A new education policy group led by former U.S. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett wants to ensure that state Republican lawmakers stick to conservative principles as they implement the Every Student Succeeds Act.
Conservative Leaders for Education aims to promote school choice, local control, 鈥渢ransparent鈥� and 鈥渢imely鈥� accountability, and 鈥渉igh academic standards鈥� chosen by states as they shift to ESSA, the new federal education law passed last year. The idea behind the group is to push those principles in statehouses, but also to have state lawmakers share specific policy ideas to match.
鈥淣CLB is dead. We urge states to seize the day. Republicans need to step up,鈥� Bennett said in a phone interview, referring to the previous iteration of federal education law, the No Child Left Behind Act. 鈥淚鈥檝e been complaining, worrying, wondering out loud, frustrated about education as a conservative. Democrats act as if they own it, and in many ways, they have owned it.鈥�
We also got Bennett鈥攖he new group鈥檚 chairman, who served as President Ronald Reagan鈥檚 education secretary from 1985 to 1988鈥攖o discuss his dealings with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on education. More on that below.
Conservative Leaders for Education鈥檚 membership is made up of state lawmakers who chair education committees in eight states鈥擜labama, Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Utah, and Wisconsin鈥攁nd it will seek to add new state lawmakers in the future. (All of those states, except Colorado, have Republican governors.)
. The GOP has held sway over the majority of states since the 2010 elections, but Bennett said that up until ESSA, they didn鈥檛 have the freedom to create as much education policy as they might have wished. ESSA changes that, he said.
Conservative Leaders for Education will be particularly helpful for state lawmakers who have control over K-12 policy, but aren鈥檛 necessarily veterans of education policy and political battles, said Michigan GOP Rep. Amanda Price, the chairwoman of her chamber鈥檚 education panel and a member of the new group鈥檚 steering committee.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 going to be a unique and useful resource for us,鈥� Price, who鈥檚 been chairwoman of her chamber鈥檚 K-12 committee for about 18 months, said in a phone interview.
Unions, Choice, and Accountability
Bennett is particularly concerned that the two national teachers鈥� unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, will exert more influence than Republican K-12 leaders as states and districts begin the shift to ESSA.
I asked the about the fact that the AFT and NEA were closely involved with the creation and passage of ESSA, and that the . Bennett responded that while that may be true, he鈥檚 already seeing evidence that the unions are pushing for soft and fuzzy 鈥渟ubjective鈥� accountability provisions that fly in the face of the new group鈥檚 principles.
And he cited during her remarks at the Democratic National Committee on Monday.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e happy to get this at the local level, they think they鈥檙e stronger at the local level,鈥� Bennett said of the unions. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I think they鈥檙e giving at least two cheers for ESSA. ... When you talk about choice, you know what the unions will say about that.鈥�
But the new group doesn鈥檛 want state education departments in Republican-controlled states to be too prescriptive either鈥攖hat goes against what ESSA should accomplish, said Kentucky Sen. Mike Wilson, the chairman of his chamber鈥檚 education committee, who is also on the new group鈥檚 steering committee.
鈥淚t stifles creativity and innovation that we know really happens at the local level,鈥� Wilson said.
For his own part, Wilson said he鈥檚 been . He said his bill is in sync with ESSA because it would require Bluegrass State charter schools to be held to the same standard as traditional public schools.
One area where Wilson isn鈥檛 a huge fan of recent developments around ESSA? The requirement in draft ESSA accountability rules for a that might mask specific issues in specific schools, he said. He thinks 鈥渄ashboard鈥� accountability can be more helpful. (His state鈥檚 schools chief, )
Those and other K-12 disagreements, like those in Michigan over teacher tenure and evaluations, show why the group is needed, Price said: 鈥淓ducation is not for the faint-hearted.鈥�
Advising Trump
Apart from ESSA, I also asked Bennett, who now hosts a talk radio program, to flesh out comments he鈥檚 made previously that he鈥檚 been in contact with GOP nominee Donald Trump about education policy. Bennett, for example, has backed the Common Core State Standards, but Trump has denounced the standards, although without specifying why.
Bennett responded that he had one brief conversation with Trump, telling him he鈥檇 be happy to offer Trump advice about education. 鈥淗e said, 鈥淕reat, I鈥檒l look forward to talking with you further,"" Bennett said, although he added that Trump hasn鈥檛 followed up.
However, Bennett said he has shared his ideas with conservative economists Stephen Moore and Lawrence Kudlow, who have been working with Trump鈥檚 campaign directly on policy. And Bennett noted that he鈥檚 also personally shared his ideas with presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, although he hasn鈥檛 seen anything come of that.