• info@belibre.org

No Child Left Behind Gets Updated by Congress

PRINTABLE VERSION

No Child Left Behind Gets Updated by Congress 

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the U.S. Senate voted 85-12 to pass The Every Student Succeeds Act, which is a re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and includes significant changes from the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The Every Student Succeeds Act, which enjoys bipartisan support, scales back the federal role in education by allowing states greater control over accountability and school improvement. It still maintains the requirements regarding student performance, including annual, statewide assessments in reading and math in grades 3 through 8, as well as science tests given three times between grades 3 and 12. President Obama is expected to sign the bill.

Daniel Garza, Executive Director for The LIBRE Initiative released the following statement:

“The ’Every Student Succeeds Act’ represents a step in the right direction by reducing the weight of costly, burdensome, and counterproductive federal regulations on public schools. Unfortunately, the legislation could do more in terms of offering school choice reforms. The reality is that many children are stuck in failing schools, and Washington should be encouraging states to address these failures.

Title I portability – an important school choice component for low-income students – was not included in the new bill, leaving the nearly 9 million Hispanic students and others enrolled in Title I public schools without the ability to choose alternatives that better suit their educational needs. While this re-authorization is an improvement in reducing the role of the federal government in our school system, it comes up short for the families and students most in need of educational choice.”

For Interviews with a LIBRE representative, please contact Josh Rivera, 202-763-4428 or Brian Faughnan, 703-678-4581


###