President Obama to sign federal bill to add mandates for ‘underachieving schools’
President Obama is expected to sign the “Every Student Succeeds Act” into law Thursday after the Senate cleared the controversial program on Wednesday.
Under this new law, students still must be tested in reading and math, but the difference now is that state and local officials would have greater latitude in determining how to respond to underachieving schools. This new bill doesn’t reduce testing, leaves Title I formulas intact, but is vague on other areas of impact.
“We’re going to maintain at this point, and see what the state comes down with,” said Cindy Stuart, Hillsborough County School Board Member. “I wouldn’t anticipate any changes from the state until next year. I would not anticipate them taking from January to June and trying to make sweeping changes at this point.”
President Barack Obama visits a pre-kindergarten in Georgia. The Obama mandates led to the sex education program in Chicago which begins in kindergarten (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Under the “Every Student Succeeds Act,” states will interpret and mandate how to respond to underachieving schools, coming up with their own goals for schools and creating their own ways to measure achievement and progress.
In a statement from the Florida Department of Education, officials say, “Once a final version is passed, we will take the time to thoroughly review it and determine what changes, if any, will be necessary.”
While some lawmakers are calling the passing of the “Every Student Succeeds Act” a victory for conservative reform, not all conservatives agree. Presidential candidate, Senator Ted Cruz, said he opposed the deal because it still gives too much power to Washington, issuing the statement below. Rand Paul also voted against the measure while Florida’s Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham from South Carolina and Vermont’s Bernie Sanders all skipped the vote.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) Wednesday, Dec. 9 issued the following statement on the conference report of the Every Student Succeeds Act (S. 1177), currently under consideration in the Senate:
“The Every Student Succeeds Act unfortunately continues to propagate the large and ever-growing role of the federal government in our education system—the same federal government that sold us failed top-down standards like Common Core. We should be empowering parents and local school districts instead of perpetuating the same tired approach that continues to fail our nation’s children. In many ways, the conference report was worse than the original Senate bill—removing the few good provisions from the House bill that would have allowed some Title I portability for low-income students as well as a parental opt-out from onerous federal accountability standards. The American people expect the Republican majority to do better. And our children deserve better, which is why I cannot support this bill.”
Photo/Pete Souza White House
