It’s an exciting time for education advocates in Washington, D.C. – after seven years of fits and starts, Congress is truly making progress to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), otherwise known as No Child Left Behind. This effort is long overdue.
Last night, the U.S. House of Representatives completed work on its proposal to reauthorize ESEA. The Student Success Act (H.R. 5) narrowly passed the House with a vote of 218-213. Every Democrat in the House and 27 Republicans opposed the bill. The National Alliance has been engaged through the process (see our floor letter). We are pleased that the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP) provisions that previously passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support are embedded in H.R. 5, but have concerns that the bill does not include strong accountability provisions that would hold schools accountable for helping all students meet high standards. In addition, the House added a provision to the bill that would weaken test participation requirements. The National Alliance joined other organizations in opposition to this amendment because we believe that accurate and objective student achievement data is critical for ensuring educational equity. We are disappointed that this amendment passed. The House passage of H.R. 5 adds momentum to the reauthorization of ESEA. While it would have been possible for a bill to get to the President’s desk even if the House had failed to pass H.R. 5, it makes a bipartisan final bill more likely. Now, all eyes are on the Senate. We anticipate that we will see the Senate reauthorization bill on the floor for debate through next week. The National Alliance is pleased with the provisions supporting charter schools – see our floor letter—and we are closely watching the amendment process on issues related to accountability and testing. After seven years and dozens of ESEA waivers, this week has been a long time coming—stay tuned! Gina Mahony is Senior Vice President, Government Relations at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.
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