More Harm Than Good

The new education bill recently passed by the House of Representatives removes the federal government’s commitment to help underserved students, like English-language learners.

The Student Success Act, as it is known, it is designed to replace the “No Child Left Behind” legislation, which had focused on helping underprepared students, minorities, and those with disabilities. One of the biggest problems with that legislation, promoted by then-President George W. Bush, was that it never had sufficient funds to be adequately implemented.

This latest version proposed by the Republican-dominated House completely eliminates any focus on the academic performance of minority students, among others, with the justification that it wants to “reduce the federal footprint” in education.

In reality, the type of federalism being proposed would undermine the education of students. The proposed law, for example, eliminates the requirement that states maintain a minimum level of spending on education in order to receive federal dollars. It also throws out standards by which to measure the achievement outcomes and would let each state make up its own.

There is no assurance nor incentive to keep states from cutting their education budgets nor are there expectations on how to establish meaningful accountability systems.

Some states, such as California, are focusing on education in high-poverty districts and those with large English-learner populations. But there are other states with long histories of ignoring and marginalizing low-income schools and districts that serve the neediest students. The federal government has played an important role in oversight in those cases and this will disappear with the House proposal.

There is no question that the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act must recognize the fact that K-12 education is based in school districts and the states. That is where the closest contact with students and parents occurs. That said, the federal government has had and must continue to have an oversight role and not let states off the hook.

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Education republicans

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