
Establishment Washington Republicans could not say enough this past week about how the 1,061-page Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reduces the federal government’s role in education and that it eliminates the fed’s coercion of states to stick with the unpopular Common Core standards. Perhaps most significant to these Republicans is that the bill was a self-proclaimed model of “bipartisanship.”
by Dr. Susan Berry12 Dec 2015, 11:41 AM PST0

Flanked by Senate education committee chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander and ranking member Sen. Patty Murray, President Barack Obama signed into law on Thursday the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that was enacted in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
by Dr. Susan Berry10 Dec 2015, 8:10 PM PST0

The U.S. Senate approved the conference legislation known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), a measure that – once signed into law by President Obama – will replace the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal law and will serve as the latest iteration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).
by Dr. Susan Berry9 Dec 2015, 10:26 AM PST0

Sen. Patty Murray is crowing about one of her crowning achievements in the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) legislation: a newly codified federal preschool program and the taxpayer monies that will fund it.
by Dr. Susan Berry9 Dec 2015, 10:05 AM PST0

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.
by Dr. Susan Berry3 Dec 2015, 5:30 AM PST0

Sen. Lamar Alexander’s final draft of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reauthorization bill is a 1,059-page piece of legislation that House and Senate education committees decided upon after several months of backroom deals and only two days of open “conference.”
by Dr. Susan Berry1 Dec 2015, 8:49 AM PST0

The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reauthorization bill was approved by a conference committee – by a vote of 39-1 – after just several hours of “conference.” But the bill will not be published in final form for lawmakers and parents to read until November 30 – just two days before it is voted on in the House on December 2. As Indiana parent Indiana parent Erin Tuttle says, “House members will be forced to vote on a bill they haven’t read. The American people expected a new style of leadership under Speaker Ryan, not more of the same.”
by Dr. Susan Berry26 Nov 2015, 11:00 AM PST0

On Wednesday, a congressional conference committee kicked off the effort to reauthorize No Child Left Behind (NCLB)—the latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)—amid the concerns of many conservative parents, who would prefer to see education taken out of the hands of the federal government and back into those of the individual states and local school districts.
by Dr. Susan Berry18 Nov 2015, 9:15 PM PST0

It’s worth noting that in the half-century since the ESEA was passed as part of Johnson’s “War on Poverty,” billions of dollars have been spent – by both Democrat and Republican administrations – on education and so-called “helpful” programs for “disadvantaged” children, and yet Democrats are still fighting for more federal control and federal programs and subsidies in order to “close the achievement gap.”
by Dr. Susan Berry7 Jul 2015, 12:46 PM PST0

The House’s version of the redo, known as the Student Success Act (H.R. 5), was pulled from the House floor by GOP leadership in late February after it was determined the measure lacked sufficient support. Grassroots parents’ groups – many that have been fighting against the Common Core standards in their states – voiced their concerns that the Student Success Act still required excessive federal intrusion into the right of states to set their own education policies.
by Dr. Susan Berry6 Jul 2015, 9:01 AM PST0

Republican leaders seem poised to resume attempts to convince the conservative base of their party that the bill will reduce federal involvement in education and return it to the states and localities.
by Dr. Susan Berry13 Jun 2015, 6:14 AM PST0

As parents have continued to opt their children out of the testing aligned with the Common Core standards by the thousands in some states, in others, the testing has been halted entirely due to numerous technological glitches, leaving some state education officials worried their federal funding could be at stake as a result of low participation rates in the mandated tests.
by Dr. Susan Berry18 Apr 2015, 7:34 AM PST0

Sen. Lamar Alexander’s (R-TN) rewritten draft legislation that would reauthorize No Child Left Behind (NCLB) will likely not allow Title I dollars for low-income children to follow them to schools of their choice, an outcome that would be a win for the Obama administration.
by Dr. Susan Berry7 Apr 2015, 8:30 AM PST0

Jeb Bush is trying again to explain his position on education reform to conservatives.
by Dr. Susan Berry9 Mar 2015, 7:53 AM PST0

Fifty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson pushed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) through Congress, a $1 billion program to help poor students and less fortunate school districts. When he signed the bill into law on April 11, 1965, LBJ stated that he believed that “no law I have signed or will ever sign means more to the future of America.” If he meant a bleaker future, his prediction has certainly come true.
by Sen. Chris McDaniel (R-MS 42)19 Feb 2015, 8:31 PM PST0

When Congress reauthorizes No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the law should allow states to “align” education with the needs of businesses in order to bolster workforce development, according to The National Governors Association (NGA).
by Dr. Susan Berry15 Feb 2015, 1:26 PM PST0

Will the Republican-controlled Congress renew the Elementary and Secondary Education Act’s (ESEA) and permanently lock states into federal control of education?
by Dr. Susan Berry11 Feb 2015, 6:44 PM PST0

As the debate heats up across the nation over the renewal of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), House Speaker John Boehner – writer of the original NCLB law – says he supports annual statewide testing, which also has the support of House Education Committee Chairman Rep. John Kline (R-MN).
by Dr. Susan Berry3 Feb 2015, 1:47 PM PST0

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) introduced a bill Friday that would block federal intrusion on the rights of states to make education decisions. The measure purports to block the Obama Administration from coercing states to adopt the federally funded Common Core standards.
by Dr. Susan Berry18 Jan 2015, 11:02 AM PST0

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 on Monday by condemning what he views as racial inequities in education in the United States.
by Dr. Susan Berry13 Jan 2015, 12:05 PM PST0