Republican House
Passes NCLB Rewrite With Support From Nancy Pelosi, Liberal Groups
by Dr. Susan Berry 3 Dec 2015
The House overwhelmingly passed the conference legislation
known as the Every Student Succeeds Act
(ESSA), which could replace the federal No Child Left Behind law. The bill passed by a vote of 359-64,
with only Republicans – many of them members of the House Freedom Caucus –
voting against it.
The bill is set to become the latest version of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) enacted under President Lyndon B.
Johnson.
During speeches on the House floor, members of the
Republican-led conference committee congratulated each other and spoke at
length of the “bipartisanship” that led to the final draft of this bill.
It’s 1,061 pages long and had only been released on Monday, after months
of reported backroom deals. Lawmakers and the public had only two days to read
the massive measure prior to the vote.
During floor speeches, Republican lawmakers claimed the bill
“reduces the federal role” in education – even though it extends federal
oversight of education to formally include pre-school instead of only grades
K-12. They also say the measure would stop the federal government from coercing
states to implement the Common Core standards – a point that is hotly debated
by conservative activists who say the bill actually cements the Common Core
further.
At the same time, Democrats asserted the bill would promote
equality in education,
ensuring that minority students receive the same education opportunities as
others through federal accountability.
House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) 9%
took to the floor of the House prior to the vote, endorsing the measure and
praising members of the Republican-led conference committee who drafted it.
During her speech, she read a list of groups that support the bill. Those she
named specifically have been proponents of the Common Core standards.
Pelosi said:
With these improvements in the ESEA authorization before us
it’s no wonder that this agreement is supported by a far-ranging coalition,
including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, the National
Governors Association, the leadership conference of Civil and Human Rights, AFT
and NEA – two leading teachers’ unions, the National Center for Learning
Disabilities, and many more.
We all agree that education is a national security issue –
President Eisenhower taught us that. It is also an economic issue, and one of
the most pressing civil rights issues of our time. With this legislation, we
help ensure that access to high quality education is the right of every
student. I urge my colleagues in join [sic] in passing this strong bipartisan
reauthorization of the historic ESEA, the Every Student Succeeds Act.
In a press release, Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) 91%,
one of the Republicans who voted against the ESSA, said “the new, longer
replacement for No Child Left Behind…continues the massive federal overreach
into America’s classrooms and homes, denying kids and their parents, teachers,
schools, and states control over their own schools.”
“The legislation does not repeal all too many of the onerous
regulations, mandates, and days of testing that America’s moms, dads and
teachers detest,” he continued. “After fourteen years of NCLB, and
billions of dollars in new spending, there has been no detectable improvement
to education in America.”
Huelskamp added the bill would still allow “the heavy hands
of Washington politicians and bureaucrats” to “still dictate what my kids and
other Kansas children study, how and when they are tested, who passes or fails,
and even what they can be served in the lunchroom.”
“By continuing to subject kids, parents, teachers and our
local schools to the idea that Washington knows best in education, we are
simply failing our kids, our schools and our nation,” he said.
No Child
Left Behind
Margaret
Spellings was an architect for the No
Child Left Behind Act, and a secretary for the U.S. Department of Education.
Note: Gene Hickok was an architect
for the No Child Left Behind Act,
and a deputy secretary for the U.S.
Department of Education.
Shirley M.
Hufstedler was a secretary for the U.S.
Department of Education, a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and is a board of adviser’s member
for the American Constitution Society.
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the American Constitution Society, and the Center for American Progress.
George
Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society, and a supporter for the Center for American Progress.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think
tank), the Center for American
Progress, the NAACP Legal Defense
& Educational Fund, and the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
Frederic V. Malek
is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a member of the Alfalfa Club.
Jeb
Bush is a member of the Alfalfa Club,
and supports the Common Core educational
standards.
George
H.W. Bush is a member of the Alfalfa
Club, and a member of the Burning
Tree Club.
Lyndon B. Johnson
was a member of the Burning Tree Club,
and the president for the Lyndon B.
Johnson administration.
John
A. Boehner is a member of the Burning
Tree Club, and a sponsor for the No
Child Left Behind Act.
Gene
Hickok was an architect for the No
Child Left Behind Act, and a deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Education.
Cynthia G. Brown
was an assistant secretary for the U.S.
Department of Education, and is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.
James
Cole Jr. is the general counsel for the U.S. Department of Education, and was a director at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund.
Diane
S. Ravitch was an assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and
a Common Core educational standards
critic.
Race to the Top
encourages the adoption of the Common
Core educational standards, and a grant program for the U.S. Department of Education.
Margaret
Spellings was a secretary for the U.S.
Department of Education, and an architect for the No Child Left Behind Act.
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