S. 1177, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), became law on Dec. 10. It calls itself "An Act to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to ensure that every child achieves." – As if Congress could achieve its aim by words alone.
Have you heard of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)? That was the previous version of the law, enacted in 2002. ESSA extends K-12 authorizations through 2020. It doesn't eliminate or significantly roll back NCLB's annual testing mandates. It allows K-12 spending to continue its rapid growth. It retreats on school choice. It lacks an opt-out provision for states. It contains new programs that represent new federal encroachment on parents and local communities. It is a betrayal of America's families. The Department of Education is celebrating its passage. Secretary of Education Duncan wrote a Dear Colleagues letter praising the bill for accomplishing a number of key administration objectives.
It is another "conference committee" bill, produced on Dec. 1, approved by the House on Dec 2 and by the Senate on Dec. 9. How can our representatives read and comprehend and intelligently vote on such a huge bill in such a short time? How can we get them to stop this madness?
Senators Burr and Tillis voted for the bill, which passed 85 to 12. Rep. Ellmers voted for the bill, which passed 359 to 64.
Remember these votes in the March 2016 election primary.
Have you heard of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)? That was the previous version of the law, enacted in 2002. ESSA extends K-12 authorizations through 2020. It doesn't eliminate or significantly roll back NCLB's annual testing mandates. It allows K-12 spending to continue its rapid growth. It retreats on school choice. It lacks an opt-out provision for states. It contains new programs that represent new federal encroachment on parents and local communities. It is a betrayal of America's families. The Department of Education is celebrating its passage. Secretary of Education Duncan wrote a Dear Colleagues letter praising the bill for accomplishing a number of key administration objectives.
It is another "conference committee" bill, produced on Dec. 1, approved by the House on Dec 2 and by the Senate on Dec. 9. How can our representatives read and comprehend and intelligently vote on such a huge bill in such a short time? How can we get them to stop this madness?
Senators Burr and Tillis voted for the bill, which passed 85 to 12. Rep. Ellmers voted for the bill, which passed 359 to 64.
Remember these votes in the March 2016 election primary.
