On a party-line vote, Democrats on the Senate committee reported out a bill that expands the role of the federal government in education and makes the Secretary of Education the national superintendent of schools. The National School Boards Association describes the legislation here, which NSBA opposes.
Summary of Senate HELP Mark-up of the Strengthening America’s Schools Act, S. 1094
The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee approved a bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) on Wednesday, June 12, 2013. The Strengthening America’s Schools Act, S. 1094 was passed after two days of sometimes heated deliberation on a 12 Democrat – 10 Republican party line vote. Whether and when the bill will be considered by the full Senate is uncertain, but Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) expressed his intention to get it to the floor by the end of the year.
The issues voiced by NSBA in its letter to the Committee were raised frequently during the two days of discussion and voting. In fact, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) read from and held up NSBA’s letter during his opening statement as evidence of the strong objections to federal overreach and the overwhelming increase in reporting requirements in S. 1094 as introduced.
Without doubt the fulcrum of debate at the mark-up was the proper role of the federal government in education. Unfortunately, the partisan gap continues on what that role should be. Chairman Harkin characterized the bill as “a new partnership of shared responsibility,” and passed an amendment clarifying that states and districts could refuse Title I, Part A funds, and thereby be free of federal requirements. Meanwhile, Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN) repeatedly asserted that S. 1094 creates “a national school board.”
The partisan gap prevailed in the Committee’s efforts to address all major issues. Of the 23 amendments offered, all but one Republican amendment was rejected, whereas all but 1 of the Democratic amendments were accepted to the base bill. This was despite recognition – acknowledged by Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) himself – that the Department of Education has exceeded its authority on ESEA waivers, and Congress has exacerbated the problem by failing to reauthorize ESEA. For example:
Role of the Secretary: The role of the Secretary of Education appears to have increased substantially in S. 1094. Throughout the bill, the Secretary is authorized to determine the overall quality and effectiveness of greatly expanded state plan requirements that will, in turn, impact the local level. The Secretary would appear to be involved in the design of programs, directing the specifics, for example, in addressing parent/community engagement and extensive data collection. In the case of data, the bill calls for multiple cross tabulations of a wide range of academic and non-academic student data that we believe will be overwhelming for many school systems to produce. The same can be said of new local plan requirements. Amendments described by their sponsors as attempts to eliminate new or onerous reporting and federal oversight requirements were rejected by the Committee. In fact, amendments were approved to create additional reporting requirements on military children, interscholastic sports, and career and technical education.
Turnaround models: Local educational agencies, including those receiving NCLB waivers from the Secretary, continue to be concerned with the limited flexibility in designing and implementing turnaround models for low performing schools. Several amendments intended to increase flexibility on how States and LEAs identify and improve low-performing schools were not approved.
Comparability: NSBA supports the concept of comparability and believes it is important to ensure that Title I schools receive comparable educational support. The proposed comparability provision in S. 1094 would change the method for how LEAs determine whether comparable services are being provided from local resources to Title I schools compared to other schools in the district. It would require local educational agencies to show that they spend no less at each Title I school – as determined by the combined state and local per-pupil expenditures for personnel and non-personnel – than they do at the average non-Title I schools in the district. Local school officials have determined that the provision is burdensome and not geared to achieving the desired educational outcomes. Efforts to address comparability were rejected by the Committee, so the unworkable language in the base bill stands.
Public Charter Schools Expansion: Local educational agencies continue to be concerned with the increased congressional support for public charter schools in the legislation and the apparent willingness of Congress to not hold public charter schools to the same accountability requirements as traditional public schools. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) offered, but then withdrew an amendment to hold charter schools to the same accountability requirements as other public schools. Chairman Harkin pledged to work on an amendment for the floor, however.
Other amendments on ESEA flexibility waivers, vouchers, Race to the Top, college access, special education, and teacher and principal effectiveness sparked spirited discussion and even a little table-pounding before S. 1094 was reported out favorably by the Committee on a 12 – 10 party line vote.
