Speaking Out! A retreat for teacher hiring aid, an advance for the new No Child Left Behind (10/24/11)
Senate blocks bill to hire teachers and first responders
The Senate last week blocked a bill to provide states and local governments with $35 billion to hire teachers and first responders. Originally part of President Obama’s American Jobs Act, the aid for states was broken off into its own measure when that legislation itself was blocked earlier this month.
Republicans opposed the federal aid unanimously, objecting to its emphasis on the public sector and a surtax on high earners. Democrats made the teachers and first responders measure its own bill in part to force Republicans to either approve aid for states or take a high-profile stand against a hiring effort that is broadly popular.
Voices for America’s Children supports the bill as a way to protect children from budget cuts imposed by cash-strapped state and local governments. Since the recession, state governments have faced unprecedented budget shortfalls, forcing harmful cuts to school spending. Over the past few years, hundreds of thousands of school jobs have been lost.
At the height of the recession, the federal stimulus package protected children from the worst of state budget cuts and propped up schools. But stimulus dollars are running out. Without greater support from Congress, our schools stand to suffer even more.
Learn more in our infographic!
New No Child Left Behind bill passes committee, but real fight lies ahead
The Senate reached a milestone in the renewal of the controversial No Child Left Behind education law last week, passing the bill out of the HELP committee. But the bipartisan progress belies serious arguments over the bill that will likely appear as it reaches general debate.
The initial measure to overhaul No Child Left Behind (covered in a previous Speaking Out!) escaped committee relatively intact, with only 23 out of 144 amendments adopted. Many senators proposed amendments only to withdraw them once their points had been made, saving the issues for when the bill comes to the Senate floor.
The role of the federal government in education remains the key question. Most policymakers agree that the burdens placed by No Child Left Behind are too onerous, and President Obama has used his discretion to waive some of the penalties state governments would have faced under No Child Left Behind as it stands. Yet others argue that the federal government got more involved in education in the first place because the old system did indeed leave some children behind – particularly low-income children, children of color, and children with disabilities.
As the debate over No Child Left Behind heats up, Voices will be watching. We are monitoring the bill to ensure continued efforts to reduce achievement gaps; a focus on interventions to improve graduation rates and reduce dropout; alignment between early care and education programs and the public K-12 education system; and other policy questions that are crucial for improving learning.
