U.S. Senate Passes Every Child Achieves Act, End of NCLB Era Draws Closer

CAT Tracks Editor's Note:

Speaking of the White House...

What the article fails to mention (trying to be positive, I suppose) is that the White House is threatening to veto any bill resembling either the House or Senate versions.

Why?

Because President Obama and Education Secretary Duncan recognize that the bipartisan push to end No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is a response to their micromanaging public education through Race to the Top (RTTT) and the waivers from NCLB (at the sole discretion of Secretary Duncan.)

Republicans are on board mostly because they oppose anything associated with President Obama [although it is true to their (pre-George W. Bush) philosophy of opposing federal encroachment on states' rights.]

Democrats are on board mostly because they are finally hearing the outcry, the rage, from the AFT and NEA teacher unions (on whom they depend for campaign funds and grassroots organizing...knocking on doors, making telephone calls, getting out the vote on election day), not to mention the growing opt-out movement.

Hopefully the over-a-decade bipartisan attack on public education has peaked and a new bipartisanship will end the days of Bush-Obama testing and punishment.

The federal government needs to go back to the ideals of the original ESEA...

...bringing dollars to bear on equity issues involving minority and poor children.

Yes, monitor the states for class-action discrimination, but leave curriculum, testing, etc. to the states.

The individual states will vary in their approaches, they will make mistakes...

...but the results are bound to be better (hell, they were better) than those wrought by our "Education Secretary" who didn't go to public school, who never taught a day in his life, and whose chief qualification for the job is that he played basketball with the President-to-be.

So, since the bromance between Barack and Arne appears enduring...