Dive Brief:
- On Thursday, House education committee chair John Kline (R-MN) announced he would not seek re-election in 2016.
- As head of the chamber's education committee, Kline has overseen its version of a rewrite on the outdated No Child Left Behind Act.
- He has been a critic of the Obama administration’s NCLB waivers and of its lack of funds for students with special needs.
Dive Insight:
Kline’s announcement adds urgency to the process to pass an NCLB rewrite. Both chambers passed rewrites this session. Congressional education leaders have started a conferencing process to reconcile the two bills and pass the resulting compromise in both chambers. In the wake of his announcement, education advocates on both sides bemoaned the loss of the committee chair, who has been a relatively moderate voice in the often-polarized education debate. But Kline has indicated that passing a rewrite will be on of his top priorities for the remaining 16 months of his term. It’s not a guarantee that it will happen, but leaders on both sides seem to feel a sense of urgency in passing a long-overdue compromise.