Advocates for Spec. Ed., Gifted Weigh In on ESEA Rewrite - Education Week

Advocates for Spec. Ed., Gifted Weigh In on ESEA Rewrite - Education Week

May 5, 2015

Audience: Policy Makers, Educators, TAG & SPED Teachers and Families

Key Points: The United States Senate Education Committee on April 16 approved an amended and bolstered revision to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The next step is the Senate Floor. There would be an increased push for talented and gifted education funding and higher/better provisions for teacher support in TAG through federal funding of teacher training. It hopes to reduce the "excellence gap"

Exciting ESEA re-write Developments

Senate Committee Reaches Agreement on New ESEA, April 7, 2015  

Diane Ravitch Blog

http://dianeravitch.net/2015/04/07/senate-committee-reaches-agreement-on-new-esea/

Key Points:

• Senate Commitee works on re-authorization of ESEA (Elementary & Secondary Education Act-- currently “No Child Left Behind.”)
• Removes
• Significant amount of Federal oversight/ tools for manipulation.
• “low-performing schools” sanctions
• Leaves
• Yearly testing in place
• Does not create vouchers
• Does not create Score Card for low-performing schools to provide funding differential transparency

Intended Audience:

Policy Wonks, School administrators, practicioners

Relevance:

New legislation in this direction could be a boon for teacher professionalism and what I see as more authentic learning.  It is important that this is only a Senate committee draft, subject to floor debate (if allowed) and the hugely partisan House before heading to Obama (who, by the way might now like how many of Arne Duncan’s tools/ initiatives are repudiated with this legislation).  If lame-duck congress can pass this before we start teaching, it will be a better footing at the beggining of our careers.