Moving Education Policy Forward, Not Backward

The Elementary and Secondary Education (ESEA) remains one of the most significant education laws in American history. It affirms that every child has the right to an equal opportunity at a quality education.

In each successive iteration, the law has codified reforms and initiatives that have engendered a more effective national education system. For example, prior to No Child Left Behind (NCLB), as the law is currently known, individual student performance was masked in averages. Because we lacked clear evidence of how students were struggling in the classroom, few felt the urgency to address any problems. NCLB not only produced information about student achievement; it also told parents that schools need to improve for their kids. This enhanced transparency combined with the prospect for remedial action has empowered parents and communities all across the country to hold their schools accountable for the education of their children.

Building on top of this progress, the 11 years since the passage of NCLB have seen one of the most prolific and exciting times in education reform.

A recent editorial in Education Week highlights a national “reading crisis,” a troubling trend of early elementary students not achieving reading proficiency, and its long-term effects:

We know that two-thirds of 4th graders are not considered "proficient" readers, as determined by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Worse still, those children who are behind by the end of 3rd grade rarely catch up in 4th grade, yet are expected to read textbooks and face increasingly complex material…These children were four times more likely than proficient readers to drop out of high school, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

But despite this alarming situation, “we're not in the dark when it comes to advancing early-literacy skills”: 

Everyone who has the ability to direct resources, whether they are philanthropic grants, public funds, or volunteer-based, should ensure that every young child who is likely to struggle in school has these opportunities to become ready for school: evidence-based home-visiting and parenting programs, access to primary health care and developmental services, timely and appropriate referrals to early intervention and special education, access to high-quality prekindergarten programs, access to excellent child care and Head Start, and access to high-quality, full-day kindergarten programs…The next step is to ensure that K-3 classrooms are high-quality teaching and learning environments.

This all underscores one significant point: innovators in the realms of early childhood and K-12 education still face considerable obstacles to ensuring all children receive a world-class education, but they are working harder than ever.

It is time we update and improve NCLB, bringing the breakthroughs of state and local leaders to the national stage and taking our education system into the 21st century. There is broad agreement that the law is now outdated and is restraining schools from making the kinds of improvements needed to benefit students, communities and the economy. A fundamental rewrite of NCLB must reflect current best practices and protect students’ rights in the process. We can alter individual roles and responsibilities, but maintaining a clear focus on students is critical if we want to uphold the promise of ESEA. 

House Democrats have been working tirelessly to reauthorize the ESEA, believing the newest iteration will be most successful guided by the following principles:

• Guaranteeing all students have access to a world-class education regardless of background or zip code; 
• Ensuring states set high-standards and goals to ensure students graduate from high school, college and career ready;
• Providing states more flexibility to craft their own accountability systems while ensuring schools remain accountable for all students;
• Supporting a professional environment for teachers and school leaders; and
• Providing additional resources and improving access to those resources. 

Leading policy- and idea-makers agree with these Democrats that these substantial changes are needed to our nation’s education law that reflects what we have learned in the last decade. That’s why we must work together, not apart, on behalf of all of our nation’s school children. To be successful, reform must be consensus driven.

Rather than seek bipartisan ways to bolster investments in early education and our nation’s K-12 education, however, Republican proposals put forth this past year take education in the wrong direction:

• The Ryan-Republican budget dramatically cuts early education – removing 60,000 kids from Head Start next year and 200,000 in 2014, closing thousands of Head Start and Early Head Start classrooms.
• Former Governor Mitt Romney’s answer to early education to have “one parent at home in those early years” isn’t financially possible for most of today’s working, middle-class families.
• Turning all Title I and IDEA funding into a voucher system, another proposal made by the former governor, would undermine America’s commitment to public education.
• The Republican ESEA proposals introduced this year by Chairman John Kline (R-Minn.) shirk our nation’s civil rights responsibilities to ensure all children have access to a quality education.

Many organizations have expressed serious concerns about GOP proposals for falling short on providing students with what they need. These proposals would turn back the clock on equity and accountability in American public education, at a time when dynamism and invention are beginning to restore our nation’s education system as a world leader.