Dive Brief:
- A vote on the House rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (also known as No Child Left Behind) was canceled by the chamber's Republican leaders, who failed to drum up enough conservative support for the bill.
- The controversial bill — which would keep annual testing but give states more flexibility around spending and how to deal with failing schools — has been opposed most vocally by Education Secretary Arne Duncan and the White House, but also by conservative groups like Heritage Action for America and Club for Growth.
- With the Republican majority, it was considered likely that the GOP would take the lead and pass a reauthorization, but the fact that they were unable to is a bit of an embarrassment, according to the Associated Press.
Dive Insight:
Ultimately, while this bill does not seem to be flying, the government needs to think of something. Issuing NCLB waivers to states each year is not a sustainable model, and the fact that so many states need these waivers indicates that the current policy is broken.
In August, Washington consulting group Whiteboard Advisers surveyed education "insiders" and found dim prospects for reauthorization, with 20% believing it would never happen at all. While recent news indicated that group was going to be wrong, this new standstill may justify their skepticism. The anonymous survey included 50 to 75 indidivuals with influence on education policy, ranging from current and former education department officials and congressional leaders to state leaders and heads of major education organizations and think tanks.
The reasons why insiders were dubious about the reauthorization is fascinating to revisit with this latest hiccup. Among their comments: "Divided government seems likely to continue through at least 2016, possibly long after," and "We're only six years behind, what's the rush now?"