and those with significant achievement gaps and allow states to take student progress into consideration while rating schools.
• Promote smooth transition and alignment from early learning to K-12 to higher education, and across federal education programs.
• Consolidate and streamline programs in the current law and eliminate those that are duplicative or unnecessary.

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