NSBA is not able to support S. 1094 in its current form, and will continue to urge Congress to reauthorize an ESEA bill that supports local school district governance. In preparing for the full Senate floor vote, NSBA will prepare amendments and work with the engagement of the state associations to secure support from targeted Senators.
House Action – Committee Mark Up Tomorrow – June 19
The Committee on Education and the Workforce in the U.S. House of Representatives has released its version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Reauthorization, entitled The Student Success Act, H.R. 5 and it is scheduled for mark up this Wednesday, June 19, 2013. NSBA sent this letter Committee members.
Reminder: The Committee on Education and the Workforce determines the provisions in the law that best help local school boards to improve academic achievement for our students. Please contact your member of Congress if he/she sits on the Committee on Education and the Workforce in the U.S. House of Representatives through the Capitol Hill Switchboard (202-224-3121) as soon as possible.
Your Message to Your Member of Congress
As a local school board member, I urge you to:
1) Support the House Committee bill, The Student Success Act, H.R. 5 because the bill eliminates unnecessary and overwhelming administrative requirements and restores flexibility and governance to local school boards who are in the best position to address the needs of students in our local communities; but
2) Re-instate the maintenance of effort provisions for education to ensure that states provide at least the same level of funding for K-12 education from one year to the next.
Thank you for responding to our call to action. Please provide any feedback to kbranch@nsba.org.
Sincerely, Kathleen Branch & NSBA’s Advocacy Team
——————————————-
Kathleen Branch
Director, National Advocacy Services Programs
National School Boards Association
Alexandria, VA
——————————————-
Diane Ravitch's blog 
And the House Republicans pass their bill and no agreement is found so NCLB remains and the Duncan waiver era continues…. http://systemschangeconsulting.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/the-great-dysfunction-or-lessons-in-how-not-to-govern/
The fix is in on this. I am seriously considering going into another occupation altogether. The NCLB on steroids being pushed by the Obama administration is going to be a nightmare, a disaster for the country, but I fear that it’s all going to have to collapse our children’s and teachers’ heads before a sufficient number of the plutocrats’ wind-up toys in Congress get the message.
How corrupt can both parties get and I mean especially the democrats who are traditionally supposed to support common people. They want to institute more control only from the very top for total domination. The people who are doing this, Obama and Duncan, have been total losers their entire time in education. Just look at the mess they caused in Chicago. Duncan, while superintendent of Chicago, lied to the State of California legislators to push Mayoral Control which has been one of the worst inventions related to education ever created. Lucky for us in California it is against our State Constitution. Obama and the fascist democrats with the right wing republicans are destroying this country and our freedoms and financial integrity.
Indeed. The Obama administration’s education policy is an Orwellian nightmare.
“Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power.” –Benito Mussolini
Another name for this system of governance: crony capitalism. Competition? Free markets? Those are the NewSpeak terms being used, but they mean precisely the opposite of what they used to mean.
Obama was always a fraud. Just wait until people start pushing Cory Booker for the presidency or VP. Absolute tools for Wall Street and right-wing foundations.
I do hope Republicans do not collaborate on this with the Democrats. National Superintendent of Education, indeed.
They won’t. Too dysfunctional to pass any major legislation out of this Congress. They’ll fail to pass an Immigration bill too.
I hope so, too, Harlan. It’s our only hope. This will be a measure of the extent to which the system has become utterly and irredeemably corrupt. Perhaps we shall yet see a few heroes among what we laughably refer to as our representatives.
BTW, a group of baboons is called a flange, a troupe, or a congress. This last term is an unfair characterization of baboons.
When the time finally comes when Harlan and the members of this blog join in their fear for the country because both and all parties have exposed themselves as what appears to be the enemy of the people, certainly the children, you know we are in deep dodo!!!
Robert,
The classic “If pro is the opposite of con, what is the opposite progress?” line came to mind.
Both political parties have been infested with neoliberals and neoliberalism, which seeks to destroy all public institutions for private gain. This is an international movement, usually couched in terms like “globalism.”
