Coalition Counters Kline's Draft Ed Bill

More than 35 organizations have joined in opposing a draft version of the Student Success Act recently released by Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.), who chairs the House Education and Workforce Committee. The opponents range from civil rights groups to groups representing business, education reform, and disability rights. Yet all agree that the bill’s abandonment of accountability undermines opportunity for millions of American students, and squanders hard-won gains.

The coalition affirms that No Child Left Behind is overdue for an update and reauthorization. The Student Success Act, however, would return America to a prior era, when states set low or vague targets based only on overall numbers, and spent precious federal funds without having to show results for those dollars. The bill walks away from college- and career-ready standards, abandons accountability for student achievement gains in schools getting federal money, and removes all requirements for the use of federal funds to improve struggling schools.

A reauthorized ESEA should contain some simple key features. It must link federal funding to ambitious expectations for higher achievement, a firm demand for more high school graduates, and an unequivocal focus on gap closing. All students must be prepared for success in college and careers. And the federal government must maintain its important, long-standing role of protecting and promoting equal opportunity for all students. As the coalition’s letter notes, the Student Success Act provides for none of those things. The bill would be a poor attempt at reauthorization.

We’ve seen what happens when the federal government turns accountability over to states. After the Improving America’s Schools Act (IASA), when the federal government last tried to delegate to the states, two-thirds of states did nothing and only two included group performance in their systems. Children of color, low-income students, and students with disabilities were ignored, deemed to be too difficult or inconsequential to educate. None of us — neither students who need schools that work, nor businesses that need educated workers, nor a society that needs engaged citizens — can afford to return to that era.

— Jim Davy