Senate: Random Support For Harkin-Enzi #ESEA Bill

Wondering who supports the Harkin-Enzi legislation?  Me, too.  Good thing the folks in Harkin's office put out this press release with blurbs from a variety of folks (many of whom are praising specific provisions of the bill not endorsing the whole thing).  It's a pretty random list, I have to say.  Among those listed includee Save the Children, America Forward, City Year, Alliance for Excellent Education, American Public Health Association, National Association of Charter School Authorities, Citizen Schools, Magnet Schools of America, Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, Teach For America, Voices for America’s Children, First Five Years Fund, Conditions for Learning Coalition.

Praise for HELP Committee’s Bipartisan Bill to Fix No Child Left Behind

WASHINGTON—Last night, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act by a vote of 15-7. The legislation, which overhauls the No Child Left Behind Act, will now be sent to the full Senate for consideration.

 

Jason Grumet, President, Bipartisan Policy Center:

“Yesterday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee reached a bipartisan agreement to advance legislation that would overhaul the No Child Left Behind Program. We at BPC commend Chairman Tom Harkin, Ranking Member Michael Enzi and their fellow committee members on their willingness to overcome partisan differences in the service of a greater good, and to demonstrate that consensus between the two parties is still possible… It is imperative that Republicans and Democrats continue to show the type of leadership displayed by the members of the HELP committee. Breaking through the wall of partisanship on difficult issues is vital to ensuring the future health of our country and to addressing the cynicism and discontent with Congress so evident in poll after poll.”

Mark Shriver, Save the Children:

“On behalf of Save the Children’s U.S. Programs, I am proud to endorse the Harkin/Enzi Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  This bipartisan legislation provides important reforms for education policy, including a long overdue recognition of the needs of children in rural America.  I urge the Senate to move forward as soon as possible and work with their colleagues in the House to produce a final bipartisan bill.”

No Labels:

“No Labels is high-fiving the Senate HELP Committee for getting a deal done to overhaul No Child Left Behind. The bipartisan legislation shows members of Congress can work across party lines in a sincere effort to break partisan gridlock. Admittedly, this bill does not address all concerns; it is only one step in a longer process. But it is a step forward.”

Deborah Smolover, Executive Director, America Forward:

"The America Forward Education Coalition is pleased with the Senate HELP Committee's decision to vote a bipartisan education bill out of committee.  This bill is a critical first step in moving education reform forward.  We are grateful to Chairman Harkin, Ranking Member Enzi and HELP Committee Senators who voted in favor of passage for their leadership in the effort to ensure all of our nation's children receive a quality education.  As nonprofit organizations who work as partners to schools in communities throughout the country to improve educational outcomes for our nation's students, we support provisions throughout the bill that incentivize partnerships with effective nonprofit organizations.  We also support competitive funding streams that have been included like Race to the Top, Investing in Innovation and Promise Neighborhoods.  We will continue to work to ensure these vital provisions remain in the bill as it is considered on the Senate floor.  We applaud the Senate HELP Committee’s action to move this bipartisan bill, demonstrating what is possible when we put politics aside and focus on the urgent needs of our country’s students."

City Year:

“We applaud the bipartisan effort to move this important piece of legislation forward.  This mark-up is a critical first step towards reforming a law that our work this year with 110,000 students in 187 schools has shown is in desperate need of reform.  Moving this long-overdue reauthorization forward is essential to preparing young Americans for the 21st century workforce… A student drops out of school in America every 26 seconds and the dropout crisis will cost our nation a projected $3 trillion in lost revenues and increased social service expenditures over the next decade.  City Year supports the steps taken in ESEA to ensure increased focus on high school graduation rates, equitable distribution of resources to transform schools with large numbers of dropouts, and increased utilization of external partners in school reform efforts…City Year AmeriCorps members work with teachers and schools to implement early warning indicator systems and deliver evidence-based academic and behavioral interventions. We have seen the positive impact these measures have on student outcomes and support their inclusion in this bill.”

Gov. Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education:

“The Senate’s action today is particularly important for the nation’s high schools. Over 40 percent of the nation’s dropouts come from 12 percent of high schools, and, under NCLB, federal education policy did very little to turn around these schools.
“The bill will help to ensure that the high school diplomas students receive are meaningful—and businesses, parents and the community will know that the diploma is meaningful. Building on the work of states across the country, the legislation calls for college and career-ready standards. By raising standards and holding students to high expectations, the nation will help prepare its students for the competitive future that lies ahead.

“As the bill moves to the Senate floor, the Alliance looks forward to working with members of Congress to strengthen the bill’s accountability provisions to ensure that all low-performing high schools are identified and improved.”

J. Alan Baker, Interim Executive Director, American Public Health Association:

“I am pleased that the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, passed today by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, recognized that educational success starts with healthy students. The school health provisions in the legislation will promote students’ physical, mental, and emotional health, and help ensure schools are safe and conducive for learning. By promoting health, well-being and safety, students will have an opportunity to reach their full academic potential. I thank Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Enzi for their continued commitment to ensuring our youngsters lead healthy lives inside and outside of the classroom."

National Association of Charter School Authorities:

“The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) congratulates the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on its passage of legislation, by a bipartisan vote of 15-7, to strengthen charter schools as part of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)…

“With more than a decade of first-hand experience supporting authorizers across the country, NACSA has observed that better authorizing leads to better charter schools.  The Committee’s bill is a powerful step toward better authorizing and better charter schools.”