Finally, Democrats here begin to see the control agenda of their own party. The republicans are actually on the opposite side. It won’t pass the house, I predict. Won’t it be embarrassing to have to thank the tea party?
NOPE!
As a lifelong Democrat the Senate HELP Committees proposed reauthorization of the ESEA is depressing beyond measure. I think highly of Senator Tom Harkin but he is so far off the mark and has no understanding of the unintended consequences of his legislative actions to turn the Education Secretary into a dictatorship. In 1996 former Michigan Governor John Engler issued Executive Orders that stripped our “elected” State Board of virtually all of its authority, other than hiring and firing the State Superintendent. MI children and teachers have watched Public Education erode for ALL children and students with disabilities are in educational conditions reminiscent of the 1960s. Three State Superintendents since 1996 and no improvement in Public Education. I do not want to live in a country that has turned Public Education into a Dictatorship. This is not Democracy, nor did this uphold the 14th Amendment for our nation’s most valuable resource, our children. Republican Senator Lamar Alexander can pretend to whine all he wants but just wait until we have the next Republican President. Children and their teachers will feel the full weight of autocrat rule.
Well said. Now, a Republican presidential candidate MAY claim to remove the Secretary of Education position all together, however expanding the authority of that position to the level proposed is extremely short sighted of Democrats on top of the disappointing steps being taken toward reauthorization generally. Then specifically such issues as expanding the role and support of unproven “public” charters (which continue to be called public like Halliburton and Bechtel are public I guess) – why did Warren withdraw her amendment, if charters will not be held to the same accountability – then release neighborhood public schools. The inconsistency continues to amaze. Who in Congress is fighting for ALL children as a policy matter??!
You have to wonder if he isn’t suffering from some kind of dementia. I can’t even believe he would consider such utter rot as this.
He knows exactly what he’s doing.
Abolish the US Department of Education. Educators and parents unite –
Finally, the wisdom of conservatives is being embraced by liberals as well. This we can all agree on.
The friends of freedom are many and diverse. I hope that we shall see some left-right coalitions against this precipitous slide into totalitarianism.
I agree. Education is not a federal responsibility. It belongs at the state and local level.
absolutely
This new OET/DOE eport goes into enormous detail about how to use various biosensor devices to monitor students’ affective states from moment to moment, continually, to ensure that they are developing desirable character traits. After discussion of the usefulness of facial expression cameras, posture analysis seats, the pressure mouse, and wireless skin conductance sensors for this purpose, the report has this gem of a sentence: “While it is impractical to use fMRI in the classroom (i.e., it is a prohibitively expensive, room-sized machine), Ed Dieterle and Ash Vasudeva
of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation point out that researchers such as Jon Gabrieli and Richard Davidson are beginning to use multiple methods to explore how specific brain activity is correlated with other cognitive and affective indicators that are practical to measure in school settings.”
Much more useful than the old crude Telescreens from Orwell’s 1984, don’t you think? And so much more effective for ongoing, point-of-use control than noncontinuous means of assessment of desirability of affective state.
Tell me that this is a hoax, please.
Click to access OET-Draft-Grit-Report-2-17-13.pdf
http://edf.stanford.edu/readings/download-promoting-grit-tenacity-and-perseverance-report
http://www.coreeducationllc.com/blog2/promoting-grit-tenacity-and-perseverance/
The new OET/DOE report entitled “Promoting Grit, Tenacity, and Perseverance” goes into enormous detail about how to use various biosensor devices to monitor students’ affective states from moment to moment, continually, to ensure that they are developing desirable character traits.
After discussion of the usefulness of facial expression cameras, posture analysis seats, the pressure mouse, and wireless skin conductance sensors for this purpose, the report has this gem of a sentence: “While it is impractical to use fMRI in the classroom (i.e., it is a prohibitively expensive, room-sized machine), Ed Dieterle and Ash Vasudeva of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation point out that researchers such as Jon Gabrieli and Richard Davidson are beginning to use multiple methods to explore how specific brain activity is correlated with other cognitive and affective indicators that are practical to measure in school settings.”
