In the video to the right, Alliance President Bob Wise explains how competing “storms” around education reform in Washington, DC, could impact the educational futures of the nation’s schoolchildren.
In this “weather report,” Gov. Wise discusses two looming “storm” systems. The first, led by President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, is focused on providing waivers and greater flexibility to states from key requirements in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The other, underway in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, is about rewriting the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, currently known as NCLB, but will require Democrats and Republicans working together on a compromise.
In the coming weeks, Gov. Wise will report on whether the Senate and House of Representatives can come together on a bill that could be sent to the White House and outflank the waiver option.
“If no agreement is made, then the waiver option could overwhelm the Congress, pushing them out of the picture completely and controlling the education atmosphere in Washington, DC until after the next presidential election,” Wise says.