Funding Education
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- While the Democrats and Republicans may be divided on healthcare, taxes and energy, the climate around education is cooler reports The Washington Post. Shortly, President Obama might be seeking common ground.
The massive Elementary and Secondary Education Act, passed in 1965, part of President Lyndon Johnson's "War on Poverty" funds public school education and has been reauthorized since.
Renamed "No Child Left Behind" by President George W. Bush in January 2002, it forced schools to increase standardized testing in reading and math with the goal of all students becoming proficient in those subjects by 2014.
Schools were required to make Adequate Yearly Progress and while it was agreed that goal setting and evaluation were important, the act drew much criticism from states. Both parties agree that the legislation, which is up for a rewrite, needs changes.
However, most sources believe that it's not a priority and that federal secretary Arne Duncan can continue to work under current confines—that the emphasis on charters, teacher quality and pay, accountability, and dealing with underperforming schools in some form will be acceptable to both parties. Stay tuned….
Reported By Dr. Marciene Mattleman, KYW Newsradio