Much more useful than the old crude Telescreens from Orwell’s 1984, don’t you think? And so much more effective for ongoing, point-of-use control than noncontinuous means of assessment of desirability of affective state.
Tell me that this is a hoax, please.
The whole idea is rooted in the nutball idea that because European countries, which are a lot smaller and have less diversity in their populations, the United States should be that way, too.
Obama is the biggest disaster to EVER hit the country, and unfortunately the Democratic Party is increasingly discrediting itself thanks to it being infested with neoliberals who want to destroy public education altogether.
Left out a key phrase: “because European countries…have national standards, the U.S. should have them, too.”
Surely somebody is planning to let this issue be the one they build a platform on for a future election. I know the education issue changed my voting pattern and I spend a lot of time waiting for a hero to step up and make this right–I did not find a candidate last go round who seemed to be on that track– in fact, I wrote in a candidate so my vote was virtually lost. Take it all the way back to Carter, figure out the true motivation for establishing DOE (since it actually happened on his watch) assess whether the desired outcome has come to pass and take action to redirect resources and dialogue back to the original goal (with consideration for the secondary uses of public education. . . as the primary host for integration, as a place to feed hungry children–whether or not it should be–a place where they find out if they can see and hear, etc.)–analyze what the purpose of public school is, what it should be, and how that can best be achieved without reinventing the wheel (in my opinion charters as a universal solution are reinventing the wheel–where they might have a good set of solutions for specific problems, as a vast-reaching rubber stamp solution they are only places for starting all over again, which seems silly to me and terribly wasteful).
My perception is the DOE is not a good thing–mostly because what is good for Detroit might not be good for western North Carolina. Getting rid of DOE would require that corporate interests wanting to get in on education would have a harder sell because they would have to approach and attract each state, rather than just convince DOE folks who would then force stuff on states. Where is my sensible hero who will say that, but also have intelligence and integrity on other issues? I bore my spouse to tears carrying on about this, I seek to engage people of persuasion and position, meanwhile trying to practice what I preach as a teacher (but meanwhile wondering if I will send my own child to a public school because of what is going on). I am taking business classes so I can try to frame all I am seeing and understanding from that perspective. Where is my hero? Where is the sensible one? I am waiting. And I am trying to learn all I can in the meantime. But mostly I am waiting. What else can a music teacher (who watches this huge mess with almost obsessive attention) do? What would my hero’s campaign speech say? Maybe I should write one so I will feel better.
Lest you think that the continual affective sensor monitoring of students to ensure that they are developing desirable character traits is pie-in-the-sky stuff, let me remind you that the InBloom database was fully envision in a very similar report from the Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology in its technology blueprint published four years ago.
http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/03/04/tutoring-software-autotutor-responds-to-students-emotions/35563.html
Tutoring Software, AutoTutor, Responds to Student’s Emotions
“Emotion-sensing computer software that responds to students’ cognitive and emotional states, including frustration and boredom, has been developed by researchers at the University of Notre Dame, University of Memphis, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”
And for assessments that “test” grit, tenacity, and perseverance, consider this year’s NY ELA exams in grades 3-8.
It’s time we all realized that we are far past the time when the actual political landscape can be described as having a left-right, Dimocrat and Repugnican divide. Yes, we still have two parties, but they are indistinguishable in practice. They are distinguishable only as rival gangs fighting over the same turf and by some of the rhetoric that they use.
This is not the time for to be fighting the old left-right battles. It makes no difference whether it originated in a party that used to be left-wing or in a party that used to be right-wing. Totalitarianism is totalitarianism.
So the rascals are angry because a public voice has been heard around the world and they have realized a swell of anger is growing in understanding of what is being foisted on the public and is starting to build in opposition to their corporatist movement. So now the big grab moves into place and the legal partnership in all of this tramples justice for power and ownership. The gloves are off and the players have revealed themselves. Until now the public has been in the blind but now the blinders are off. A revolution has begun and history is about to change. How is the question? This is where those that teach history have an opportunity to make history. This is where those that speak of justice and the American Way get to display their belief in real terms. This is where parents and educators, Republicans and Democrats and others get to standup for equality and humanity.
