UPDATED
After two days of partisan debate on an issue that used to bring Democrats and Republicans together in a kumbaya chorus, the House of Representatives passed a GOP-only reauthorization of the long-stalled No Child Left Behind Act.
The bill, approved 221-207, with no Democratic support, would maintain the NCLB law鈥檚 signature testing schedule and its practice of breaking out student-achievement data by particular groups of students (such as English-language learners and students in special education).
But otherwise it鈥檚 almost a complete U-turn, policy-wise, from the existing federal school accountability law. States and school districts would get a lot more say on how they hold schools accountable for the progress of all students, including special populations. That has advocates for some school districts (including the American Association of School Administrators) pretty happy. But civil rights organizations, the business community, and urban districts are not on board. More on what鈥檚 in the bill and who likes and hates the bill .
What happens next is anyone鈥檚 guess. The earlier this year. The bill鈥檚 author, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, is hoping to move that legislation to the floor of the Senate this year but it hasn鈥檛 yet been scheduled. (Harkin鈥檚 latest comments on the bill .) It鈥檚 unclear if the Obama administration, which has its own waiver plan, even wants a reauthorization. And the president has threatened to veto the House GOP legislation.
Yesterday, a key vote illustrated the perils in passing a partisan bill. The measure won support from some of the most conservative members of the House GOP caucus only after Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., the bill鈥檚 author, on a policy near and dear to his heart: Requiring school districts to use student outcomes to measure teacher effectiveness. Reps. Rob Bishop, R-Utah and Steve Scalise, R-La., persuaded Kline to make such evaluations optional, not mandatory. And those conservative lawmakers were in lock-step with the National Education Association on this issue.
The teacher-evaluation change brings the House bill much closer in line with legislation introduced by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, the top Republican on the Senate education committee, to rewrite the ESEA law. Alexander supports the idea of teacher evaluation tied to student outcomes, but doesn鈥檛 think it鈥檚 the federal government鈥檚 job to mandate it.
And in fact, Alexander released a statement calling the bill a 鈥渒issing cousin鈥� of his own legislation, which has the support of all ten GOP lawmakers on the Senate education committee. Alexander encouraged his colleagues to pass legislation similar to the House bill, which he said would halt the administration鈥檚 efforts to create 鈥渁 national school board.鈥�
鈥淪enate Republicans are thrilled,鈥� a Senate GOP aide said. 鈥淭he House bill is about as good a piece of legislation as there is and we should go to conference and concede to the House...[The vote] shows that when you offer freedom, freedom wins.鈥�
Ultimately, 12 Republicans in the House crossed party lines to vote against the provision. The detractors included some northeastern GOP lawmakers, such as Reps. Michael Grimm and Tom Reed, both of New York, who had worked with the NEA on amendments. And in a somewhat unusual move, Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, the speaker of the House, and a key architect of NCLB, voted to support the bill. (Typically, the speaker abstains from voting on most legislation.)
Perhaps the high-point today鈥攖he final day of debate鈥攃ame during an exchange between Rep. George Miller of California, the top Democrat on the House education committee, on an amendment introduced by Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., the majority leader. The amendment would allow parents to take Title I dollars to any public school of their choice, including a charter.
Cantor argued this Title I portability amendment would make a huge difference for children who are caught in failing schools. But Miller argued that NCLB already allows those students to transfer to the school of their choice鈥攁nd the vast majority don鈥檛 bother to take districts up on that flexibility.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a decision that doesn鈥檛 work for them because of lack of transportation in poor neighborhoods,鈥� Miller argued. He noted that Cantor had originally wanted to allow studentes to transfer to private schools as well and called the policy an 鈥渋mitation voucher.鈥�
The Cantor amendment was ultimately passed on a voice vote. The AASA and the National School Boards Association, two traditional education groups that support the bill but not the Cantor amendment, are continuing to endorse the legislation, even though Title I portability is now part of the deal. Essentially, the organizations are holding their noses and hoping that the school-choice language gets scrapped in conference. (If there ever is a conference. Which is a very big if. More on all that .)
Here鈥檚 NSBA鈥檚 official response to the Title I portability addition:
NSBA will support [the bill] in view of the overwhelming shift in direction to ensure that greater flexibility and governance will be restored to local school boards. While there is no perfect bill, HR 5 clearly acknowledges that the footprint of the federal government in K-12 education must be reduced. While NSBA opposed the Cantor's amendment a Title I portability amendment, we believe that this provision鈥攁s well as other NSBA concerns鈥攚ill be addressed when the Senate passes its ESEA bill, and both the House and Senate ESEA bills go to conference. The alternative is to shut down the legislative process and maintain the status quo鈥攚hich is not acceptable to NSBA."
The House also voted down a substitute amendment, written by Miller, which would have essentially replaced the entire bill with the Democrats鈥� vision for reauthorization. Miller wanted to require states to establish accountability systems that set performance, growth, and graduation targets. On teacher evaluation, the Miller measure would call for districts to craft evaluation systems and use them in professional development and to ensure the equitable distribution of teachers.
In a made-for-C-SPAN-highlights-reel-moment: Miller got very fiery when the House presiding officer tried to cut off debate on his amendment. 鈥淲ho鈥檚 running out of time? Children are running out of time in this nation!鈥� he shouted, as the gavel came down.
[UPDATE (5:30 p.m.) On Friday afternoon, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan tweeted his feelings about the so-called 鈥淪tudent Success Act.鈥� ]
We need reauthorization that protects vulnerable students, raises standards & improves teaching. The House bill does none of these.
鈥� Arne Duncan (@arneduncan)
Photo: Members of the House of Representatives leave the Capitol on Friday for the weekend after the Republican majority passed the Student Success Act, legislation designed by the GOP to replace the No Child Left Behind law. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)