No Child Left Behind Reauthorization Revamps Federal Role in Education
WASHINGTON, DC – The following statement was issued by Jeanne Allen, Founder & President-Emeritus, The Center for Education Reform, regarding the U.S. Senate passage today by a vote of 85-12 of the Every Student Succeeds Act (S.1177):
“As the Founder of the nation’s first and most resolute advocate for lasting, substantive and structural change in U.S. education, I salute the leaders in Congress, and the advocacy and education groups who together forged this critical compromise legislation defining the appropriate role for the federal government in education affairs. Since the modern day reform movement was born following A Nation at Risk issued by the National Commission on Excellence in Education under President Ronald Reagan, lawmakers at every level have strived to find the right balance between local, state and federal action. This legislation is a step in the right direction to perfecting that balance.
“Other than among vested interest groups, there is universal agreement that the best and most useful federal role respects states’ authority to manage and innovate, provides incentives for states to produce and share best practices through legislation, penalizes those who neglect their responsibilities by withholding funds from those who fail, and shines a spotlight on those who succeed.
“No Child Left Behind correctly focused the nation’s attention on accountability and how schools spend federal funds. Its disintegration was more a result of implementation than its well-documented flaws. Its reauthorization, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), maintains important requirements for accountability for states’ use of federal funds, but rolls back intrusive federal oversight and appropriately limits the Secretary of Education’s power. The result is the recognition of state prerogative to meet students’ learning needs as they see fit, a responsibility that we will work to ensure state leaders take seriously.
“On behalf of the CER team and Board of Directors, I commend this bipartisan effort to update and correct federal education authority. Much, however, remains to be done, including correcting existing overreach of the federal education regulations into the affairs of state charter authorizing and oversight. While well intentioned, such efforts simply deter innovation and limit options for educators and families. In addition, we are committed to ensuring that federal money tied to students be permitted to follow students to schools they attend, particularly in states where choice policies exist for state funds. For the federal government to maintain a policy of formula-driven funding while states have student-centric funding is anathema to the very intent behind this new act.
“We look forward to working with thought leaders in Congress to correct these deficiencies and to support the law’s implementation through our vast network of education reformers nationwide.”
ABOUT CER: The Center for Education Reform (CER), since 1993, aggressively pursues laws that demand flexibility, freedom and innovation, without delay. Visit www.edreform.com for more information.