House Committee on Education and Labor
U.S. House of Representatives

The following op-ed was originally published in The Hill newspaper's Mid-Year Report.

One year ago, education analysts and experts were squarely focused on a single opportunity for education reform: renewal of the No Child Left Behind Act. 

NCLB celebrated its fifth anniversary on Jan. 8, 2007. The president invited key education leaders in Congress to the Oval Office on that anniversary to discuss the importance of updating the law. Members on both sides of the aisle pledged to work together, and the prospects for a strong reauthorization were bright. 

One year later, on the law’s sixth anniversary, efforts to renew NCLB in the 110th Congress had all but evaporated. Special interests and the entrenched education establishment had flexed their political muscles, blocking innovative education reforms before they were even introduced.

Looking back now on the first part of this year, it would be easy to assume that education reform has stood still since the renewal of NCLB stalled. But as teachers and local education leaders know all too well, even when Congress fails to act, the drive for education reform must continue. 

In the absence of a comprehensive NCLB reform package, the Department of Education has taken steps to fill the vacuum by proposing much-needed regulatory changes that address some of the most pressing areas in need of reform. For instance, the department has proposed expanded opportunities for states to utilize growth models, which allow student progress to be tracked from one year to another. The department has also moved forward with plans to secure more reliable and uniform graduate rates. And it has taken steps to ensure more students are able to benefit from the expanded educational opportunities under NCLB by ensuring that funds allocated for public school choice and free tutoring are actually used to offer these options; by giving parents better information, sooner, on the options available to their children; and by improving monitoring of and information regarding the tutoring opportunities under the law. 

Although NCLB has not yet been renewed, our lack of action should not be interpreted as a signal that Congress is backing away from the law’s core principles. With test scores on the rise and achievement gaps between disadvantaged students and their more fortunate peers narrowing, it is clearer now than ever that we must stand firm on the principles of accountability, flexibility and parental choice. 

Despite the delay in NCLB’s reauthorization, Congress has not rested on its laurels when it comes to education reform, focusing this year on college access. After strongly supporting a comprehensive Higher Education Act renewal late last year, we have spent the first months of 2008 working with the Senate to forge final legislation that achieves our longtime higher education reform priorities of access, affordability and accountability. 

As negotiations continue, it has become clear that Congress is poised to enact legislation that will finally hold colleges and universities accountable for the unfettered tuition increases that are making it more and more difficult for students to pursue a higher education. We hope to secure a final bill that will emphasize sunshine, transparency and consumer empowerment in all aspects of higher education.

Congress has also spent the early part of 2008 focused on another, more immediate effort to ensure college access by swiftly passing a bill to shore up a battered federal student loan program. 

The turmoil in U.S. and international credit markets, coupled with devastating federal funding cuts imposed last year, created a tremendous amount of uncertainty for students, parents and schools. Even before a tightening in the credit markets created a shortage of student loan capital, the ill-advised reduction in federal support had begun to drive lenders out of the program. As families and financial aid experts began to plan for the upcoming school year, there were real questions about whether students and families would have access to loans. 

Recognizing the urgent need for action, Congress worked quickly on bipartisan legislation to create a temporary federal backstop that would restore investor confidence and help calm an irrational market. Specifically, the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act (H.R. 5715) gave the Department of Education temporary authority to purchase or agree to purchase student loans, which could free up capital that would allow lenders to make additional loans. The bill also established the basic framework for an expanded Lender of Last Resort program, preparing for a scenario that everyone hopes to avoid in which this narrow program that was created for use by individual students may need to be deployed on a larger scale. 

Looking ahead, the opportunities for education reform are almost limitless. Here in Congress, Republicans will continue to fiercely advocate for flexibility, innovation and consumer empowerment at both the K-12 level and in higher education. The Bush administration will continue working to ensure our laws are working for our schools. And local education leaders will continue to be the driving force behind efforts to ensure that all children are given access to a quality education. 

McKeon is a senior Republican on the House Committee on Education and Labor. 

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