Eric Schwarz, Co-Founder & CEO, Citizen Schools:

“As a provider of both afterschool and expanded learning time programs throughout the nation, Citizen Schools applauds the bipartisan passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Tonight’s action is monumental. Such an action has not been achieved for ten years and it demonstrates terrific bipartisanship at a time when many think it impossible. The bill takes important strides forward for children across the country by incorporating critical new reforms. We are pleased that the bill passed out of committee includes flexibility for local communities to invest in high-quality afterschool, summer and expanded learning opportunities that have proven track records of success. We also support the bill’s inclusion of an additional School Improvement Grant (SIG) model that allows schools to partner with high-quality nonprofit organizations to help turn schools around, as well as additional opportunities for nonprofit partners to assist local schools and districts with education reforms.”

Dr. Robert Brooks, Executive Director, Magnet Schools of America:

"MSA is thrilled and proud of the work of the Senate HELP Committee at its dedication in completing the markup and reaching a committee consensus.  Congratulations to the leadership for their work in dealing with a large number of amendments and for bringing this to a successful and positive vote. Kudos to the Senate HELP Committee in moving the  ESEA reauthorization process forward."

Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools:

“The Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, a coalition of over seventy national education, civic engagement and civil rights organizations, is most gratified that the United States Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee has included authorization for a competitive grant program for civic learning in its Bill re-authorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Campaign, Co - Chaired by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and former Congressman Lee Hamilton, was very pleased to note that the new competitive grant program for civic learning stresses innovation and serving currently under-served school populations. We salute Chairman Tom Harkin, Ranking Member Mike Enzi, and the Committee members for their commitment to the civic mission of our nation's schools, to prepare each generation to take its place as informed and engaged citizens of our nation.”

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning:

“Good science shows that social and emotional learning is a key set of skills that can be learned in schools to prepare children for success in  school and in life. The bipartisan process of working through the complicated issues in ESEA reauthorization is critical as the U.S. addresses what children need to learn and be able to do when they have completed school.  While there is still much work to do, CASEL congratulates the HELP Committee and its leaders for moving the dialogue to the floor of the Senate.  CASEL’s Vice Chair, Ann Nerad commented, “ We believe the that  the bipartisan support  of social and emotional learning in Title IV of the ESEA reauthorization and in HR 2437 is an important step forward in educating the whole child.”’

Nancy Brown, CEO, American Heart Association:

“On behalf of the millions of American children and youth who are at risk for developing heart disease, stroke and other forms of cardiovascular disease during their lifetime, I want to thank you for including provisions and incentives in your committee mark for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2011 that support quality physical education and nutrition education in our nation’s schools. They provide a sound foundation for the development of healthy and productive adults… The American Heart Association commends you for the number of provisions in the committee mark that increase incentives to states and to local schools to provide quality physical education and nutrition activities.”

Wendy Kopp, CEO & Founder, Teach For America:

“As the largest single teacher provider in the country, and as an organization which partners with low income districts and schools across our nation, we applaud the bill’s strong focus on teacher and principal quality and effectiveness, on student outcomes disaggregated by subgroup, on principal and teacher evaluation systems connected in part to student outcomes, and on forward-looking initiatives in the areas of Science, Technology, Math and Engineering (STEM), as well as on entrepreneurship and innovation in education more broadly. We are equally excited to see a focus throughout the bill on meaningful engagement of parents and families in the education of their children.”

Bill Bentley, President and CEO, Voices for America’s Children:

“Many children who start school behind will never catch up. We are especially pleased to see that the legislation fosters collaboration between early childhood programs and school systems to ensure that children start school ready to succeed. Our members have been hosting education meetings nationwide for community leaders and policymakers, and the message has been clear: Americans want children to receive first-rate educations and graduate high school ready for college or a career.”

First Five Years Fund:
“FFYF supports the early education and care provisions included in this bill, which makes essential progress toward ensuring that children begin school fully prepared and better poised for educational and life success. We applaud the legislation's many attempts to help eliminate the walls that exist between early education and our K-12 systems. In particular, FFYF commends your inclusion of the Early Learning Challenge as a part of the Race to the Top as a joint venture with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for which 35 states, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, are competing right now.”

Jon Terry, Executive Director, Conditions for Learning Coalition:

"The inclusion of the 'Successful, Safe and Healthy Students Act' as part of ESEA reauthorization is a huge victory for organizations that are committed to the well-being of our nation's youth.  Chairman Harkin deserves great credit for working to secure bipartisan support for the reauthorization bill and his commitment to ensuring that all students are safe, healthy, engaged and supported.  Recognizing the alarming trends related to crime, violence, discipline, safety and health in schools across the country, the SSHS Act is a critical component of our national strategy aimed at promoting excellence in the classroom and closing the achievement gap.  States and school districts desperately need these resources and I hope that the Congress can quickly move forward on the reauthorization bill."

 

 

Comments

[Rose]

Um, it's a bill that covers everything from school accountability, to teacher quality to safe and healthy schools, charter schools and Indian Ed. There's a reason that its over 800 pages. And, yes, some people only care about a small piece of it.