It's the Senate's Turn: Choose to Sustain Education Reforms or Break Promises to States, Districts--and Students

As the Senate prepares to vote on legislation to provide emergency budget relief, groundbreaking education reforms are being held out as sacrificial lambs. The House has voted to make significant cuts to the Race to the Top program, the Teacher Incentive Fund, and the Charter Schools Program to help states close holes in their education budgets. Now the Senate must decide whether to halt reform in its tracks or find other ways to help schools retain their best teachers.

Let’s be clear: A bad economy is no reason to stop much-needed reform, and fixing the way we educate our most vulnerable students is not a luxury we can afford to decline. Our education system fails to serve these kids every day. So let’s not break our promises to states, schools, and students who need real change.

One group of senators gets it. They’re urging colleagues to find another way to help states prevent teacher layoffs.  They know that the last thing our country needs is for Congress to siphon money from programs that already have spurred change.