We have been betrayed and only we can protest the betrayal. Where is the media? Where are the statespersons? This is the Mida Age!!
“This is where those that teach history have an opportunity to make history.”
Wow.
Republicans are not for equality. Nor, probably humanity in the sense you mean it. Standing up for equity is a utopian Democrat thing which always leads to tyranny, because nature is not equitable and can never be made so, even by a powerful state. Seeking equity is inherently unjust. When you Democrats look in the mirror you should see Xerxes, Caesar, Robspierre, Hitler, and Stalin. That’s your natural company. I hope it’s uncomfortable for you. You Democrats are the most undemocratic people in the country. Come with me; drink some tea.
HU,
Been a tea drinker all my life (if you like black teas try Taylors of Harborgate or PG Tips-both excellent full bodied teas), however I will never be a tea partier nor democrat nor republican.
Republicans are not the party of totalitarianism but of individual freedom. Charters are anti-totalitarian. Vouchers too. Take the hood off your head, Robert.
That’s a good one HU, Rethuglicans are not the party of totaliariansim. Take the blinders off HU!
How I wish, Harlan, that what you are saying were so, but totalitarianism has become a bipartisan effort in this country. I have learned to differentiate the rhetoric from the actual actions of the Dimocrats and the Repugnicans. What we are seeing now, Harlan, is the opposite of a free market approach to education. It’s crony capitalism whereby the no-bid contract to run the online school or the charter is awarded by the commissar and technological systems are put into place that will ensure that markets are tightly controlled by the commissar’s cronies.
Your implication is that I’m naive, and that may well be so. Perhaps I should not say “Republicans,” but rather say that the tea party attitude is interested in market-like freedom of choice via charters and even better vouchers. Even that messy scene seems to me preferable to the union-corrupted, socialism-oriented public school systems.
Even the excellent district of my town, which has done a pretty good job for my grandchildren is beginning to face the financial challenges of gigantic legacy pension costs. As more money must be used each year to service the retirement (defined benefit) obligations, the absolute piracy of those provisions becomes more and more apparent. Further tax levies will probably not be forthcoming. However dedicated the teachers are to their classroom charges, and most are, it is clear that the system itself is operated for the financial benefit of the teachers first. I don’t really hold the teachers responsible, but the past contracts between the local board and the union have made the current system unstable.
In such circumstances, as cost crunches make the public schools less desirable, it is no wonder that many parents will opt for charters, and if they could get them vouchers, so their kids can at least get taught the basics in a safe environment. If a management company can actually deliver those results, it will be regarded as worth what it is paid, crony capitalist or not.
The Secretary would appear to be involved in the design of programs, directing the specifics, for example, in addressing parent/community engagement and extensive data collection.
So what is Deb Delisle doing at US Ed these days? Former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland used her (as state superintendent) to micromanage districts until her ouster by Governor Kasich. Sounds like US Ed doesn’t understand federalism–Why would we be surprised?
“Ms. Delisle was nominated by President Obama (January 2012) and confirmed by the US Senate (April 2012) as Assistant Secretary for Elementary & Secondary Education at the Department of Education. In this role, she plays a pivotal role as principal adviser to the US Secretary of Education on all matters related to pre-k, elementary and secondary education. She also directs, coordinates and recommends policy for programs designed to assist state and local educational agencies with improving elementary and secondary school student achievement. Prior to joining the Department, Delisle served as Ohio’s 35th State Superintendent of Public Instruction (2008–2011) where she led successful application for the US Department of Education’s Race to the Top Program.”
Not bad for a superintendent from an over-spending and under-achieving school district:
http://www.educationoh.com/2012/01/comings-and-goings.html
We might also ask why the Obama campaign data team is now working for David Coleman at the College Board.
http://truthinamericaneducation.com/privacy-issues-state-longitudinal-data-systems/privacy-invasiondata-mining/david-coleman-lauds-the-use-of-student-data/