The 74 Million – Carolyn Phenicie
“Rewriting No Child Left Behind, the country’s landmark K-12 education law, was never going to be an easy task. Disparate interests — teachers unions, education reform groups, civil rights advocates, governors and state legislators — and their diverging, often opposing priorities, made for a tough road to negotiation. Several attempts since the law’s 2008 expiration went no further than passage in the House. Rewrite efforts this year started out on a similarly rocky path, and efforts seemed like they might be DOA after some key resignations and a filibuster threat by Senate Democrats. Despite the long odds, legislators released their “framework” for a compromise and gave it their official blessing just before the Thanksgiving holiday. Congressional committees released the full text of the compromise Monday morning. The 1,000-plus page bill will hit the House floor later this week, and the Senate will consider it next week, sending it to President Obama for his signature by the end of the year. The bill would end existing waivers from NCLB benchmarks and enforce most of its newly defined standards starting Aug. 1, 2016, ensuring that the provisions are in place for the next school year.”(more)